My husband has cf. diagnosed at birth and is 5ft 7 about 106 pounds. Doctors want a feeding tube in but he works 40 plus hours a week and plays with our children and doesn't want one because he feels it will greatly limit his ability to carry on like he is now.
2006-12-23 07:01:50 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Respiratory Diseases
The doctors are probably recommending a g-tube or a Mickey because your husbands weight won't stay up where the doctors want it to be. Dealing with a feeding tube is very painfully and time comsuming, but they get your weight up,and most of the time it stays up. If your husband doesn't want a g-tube tell him to ask his doctor if there is another option.
2006-12-26 10:34:54 · answer #1 · answered by AmberLynn Marie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, if he really needs the feeding tube, there's no way around it. I'm wondering what kind of feeding tube the doctors are considering. If you guys have a choice, get the G-tube. It is a small surgery that allows food to go directly into the stomach through a small opening that has a removable cap. These tubes are not noticeable and his lifestyle should not change much at all. I just took care of a 4 year old who had a G-tube (aka stomach feeding tube) and he was like normal. He plays and goes to school like anyone else. If a 4 year old can do it and play and still have energy, then you husband should be able to do this. The only real changes in his life will be hygiene to the area, plus, his diet will change because all of his food will be liquified. However, he can still feed himself while he is working. Instead of a bag lunch, he'll need to bring a large sized syringe that fits the cap of the tube and his liquid diet that will go into the syringe. It's not so bad. In my hospital experience, people go home with feeding tubes all the time.
2006-12-23 07:19:13 · answer #2 · answered by nurse_ren 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't have to limit his ability to live like he currently is. A feeding tube doesn't have to be a continuous thing...bolus feedings are an option (for example a can of tube feeding every 6 hours or something like that...a doctor/dietician will determine what his caloric needs are in order to decide what kind of tube feeding and how much)
I would encourage you to make a list of the pros/cons of having a feeding tube. If he's not receiving proper nutrition, he'll be more likely to have trouble with the CF and other opportunistic infections. Talk with your doctors more and find out some more information.
Good luck!
2006-12-23 15:23:44 · answer #3 · answered by nurse123 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The pros are that he will be able to fight off infections, etc., with more calories and a little more meat on his bones. Even simple breathing takes more calories for a patient with CF than it does for you or me. The cons are that it's a hassle to do the feeds and they can sometimes leak and ruin clothing or cause embarrassment.
But - ask about a "button" or "Mickey" or some other type that has a flap that snaps shut. It's not like you have to run around with a 6" tube flopping around on your belly. They might start you with a standard peg tube for a couple of weeks during healing, but then it could be changed to a less obtrusive style.
See this site for info. The adult info is near the end.
http://www.cff.org/ID=4491/TYPE=1753/Supporting%20Nutrition%20-%20Understanding%20Tubefeeding%202005.pdf
You can find a bit of information here, but it seems to be more directed towards treating children:
http://www.cystic-l.org/handbook/html/nutrition.htm
2006-12-23 08:11:45 · answer #4 · answered by Picture Taker 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a feeding tube for a while due to intestinal surgery. Of course, there is risk of infection. When it was used, I got the WORST heartburn you can possibly imagine. (I've had two kids, this was worse than pregnancy heartburn!!) I don't know if they would do his the same way, but mine was on the left side of my belly button and left a nasty scar. It also itched and oozed but I think I was allergic to the material the tube itself was made of. I would at least get a second opinion before I went through with it. Make sure it's really necessary. I did go back to work with the tube in my stomach and it stayed there for a couple of months before they were able to take it out. Besides being a little sore, it really did not effect my activities. Best of luck!!!
2006-12-23 07:15:11 · answer #5 · answered by swttxlady 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is he just unable to eat enough, or is he having difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)? Those are the only two valid reasons I can think of to have a tube. Even if he has difficulty swallowing, he can thicken foods to make them easier to swallow. He can also just eat more. Generally, a tube shouldn't get in the way of anything. It is folded and taped down between uses, and you wouldn't even know it was there until intermittent feedings were done.
2006-12-23 07:08:15 · answer #6 · answered by Kal H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋