How much food?

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AlexM

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Hi!

My father has got the feeding tube. Thank you very much to everybody who helped us to persuade him to go with it.

Our question now is how much should he eat? He has lost a lot of weight while he was not able to chew his food. Now we think he needs to start with small servings. How can we detect if he is full or not?

AlexM
 
Well , ask him !

You ever eat until you are full ? You know that feeling don't you.

Tell him to let you know when he is full.

He will start small to begin with as his tummy has probably shrunk down with lack of food.

Do I have my peg yet , NO , but soon (Sept 17). Do I need it yet, well no , I am still being careful at not eating tooo mucchhh. I love to eat.

Glen
 
Alex, I find it hard to gauge how full I am with the peg. Don't know why ... it should be obvious, but to me it's not.

I would start with frequent, high-calorie small servings. I flush the tube with water before and after each feeding, and sometimes water down the formula to speed the flow, so all that liquid counts, too. I've never taken more than one can at a single meal ... about acup and a half's worth of food plus at least a cup of water. That is a full meal for me. Any more would be too much.

I think with the PEG it's better to be a little less than full, rather than over-full.
 
I have never had any trouble deciding when I am full with my PEG. It does take a little while to get used to the tube and Glen and Beth are right, if his stomach hasn't been used too much then it is best to start out with small, high calorie meals so that he gets the benefit of the tube.
 
Alex,
Did you speak to a nutritionist at the hospital? When my mom left the hosptial the gave us very specific instructions and caloric reqirements for her. Be sure to start with smaller meals initially as another suggested his stomach may have shrunk. If you are feeding blended food, you may want to supplement with some high calorie formula to get his weight up.
 
Hi AlexM , when I had my peg my dietician wrote down a feeding schedule and I was down to have 1500 mls of Fresubin easybag pouches via a pump . I found I could tell that I couldn't tolerate the third bag , it felt uncomfy and was coming back up into my throat , so she put it down to 1000 and juggled the calories . My pump was set at 100mls an hour . When I got home the dietician visits me at home to weigh me and check calorie requirements . I'm now on bolus feeds and find I can feel when I'm full .
I don't know if your father has a dietician assigned to him but each persons dietry needs differ . x
 
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