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harlo

Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2015
Messages
17
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
06/2014
Country
US
State
Fl
City
Sarrasota
I have bulbar onset ALS and my swallowing ability is nearly gone. I have been using a button peg tube for several months. Now I have begun taking medicine thru the tube. Although I crush the pill and mix it with warm water, then flush water down the tube before and after the medicine, it still clogs up. Now that I will have to take all my pills thru the tube, I am very concerned about it completely clogging. Any advice?
 
We crush the pill and then add it to a full flush of water ... haven't had a clog issue yet.
 
There is a subforum for tubes, did you search there? Scroll down, it's beneath these general forums.
 
Use a mortar and pestle to make it very fine
 
Also talk to your doctor about your medication needs and see if your meds can be supplied in liquid form.

You do need to use a mortar and pestle and must grind the medications to powder, then completely dissolve in water before putting thru your tube.
 
If you have trouble finding a mortar and pestle, try a kitchen shop, rather than a pharmacy or medical supply store.
 
Mortar and pestles are also easy to buy here in health food stores or Asian grocery stores. I would imagine it's the same over there.
 
My PALS has been taking all his meds through his feeding tube for about two years now. We haven't had any major clogging issues.
I bought a pill crusher + cutter gadget for about $5 at a drug store. I prefer that to a mortar + pestle because the pill/s won't slip and fly off. Basically it is like a container with a screw on top. The top and bottom parts have rough surfaces and when you screw the top on tight, the two surfaces will meet. Basically, you put 1 - 3 tablets in the bottom cup and the as you screw on the top, it grinds and pulverizes the tablets between the two surfaces. Takes me less than a minute to crush the meds. It also has a handy pill splitter with a hinged lid.
 
How long have you had your tube? It should be changed every six months.
 
How long have you had your tube? It should be changed every six months.

Not the danglers. Mine is good for years.

The replacement ones that inflate have to be changed regularly.
 
and the bards don't need replacing often either as it is the balloon that degrades in the mic-key.

That's one reason we chose the bard, well the gastro and I, Chris wasn't really following much on the choices of types. He and I knew that one bard placement would see Chris through as he was rapid progression.

That pill grinder sounds awesome!
 
Perhaps having a larger gauge tube put in would reduce the frequency of the tube clogging.
 
Thank you everyone for your advice. I do have the Mickey. I've had it now for about three months. The doctor never mentioned anything about changing it. I do use the pill crusher and then mix the powdered pill with warm water, but it still gets clogged, so I'm afraid to add the rest of my meds. What is the bard?
 
harlo, you must still need to grind the pills to a finer powder or mix with more water and do a bigger flush after maybe. I put meds down the peg after crushing them to powder for a long time with no problem. Even a little bit gritty could cause a problem as on the inside the tube isn't one big hole like a straw.

the bard is just another brand of button that can be placed instead of a mic-key
 
The pill crusher didn't work well for me. Some of his pills were just too hard and pieces would fly as I cut them. The mortar and pestle worked the best. I would put a small amount of water in a mug, microwave for 25 seconds, dump in crushed pills, whisk, add cooler water and put in tube. Follow with a rinse.
Room temp regular Coke will unclog tube. I'd put some in occasionally just to keep it flowing. Never had a plug.

Sherry
 
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