Feeding Tubes and Syringes

[Duker52]

This is Larry. I'm Bill's caregiver - and husband.
Bill got a G-tube put in about 10 days ago. He can still swallow but we are using the tube now to practice for when he must rely on it. His tube has the BARD logo on it and seems to be made of silicone. The 60 ml syringes we have are made by Medline. Because Bill's food - Very High Calorie BOOST (530 calories per 8 oz) - is so thick, it doesn't readily flow down the tube, so I must use the piston (plunger). It seems our BARD tube and Medline syringes aren't a good match because the tube squeezes the syringe right out; I have to hold it tightly in place during the entire feeding. Do any of you have perspectives on this minor annoyance?

 

[FamilialALS?]

Instead of using the plunger I used to add water to thin the too thick formula. While holding the syringe in the tube it took about 2/3 formula and 1/3 water and it would go right down the tube. I do remember needing to hold the syringe in the tube to keep it from popping out. Good luck to you.

 

[rose]

Hi Larry, if Bill does not have a restriction as to volume, you can dilute it a bit with a warm thin liquid (warm milk, warm water, warm broth, etc) in order to make it flow easier. I am not familiar with Boost, so don't know how thick it is, but, when I gravity feed Real Food Blends, (which is super duper thick) I only have to use a cup of warm liquid to one meal, and it thins it adequately. I would imagine that the Boost is thinner than the Real Food Blends.

Make sure the tip of the syringe is clean so that its not slippery. You can also dry the inside of the "funnel" the port end of the tube, with a q tip, or use a chopstick inside the corner of a paper towel, in order to get that part of connection clean as well.

good luck to you both. I hope this helps

 

[GilWest]

A catheter irrigation kit makes a wonderful tube feeding setup...

 

[GregK]

Bill already got this suggestion from me on fb, but in case someone comes across this in a search ...

Kangaroo-type gravity bags are an option: ProductDetail

 

[Manhattanite]

I second the recommendation for gravity feeding. If you add water to the formula to thin it out a little it will flow by itself and the process becomes less cumbersome. I wish we had done gravity feeding from the start even when we were just doing it as a supplement to what my partner could eat by mouth. Now that we rely on enteral feeding for all calories it is essential.

 

[gooseberry]

Also, it should be slightly warmto prevent cramps