What Cookey said is really important. I am wondering why you think you might be "addicted". It's a strange concept to me-- because of my swallowing problems I have ahd my PEG for over 2 and 1/2 years (and, no, that won't happen to you--the degree of swallowing complications I have is very rare) and I am grateful for the nutrition it has provided me BUT there is nothing, to me, that could possibly be addicting about the experience of feeding yourself through a tube. There's nothing pleasurable about it. And there is so much pleasurable about eating--even when, like me, you're very limited in what you can eat!
However, eating is NOT pleasurable if you find yourself choking most of the time--been there and done that--if that is what's happening, you should go to a speech pathologist who specializes in treating dysphagia and see what they recommend. Don't stop trying to eat because of it. And I wouldn't call that addiction to the tube but more avoidance of a problem.
I still have my tube because for me to eat (really it's more like drink or slurp) all the calories I would need every day, using a nutritious blend of stuff included plenty of pureed veggies and fruits, I basically need to spend half my day eating.
I tried doing that this summer, when I wasn't working, and it worked fine when I wasn't working. It doesn't work so well when I am working. And no, I'm not willing to just drink 4 cans of Carnation VHC-not enough hydration there, for one. Since I take salagen, and am prone to kidney stones, I need plenty of hydration every day. And then there's the getting meds down thing--actually much easier through the tube.
And all my docs (MO, ENT, and gastroenterologist who put it in) are telling me tnhat given where I am with my swallowing they receommdn not pulling it yet. I get about 1/2 to 2/3 of my calories each day from eating, the rest come from tube feeds. I still hope I can improve on this in the future.
having to use a tibe for a lentght of time does not = addiction. But if you are not trying to eat, and there's no good reason why you aren't eating, well, that's somehting I haven't had to deal with.
Nelie
