My husband is about 1/2 through his treatment. He can only swallow water at this point to we are feeding him through his peg. I am very frustrated with the fact that the only feeding tube bags I can find all taper down dramatically at the connector end. I have chosen to feed him the same food he would be eating if he could. I wouldn't feed him all the chemicals found in feeding formulas if he were well, and I certainly wouldn't feed him that now that he is sick. I do blend in a vitamix and even stain the fluid before I give it to him. Even really small particles can get stuck. I am using the Kangaroo bags with the large bore tubing but the connection tip becomes so small. Seems to me these bags are designed to support a multimillion dollar feeding tube formula business. I have tried to cut the tiny end off the connector but the plastic simply krimps down and nothing can come out. what have others in my situation done. So far my husband has only lost 4 pounds total since treatment started so I must be doing something right.

If everything is strained have you considered an enteral pump with the Kangaroo large bore kit?

There's also a lot of organic formulas, although they contain corn syrup, just not high fructose. It's mostly for calories. A company called Functional Formularies carries some organic whole food products as well.

I think you are better off doing what you are but maybe adding a pump or bolus feeding, even.

I never did the PEG thing but I read many posts of folks who are consuming food that is not filtered to liquid fineness. Many use quiet basic low powered blenders and seem to get those thru their PEGs. Keep hunting around, there is something not quite sorted out in your process. Good luck

thank you very much. That may be an option for us. This was very helpful information

Beware taking peg advice from someone who hasn't had a peg. I have one and it is all too easy to clog up. I wouldn't even consider blending food in a low power blender. You will need a Vitamix or equivalent. (Vitamix offers a discount if you are tube feeding). If the peg tube gets clogged you will more than likely be making a trip to the ER to have it replaced. Some things, like spinach, do not blend well so use extreme caution. I am on a totally manufactured food (Nestle FibresourceHN) and doing fine on it. The companies, like Real Foods, sell blended and tested actual food but it's pretty expensive. $65/case vs. $50/case for Fibersource for instance. There are websites dedicated to blending for tubes and I would suggest you explore those. Personally I will probably supplement the artificial nutrition but I won't replace it.

Any reason you're using a pump rather than bolus feeds? I use a Vitamix and don't need to strain my food, although I know the pumps can be touchy. In addition to Functional Formularies, you can try RealFoodBlends.com.

She's using a Vitamix.

Gary, does yours get clogged from food or medicine? Does your MIC-Key come with 2 detachable tubes? Mine did, one very narrow for water and the other almost the size of the original I had. Even with my mother and using a pump, we only got clogged with crushed meds and used cranberry juice first, coke second and it always cleared.

I have a "garden variety peg" tube. No balloon or disk on the outside - a standard drain tube actually, a few stitches holding it in. I clogged it up, once, with Lactobacillus, probiotic, finely ground with a mortar and pestle. After that, I switched to a liquid probiotic. I only have a few pills to take and I use a pill crusher now.

If I fail the swallowing test again I will probably get a MIC-Key installed when this one is due for replacement,

I have recently been having some issues with bleeding around the stoma (not heavy) and it looks like the beginnings of granulation. I was overdoing it pulling weeds in the yard... They discharged me from the hospital with no instructions or wound care advice, swell!

I was gravity feeding once and went in the bathroom and somehow hooked the tubing under the door. It was like a dog running till the end of the chain suddenly appears. The end result (after the scream) was laying on the floor with 2 ribs cracked from the inside out.

I had a lot of problems with the first one. They put the disc and the stitches in and the stitches kept ripping. When they cut them, the little toggle fell in and is still in there somewhere next to the surgical clip used to palace the tube. Makes for good conversion with every scan, along with the broken needle in my buttocks from a dilaudid shot.

If you're on Facebook, there is a group call Blenderized Food For Tubies. They have a lot of good information and are very helpful.

I use a Vitamix and I also have a Blendtec. Both work great for blending food. I push mine through the tube with my syringe plunger and don't normally have any issues, however clogs are bound to happen. I've never had to get my tube replaced because of a clog though. See the Blenderized Food For Tubies folks (I think there's a yahoo group too) if you have trouble with clogs.

Liquid hope has no corn syrup in it. Medicare and insurance covers I found nation DME in Murfreesboro tn. It is only formula I could tolerate. It is gmo free and Taste good. My wife adds protein. I use lose it app which helps me keep track of nutrients.

You can thin it down, my wife feeds me via syring.

I had to give up on the formulas from Nestle (IsoSource and Nutren) - I couldn't tolerate them (let's just say they raced their way through my system and left me depleted). I found the website for tubies and have used some of their information to create my own blenderized recipes. I don't use a pump, only gravity (no plunger). There are two keys that I have found that help: blending your mixture long enough (sometimes this takes more than a few minutes) and dilution with enough water. This is important not only with my home made recipes but also with the Liquid Hope (which I am a big fan of because of the nutrition it delivers) as it is very thick.

If your hubby has only lost 4 pounds then you are doing a great job getting nutrition into him! Keep on plugging away and trying new things. If he is still in treatment (I realize I am late to the dance here) you might want to blanch any raw foods you include in the blender versions to cut down on exposing his depleted immune system to anything that might linger after thorough washing).

Prayers your way,

Heather

Nutren was very hard on me as well. Been on Fiber Source 2.0 and handling it pretty well for about 5 months now. I began having some reflux issues and was cut back to 8 oz. per feeding, with more frequent feedings (Already on Omeprozole). It done the trick! So far so good. Going to search out the websites Gary and others mention. I have been able to up my oral intake some (After being told I probably wouldn't ever have a normal oral diet; Yeah, I'm stubborn that way), but I haven't attempted to blend anything on my own at this point. Plus, five minutes with a tube feed compared to a couple hours to even make a dent in a meal, well, yes, I can calculate the hours in ones day. Still, feeling blessed I'm getting some "Normal" satisfaction (With a ton of water-LOL). Best to all.

I wanted to let everyone know that the surgeons finally agreed to a low profile MicKey button. I have had it for just over a month. To date I find it far superior to the MicKey with the long tube. The surgeon warned my wife after my throat dilation and the placing of the MicKey Button that he only did it because I insisted but that it would be "problems". This he said when he never had put one in before.
This little button is easy to use, does not get caught when I roll over in bed or play golf, seems more hygiene and guess what-I now swim with a waterproof patch.
If anyone is considering a MicKey low profile I highly recommend.