Hi David,

I hope all went well with your mic-key button placement. I was told how to replace it by a nurse at Mayo Clinic Rochester where I had it placed. As with anything until you do it yourself you don't fully know how it's going to work. The first couple times I was nervous but it was an easy process. I make sure to change it on an empty stomach and I lie flat. I use distilled water to fill the balloon and always test the new mic-key to be sure there are no leaks in the balloon. I deflate the existing one, pull it out (it should slide out easily). I use k-y gel around the new one so it slides in easy, inflate the balloon (I use 5cc of water) and it's good to go. I change mine every three months whether it needs it or not since Medicare pays for a new one every three months.

I knew from day one that I did not want to live on canned formulas. I am an active male who exercises 5x week. I saw no reason why I couldn't blend food and put it through the tube (this was before I knew about forums like this). So I started experimenting and over the years I developed over 100 Zone recipes made almost entirely from fresh unprocessed foods - in other words fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains, whole nuts, good fats like virgin olive oil, and good protein like farm raised poultry and wild caught fish. Food as close to being from the farm to the table without preservatives, additives, sugar, and whatever else they put in a lot of processed foods. I've maintained my weight, remain active and overall feel very healthy despite the numerous side effects I have.

I felt a need to share with other tubefeeders so I created www.drinkyourmeals.com which not only has the recipes but enables you to create your own recipes and menu plans among many other useful tools. It is free to all tubefeeders. Starting June 1 once a month Drink Your Meals is giving away a free Vitamix to a tubefeeder in financial need (send a request with your story to [email protected] to be considered). In my opinion a Vitamix is a must have kitchen tool for any tubefeeder doing blended meals. It breaks my heart when I hear about a tubefeeder or tubefeeder's family who can't do real food because they can't afford a Vitamix. In my opinion there is no better way to good health than "eating" real healthy food.

Blessings,

Jesse