Susan

The primary reason why people get a tube instead of a button is that this is one area where adults have less choices than children. In fact, most adults have no real practical choice in the matter at all. Cancer patients get what the doctor is familiar with and that is a PEG tube. (although Tim is an exception according to your May post but even then his doctors did not give him a choice, did they?) Plus a tube does not have to be measured like a button. Last but not least, the majority of doctors have never even put in a button and who wants to be their first guinea pig.


You are very lucky in getting 15 months out of a button. Their projected life is 90 days which is why most insurance (even Medicare) covers a new one every three months. I'm on several tube feeding internet sites (Yahoo BD group, Syracuse list serve, etc) where periodically an adult pops up, especially at Veteran's Administration hospitals, who lament how hard it is to get a button and even when they push for, it often is mismeasured by the doctor and ends up painful until a correct size is found. Of course the mothers and caregivers on these thread all replace the button for the patient and not the child or patient themselves.

You are right on the money (literally) about replacing them yourself.I've held off getting a button until I could find a doctor who will write a prescription for my buttons as my co pay is about $200 so otherwise switching would run an extra $600 a year over the tube. I plan on getting a button in Dec, since in Sept when I went for a button, they discovered they had the wrong size and have to special order the right one.

I don't understand why his feeding would be any slower with a tube. In fact, my button will be slower than my 16FR tube since the anti-reflux valve in every size button is only 12FR.
I use a syringe exclusively and get four extension tubes a months.

Thanks for posting this. I needed the encouragement because I worry that my blenderized dinner of real food will clog that tiny anti-reflux valve in every button. I hope the instructions and website are exaggerating about having to clean it with a Q tip each time to clear it.


Charm