I need advice on helping my husband gain some weight on the feeding tube. He is 6 feet tall and been on the tube for 1 year and still at 130 lbs. Normal weight was 180. It has been a rough year. If I had it to do over we would not have gone this route. He was aspirating so much when eating we were advised to get the tube. Had 1 dilation then but no one stressed how important the exercises were to its success. After getting the tube he went downhill. It pretty much made him constantly sick and weak. I had to take a permanent leave from my job to give him constant care. In April we traveled to North Carolina from PA to see a doctor there doing new procedures with the scar tissue. He ended up in ICU at Wake Forest with sepsis and aspiration pneumonia again. I almost lost him that time and yes I am angry that no one told us you get more aspiration pneumonia with the tube. He got the TREAD treatment and changed his tube to a mic-key button. (The mic-key button is definitely the way to go!!! No tube hanging and I can change it myself) Found his stricture is all near the voice box. He actually puts slits in the scar tissue and injects with steroids. Went back 1 month later and got another dilation. Doctor was very happy with his progress and wanted him to eat soft foods. Was supposed to go back in September for another but got an abscessed tooth and found he was in danger of losing his jaw. Had 30 HBO dives and all his teeth out. I really thought this was the miracle we were praying for and he could get some semblance of a normal life back. He is on Boost - was giving 9 cans a day back in April and he did gain then up to 145. But after he was in ICU he was down to 127 lbs. Just switched to 7 per day - 4 Boost plus and 3 regular (2040 cal per day). He's too full and bloated. All he has to do is bend over and it comes up. But he doesn't do enough to get hungry. He gets up, puts boost and meds in, goes back to bed and watches TV on his wedge, repeat. This is his whole life. He won't leave the house, won't drive, won't answer his phone when friends or family call and this is just not him. He was a go-getter and a fighter who never stopped. He never let the cancer get him down. He was a avid outdoorsman and hunter. He says he can't do anything until he gains some weight and gets more energy. I can't make him understand the more he lays around the less energy he will have. He's afraid he will get sick from someone. And with it cold out he doesn't do his daily walk. Sorry for venting but I am very frustrated. He just turned 60. He says he is sick and miserable every day. It has been 6 months since he has had pneumonia which is great and 5 months since he has had any infections. His blood pressure is now normal without meds and his oxygen is 97. He should feel great. I just don't understand why he is miserable all the time. Back to my original question, is there anything I can give him that will help with weight gain (and energy) without all the volume. I have talked with the nutritionists but they just say boost and that it takes time. Well it has been 1 year. And I don't think the drip one is an option because then he would never get out of bed. We did try Nutren 1.5 a few months ago but it just made his stomach burn so switched back to boost. And he had a kidney transplant in 1989 so he only has one. I have to watch his protein intake because of that. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I know a lot of you have been down this road too and I really admire your positive attitudes and willingness to help others.