Gary

Stephen is on 100% tube feed. He has had it since March and it has kept him alive. He uses nutritonal drinks that we get thru our medical insurance and they are mailed to us monthly. He takes in 9 cans a day = 2,700 calories. One to two cans tops via bollus feed which is thru the syringe. You need to do these very slowly holding it low so the gravity feed is slower or it will come right back up (via your mouth..)don't hold it too low or it will come back up thru the syringe(made that mistake a time or two). Stephen didn't tolerate the bolus feed too well and it was also difficult getting nine cans in a day doing one or two at a time with a few hours to digest in between(very time consuming) so we got a pump which you can use at night and its worked out great for us. It hooks up to an I.V pole and you fill a bag and connect it to the end of your tube and it slowly pumps all night while you sleep. You have to get used to the sound and it is a pain to get up and down to the bathroom but keep it in mind if you have trouble.

A couple of things on the tube...

*Ask for the holders that you can tape next to the tube site and it holds the tubing in place so its not flailing around. They last for a few weeks and then you can put a new one on when it wears out.

*Get extra tops with the caps on them for the end of the tube because they get stretched out and then when the caps comes off you can have major leakage.

*You'll be sore for several days after and it takes getting used to..my husband was very skittish about anyone getting near that area after but he got used to it.

*Gatorade thru the tube for electrolytes.

*A q-tip with some hydrogen peroxide around the site cleans it nicely. I put neosporin if it started to look red.

*Our nutritionist told us not to use the plunger for anything, just gravity feeds and just flush with water after each feed via gravity as well.

*My best advice is to do slow feeds and keep still after for a little bit. Stephen was on a drug called Reglan for awhile when he first started to help the body get used to and accept the tube feeds without nausea.

Anyway, that was our experience...I hope it helps some.
Good Luck and let me know if you have any questions on any of it.