Mom has been home for 4 weeks now with my sister as her primary cg. She does have a home health agency but visits are too infrequent and short and we were "penalized" for a Saturday visit (feeding tube #1 blockage) so they didn't really visit the following week. Long story short is that Mom's care not up to par. Anyway, here we are with a clogged J tube just 2 weeks into its life! Part of the problem (besides not having experience) is perhaps the formula's density/fiber. Mom is taking Osmolite 1.5, about 75 rate/12 hour total overnight. She's 90 lbs, so we need the calories. We like the flexibility of not being tied to the feed pole, but could add more hours if needed. She's tolerating this formula really well. Any recs on formulas would be greatly appreciated. I seem to be in the majority here when I say that y'alls information and help is (sadly) much much more valuable amd relevant than the docs and health professionals we see.
Hello Trishga. Is your sister having to do the tube feedings herself while your Mom is in the longterm care hospital? Is your Mom also getting medication through the feeding tube? An important part of care of a feeding tube is frequent and adequate flushing after it has been used and I would think adding some water between perhaps each 2 cans of formula. If it is being used for medications they must be well crushed and the tube flushed by at least 3oz. of water folloging administration of the medication. You may be able to clear the tube with gentle plunging with a 2oz. syringe (no smaller should be used or could damage the tube)containing warm water. If that fails try plunging with pineapple juice and even letting the syringe of juice stay connected to the tube following plunging if it does not clear right away. Sometimes the acidity of the juice will dissolve the blockage. Hope that helps. Goodluck. I have had much experience dealing with feeding tubes during my nursing career and also as a caregiver when my hubby was ill.
Add water to the formula. When getting ready to do the feedings flush the tube with a full 60cc of water. Since you know the formula will clog the tube, try flushing it part way thru the feeding. I do this all the time during the night. I also add a can of water to every can of formula. You are going to need to experiment a little bit until you get the hang of this. How about putting the rate up just a little? Try instead of running the speed at 75 turn it up to 95. A faster speed should also help to avoid the clogs, and by increasing it only 20 ml an hour it should not bother your mother's digestive system.
It take ALOT of trial and error until you can perfect the feedings. I know you can get this! I think that adding water and doing a few flushes will help but also increasing the rate just a little will work.
If you are not satisfied with the home health aid people, there should be other agencies available. You can ask for a different nurse if that is the issue or switch companies.
Good luck!!!