Can You Live a Normal Life With a Feeding Tube
By Juliette Soelberg, MS, RD, LDN
Updated by Kimberly Brown, MS, RD/LD
If y'all are a patient or yous know a patient who has a new feeding tube, then you lot might have a lot of questions — you aren't alone! Finding answers to your initial questions will ease your heed and remind you lot just how helpful feeding tubes can be!
1. Is there simply one type of feeding tube?
There are many different types of feeding tubes, and each 1 has its ain purpose. One blazon of feeding tube provides formula into the stomach , and another type of feeding tube tin featherbed the pyloric sphincter to infuse formula straight into the small intestine . In that location is fifty-fifty a type of feeding tube that has 2 ends, one that goes in the stomach and i that goes in the small intestine .
Feeding tubes are named past how they are placed in the torso and where the end of the tube is located in the torso. For example, if someone has a tube placed through his/her olfactory organ and the stop of the tube is located in their stomach, information technology is called a nasogastric tube (" naso " for nose and "gastro" for tum). If you have a feeding tube that was endoscopically placed and information technology is positioned in the tummy, then it is called a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (or a PEG). Another kind of tube is chosen a jejun ostomy – the stop of this tube lies in the jejunum (the second part of the small intestine).
2. If someone has a feeding tube, will they ever exist able to eat "real" nutrient?
There are many different reasons why patients have feeding tubes, and some of these reasons make it difficult or dangerous to eat by mouth . Withal, this is not the case for everyone. Patients should consult with their dr. and/or a speech language pathologist to make up one's mind if swallowing food is prophylactic for them. If an individual tin eat by mouth safely, and so he/she can eat food and supplement with tube feeding if necessary. Eating nutrient will not cause impairment to the tube, nor does having a feeding tube make information technology unsafe to eat.
3. Does a feeding tube stay in forever?
Feeding tubes are wonderful tools to help clients of all ages get the nutrition they demand. Often , feeding tubes are placed temporarily to help patients overcome acute illnesses and/or surgeries. If a patient is going to have a feeding tube for longer than 4 weeks, it is typically recommended to identify a more long-term tube , such equally a PEG. For some individuals, feeding tubes may be a life-long feeding solution . Especially for those who may accept altered GI systems, malabsorption issues, o r a permanent swallowing take a chance, to proper noun a few.
4. Do you have to stay in the infirmary if you have a feeding tube?
Some patients who have feeding tubes are in the infirmary and may be very ill. And some individuals with long-term feeding tubes are living at abode and tin still maintain an agile lifestyle. Formula can be provided at a continuous rate (given over 24 hours) or given cyclic rate (eastward .g., 12 hours overnight). Others may be given a bolus feed, which is a larger corporeality given at specific times throughout the day. All of these are viable options , and the all-time formula regimen can be determined with the help of a registered dietitian.
5. What type of diet can be administered through a feeding tube?
Some patients crave special formulas, but many want to consume existent food . Formulas are convenient and helpful to some pat ients , but the options aren't just limited to formulas for diet. A patient tin can alloy upwards his/her repast into a thin mixture and deliver it right into the feeding tube without whatever formula. They receive all their nutrients from nutrient just like those wh o consume by oral cavity. Food doesn't lose its nutrition when it'south blended, so it's a good pick for those who can tolerate it. Be sure to consult with a registered dietitian, if you lot are interested in using blenderized food for your feeding tube.
Food doesn't lose its diet when information technology's blended, so information technology'southward a good selection for those who tin can tolerate it. Be certain to consult with a registered dietitian, if yous are interested in using blenderized food for your feeding tube.
Juliette Soelberg, MS, RD, LDN works as a clinical dietitian, and her feel ranges from long- and short-term rehab to outpatient counseling to critical care. Kimberly Brown, MS, RD, LD is a clinical dietitian currently working at a grand+ bed facility in Oklahoma. She has spent a majority of her career working in intensive care, including Level 1 trauma/burn, cardiothoracic, and medical ICU.
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Source: https://dietitiansondemand.com/top-5-questions-and-misconceptions-about-feeding-tubes/
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