Tube Talk
As a polio survivor, one of my priorities must be to prevent overuse damage. Thus I’m constantly looking for ways to prevent putting undue stress on my body. These tips might help tube users with arthritis and other degenerative conditions.
After
a few months of bolus feedings with a 60 cc syringe and plunger, I realized that
continuing to hold my syringe, use the plunger, and open the tab top cans would
ruin my hands — my ticket to independence. The repetitive motion and pressure of
the feedings were doing me in. I tried Kangaroo bags on a pole, but that didn’t
work. So I asked for a home health occupational therapist (OT) who had
experience with feeding-tube users. She and I began looking for simple
alternatives to do feedings, such as a makeshift syringe holder that I could
comfortably connect from a sitting position.
I discovered a hair dryer holder (see photo) in the Wright Stuff catalogue (www.wrightstuff.biz or 877-750-0376) and the OT custom-molded a piece from splinting material that would fit it and hold the syringe. I have used the adapted feeding-tube holder for over a year. The base slips under my legs and anchors firmly in place.
I
also found a “3-in-1” can opener that takes all the stress off my wrist and
fingers (www.sammonspreston.com/Supply/product-list.asp?subsection=1623).
My OT identified appropriate wrist and hand splints and customized them for me.
All these small changes have enabled me to keep doing my own feedings with no
stress on my body.
— Marie Latta
latta@mindspring.com
Since I’m one of those rare enteral feeders who makes his own blends, I have complete control of my diet. I usually prepare two gallons of blend out of chicken, potatoes, mixed vegetables, a can of tuna, maybe some peanut butter, and often a dose of raisins. After boiling the concoction, I let it cool, then blend it and put it in quart jars. I use the blend for noon and late afternoon. For breakfast, I make a blend of oat cereal.
Once or twice a week my wife Ann and I eat at a fashionable restaurant. For variety, it’s good to go out to eat. After Ann orders a meal to eat in, I order a full meal for later blending. When I tell the waitperson I want to carry my meal home, I usually receive a blank look. Rarely, the waitperson will inquire about my reason, so I tell my story in about twenty-five words or less.
When I later set up my blending operation at home, I often split the carryout food into two or three portions. I find my digestive system is more receptive to strange food if I mix oat cereal with the restaurant food. I guess you could call the oats my buffer food.
I have to avoid broccoli and breads with large seeds. The broccoli is a diuretic and the seeds won’t blend and pass through my tube. Otherwise, any nutritious food is acceptable. The stronger flavors like chili give me a mild taste sensation in my mouth for a while after ingesting them.
— Robert Flute Snyder, DMA
fluteduo@aol.com