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Feeding Tube Awareness Day 3 and 4

What Joan couldn't manage to post everyday for a week? Shocker right? 3 for 4 isn't bad though. So the topic I missed was feeding tube myths! Boy have I heard a lot of those!

Myth 1: You need to be in the hospital if you have a feeding tube. (Thanks Red Band Society for keeping this one alive and well)

Truth: Actually feeding tubes keep people out of the hospital. Feeding tubes allow people who are unable to eat enough food orally to stay out of the hospital. If you are like me and need constant fluids as well as the calories then if the feeding tube is unusable even for a few hours you end up in the ER but as long as the tube works you are good to go!

Myth 2: Only babies, the elderly and coma patients have feeding tubes.

Truth: There are actually over 300 reasons a person may need a feeding tube. Many of these can affect people of any age and they do not always look sick.

Myth 3: You look too healthy to need a feeding tube.

Truth: Many people with feeding tubes look healthy because they are healthy thanks to their feeding tube.

Myth 4: People with feeding tubes do not eat at all.

Truth: Many people use feeding tubes as a supplement to their oral diet. My ability to eat or not fluctuates depending on my med cycles. A feeding tube does not stop a person from being able to eat.

NYC Adventures Brought to You by a Feeding Tube

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Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 10, 2015 at 2:11 AM

    Hi, I'm a patient at CHOP with gastroparesis (and JIA and AMPS!). I stumbled upon your blog while researching NJ and GJ tubes. I was wondering if you could talk about your GJ tube surgery and recovery - it's hard to find patient experiences online. I'm a college student too, so if it's placed during the semester, I would have to deal with it away from home.
    Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. life with a flareMarch 10, 2015 at 3:13 PM

    My comment has been deleted twice now because blooger logged me out without saving it. Email me at tue96009@temple.edu and I will respond in more detail and would be happy to answer any questions you have. It is super awesome to connect with another college student with such similar conditions.

    ReplyDelete

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