G-Tube

[jfarel]

I am 27 years old and had a g-tube put in back in December. Probably should have had this done years ago. Even though I was a relatively healthy child, I have always been chronically underweight. Not sure what percentile, but when I was in 7th grade I was 5' tall and 75 pounds.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I think it would have been good to get one as kid. Sure it would have been kind of embarrassing and I would have hated having it as a teenage boy, but I really think it would have made me healthier and better able to fight infections.

I have the gtube now and have had it for about 6 weeks. I've been sick on and off, so its been tough to gain weight, but I've still gained six or eight pounds.

For parents considering this option for your kids or teens, listen to your doctor, the G-Tube is not that bad. I think its a great way to keep your kid healthy and fight off infections. I wish I hadn't been so resistant to it for so long.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[jfarel]

I am 27 years old and had a g-tube put in back in December. Probably should have had this done years ago. Even though I was a relatively healthy child, I have always been chronically underweight. Not sure what percentile, but when I was in 7th grade I was 5' tall and 75 pounds.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I think it would have been good to get one as kid. Sure it would have been kind of embarrassing and I would have hated having it as a teenage boy, but I really think it would have made me healthier and better able to fight infections.

I have the gtube now and have had it for about 6 weeks. I've been sick on and off, so its been tough to gain weight, but I've still gained six or eight pounds.

For parents considering this option for your kids or teens, listen to your doctor, the G-Tube is not that bad. I think its a great way to keep your kid healthy and fight off infections. I wish I hadn't been so resistant to it for so long.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[jfarel]

I am 27 years old and had a g-tube put in back in December. Probably should have had this done years ago. Even though I was a relatively healthy child, I have always been chronically underweight. Not sure what percentile, but when I was in 7th grade I was 5' tall and 75 pounds.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I think it would have been good to get one as kid. Sure it would have been kind of embarrassing and I would have hated having it as a teenage boy, but I really think it would have made me healthier and better able to fight infections.

I have the gtube now and have had it for about 6 weeks. I've been sick on and off, so its been tough to gain weight, but I've still gained six or eight pounds.

For parents considering this option for your kids or teens, listen to your doctor, the G-Tube is not that bad. I think its a great way to keep your kid healthy and fight off infections. I wish I hadn't been so resistant to it for so long.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[jfarel]

I am 27 years old and had a g-tube put in back in December. Probably should have had this done years ago. Even though I was a relatively healthy child, I have always been chronically underweight. Not sure what percentile, but when I was in 7th grade I was 5' tall and 75 pounds.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I think it would have been good to get one as kid. Sure it would have been kind of embarrassing and I would have hated having it as a teenage boy, but I really think it would have made me healthier and better able to fight infections.

I have the gtube now and have had it for about 6 weeks. I've been sick on and off, so its been tough to gain weight, but I've still gained six or eight pounds.

For parents considering this option for your kids or teens, listen to your doctor, the G-Tube is not that bad. I think its a great way to keep your kid healthy and fight off infections. I wish I hadn't been so resistant to it for so long.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[jfarel]

I am 27 years old and had a g-tube put in back in December. Probably should have had this done years ago. Even though I was a relatively healthy child, I have always been chronically underweight. Not sure what percentile, but when I was in 7th grade I was 5' tall and 75 pounds.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I think it would have been good to get one as kid. Sure it would have been kind of embarrassing and I would have hated having it as a teenage boy, but I really think it would have made me healthier and better able to fight infections.

I have the gtube now and have had it for about 6 weeks. I've been sick on and off, so its been tough to gain weight, but I've still gained six or eight pounds.

For parents considering this option for your kids or teens, listen to your doctor, the G-Tube is not that bad. I think its a great way to keep your kid healthy and fight off infections. I wish I hadn't been so resistant to it for so long.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[pjspiegle]

We fought getting a g-tube put into our son and about 6 years ago we finally gave in. You are so right, it took away all the food battles and has been great for our son. He is 14, has had it since he was 8 and it doesn't bother him abit. He goes shirtless all the time and could care less what anyone thinks.

His nutrionist told him at his last visit they wish the CF kids could just be born with one. He thought she was funny. He was wanting to stop using it because he just wants a break from it so she bribbed him into either eating a 1000 calorie midnight snack or doing a bolus, if he does, she is giving him an I-Tunes gift card. I can see how it gets old sometimes for the kids but we really believe it is a very good thing, especially if there are weight issues. It just takes the whole food battle out of the picture, even if you have to negotiate with it sometimes the battles just are not there anymore. He has a choice, eat the calories he needs, or bolus the calories, he has complete control over which he chooses to do! He likes it because if he doesn't feel like eating, he can do a bolus and feels like he has more control because he knows he has choices. I don't have to worry because either way I know he is getting what he needs.

Glad to hear from an older CFer though. I am glad we didn't wait until it would have been a battle with him to get one. G-Tubes are a good thing!

 

[pjspiegle]

We fought getting a g-tube put into our son and about 6 years ago we finally gave in. You are so right, it took away all the food battles and has been great for our son. He is 14, has had it since he was 8 and it doesn't bother him abit. He goes shirtless all the time and could care less what anyone thinks.

His nutrionist told him at his last visit they wish the CF kids could just be born with one. He thought she was funny. He was wanting to stop using it because he just wants a break from it so she bribbed him into either eating a 1000 calorie midnight snack or doing a bolus, if he does, she is giving him an I-Tunes gift card. I can see how it gets old sometimes for the kids but we really believe it is a very good thing, especially if there are weight issues. It just takes the whole food battle out of the picture, even if you have to negotiate with it sometimes the battles just are not there anymore. He has a choice, eat the calories he needs, or bolus the calories, he has complete control over which he chooses to do! He likes it because if he doesn't feel like eating, he can do a bolus and feels like he has more control because he knows he has choices. I don't have to worry because either way I know he is getting what he needs.

Glad to hear from an older CFer though. I am glad we didn't wait until it would have been a battle with him to get one. G-Tubes are a good thing!

 

[pjspiegle]

We fought getting a g-tube put into our son and about 6 years ago we finally gave in. You are so right, it took away all the food battles and has been great for our son. He is 14, has had it since he was 8 and it doesn't bother him abit. He goes shirtless all the time and could care less what anyone thinks.

His nutrionist told him at his last visit they wish the CF kids could just be born with one. He thought she was funny. He was wanting to stop using it because he just wants a break from it so she bribbed him into either eating a 1000 calorie midnight snack or doing a bolus, if he does, she is giving him an I-Tunes gift card. I can see how it gets old sometimes for the kids but we really believe it is a very good thing, especially if there are weight issues. It just takes the whole food battle out of the picture, even if you have to negotiate with it sometimes the battles just are not there anymore. He has a choice, eat the calories he needs, or bolus the calories, he has complete control over which he chooses to do! He likes it because if he doesn't feel like eating, he can do a bolus and feels like he has more control because he knows he has choices. I don't have to worry because either way I know he is getting what he needs.

Glad to hear from an older CFer though. I am glad we didn't wait until it would have been a battle with him to get one. G-Tubes are a good thing!

 

[pjspiegle]

We fought getting a g-tube put into our son and about 6 years ago we finally gave in. You are so right, it took away all the food battles and has been great for our son. He is 14, has had it since he was 8 and it doesn't bother him abit. He goes shirtless all the time and could care less what anyone thinks.

His nutrionist told him at his last visit they wish the CF kids could just be born with one. He thought she was funny. He was wanting to stop using it because he just wants a break from it so she bribbed him into either eating a 1000 calorie midnight snack or doing a bolus, if he does, she is giving him an I-Tunes gift card. I can see how it gets old sometimes for the kids but we really believe it is a very good thing, especially if there are weight issues. It just takes the whole food battle out of the picture, even if you have to negotiate with it sometimes the battles just are not there anymore. He has a choice, eat the calories he needs, or bolus the calories, he has complete control over which he chooses to do! He likes it because if he doesn't feel like eating, he can do a bolus and feels like he has more control because he knows he has choices. I don't have to worry because either way I know he is getting what he needs.

Glad to hear from an older CFer though. I am glad we didn't wait until it would have been a battle with him to get one. G-Tubes are a good thing!

 

[pjspiegle]

We fought getting a g-tube put into our son and about 6 years ago we finally gave in. You are so right, it took away all the food battles and has been great for our son. He is 14, has had it since he was 8 and it doesn't bother him abit. He goes shirtless all the time and could care less what anyone thinks.

His nutrionist told him at his last visit they wish the CF kids could just be born with one. He thought she was funny. He was wanting to stop using it because he just wants a break from it so she bribbed him into either eating a 1000 calorie midnight snack or doing a bolus, if he does, she is giving him an I-Tunes gift card. I can see how it gets old sometimes for the kids but we really believe it is a very good thing, especially if there are weight issues. It just takes the whole food battle out of the picture, even if you have to negotiate with it sometimes the battles just are not there anymore. He has a choice, eat the calories he needs, or bolus the calories, he has complete control over which he chooses to do! He likes it because if he doesn't feel like eating, he can do a bolus and feels like he has more control because he knows he has choices. I don't have to worry because either way I know he is getting what he needs.

Glad to hear from an older CFer though. I am glad we didn't wait until it would have been a battle with him to get one. G-Tubes are a good thing!

 

[Jane]

It is much more common now for CF kids to get g-tubes. I would encourage any parent who is thinking about it. People spend way too much time and energy trying to make their kids eat. It causes frustration and guilt when they don't.
In our case it has made a substantial difference in the boys' overall health. Yes, it was hard, but well worth it.

I agree with you.

 

[Jane]

It is much more common now for CF kids to get g-tubes. I would encourage any parent who is thinking about it. People spend way too much time and energy trying to make their kids eat. It causes frustration and guilt when they don't.
In our case it has made a substantial difference in the boys' overall health. Yes, it was hard, but well worth it.

I agree with you.

 

[Jane]

It is much more common now for CF kids to get g-tubes. I would encourage any parent who is thinking about it. People spend way too much time and energy trying to make their kids eat. It causes frustration and guilt when they don't.
In our case it has made a substantial difference in the boys' overall health. Yes, it was hard, but well worth it.

I agree with you.

 

[Jane]

It is much more common now for CF kids to get g-tubes. I would encourage any parent who is thinking about it. People spend way too much time and energy trying to make their kids eat. It causes frustration and guilt when they don't.
In our case it has made a substantial difference in the boys' overall health. Yes, it was hard, but well worth it.

I agree with you.

 

[Jane]

It is much more common now for CF kids to get g-tubes. I would encourage any parent who is thinking about it. People spend way too much time and energy trying to make their kids eat. It causes frustration and guilt when they don't.
In our case it has made a substantial difference in the boys' overall health. Yes, it was hard, but well worth it.

I agree with you.

 

[izemmom]

I agree. I tried everything I could think of to avoid Emily getting one. But now that we have it, I am so glad we did it. It makes life much easier. We still have trouble pursuading Emily to sit down with us at meal times and eat, but we can stress less now, knowing that she will get some calories overnight. Her weight gain had not been spectacular, but, she doesnt' lose weight with every little bump in the road like she used to. That's good enough for me.

Aside from the minor annoyances like Walgreen's not delivering her feedig supplies on time, or waking up to a mess because she has figured out how to "Unlock" the tube from the MicKey button...it's all good.

I hope other parents who are contemplating the tube will see this thread. Thanks for starting it.

 

[izemmom]

I agree. I tried everything I could think of to avoid Emily getting one. But now that we have it, I am so glad we did it. It makes life much easier. We still have trouble pursuading Emily to sit down with us at meal times and eat, but we can stress less now, knowing that she will get some calories overnight. Her weight gain had not been spectacular, but, she doesnt' lose weight with every little bump in the road like she used to. That's good enough for me.

Aside from the minor annoyances like Walgreen's not delivering her feedig supplies on time, or waking up to a mess because she has figured out how to "Unlock" the tube from the MicKey button...it's all good.

I hope other parents who are contemplating the tube will see this thread. Thanks for starting it.

 

[izemmom]

I agree. I tried everything I could think of to avoid Emily getting one. But now that we have it, I am so glad we did it. It makes life much easier. We still have trouble pursuading Emily to sit down with us at meal times and eat, but we can stress less now, knowing that she will get some calories overnight. Her weight gain had not been spectacular, but, she doesnt' lose weight with every little bump in the road like she used to. That's good enough for me.

Aside from the minor annoyances like Walgreen's not delivering her feedig supplies on time, or waking up to a mess because she has figured out how to "Unlock" the tube from the MicKey button...it's all good.

I hope other parents who are contemplating the tube will see this thread. Thanks for starting it.

 

[izemmom]

I agree. I tried everything I could think of to avoid Emily getting one. But now that we have it, I am so glad we did it. It makes life much easier. We still have trouble pursuading Emily to sit down with us at meal times and eat, but we can stress less now, knowing that she will get some calories overnight. Her weight gain had not been spectacular, but, she doesnt' lose weight with every little bump in the road like she used to. That's good enough for me.

Aside from the minor annoyances like Walgreen's not delivering her feedig supplies on time, or waking up to a mess because she has figured out how to "Unlock" the tube from the MicKey button...it's all good.

I hope other parents who are contemplating the tube will see this thread. Thanks for starting it.

 

[izemmom]

I agree. I tried everything I could think of to avoid Emily getting one. But now that we have it, I am so glad we did it. It makes life much easier. We still have trouble pursuading Emily to sit down with us at meal times and eat, but we can stress less now, knowing that she will get some calories overnight. Her weight gain had not been spectacular, but, she doesnt' lose weight with every little bump in the road like she used to. That's good enough for me.

Aside from the minor annoyances like Walgreen's not delivering her feedig supplies on time, or waking up to a mess because she has figured out how to "Unlock" the tube from the MicKey button...it's all good.

I hope other parents who are contemplating the tube will see this thread. Thanks for starting it.