Help regarding tube feeding

There are formulas like Kate's Farms or Boost or you can go the real food route like Real Food Blends or Functional Formula. When I had a feeding tube I felt the real food was easier on the digestive system. Tube feeding can cause very loose stools or diarrhea so banana chips which can be bought on Amazon will nip it in the bud quick. You see less of that using the real food tube feeding versus formula. If you do a Google search it will bring up the the Real Food blends website and some other ones. Also if you are using a health care company for your supplies they can send them to you.

The banana flakes can go right in the tube feeding, no need to do anything to them and it will get rid of the loose stools in a day! Here is a link to them https://www.vitalitymedical.com/prebiotic-nana-flakes.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA4NWrBhD-ARIsAFCKwWsyTDd4LU4a9uuR7GehG4aqxSTmmjnKCI6fGP5VHIWTkEVu1AKbjn8aAv4gEALw_wcB

Real food blends was a good tube feeding food, they also have snacks you can tube feed. I did a mixture of this and a little of the Boost high calorie.

Also functional formularies Liquid Hope is great for tube feeding and well tolerated, you can buy it off their website I bought mine off ebay cheaper but here is the link

https://www.functionalformularies.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4NWrBhD-ARIsAFCKwWvP14Z_f6oIMQMVS1ofc5MO6cr8w0K2bt-KknRYAZLSwwXlCxWY-CAaAnWWEALw_wcB

If your going to be on a tube feeding for any length of time I highly suggest you make your own food. Formula's like Ensure and Kate Farms are great for supplementing and also I personally use Kate Farms for the liquid portion of my home made feeding blend. I am almost 5 years now unfortunately 100% tube fed and I make all my own food. Basically you eat what you would normally eat everyday. I load my Vitamix with Protien, Starch, Fruit and vegetables every day. Dont forget the starch or you will not have energy. My Vitamix keeps me alive. The Nutri Bullet is also excellent but smaller so i use it when traveling and It works well. Also the containers on the Bullet work for storage. I usually make a full blender in the vitamix and pour it into 2 of the bullet containers and throw em in the ice chest for short trips. Prior to using home foods I used formula but its just not what what you want for long term. As soon as I started on regular foods my stomach went back to normal as did my over all health and my weight went back up also. Real Foods Blend is also another option available pre- prepared option that I have used for convenience of traveling. Complete brand is another similar brand but I have yet to try that one.

Hope this helps.

Dealing with Hyper granulated skin around the G-tube is a pain.

I have lots of experience and happy to share

Mark

Hi Suzan, Glad i could be of a little help. Your right about not lots of support out there but there is. Sounds like you have many similar issues and some that don't have also. My voice has forever changed and is getting worse. I do have some radiation side effects that I see next to nobody else having all the while my expert team at Stanford claim 1 in 5 have the same results. I don't see them. Anyhow, moving on, As for the blender, there's only 1 setting and there is only 1 blender and that is the Vita Mix. ANY OTHER is a waste of money. I have used several over th eyears and had a Vita Mix long before i ever had Cancer. It can liquefy an avocado Pit. It doesn't need to be that thin for the G-tube either but liquid is a must and I use Kate farms which is paid for by insurance. Also like I said previously the same exact foods that you normally eat. Steak, baked potatoes, bacon and eggs, sandwiches of all sorts, chicken, fish, you name it. Lately I throw in a can of sardines for extra calories and hi protein quality fat as well. There is no end to what you can use an no constraints because of g-tube. The vitamix takes care of all of it. Let me tell you the difference is night and day. Formula for survival is fine but long term would be a slow death for me. I usually drink a kate farms or an insure enlive for a snack but its not always easy because drinking anything is very challenging. As for products I have only used one and that is Real Food Blends as the ingredients are hands down the best with zero added crap. Their shelf life is also incredible and no refrigeration needed. I keep a case or 2 in my closet always for unexpected travel. I even convinced TSA to allow them on an international flight recently. Also Real Foods Blends are covered by many insurance co's. Also the Nutri Bullet is just as powerful as the Vita mix but much smaller. I have one and my kids have them also so when i travel it helps. They work just as good but just smaller amounts at a time

I try and make a full blender with vitamix and it will last usually a day and a half. then i can add if choose depending on what my wife and I are cooking for dinner that day. I really didn't gain much weight with real food but I stopped losing weight and that was great. Also my stomach went back to normal and my energy returned.

Hope this helps

I have tons more of info. Good Luck

One other thing I forgot. The Oley Foundation does have some helpful info. https://oley.org/

Its not the best website but there is some value there.

Mark

Liquid Hope is awesome! I used it and the ingredients are great and it is easy for your body to digest.

Thx Goffrey! Going to mention it to my dietician. I had a friend who passed away from severe radiation after affects. She had base of the tongue and tonsil cancer. They blasted her with cisplatin and taxol. Long story short, I sent her few cartons of my formula which she said was no good. At the time it was the Osmolite 1.5. She was on a FT short time but used Orgain which is plant based with no added junk. She swore by it. Think it's on the same lines asxLiquid Hope and Natural foods blends.

Susan

No that at all. I can tolerate the formula no problem but I just can not see living on all those chemicals VS real whole foods. There just is no comparison. Also, bowel movements are perfectly normal on blenderized foods. On formula long term while it didn't bother my stomach it bowel movements could be challenging.

When you get to that place i would be happy to help on the blenderized foods and the Real Foods Blends have ZERO added ingredients. Just pure food and usually only 3 or 4 ingredients. Very clean.

Thx for the clarification. Real food the best for your your nutrition. I agree with you. Does liquid Hope have zero added ingredients and clean also?

Liquid Hope is clean and all organic. It is a bit more expensive but it is complete nutrition.

OK so the formula. As mentioned by others Real food blends not perfect. But is whole foods and its not liquid. I rarely use it as I do mostly blenderized. I take a few Real Foods packets when i travels and mix with Kate farms. Also I take a couple containers of blenderized as well. You just cant beat blenderized food. The same exact food you would normally eat in a blender. No-body will convince me that a **** ton chemicals thats in formula will give you the same quality of life. I am 63 years young and super healthy luckily. I just cant swallow my own saliva let alone food. As mentioned above by some if Real foods blends is not 100% then use a supplement and use the blenderized.

I use an Ensure Enlive or a Kate farms almost every day and sometimes two. But always one of them in the blenderized food to provide the needed liquid for food blender consistency. Coming up on 5 years now and wouldn't change for anything. I am 63 years young and originally got scc hbot stage 4 cancer in 2010 when i was 49.

Didn't really think I would still be alive now. Long ago the medical field didn't have long term survival for our types so now that people have survived they are learning more and more but limited info for us long term survivors.

Especially the long term radiation effects.

Mark

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