G-tube pump problems (which type do you prefer?)

[Guest guest]

I want to get some opinions here concerning which pumps are the

best to use. We have a Pet Kangeroo which we use for Asenath and

love. Never been a problem in a year and a half. Thankfully we only

use it at night for her usually or for one hour during the day at

most so we don't usually have to use the backpack unless we are out

of town because they are very large and weird shaped.

BUT...Zipporrah's pump has been the Zevex Enteralite. We have went

through 4 in less than 3 months!!! They even gave us a brand new one

and it stopped working only two months later, the day before

yesterday. They are great for portability, but so sensitive to the

flo of the formula, air bubbles, etc. Benefiber was a nightmare

going through it. We are tired of trading in pumps for another one

that doesn't work. Pretty soon our insurance will buy the pump and

we will be stuck with it. Even though the repairs would be covered

by insurance, the hassle of constantly getting another one when it

stops working and to get a backup for every Mayo trip. It is really

getting old.

WHAT PUMS DO YOU LIKE FOR PORTABILITY AND RELIABILITY???

Darla: mommy to Asenath, Zipporrah, and the gang

[Guest guest]

Hi Darla,

We use a Ross Companion ClearStar Pump. I love it! See it at

http://rpdcon40.ross.com/mn/Ross+MN+Nutritional+Products.nsf/web_Ross.com_XML/73\

08610D4D46CDF9852568B90052EC59?OpenDocument

Sue & Jack, worn out parents to the greatests kids on earth, Las Vegas, NV--

(14) & Billy (12)--both with Leigh's Disease (?), MR (mild), g-tube.

Billy--fundo, trach (larynotracheomalacia), vent 24/7, nice straight spine

(thanks to rods!). Chris-no left hip socket! Visit us!

http://members.cox.net/jscb

> WHAT PUMS DO YOU LIKE FOR PORTABILITY AND RELIABILITY???

[Guest guest]

--Hi Darla

We've used both the kangaroo pet and the Zevex entralite. The

kangaroo pet is absolutely useless for a kid on continuous feeds

unless they're in a chair full time. Even when was at the

rolling/squirming stage she would knock the pump over and it would

beep. It's very reliable on a pole and can be set for intermittent

feeds, theoretically to do boluses during the night.

uses the zevex presently. It's much more portable but a

little testier. uses neocate one+ and it's a powder. We

have to use hot water and let the formula sit for half an hour before

we put it in the pump. It also reads every little kink in the tubing

as a occlusion. There are 2 little squishy gray sensors that we rub

a qtip across to clean daily. That has helped a lot. There are a

million different error messages that mean everything from the

battery is low to dirty sensor to send it in for calibration.

I would definitely recommend a kangaroo pet for a backup pump. The

bags are easy to clean and reuse. The bags can be used for gravity

feeds if you want. A mobile kid would be much happier with a zevex

but the bags are very expensive and the inside of the bags are

impossible to clean. There's no drip chamber so gravity feeds are

out of the question.

I bet it's the fiber that's causing the problem. Any chance you

could do the fiber by small frequent boluses rather than mixing it

with the formula?

There's another pump called Embrace that's supposed to be comparable

to zevex. There's also the flexiflo pump that has a hard plastic

formula container but no drip chamber, it's an accordion thing that

pushes in the formula. I think it would be pretty bulky to put in a

backpack.

Is Zipporrah on continuous feeds? Is there a chance she could go

onto boluses during the day? If that's the case you might be better

off with the kangaroo, especially with the fiber problem.

Good luck!

If anyone is interested in pictures of the zevex pump and

wearing hers to figure out proportions, let me know and I will post

one.

Take care

Heidi, 's Mom

- In Mito , " Darla Klein " wrote:

> I want to get some opinions here concerning which pumps are

the

> best to use. We have a Pet Kangeroo which we use for Asenath and

> love. Never been a problem in a year and a half. Thankfully we

only

> use it at night for her usually or for one hour during the day at

> most so we don't usually have to use the backpack unless we are out

> of town because they are very large and weird shaped.

> BUT...Zipporrah's pump has been the Zevex Enteralite. We have went

> through 4 in less than 3 months!!! They even gave us a brand new

one

> and it stopped working only two months later, the day before

> yesterday. They are great for portability, but so sensitive to the

> flo of the formula, air bubbles, etc. Benefiber was a nightmare

> going through it. We are tired of trading in pumps for another one

> that doesn't work. Pretty soon our insurance will buy the pump and

> we will be stuck with it. Even though the repairs would be covered

> by insurance, the hassle of constantly getting another one when it

> stops working and to get a backup for every Mayo trip. It is

really

> getting old.

> WHAT PUMS DO YOU LIKE FOR PORTABILITY AND RELIABILITY???

>

> Darla: mommy to Asenath, Zipporrah, and the gang

[Guest guest]

Darla,

Our DME switched to the Ross Embrace pump. It is light weight, comes with a pediatric backpack and really has limited our alarms through the night as Lucas is on a pump 20-21 hours a day. The bags are extremely sturdy and after gettting this in about Sept. of last year we have never had to call our DME company due to any issues. I highly recommend it. We have used both the Kangaroo and the Zevex prior since Lucas has been tube fed for over 4 years. Here is the link to the website: ross.com. The backpack shown is not the pediatric backpack. The backpack is the same size and shape as the Zevex pediatric backpack. HTH,

Loriann

[Guest guest]

Hi Darla,

Our daughter Akasha (Kai) has had her kangaroo pump... the pet for over 6yrs now... and the only problem we had was we had to replace the battery last year... we take it everywhere and do everything with it... we took it to Disney 3yrs ago and it was great... we just pumped water to her the whole day so that the heat didn't get to her... I personally love it... and I think we will get another when this one finally dies...

Hope this has helped...

Annette, mom to Akasha (undiagnosed), Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDarla Klein wrote:

I want to get some opinions here concerning which pumps are the best to use. We have a Pet Kangeroo which we use for Asenath and love. Never been a problem in a year and a half. Thankfully we only use it at night for her usually or for one hour during the day at most so we don't usually have to use the backpack unless we are out of town because they are very large and weird shaped. BUT...Zipporrah's pump has been the Zevex Enteralite. We have went through 4 in less than 3 months!!! They even gave us a brand new one and it stopped working only two months later, the day before yesterday. They are great for portability, but so sensitive to the flo of the formula, air bubbles, etc. Benefiber was a nightmare going through it. We are tired of trading in pumps for

another one that doesn't work. Pretty soon our insurance will buy the pump and we will be stuck with it. Even though the repairs would be covered by insurance, the hassle of constantly getting another one when it stops working and to get a backup for every Mayo trip. It is really getting old.WHAT PUMS DO YOU LIKE FOR PORTABILITY AND RELIABILITY???Darla: mommy to Asenath, Zipporrah, and the gang Please contact mito-owner with any problems or questions. Post your free ad now! Yahoo! Canada Personals