Re: High Cholesterol & Weight Gain (Kim)

[Guest guest]

Hi Kim,

Thanks for taking the time to educate me further. I can see things

have not been easy for you and .

When you say he is fed a balanced nutritional formula, I would be

curious as to what the specific ingredients are that make up his

formula.

Beth

>

> Beth,

>

> There are 2 different types of tubes you can attach to a button to

bolus feed through. One

> is thicker than the other, but the problem occurs because of the

diameter of the hole on

> the inside of the g-tube. You can use a syringe with a plunger to

push the contents in,

> but if it clogs, this is sometimes hard to do. I never use th

plunger with , because

> then I am unable to vent the air (gas) from his stomach & this

really hurts him.

>

> G-tube kids are primarily fed a balanced nutrition formula (though

some are higher in

> sugars than others). Many g-tube kids, including mine, consume

little or nothing by

> mouth for various reasons (lack of hunger, severe reflux, delayed

gastric emptying,

> sensory disintegration disorders, oral aversion, etc.) is

probably one of the more

> severe kids with respect to all of these problems. In addition,

he was in the NICU initially

> for 7.5 months. He was on a ventilator for 2 months & had all

sorts of other tubes & wires

> through his mouth & other parts of his body. He wasn't stable

enough to be given a bottle

> or anything else by mouth until he was 4 months old, and then at

that point he not only

> did not have the skills, but he couldn't handle it respiratory-

wise. He had a SEVERE oral

> aversion due to all the tubes that were forced down his

throat/nose all those months

> (ventilator, nasal cannula for oxygen, NG tube, pH probe - you

name it - he had it!).

> Unfortunately for him, his problem persisted much longer than the

norm. Luckily, many

> children who have oral aversions such as his, are able to overcome

their issues given time

> and appropriate amounts of therapy.

>

> Kim

>

>

> > Hi Kim,

> >

> > I am not overly familiar with G-tubes since never

needed

> > one. Is it that the tube diameter is too small for the texture

of

> > protein? Do all G-tube kids only eat carbohydrates because of

this

> > problem? I assume they must eat some protein via the mouth.

> >

> > Interesting comments about the 2 week therapy program being all

> > simple carbohydrates.

> >

> > Beth

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Beth,

In one can, there are 375 calories, 15g protein, 42.3g carbs, 16.9g fat, 194ml

water, &

then about 30 vitamins & minerals. The volume to meet 100% RDI is 1000ml (4

cans). He

is getting 6 cans per day right now, but depending on how quickly he gains

weight, we

may decrease this to 5 cans per day.

Kim

> Hi Kim,

>

> Thanks for taking the time to educate me further. I can see things

> have not been easy for you and .

>

> When you say he is fed a balanced nutritional formula, I would be

> curious as to what the specific ingredients are that make up his

> formula.

>

> Beth

>

>

>

> >

> > Beth,

> >

> > There are 2 different types of tubes you can attach to a button to

> bolus feed through. One

> > is thicker than the other, but the problem occurs because of the

> diameter of the hole on

> > the inside of the g-tube. You can use a syringe with a plunger to

> push the contents in,

> > but if it clogs, this is sometimes hard to do. I never use th

> plunger with , because

> > then I am unable to vent the air (gas) from his stomach & this

> really hurts him.

> >

> > G-tube kids are primarily fed a balanced nutrition formula (though

> some are higher in

> > sugars than others). Many g-tube kids, including mine, consume

> little or nothing by

> > mouth for various reasons (lack of hunger, severe reflux, delayed

> gastric emptying,

> > sensory disintegration disorders, oral aversion, etc.) is

> probably one of the more

> > severe kids with respect to all of these problems. In addition,

> he was in the NICU initially

> > for 7.5 months. He was on a ventilator for 2 months & had all

> sorts of other tubes & wires

> > through his mouth & other parts of his body. He wasn't stable

> enough to be given a bottle

> > or anything else by mouth until he was 4 months old, and then at

> that point he not only

> > did not have the skills, but he couldn't handle it respiratory-

> wise. He had a SEVERE oral

> > aversion due to all the tubes that were forced down his

> throat/nose all those months

> > (ventilator, nasal cannula for oxygen, NG tube, pH probe - you

> name it - he had it!).

> > Unfortunately for him, his problem persisted much longer than the

> norm. Luckily, many

> > children who have oral aversions such as his, are able to overcome

> their issues given time

> > and appropriate amounts of therapy.

> >

> > Kim

> >

> >

> > > Hi Kim,

> > >

> > > I am not overly familiar with G-tubes since never

> needed

> > > one. Is it that the tube diameter is too small for the texture

> of

> > > protein? Do all G-tube kids only eat carbohydrates because of

> this

> > > problem? I assume they must eat some protein via the mouth.

> > >

> > > Interesting comments about the 2 week therapy program being all

> > > simple carbohydrates.

> > >

> > > Beth

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

Hey Kim,

With the EleCare, it lists the breakdown per 100kcal. takes in

approximately 653 kcal per day. So it a 24hour period gets:

19.65g of Protein

31g of Fat

69.87g of Carbohydrates

Plus 30 assorted vitamins and minerals.

But what should a 23# child get, as a " normal " breakdown of protein, fats,

and carbs???

Do you understand Osmolality??? This says that 30kcal/fl oz = 551 mOsm/kg???

goes through 2 cans every 3 days. The last time we bought a can it

cost $51.50!! Not a cheap way to feed a kid, huh???

Pat (g-ma to , RSS, 3 yrs old, 23.5# (10.7kg), 32.8 " (83.3cm),

G-Tube)

[Guest guest]

Pat,

Unfortunately, I don't know what the " norm " is for kids who are fed without

g-tubes in

terms of protein, fats, and carbs. Osmolality has to do with the concentration

of the

formula. In 's calories, he gets 1 calorie/oz. 's formula has

1.5

calories.oz. There are also formulas that have 2 calories.oz. It is dangerous

to switch to a

more concentrated formula without the advice of a doctor, because a child can

become

constipated or have kidney problems. The more concentrated formulas are

typically for

someone on fluid restriction. $51.50/can is preety steep! I assume since you

are using 2

cans every 3 days that these are larger than 8 oz. cans.

Kim

> Hey Kim,

>

> With the EleCare, it lists the breakdown per 100kcal. takes in

> approximately 653 kcal per day. So it a 24hour period gets:

>

> 19.65g of Protein

> 31g of Fat

> 69.87g of Carbohydrates

> Plus 30 assorted vitamins and minerals.

>

> But what should a 23# child get, as a " normal " breakdown of protein, fats,

> and carbs???

>

> Do you understand Osmolality??? This says that 30kcal/fl oz = 551 mOsm/kg???

>

> goes through 2 cans every 3 days. The last time we bought a can it

> cost $51.50!! Not a cheap way to feed a kid, huh???

>

> Pat (g-ma to , RSS, 3 yrs old, 23.5# (10.7kg), 32.8 " (83.3cm),

> G-Tube)