Considering going from an NG tube to a G tube and need some advice!!!

Alisia - posted on 04/01/2012

I think it would b better well my son had a NJ tube cause he can not keep nothing down but now he has a GJ tube its just like a g tube its easier to manage and its better I LOVE IT

Micaiah - posted on 10/19/2011

my daughter is going to have a g-tube put in this week i was a little reluctant to get it but once my daughter pulled out the ngt i was ready to get it.

Jessica - posted on 02/01/2010

My sone was born at 24wks and 4 days gestation. He had a g-tube placed a wk before he got out of the hospital. My husband and I were very hesitant at first but looking back we are glad that we did it. It is only a small "button" that sticks out from their belly. You are able to feed them easily through it and give them there medicationsf, which most taste gross anyway. You are able to hydrate them so the chance of them getting dehydrated is lessen. My son did have trouble with a few infections around the site at first but with proper care and antibiotics it cleared up no problem. My son has had is g-tube for 2yrs now and he doesnt evern know its there. He still gets fed through it at night and during the day he eats by mouth. He will probably have it another year but after that, bye bye g-tube. It is a scary thing but in the end it may be benificial to your child. Best of luck :)

Lorea - posted on 01/28/2010

my daughter had a ng tube right from birth too, she was born at 36 weeks. was 2lbs 12oz. we fed her orally and topped her up with the ngtub feedings,she has a soft cleft palate as well,just the inside of her palate, at 2 months old she had suddenly a paralized right vocal cord which caused her to aspirate. so no more oral feedings,our OT recomended that we go to a g tube because we did not know how long the parilized vocal cord would be paralized. so we thought and after alot of sleepless nights decided to do the surgery to put one in. the ng tube was starting to cause some irritation in her throat a few days before surgery.so good thing we did, this was @6 months old. at 9 months her vocal staarted to move very slowly, we could give her 5ml-10mls orally as first after another ENT scope we could give her more.but she still got most of her food(breastmilk/formula) through the g-tube.in june we started to feed her very small solids and cereals very thinned liquids, she did well,in aug @ 14 months we had her cleft palate surgery and she did awesome we were able to take her home earlier becuse of the g-tube feedings so this was great. feeding was going really good,slowly but she coped way better with food and bigger sizes, we were still topping her up with the g tube. so for me i got used to the ng tube, she did pull it out alot.which was frustating 6 times in one day. we learned how to put it back in,going to the hospital everytime just made feeding late and set off her routine,so not worth it. now with the g tube we feed her it is way easier, hook up the adapter tube and graveity feed witht the syringe or feeding pump both work good.i use more gravity feeding as it feels like i'm feeding her, more hands on but that's me. we are now in the mist of trying to ween her off the g-tube, but that is on hold as her heart surgery is in 5 days and we are trying to get her weight up ,so far 2oz only,but better than nothing, she is now 19months and i'm so glad we did the g tube.after surgery we will try again, to get her off the g-tube. have any more questios please ask always willing to answer Lorea:)

Roxie - posted on 01/27/2010

Hi Heather my son was born at 33 weeks and he had an NG tube. He was born in 2005 and in 2006 the drs switched it to the G tube. Months after he started gaining weight. With the NG tube he wld always pull it out and I wld have to put it back in. I love the G tube because he cant pull it out and also u cant see it unless his shirt is raised. His has an extension to it that can be removed. It has to be changed every 3 months or if it has a leak then it has to be changed. He still has the tube. He hasnt had any complications but on some occasions it popped out when he couged and once again i had to put it back in. With the G tube he had a nissen done. That is where they wld tie off part of the stomach so he wldnt aspirate. I must say any surgery that your child have you will be scared. But I must say that I am glad I made that decision because it was really worth it. I hope that the info was a help and I wish u luck with your decision.

Tanya - posted on 01/21/2010

though I have never HAD a child with a feeding tube, I used to work as a pediatric private duty nurse with several children with feeding tubes. It is definitely much easier with the GT versus the NGT. The one little girl I worked with for 9 years had a button GT. It was a port only slightly raised from her tummy and had a removable extension tube. When not in use, can remove the extension tube and close port. We changed the tube at home monthly or if leaking. There are many different types of tubes and they are improving them all the time. If you have any ?'s you can email me...

mispenche23@aol.com