David has been exclusively tube feeding for the past 2 years due to difficulty swallowing and chronic aspiration from radiation therapy for tongue cancer.
We spoke to David about his tube feeding journey, and he shared his experience using the new 250 ml squeezable bolus pouch and how it fits into his lifestyle, making family travel easier.
"My tube feeding has limited my family’s travel, especially air travel, one of the reasons is the difficulty of transporting large quantities of liquid food.
I found the pouch-based system to be very convenient and mess-free. They were equally easy to handle in the hotel and while touring by car. In fact, because the system is completely closed, there was no risk of spilling the formula while riding in a moving car. With the pouch system, the pouch can be above or below the level of the PEG tube since the formula is squeezed manually from the pouch into the stomach.
Administration of a 250 ml pouch was quick and this left more time free for sight-seeing and other activities. And post-feeding cleanup was minimal. Disposal of empty pouches and used connector tubing was never a problem. The system is essentially mess-free and quite discrete. I was even comfortable feeding myself while on the airplane, something I would have hesitated to do with the gravity system."
Speak to your healthcare professional for information on bolus feeding.
Tube feeds are Foods for Special Medical Purposes and must be used under medical supervision.
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