Connect
← Return to Feeding tube falls out.
Discussion
Comment receiving replies
I also have this problem. I had a G tube placed in July 2021 due to severe esophageal strictures. I have had it pop out six times to date. I try to reinsert the tube to maintain the stoma opening. If that is not possible, I try to insert a Foley catheter to maintain the stoma opening and go to the ER for placement of a new tube. This is incredibly frustrating, painful and expensive. I am at a loss to explain why this keeps occurring. I am extremely careful in handling the feeding tube connections and mindful of bending over to pick up objects or suddenly turning my torso but once the balloon deflates, game over. I wish they could suture the tube to the chest wall to keep it in place but the doc's refuse to do so. Thus, you must embrace the suck and carry on.
Replies to "I also have this problem. I had a G tube placed in July 2021 due to..."
Connect
Feeding tubes stink. I might eventually have to get another one but I hate the things. I could not get any of them to last more than six months.
Doctors and hospitals are eager to insert feeding tubes but they won’t support you when it comes to routine maintenance. If you need one of those tools for clearing clogs, you end up paying a bunch of money for something that is just a long piece of plastic similar to devices used to unclog sinks. And you will be lucky if you can find one to buy online.
Another annoyance: Food pump has an alarm that I can’t hear. It’s too high-pitched. Other people in the house can hear it and they get mad at me because they think I am deliberately allowing the machine to make that whiny noise.
If you are in a nursing home, feeding tubes are okay. The staff should know how to deal with clogs. Otherwise, feeding tubes are of dubious value in my opinion as a medical consumer.
Also, regarding the stoma closing immediately after the tube falls out, I doubt that it is going to happen very fast. My stoma didn’t close until I had surgery to correct a fistula. It might have been more than a year after the tube fell out.