[Mama_K]

My special needs child has eating problems and last week the Dr. put in an NG tube, is this better than an G tube? I wanted the G tube put in, I was told by others that the G tube is easier to take care of. The problem we are having is M rolls around in his sleep and the NG tube gets tangled up and the pump keeps alarming. Is there something I can do to help this? Has anyone have a child with a G tube and is it easier? Thanks

[nursie]

The G tube is usually more of a long term solution to an eating problem as it is placed thru a doctor made incision from the external abdomen directly into the stomach. It is easy to take care of & there is usually less complications that can occur.
The NG is usually a short term solution to an eating problem/nutritional deficit that hopefully will be resolved soon.. The NG of course goes up the nose into the stomach so it can become dislodged/pulled out etc. & you have to be concerned it doesn't cause problems if it is not in the right place as in aspiration issues.
I'm not sure why your child had one or the other but hopefully it's because they hope the problem will resolve quickly and not require the long term need of a G Tube.

[Lylac]

Abbie had an NG while she was in the hospital waiting for her Gtube. To me the Gtube is much easier. Not to mention how harsh tape is on a child face. My daughter loves to roll around at night and so far we havn't had any problems.

I too would want to see why your baby isn't eating. It could be something that can be fixed without having to get a gtube. Maybe thats why the docs are holding off a while.

But to answer your question NG vs Gtube..I'd vote for a G everytime...but my babies life depends on one.

[athikers]

Can your child not tolerate surgery? My friends child had an NG her whole life because she was too weak for the g-tube surgery... that could be why. Or they may be trying to figure out why your child needs to be tube fed and weed out any less invasive options before they place a G or GJ tube. G-tubes are easy to take care of, but can still be ripped out by kiddos just like an NG, if the kid wants to bad enough.

[Mama_K]

M has had eating issues all his life, it can take me 1-1-1/2 hrs to feed him 3-4 spoons full of solid food. I'm becoming very frustrated and his last Gastro Dr. appt he had lost 1/2 pound and that's when the tube was placed. The Gastro- Dr. has wanted to place a tube to help with feedings long ago, but his peditrician didn't think he needed one- he thinks he's just a small child and his feeding problems will go away with time. I have two Drs. with different opinions and it makes me crazy because I want to do the right thing for M. He is healthy enough to have the surgery. He does have a swallow study and an MRI coming up so maybe they will give us some answers. M does have hypotonia and maybe his throat muscles are not strong enough to eat solid food. Thanks

[jessnboys]

M has had several types of gtubes. We were on them for 5 years and have been off it for 3 yrs. When we did a continous drip overnight M would roll around and the alarm would go off. Or he would disconnect the tube and lose the feeding and all stomach contents. M also pulled out the tube, having to redo the placement quite often. Once we switched to bolus feedings, it wasn't quite as bad, but still a lot of sleepless nights. We worked with a behavior therepist instead of the feeding clinic to get M to eat enough not to need the tube. It was grueling, but well worth the extra work to keep my baby alive. At 8 yrs old, M is now 50 lbs. Due to recent weight loss, we are looking at the tube again. Don't hesitate to go to a new dr if you don't like what you are being told. Poor nutrition/weight loss can do so much long term damage! It can cause more problems & complications than you think.
I don't mean to be negitive or lecturing. M is one of the rare kids. He went to daycare w/ his tube and it didn't slow him down a bit having it. Now he shows people his "2 bellybuttons" (one from the gtube scar).