If you have men who will exclude any of God's
creatures
from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who
will deal likewise with their fellow
man.
St. Francis
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 1:24
PM
Subject: RE: SAMe (Denosyl) for
Dukee
Terrie, you can do this. It's not hard, just time-consuming and
putzy. You can give meds through the tube if you can pulverize and
dissolve them in water, or at least make a suspension that stays separated
long enough to get it down the tube. You can supplement fluids as well
that way -- you end up doing that anyway a little, because after feeding you
have to flush the tube.
Here's a hint: the tube is pretty small, so we really had to
liquefy and dilute what we gave Luc. The A/D liquefies fairly well but
not for very long -- you have to keep restirring or you end up with a bunch of
edible but untubeable sludge at the bottom of the cup. So patience
really is a virtue here! Just keep stirring. We sometimes mixed
the A/D with Cat Milk, which you can get at the pet store in little juice-box
type containers. It's a *little* pricey but you don't need a lot.
Also, we had to test the stuff we gave him for tubeability. The
vet gave us a length of the same size tube to test it on, and we had to pour
what we mixed through the tube into another container to make sure it would
all make it through.
We started by syringing the stuff into the tube, but that
got a little messy if he'd turn his head quickly or something. So we
found a small funnel whose spout fit into the end of the tube, and eventually
started pouring our pre-tested mixture right from the measuring cup we mixed
it in, filling about half the funnel and waiting for it to go down, then
pouring a little more, and that went faster. Every so often the funnel
would back up, meaning something was a little stuck, but we gently tapped the
tube (trying not to move it around too much, for Luc's comfort) and it would
generally clear. Every so often we'd have to syringe some warm water,
for the stubborn backups.
We did have to have another stitch put in, a couple weeks into the
intubation, because we'd moved the tube too much and it had come loose from
where the vet had stitched it to him. Oh, and there will be a little
plug that you keep in the tube when you're not feeding him. The one the
vet gave us was worthless and would fly out when he shook his head (we still
haven't located it in the corner of the room) so we ended up cutting the
eraser and a little of the wood part off a pencil. I painted the lead
end so there wouldn't be any lead exposed, and of course you keep everything
clean. When the tube is unplugged, there is a gurgling sound
which is weird but normal. You can use this to check whether the
tube is clear, as well, when you're done with a feeding session.
Dukee is lucky to have a mommy and daddy who care so very
much.
Diane R.
-----Original
Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 12:33
PM
To: [email protected]Subject: SAMe (Denosyl)
for Dukee
I have a question:
How do I give Dukee SAMe (Denosyl) when he comes home when
he is on a feeding tube? I noticed it came in tablet form on my
research.
One thing I did noticed on him when I popped the cans of
wet food for the cats he still came in and took a few licks of the food but
not enough.
He has always done this.
So when I feed the others when he gets home he will hear
this. So how do I refrain him from eating their food if he is on a special
diet?
Will he be able to eat their food on top of his
food?
I also feed my cats snacks? Dukee knows
it!
Sorry for stupid questions but gotta
ask!
Boy, I know I'm going to have questions for you guys on
this tube feeding.
I don't want to be overwhelmed when the Vet hits me with
this I want some firsthand knowledge from you guys. So it's preparing myself
and my family. I certainly don't want them doing anything to jeopardize his
health even though it wouldn't be intentional.
I have never done it before! Yikes!
