NG tube at home?

[RaincoverRefuser]

Name changed for this.

DD has been unwell since last year and we have only recently had a provisional diagnosis. to cut a long story very short, it appears she has an infection that has been festering for months - partially treated by the antibiotics she has had, but never enough to get rid of it completely. The hosptial have now put her on a stronger combination of antibiotics, and want to see her to review in a couple of months.

She is 10 months. I cannot get her to take them. 4 times a day I try & fail to get a significant amount into her. I have tried disguising in food, but she then refuses the food and then I have a bigger volume to force down. I have tried a spoon and a syringe and she is getting better & better at spitting, gargling and blocking with her tongue. She is becoming phobic of spoons/yoghurt and now eating in general. I am really desperate for her to have these medications so that we can get her well again, but also don't want to physically assault my own baby several times a day.

Has anyone asked for an NG under these circumstances (she had one in hospital)? Is it even possible? Who do I ask? (Have spoken to GP & pharmacist about her not taking meds and they were no help).

Can the ABs be supplied in suppository form?

I think you need to get back to the hospital team and ask their advice.

Yes you need to go back to doc suppository, changing antibiotics, changing the way they are made up ie the flavour might all be possible

My friend has a home NG but not for ABS it's for feeding

How long are antibiotics for BTW

Mine had an NG and they are very good at hooking the things out all the time!

Thanks for quick responses. I have left messages for the hospital team but no reply so far (think the dr we saw is now away), and am worried about making a nuisance, but also worried about her not being treated

I asked the GP is they were available in any other form and he said no (looked at me as if I was mad to suggest suppositories). The pharmacist said one of these meds doesn't come flavoured as it is not usually given to children.

SW at least until she's reviewed in 8 weeks (well 5.5 now) I guess. DD did manage to get hers out once in hospital, but in general in didn't bother her (though it looks awful) which is why I thought of it.

Just feel like she's getting stressed, I'm getting stressed and we're not getting any benefit from it all at the moment. A friend pointed out to me today that it's probably worse for her to be getting a little bit all the time in terms of resistence than to be getting none at all.

If she was an inpatient can you ring the ward?
Ask if doc, sister, pharmacist can ring you back since your GP can't help

You really don't want to wait 5 weeks just to start again do you......

GP is clearly not French then

DH said the same thing about the French & suppositories (is there any truth in it?)!

She was only started on this treatment after an out patient appointment so don't think the ward would help (the NG when in was mainly for feeding but obviously they chucked the drugs down too).

Have left answerphone messages all over the shop now so hopefully will get some response tomorrow. Have left a message for the GP again to enlist their help - you're so right, i can't bear the thought of being no further on when it's all been going on so long already.

I need to man up a bit but it's so hard isn't it. I feel like I'm her only advocate but laso don't want to be seen as a hysterical, thorn-in-their side mother.

Raincover - I absolutely understand your need to get the medicines into her.

The only thing I would say is that having the NG isn't much fun either and it can be very stressful having it placed and replaced. You will have witnessed that if she's already had one. The NG itself can cause some children to gag and throw up more often so it won't necessarily resolve your issues. Much sympathy. Hope you can find a way forward.

Thanks Saggar, much appreciated. Maybe we were lucky before, but she seemed to cope fine with having it put in and having milk & meds down it (it only got pulled out when it got wrapped up in blankets etc when she was asleep rather than her fiddling with it) which is why I thought it would perhaps be less awful than the situation we are in at the moment. But, she was younger then so maybe it would be worse now.

Still, want to avoid readmission and iVs and all the infection risks that go with that - aargh!

I wouldn't discount it at all Raincover It may be worth a shot if the hospital will go for it. dd had one for a year and the meds thing was a bonus so I totally get why you'd try it. She did pull it more and more as she got older though. Always seemed to be able to locate that tiny bit next to her nose that wasn't taped. Little bugger

I've had one myself so have the dubious experience of knowing what it's like to have it placed. Bit grim.

Hope the drugs do the trick though and she's soon well again.

have you tried ribena, iv been told its the one thing that will overpower most other tastes?

Thanks for all your help this week. Hospital have been great and we're now on completely different meds which I'm getting in - such a relief!

Glad it so much better long may it continue.

Out of interest how did you get a solution?