Someone who has been on a feeding tube for a considerable length of time might find it hard to adjust back to solid food because their muscles and stomach have adjusted to a soft paste. Making the way back to eating steak and apples might take some time and several transitions. A home schedule set by an expert is the solution, and that is the basis of a pro home based tube weaning program.

Weaning is usually associated with toddlers, but it becomes a renewed effort for adults who take a lot of fiber out of their diet and instead eat something that is as soft as a milk shake. If they stayed on this diet for a long time, then many of the fine muscles in their face might be weak. They might have lost their tactile memory for moving their tongue and swallowing. After tube feeding, eating solid food must sometimes be relearned.

This does not have to be a lengthy adjustment as an adult is different from an infant. Still, the length of time away from solid food does affect the length and complexity of the schedule. The first step is to let a doctor and a dietitian assess the need of acclimation to solid food. Some people can go back to cooked and mashed root vegetables immediately while other people have to acclimate to a new diet as well as the need to chew.

The patient does have rights in their choice of food but should also respect doctor recommendation. They might find that they have an appetite for solid food but are not able to eat it without soreness and a lack of oral dexterity. Going back to solid food might be dangerous as there is the risk of suffocating on solid food, and the stomach might reject it due to a loss of familiarity.

The first step might be to drink a shake that comes out of a can. It might be similar or dissimilar to home based tube weaning, but it will likely have the same consistency. Such products are easily found on the market and are not as expensive as tube feeding paste.

Going back to solid food means first eating solid food that might be canned vegetables in addition to sauces made from root vegetables and fruits. A mature person has a different palate than an infant and has the right to satisfy their adult taste. Talk to your counselor and dietitian about the possibilities.