Option 2, you know food is going to kill you, bit you still need nutrition. So you're open to have a feeding tube, with controlled liquid diet that you won't taste on a daily basis. Because its absolutely controlled, you'll be able to extend your life dramatically, perhaps upwards to a year in fact.
In both cases, you have a loving family and lots of friends (in that you're not a crotchety curmudgeon that likes to live in exhale. Neither option will cause you pain, just a faster (or delayed) death.
Basically, do you value the selfish pleasure or would you rather sacrifice in the name of a collective pleasure?
Post by CheshireGrin on Apr 16, 2013 18:44:58 GMT -5
A year ago I would definitely have chosen option A. Now I think I'd be more likely to go with option B. I generally go with the quality over quantity perspective (this comes from a history of working with hospice patients) but in your scenario, option B sounds like something I could get used to in order to have an extra year to otherwise enjoy life.
Post by imojoebunny on Apr 16, 2013 18:47:41 GMT -5
My Grandfather actually made this choice. He died a year and two months after they put in the tube. He was 95. He would have died in less than a month without it.
This is really tough. I have a hard time giving up on anything, so if I had to make this choice for myself, I think I would choose to live as long as possible.
However, if I was making this choice for someone else, as much as I would want to pick B (see unwillingness to give up) I think A is probably the right choice.
Post by karmasabiotch on Apr 16, 2013 18:59:30 GMT -5
This is tough. My identity is so tied with food, although not in a good way. I would hope that I would choose a decent quality of life and more time to spend with my family. I don't know how to answer.
Basically, do you value the selfish pleasure or would you rather sacrifice in the name of a collective pleasure?
this wording makes me itch. wanting to eat by mouth is a biological drive.
also, if someone is put on a feeding tube for aspiration pneumonia risk (and not simply because they are inefficient eaters who cannot consume enough calories by mouth) they often cannot have ANY pleasure feedings or even drink water. those people are miserable - I know because I have evaluated their swallowing. recommending NPO (nothing per mouth) is the worst part of an SLP's job.
Basically, do you value the selfish pleasure or would you rather sacrifice in the name of a collective pleasure?
this wording makes me itch. wanting to eat by mouth is a biological drive.
also, if someone is put on a feeding tube for aspiration pneumonia risk (and not simply because they are inefficient eaters who cannot consume enough calories by mouth) they often cannot have ANY pleasure feedings or even drink water. those people are miserable - I know because I have evaluated their swallowing. recommending NPO (nothing per mouth) is the worst part of an SLP's job.
Tacom, you're absolutely right, I'm sorry for minimizing it. I was trying to make it rather obscure (though I know Rocky got it).
This is a decision I have to take soon, and while I think I know the answer, I was looking for a bit of an unbiased (as much as I could frame it that way) opinions from the masses.
Of course, it's always going to be different because the decision is for my dog. These were the options after eeons of tests and rigorous diagnoses. I don't know what kind of validation I was looking for, but it's good to say these disparate things out loud at times, and get other's POVs.
Tacom, you're absolutely right, I'm sorry for minimizing it. I was trying to make it rather obscure (though I know Rocky got it).
This is a decision I have to take soon, and while I think I know the answer, I was looking for a bit of an unbiased (as much as I could frame it that way) opinions from the masses.
Of course, it's always going to be different because the decision is for my dog. These were the options after eeons of tests and rigorous diagnoses. I don't know what kind of validation I was looking for, but it's good to say these disparate things out loud at times, and get other's POVs.
no worries. good luck with your decision - I'm sorry you have to make it.
As a person who fully understands the trade off? That's hard. For your dog? I'd definitely pick #1, because a dog can't understand the trade off, so I would rather my dog fully enjoy life for a shorter time than be around for longer but not be able to satisfy her biological urge to eat. Of course, that's much easier said than done; I cry just thinking of my dogs not being around sometime in the hypothetical future, so I get what a heart-wrenching decision this must be for you. I am so, so sorry.
Did I ever tell you the time I found her drunk? She wasn't even a year.
Awesome parenting. We left a bottle of rum sideways in the wine rack. Evidently it wasn't closed tightly and was slooooowly making a little tiny rum puddle in the floor.
All of a sudden (mind you, she was a puppy then) she was so lethargic. We called the vet who asked if she was eating and drinking and when we said yes, (she was just sleeping ALL THE TIME) she said to watch her for a day and if she continued to bring her in.
So we did.
And we found the little SOB waking up, and going STRAIGHT to the rum bottle, and licking the cap. Like mother like daughter.
Did I ever tell you the time I found her drunk? She wasn't even a year.
Awesome parenting. We left a bottle of rum sideways in the wine rack. Evidently it wasn't closed tightly and was slooooowly making a little tiny rum puddle in the floor.
All of a sudden (mind you, she was a puppy then) she was so lethargic. We called the vet who asked if she was eating and drinking and when we said yes, (she was just sleeping ALL THE TIME) she said to watch her for a day and if she continued to bring her in.
So we did.
And we found the little SOB waking up, and going STRAIGHT to the rum bottle, and licking the cap. Like mother like daughter.
Post by marshmallow on Apr 17, 2013 11:18:28 GMT -5
I had to be NPO for the greater part of 6 weeks last summer (they kept letting me eat full liquids and then putting me back to NPO) and it was by far the worst, hardest experience of my life. Just smelling other peoples' food or watching my husband eat were torture. It is really hard to live while not being able to get a drink of water or even a cup of jello.