New to the spoonie life? Are you the patient or a loved one/caretaker/friend trying to support a spoonie? We have a lot of chronic illness “lingo” that can be confusing to the “real world,” so I decided to create this list to help get some of these out there and easy to find đ This list contains many of the common words and acronyms you will come across but I’m sure I’m missing something! If you have other words/acronyms I missed, comment and I’ll add them in! I plan to do so as things pop into my mind, as well đ
And off we go!
- âSpoonieâ- chronic illness patient; a term based on @TheSpoonTheory that aims to explain the level of fatigue we face as well as what simple, daily tasks can take so much energy from a âspoonie.â
- âTubieâ â a term used in the chronic illness world to talk about individuals who are tube fed; not an insult, we use it about ourselves and one another all the time.
- âStomaâ â the tube site, the area on your outer abdomen where the tube enters, and is used to keep it clean and comfortable as much as possible.
- âFeedsâ â formula that goes through the feeding tube to sustain and nourish patients; âTime for feedsâ is like âTime for supper!â except a lot less fun.
- Tubie Pads: similar to gauze but much cuter, used to help keep the tube site clean, healthy, and CUTE đ
Tubie pads donated by some of our VIP donors : @newbietubies @turkeytotcustoms @HomemadeTubieHappiness @DorkyLittleEtsyStore
- “Ventâ â if you have a feeding tube that is in your stomach (gtube/gjtube/NG tube) you can âventâ it if you are nauseous or have air stuck in your gut (which doesnât move). It is often done with a drain bag for gravity or a syringe for suction, which requires more caution – ick!
- A cental line ( hickman or port, picc line) â essentially a long term IV that is placed into a large blood vessel near the center of the body most often through your chest and ending at the heart; used for IV treatments like chemo or IVIG, TPN, medications, IV hydration, etc.
- Brain fog – cognitive dysfunction that comes with conditions like dysautonomia, ehlers danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia, etc. and causes severe problems with word finding, on the spot thought processing, short term memory problems and sometimes long term as well, lack of mental clarity and trouble holding conversations, etc. // People often say they feel that way too, that itâs normal when youâre tired, it happens as you age, etc., but if you felt the fog we feel as patients, youâd be very glad your fog is not what we experience.
- Motility (GI) – movement of the digestive system and its ability to move anything in there along with it throughout the GI tract. When there isnât proper movement, undesirable symptoms can come up and you can be at risk for conditions like gastroparesis. Gastroenterologists who specialize in these conditions are called âmotility specialists.â
- Flip/flipped – if you have a GJ tube you can experience a “flipped” tube, this is when the j-arm comes up from the intestine and into the stomach, where it doesn’t belong. To fix this you have to have it rewired in IR.
- “Tubie Friend” – a stuffed animal or a doll with medical devices to match your own, so feeding tubes, central lines, oxygen mask, etc.; these are incredibly comforting and meaningful for all ages.
- “Button tube” – low profile feeding tubes have an extension that can be removed, leaving only the “button” when you’re not using it! The other surgical tubes don’t have that option, and we usually call them “dangler” tubes or catheter tubes.
13. “leaker” – individuals with cerebrospinal fluid leaks
14. Zebra – a zebra is representative of rare diseases, sometimes patients refer to themselves and others with such conditions as zebras themselves
Acronyms you may come across:
NTCP: Newbie Tubie Care Packages
NP: Nurse Practitioner
PCP: Primary Care Physician
GP: Gastroparesis
EDS: Ehlers Danols Syndrome
POTS: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome; a type of Dysautonomia
MCAS: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
NPO: nothing by mouth, long term or short term, often just 24hrs/overnight before surgery or certain procedures such as tube replacements, or even for fasting blood work
TPN: total parenteral nutrition, nourishment coming straight from an IV bag into your central line in order to stay nourished; can be short term or long term and is used as a last resort for dysmotility/gastroparesis patients who can no longer tolerate oral intake or feeds into the jejunum.
Types of Tubes:
GJTube: through your stomach and into the intestines; has access to both stomch and intestines
Jtube: a feeding tube that enters straight into the intestine; most complex and serious surgery out of the 3 surgical options, mostly used for those of us with severe dysmotility not just in the stomach, but also through the lower GI tract – small and large intestines/colon/etc. – and hence cannot keep the j-arm of a GJ tube “down” due to the lack of movement/pull.
Gtube: a tube through the abdomen and into the stomach directly, no lower access
NJ/NG: tubes going through the nose instead of the gut; usually used for short-terTm help for babies, individuals hospitalized, etc. or trials for feeds before surgery for G/J/GJ surgery.
*If you have any suggestions for words/phrases I should add, let me know- I’m always happy to have opinions from others đ *
xoxo
Rachel