It was either a touch of a stomach bug or a side effect of a new drug (Robinul) I've been taking to reduce my mucous and excessive saliva, but around midnight I had amazingly painful stomach contractions and esophegeal cramps trying to throw up. But just as my cricophyaryngeal muscles especially the old musculus constrictor pharyngis inferior & epiglottis have been adamant about not letting food or water down my throat to my stomach (instead only going to the lungs), they are just as stubborn about letting anything back up !
So from midnight to 3 am, I am hacking away, bent over the toilet bowl while only mucous and maybe one little sip of stomach contents comes up. The noise was horrific with the empty retching and then sharp intake as I struggled to breathe until the mucous plus came out and my wife was frantic about calling 911. But we both know better than trying to get real help on PEG/swallowing issues on a Saturday night in an ER. I'd try and relax the muscles with a heating pad and it helped somewhat but that urge to purge would not leave.
Then it dawns on me: hook up the feeding tube connector insert to my PEG button valve and just leave the clamp open.
YES. Streams of vile looking stomach contents yearning to be free burst forth. Ah - relief.
So, my fellow Pegsters: if gulp comes to choke: just open up your connecting tube and let her rip.
An Alternative to Vomiting plus no nasty aftertaste.
Charm