How does one secure a PEG? My husband piles layers and layer of gauze and meters of tape on his for support at the expense of not applying ointment to the area and not taking showers.

He says it hurts his stomach when the PEG moves around against it's hole. He has had the PEG since Sept 11 2009 and has a swallow test scheduled for Dec 3.

Sandy

I will interested in seeing your responses. I just got my PEG a week ago, and am having the same issues, and more.

I have mentioned earlier that my hubby had a real hard time with the tape...either kind, so we resorted to a soft, wide(6") ace bandage (***not the self stick rubbery one) with a velcro closure and it worked wonderfully. I would clean the area around the button with water and gauze, place a new slit gauze pad, and then wrap Bill's belly with the Ace tucking the PEG under the bandage in a U shape with the Tip heading up. When he needed to feed, he just pulled the tube out and then afterwards tucked it back in. They wash well and that is good.

Deb

The first time I had the peg tube, I used medical tape. Only a 3" strip would make it stay still.

This time around the hospital gave me a 6" velcro wrap. It fits around my whole body and its firm, yet it stretches so I can move around easily.

Hey all, I have a terrible time with sticky tape on my skin so the surgeon that put in my second PEG showed me a great trick - make a tab on the PEG itself with sturdy fabric tape and attach a safety pin to it. I then pinned it to the center piece of my bra. I'll bet the guys could wear an undershirt and pin it to that. This worked terrifically well for me.

- Margaret

I have started keeping the Y extender tube in and then tucking it in a U shape into the waistband of my underwear. Works really well. I had tried pinning it but it always ended up pulling on me as I moved or twisted.

The first couple weeks when I had to keep antibiotic ointment on the stoma, my wife sewed me a shift top with no sleeves (out of an old T shirt) just an elastic top that I wore across my chest while the rest of it prevented the antibiotic ointment from staining my shirts or regular T-shirts. The ACE bandage sounds okay but it was really hot here in the summer and I got a rash if I firmly covered the PEG with any bandages of any type. Glad I did not have to deal with this the first time around.

Well Charm,

I don't know what to tell you about the rash cause we live in hot Florida! Bill never complained about the Ace being hot...and he was undergoing treatment in the hottest part of the year here..August thru September and even October is hot . The Ace bandages breathe very well but make sure you get the soft ones...not the rubbery self stick ones. He kept the bandages on all the time..changing after he showered and put a fresh one on. He wore them to work as well...outside at times in the hot sun...and still no complaints...just happy not to have that "fracking" tape that did cause a rash.

Try one and see what you think..we had a couple rolled up in the first aid box and that is where I got the idea to try it.

Deb

Deb

Thanks for both the smile and the Ace type tip. Guess my skin just wants to breathe free. Luckily the Y extender waistband solution is working for me. I am struck by how poorly served many of us seem to be in dealing with the mundane complications of a PEG by otherwise excellent medical teams. But that's a topic for a different post as well as why OCF forum meets a major need for patients.

Boy Charm, did you just say a mouth full. I found that I knew more than the "support team" at the RO's office...it seems that H&N cancer carrys it's own set of problems and is not on the their radar, etc.

I am sitting here stewing from Angelia's experience with her PEG insertion, etc. Do these doctor's not know how foreign the PEG and port feel to a cancer patient still reeling from the news of their diagnosis. I do think that if all of this was being done at a CCC, perhaps there would be better coordination and support. But, for those of us who used local doctors, it takes a lot of work to get everyone on the same page. Thank God for the very kind and hard working infusion nurses at our MO's clinic for helping me get the care and supplies for Bill's PEG. It wasn't their's to handle but they took it on.

Take care Charm...I enjoy your posts,

Deb

That sad thing is, that I am at a cancer center. The RO's office has a dietician, but not one in my network. How crazy is that, The RO is in my network, but not the dietician. By the way I went and bought me an ACE bandage and i love it. If it weren't for the gastro Dr. who put the PEG in I would be lost. Not everyday does a Dr. give you their personal cell number. I got his and he called me back long before his nurse ever did, wait his nurse never called me back.