Barb and Marvin it sounds like your getting a good game plan together. Marvin you really need to find a better way to celebrate your birthday. Hoping all good news for you the rest of the way.
Always,
Mark.

We have made it though 1 full week of rad and 1 chemo with little side effect. Marvin was alittle flused in the face and neck yesterday, but we read that was a side effec of one of the pre chemo drugs. He thought his throat wasnt sore yesterday and he didnt seem to have the pain on the side of his neck. Not sure if this may be because of the sterodis they gave him before chemo they said they would stay in his system for a few days after the chemo. Whatever it is we will take it and thank God for it.

Marvin went to Indy on friday to have his feedind tube put in. We were under the impression that it was an outpaitent and we would be going home. Once there we were told he had to stay overnight(standard procedure)so we had an unexpected nights stay at the hospital. But I was glad we stayed because he was in more pain then we thought. We got home late saturday afternoon. They had a home health nurse come and show us how to flush the tube until we need to use it. Some are people were suprised that he had it but in already but most have said good decision to have it already in. Can anyone give ideas on how they have wrapped or taped it to them selfs under their cloths. Not sure how it will interfer with his work. He hopes to work at least 1 more week but not sure since that tube may get in the way.

Barb,

My wife bought and used about 6 different types of tape on me before we found one that held the tube upright against my chest for most of the day. The best we found was Johnson & Johnson First Aid Waterproof Tape. We would buy the 1/2" wide size and like many other things, it is cheaper at WalMart. You will find that you will go through a lot of it as a roll doesn't last very long when you change it at least daily.

On a lighter note, you might suggest to Mavin not to cough whenever the tube is uncapped. My wife was feeding me on one occasion and I had a quick cough hit me and. . .what a mess.

I found my tube to be one of the biggest overall problems to contend with as it was just bothersome in every way possible. I think I was fortunate for only needing it for a little under 4 months as I have seen other posters here mention having theirs in excess of 6 months in many cases.

Bill D.

Barb and Marvin, Over the long span that John had a feeding tube, we found that Johnson & Johnson
First Aid heavy duty cloth tape was the least irritating to his skin.[Walmart] We did try to position the tape in a little different spot each time so as to not cause raw spots in one area. He would take the tape off during showers and be sure his chest was dry before retaping.
BTW, my daughter is working at Methodist in Indy now- please holler if you need a hug. Amy in the Ozarks

All,

A nurse taught me a great trick with tape and keeping the tube taped up.

Put a piece of tape, water proof preferrable, on the skin where you would normally tape the tube to the skin. Then pull the tube up and tape the tube to the tape on the skin. This avoids all irritation and you can use this until the tape on the skill starts to wear out. Worked wonders for me since I had both a feeding tube and a trach at one point.

Jim

That's a great tip Jim. We'll have to include that in our PEG guidelines or information page.

That's a neat trick with the tape Jim!! Hopefully mine's coming out in the next couple of weeks as my Chemo Dr. signed off on it today and I see my Radiation Oncologist Wed. I'm starting to gain weight so I hit my end of the bargain.

Anyway, Barb & Marvin glad all is well thus far. Amy is right with using the cloth tape. We also use Nexcare durable Cloth tape that comes in a dispenser like scotch tape (from WalMart as well). I still use tape when I bathe to get the tube up out of the way, but when I'm dressed I stumbled into using a safety pin about 2 months into things. I attach it through the loop in the tube cap to my T shirt. Just a suggestion but it works for me and eliminated the discomfort of tape everytime you need to feed or flush. The cloth tape also releases easier when it's wet but surprisingly stays in place until you remove it.

Best wishes,

Steve

Thank you all for the suggestions for the g-tube. Marvin had to use if for the first time last night for feeding. After having been to the doctor visit after his 11th rad treatment they kept telling him how important it was to keep his weight and nutrition up. Then we had to make a visit to the place that put the tube in because we werent sure of a spot that wasnt healing. That doctor also told him the same thing that he needs to stay healthy. So we got several boost plus down it last night. He did have some problem later in the night with bruping, not sure if that was because we maybe put to much down in a short amount of time. Hopefully we can do better now that he has the idea to use it everyday. He will be going on short-term disability starting next week from work which I think will help. Both Marvin and I were a little depressed after this fisit. According to the Chemo doctor Marvin was diagnosed as a t2n2 and she had said that on tuesday the width of the tumor on the side of his neck had went down alittle (so we were happy tuesday)but then the rad docts. said that they had Marvin as a t4a because it looked deep on the ct scan. Marvin is scared of the possibility that he may have to loose his tongue and voice box. The rad doc said that just because it was a t4a doesnt mean they cant get it all just means they are treating a bigger area. Marvin is able to stick his tongue out pretty far and the doc said that was good because usually in a t4a most people cant get their tongue out of the mouth very far. So we are praying that is a good sign for him.

Barb,

I hope he continues to get that water and food down every day. That will really make a big difference. You might want to consider Carnation Instant Breakfast VHC. Similar to Boost Plus but with more cals...560 in the same 8 oz size. you don't need a prescription but you order it from your local pharmacy like Walgreens or CVS. It really helps when you only have to worry about getting 4 cans down rather than 6 a day.