This'll be my first-ever post here. I had my PEG installed (20 French)as a sort of proactive measure prior to my treatment (which starts next week). I was told that I would have an "owie" for a couple of days and that would be it. Unfortunately, that was about all of the aftercare instruction I got on the thing. The nurses and doctors responded to my post-op questions by referring me to the homecare nurse that was to speak to me later that afternoon.

She was surprised that I wasn't informed by the people that put it in didn't give me more information and deferred to her, but she did what she could and was quite helpful.

However, a few new questions have come up in the interim and I figured that the folks with the experience would be in the best place to field them:

1) During the day, bits of what I ate seem to make it into the tube. Is this sort of regurgitation normal to your experience?

2) Naturally, it hurts pretty badly when I cough or sneeze, and the pain persists for a few hours after. I don't mind the pain so much, but am terribly frightened of this thing pulling loose. How likely is it to totally sneeze or cough the plug loose?

3) While I was told to anticipate pain around the incision site, no one told me about persistent cramping. I notice that other folks have identified the pangs when they were hungry, but for me it seems to happen at random (unless I'm hungry and don't realize it). It also hurts for a while when I eat. Is this normal, and about how long did it take to go away?

Thanks, folks, for your expertise, experience and wisdom!

Tom