I had a peg & still lost 50 lbs. Probably because I hated the thing so much I wouldn't use it as much as I should have. I'm awnry & rebellious as hell! It wasn't that big a deal though & without it I probably would have lost a lot more weight. Everyones right, the last week or so & the next few weeks after radiation is tough to swallow much of anything. I did force myself to swallow everything I could stand all the way through treatment & my doc's think that has something to do with my fast recovery. I don't know. Maybe the old saying of use it or lose it applies here. I lost lots of lean muscle mass from inactivity & it has taken a few months of physical therapy to put it back on. Maybe forcing myself to swallow kept my throat muscles in shape a bit & sped recovery that way. We are all different.