I have held out for six weeks of daily radiation therapy with out the aid of a feeding tube. Now with treatments coming to an end next week. I have opted to get the PEG installed tomorrow morning. Kinda like closing the barn door after the horse has excaped.
As some of you know I consulted with a Gastro-Doc early into treatments, and he assured me that If I needed the tube my request would be filled in 24 to 48 hours. Called him Yesterday , threw in the towel, and scheduled for tomorrow. My Rad/Onc threatened to hospitalize me , losing too much weight. I have been obese all my life, when I was diagnosed, I weighed in at 360#s. My Current weight, yesterday 316#s.
Darrell

Hi Darrell
just to wish you well.. no one can lose that amount of weight that quick without a problem.. you'll be fine when you get some food inside you.
Take care
Helen

Hello Darrell,

Hope all goes well with your surgery. My father had the peg inserted last July. Thank goodness he did, the radiation made eating by mouth impossible. Almost 8 months later still on tube, but hope is always there. The peg will help in maintaining your weight. Do you know how many calories per day you will be taking? Also, check with your insurance company. Some will cover the cost of food if it is the sole source of nutrition. You'll do fine. Take care.


VickieM

Not a big deal. I've had the peg in since before initial surgery. A couple of months now. I'm in 3rd week of rad now & have just started using it again. I used it after surgery too for a short time. Started at 225lbs. Now I'm at 190lbs. I too have been fighting using it. I guess were just hard headed! Keep yer chin up sonny boy!

Daryll: Think you are making the right choice. You need your energy to fight this and recover from the effects of your treatments. And it isn't after the horse is out of the barn if you need feeding help now. Just do it. I had mine before any treatment because my chemo dr. insisted. I thank him always and think it should be required of everyone before treatment. I lost 50 pounds, 25% of my body weight, even though I was on the peg. I was taking 4 cans of 350 calorie Ensure type stuff per day and supplement with Carnation Instant Breakfast now in 2 cans. This gives me about 1600 calories per day and I am barely holding my weight at 150 pounds. So good luck at getting the peg and use it well. The procedure is not a big deal compared to some stuff I've been through so don't worry about it.
Rgds, Kirk Georgia

Good decision Darrell,
Dan is 7 weeks post 8 weeks of chemo/rad and still completely relies on the PEG...nothing will go down yet. It has helped keep his weight intact. He has lost some, but not too much since the PEG. Dan takes meds thru the PEG for acid reflux and bowel problems along with pain meds and nutrition. He has had no problems with the PEG and insertion was no problem either. Will keep you in my prayers!
Debbie

I lost over 60 lbs. in a month didn't have a PEG and didn't get a PEG. Doctor didn't like it but so what, I survived anyway.

I was eating solid food relatively early in my recovery and I credit my decision not to PEG for this.

This is not to try to talk you out it - for many the PEG is a necessity. In a balanced world some of us got by fine without one and you should hear both sides. It took a lot discipline (and suffering) to survive without one, swallowing water and food in a raw, blistered and damaged throat is not for the faint of heart.

A caveat to Gary's post. Indeed there are some that can tough it out, and Gary certainly is a good advocate for the other side of the coin. But for all those reading this PEG thread, please look aback on all the previous ones as well. (Use the message board search engine under PEG.) This is not always the best choice. Personally, I see no need to chance poor nutrition and slower recovery for the small issue of getting a PEG, which when you are dealing with things much more severe (like radiation, major surgery and staying alive), is no big deal to get. And remember, Gary had IMRT radiation, which produces a lower exposure area of tissues that get nuked and develop mucocitis than those of us that are getting the full blast. Ability to return to normal food after treatment is dependent on many things. One for certain is that you do not allow trismus to affect your ability to open and close your mouth properly. This means that right from the get go you should be doing the stretching exercises with a TheraBite or stacks of tongue blades during treatment. I was on the PEG for just over a year, and when the tissues finally healed and the mucocitis went away, I had no trouble swallowing again. It wasn't like I had to relearn anything. Digtexas had severe fibrosis and narrowing of his esophagus from the radiation, no amount of toughing it through the pain of swallowing would have changed that issue which made it difficult for him to eat afterwards. Concentrate first on staying in balance nutritionally, and in total body mass. Gary is one tough guy for sure, but for my money I like to take the easy path when it is available.

Darrell,
Wanted to let you know tha tmy husband got his PEG at about the same point in treatment. He stubbornly resisted getting one - took my sister arriving and being shocked at how he looked and pushing forward with the idea of the PEG. Once he got it, we both were wishing we would have considered it earlier. Helped him maintain his weight and took some pressure off of me. We were being consumed by the battle for enough calories. Good for you for taking the most reasonable course of action.

Anita

Darryl,
I echo Brian on this one. I got my PEG after 3 wks of radiation and even with it lost a good deal of weight. Once I was feeling better I played golf while having the PEG and I would go to work and at lunch time, lift up my shirt and hang the bag on a nail behind my desk and keep on working. I don't understand those who view it as macho or somehow beneficial to avoid having the PEG. It was a lifesaver for me and very unobtrusive. Once you are ready for it to come out, they just pull it out.

Best of luck with your treatment.

Danny G.