One reason my balloon-less PEG doesn't fall out is that it is 17" long and it has a couple of tight curves in it, so it would take a long pull with some effort.

I talked to a lady today for the registration stuff at the hospital (since I'm going through the OR to have my peg removed) and they are making a big deal out of this. I kind of laughed because she mentioned me having an IV for it in case they have to give me a sedative and she was asking me about any reactions to anesthesia that I may have had. Finally I just stopped her and told her they didn't put me under when they put it in, so I seriously doubt they are going to put me under when they take it out. So, I'm just ready to get this thing out!! And Pete I would be freaking out if I had a peg that I potentially could take out and put back in no matter how long it was. Although I was tempted the other day to just call up the doctor and ask him to walk me through pulling out my own peg so I didn't have to go in to the hospital!!

You don't want to be taking out your own PEG if there's an "anchor" on it, unless you have removed a tooth with the string and door method.

What my Doc did with the "anchored" PEG was just give it a good yank while I was on a table with nurse and dressings standing by. It was a short sharp pain, with some minor bleeding, and then it was over.

Peace out Peg Tube!

Haha, it's GONE! And the doctor even said I could have taken it out on my own if I wanted to, apparently a lot of people do...HA! It didn't hurt at all and it didn't bleed. I checked in at the admissions place, they brought me back to a room and took my vitals and told me to get in the gown, I argued for a second with the nurse wondering why I had to wear a gown for a 2 second procedure but I did it anyway. Then they came to take me back and I was informed that I did not need to go through all that stuff because it's an outpatient procedure (I could have told them that, and had tried a few times, but no one would believe me). I put my clothes back on and then they brought me back out to the waiting room but didn't tell the doctor that was removing the tube that they had moved me so he was looking all over the place for me. Finally I recognized him when he walked by and I asked him if he was looking for me, and he was. He brought me back, sat me on a table deflated the balloon, pulled the tube, and put a bandage over it and sent me on my way. I told him about how they had mentioned wanting to do an IV in case they had to do anesthesia and he laughed. I wanted to ask him if I would have been able to eat breakfast this morning before the procedure but I figured it was better to not know, I'm pretty sure I could have (I was starving by the time we got out of there!).

The good news is that the tube is out!!!

Oh what a feeling...freedom from the dangling appendage...congrats and happy eating.

Deb

Fantastic!!!

So. What'd you have for breakfast??

Margaret -

We picked up Whataburger (burger and fries...it's the only fast food I'll eat!) on our way home, I was starving and I got out of there at like 10:00 am and nothing is serving lunch at that time! We are celebrating tonight by going out to Cheesecake Bistro with a bunch of friends!

Deb-

Thanks so much! It's so nice not having that thing taped to my stomach anymore! I haven't not had tape on some part of my body since May 19th, so I'm looking forward to getting this bandage off soon!

Steph:

What a great feeling you must have being rid of that awful thing. It serves a much needed purpose but it sure is a pain in the but sometimes.

Glad you are healing up so quickly. Congrats

Sweet

That is a great feeling. Got mine out 2 weeks ago and actually went swimming last weekend for the first time all summer. Enjoy your freedom.