Ijust had a peg tube put in yesterday and could not get anything to stay down,tried water,yogurt,banana,apples&ensure. Nathan

Go slow with the PEG and use a slow gravity drip bag and your results should be better.

Hi Nathan, you you expand a little on how you tried those things? And do you mean "wouldn't stay down" that they came back up the peg, or that you vomited? Let us know what your technique is so we can give you some help. Amy in the Oz

The GI that put in gave me some zofran and I quit taking the pain med. I'm better now the peg tube cap leaks a little now and then. I had my first IMRT today yesterday I was just too sick. tomorrow cisplatin &Imrt,,34 to go. Thanks

Keep posting Nathan, so we can know how you are doing. Amy in the Ozarks

If you don't have it already get the Zofran ODT, the one that melts under your tongue. Then you can mix it with water and put it through your PEG when the thick mucous comes and swallowing gets tough. Even though I put it under my tongue it didn't work well but once I put it in through my peg the zofran worked great.

The hospital in this town only has one person that changes the cork ends on PEG tubes. Is this normal//she's out of town. The thing leaks off and on and burns. Does Ethyol or cisplatin make your blood pressure go up. Normal 12os/80s now running 155/97?

My blood pressure always seemed about like that while I was in treatment.

Hi Nathan,
Cislpatin and ethyol usually have the opposite effect and make blood pressure go down. However, it's not unusual to have fluctuations in blood pressure because the treatments are stressful. Do you have a blood pressure monitor that you can check on this at home? They're easy to use and you can see if there are ups or downs at different times. Could come in handy.

Are they giving you anything like Ativan before treatments? That was the only way that Jack could even go in the mask. It could help with your blood pressure and also nausea.

Yes, it's normal to have leaking from the cap of the PEG tube. Think about it as a build up of pressure that sometimes escapes like steam when cooking. After we had the cap changed a couple of times we just taped the end of it and that seemed to work.

What is the burning sensation you are talking about? Is it coming from the tube, your stomach, or the skin around the tube? Is you skin irritated?

Jack had ethoyl and felt it really made a big difference in both preventing severe muscositis and protecting his salivary gland. Here's the thing - you MUST follow the instructions on the pre-routine EXACTLY, and take the zofran daily. It's critical to drink - or pour into the tube - 2-3 quarts of water every day. You will find many people who have not been able to complete the series of ethyol shots due to severe nausea so don't fool around with that. Stay well hydrated and take the zofrann ODT.

During chemo radiation Jack could only tolerate PEG tube feedings using a drip bag that had a platic wheel on the tubing to control the flow. It's called a kangaroo bag and hangs from an IV pole. Are you using a liquid formula or blending food up? Watch the consistency if you're putting things in the PEG tube.

The good news is that you will get through this.

Regards JoAnne

Nathan,

I had a peg tube inserted prior to treatment starting. While I have not yet had to use it, knock on wood, my cap also leaked periodically. My cap is plastic, flat with a ball seal. My radiation nurse, when questioned about the leakage, said it was common due to sneezing and/or coughing. She suggest a spring clip type paper clip or a mini potato chip bag clip. Bend the tube and attach the clip. I did this and my improvised backflow preventer has stopped the leakage. Ask before trying this, as tubes are of different designs.

Pete60

Rob has had his peg tube in for 48 hours now ,and touch wood we are not having any problems.He has a roller ball type clip half way down which we have to open prior to feeds and close after feeds ,and at the end of his tube are two syringe connectors with sealed pop off tops.Unlike most people on this site we dont use gravitational feeding i just suck it up a syringe and push the liquid through.So far all is going well and he has no problems with it coming up or back.At the moment he is on three bottles of feed plus three hundred mls of water so total for the first two days is 900mls i think that is about 300 fl ozs.It seems straight forward but after reading all the posts on here i keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

love uk liz

Cisplatin kept Mike's blood pressure low during treatment. He had to stop taking his high blood pressure pills.

Peg Tube, it took a few days for his stomach to adapt to it. He had burning at first too. A little bit of stomach acid would leak out. Stopped after a couple days when the skin formed a tight vaccum around the tube.

He could still eat and drink normally when he got the Peg, so he had time to practice with it and work up to being able to have a full feeding.
Try smaller amounts to start or extend the time it takes to get to your stomach. If your's is a push the formula through a syringe PEG, clamp it off a couple times and wait a little while before pushing the rest through. Mike would take 30 minutes for each feeding, then time to flush before and after. He complained it was like a full time job to feed himself each day plus flush and hydrate.
No doubt, it was worth it, he made it through treatment and recovered very well.

Ginny

Nathan,

I am sorry to hear the rough time you are having , I have no experience with PEG tubes, but I just wanted you to know that I am thiking of you and I pray that you get the strength you need to get through this !

Sharlee

Hi Nathan;
I had the same set up. Just lost "my little friend" two weeks ago today. (had him "hanging around for almost 7 months) I'm not sure how you are using the syringe but if I reclined (in recliner) or laid down and my wife poured, gravity took care of most liquids I used. It's a slow process to begin with but the thicker the fluids are the slower it goes. It's easier to take smaller amounts more frequently. Be sure to keep it flushed good and clean. (the syringe helps do that) It sure wasn't convenient to start with but I was more than happy to have it about 2 months into treatment.

Best of luck,
Steve

Hello Nathan,
My Peg tube used to leak all the time and it drove my nuts , I finally got a plastic set of surgical clamps and closed the tube off like that and then taped the clamp to my chest, a big pain in the ass and I went through rolls of tape. I "dated" PEG for about four months and then just got tired of her, however "she" did a great job. When my throat got sore she was great for liqued medicines, remember almost all of the drugs you may be on you can get in liquid form, Rest easy my friend you will get through this, it is a major annoyance but doable. Keep your chin up and hang in there.
Lenny

Naqthan,
My husband is using the peg tube. He has an iv pump that he hooks up to at night to get the majority of his calories while he sleeps. He tolerates this method muc better. He doesn't have that full bloated feeling. He still gets 3 cans throughout the day. As far as pushing the food through the syringe, our rad nurse said it's better to take the plunger out and let it gravity flow. Doesn't upset the tommy as much. Remember that the amount of calories per day is important to keep the weight up. Your dietician should have given you a daily amount to achieve. My husband's is 2200 calories per day, but he is getting 2485. Unfortunately he is still losing weight. We do alot of gatorade through the tube too.