I am getting my PEG tube removed Thur (YAY) and I'm wondering if it hurts. It's the one that the dr. will have me under general anesthesia & go down my throat to get it out. He is also going to dialate my throat while in there. Any feedback?? Thanks!!!

Jordan,

i just had my peg tube removed three weeks ago under general anesthesia. it did not hurt one bit. i woke up from the anesthesia and i went home without a bit of pain.

"Removed under general anesthesia"? Wow, what a blessing. Perhaps there are different design PEG's but mine was apparently removed the old fashioned way, yanked out by one of the Onc. nurses.

I laid back on the table as she instructed and then followed her instruction to grip the sides of the table tightly as "it is going to hurt for just a couple of minutes". She said "here we go" and she could have inserted a butcher knife for all I could tell. She wasn't kidding as it did hurt pretty bad but only for about 5 minutes.

Bill D.

I had mine removed w/o any anestesia. It didn't hurt a bit. It was a very strange feeling, to say the least. But no pain. There is no reason it should hurt. Its not attached.

Bill,

Thanks, you made me laugh. I have had similar experiences.

From my experiences, I would advise getting it changed at least every 6 months. I had mine for 3 years (Feb 04). I had some infection in Nov. 06 and saw a GI doctor. It cleared up with antibiotics but I decided to have it changed. I went to the hospital and he tried to take it out by "pulling" on it. It hurt like "hell". After several tries, we told him to quit (good thing I took some pain killer before going in). I called the hospital where it was installed and I aranged to go there. They tried once to pull again which hurt the same way (felt like my guts were coming out). They decided to put me under and went in through my throat. I was told later that it was in so long it became enbedded and they had to go in with a device to break it up. They said it should be changed every 6 months. Spent one night in the hospital as there was some bleeding and pain. I was put on pain med. I'm OK now. No one told me about having it changed despite regular visits to my ENT. Live and learn! Good luck with yours.

Jim
-------------------------------------------------- SCC Rt lateral tongue Dx 9/03, Surg 11/03 (T2/N0M0);recur SCC BOT and anterior tongue Dx 1/04; surg 2/04 (T4/N0M0) subtotal glossectomy, forearm free flap, floor of mouth reconstruction,pharyngoplasty;trach until 3/04;PEG still have; 36 rad (3/04-5/04)therapy 12/04-12/05; 2 esophagus endoscopies

Hi all,

I really enjoyed this, I am having my peg tube taken out in June. My Doc says he just pulls it out right in the office. I am going be so happy to finally be able to soak in a hot tub again ( I'm sure not till after it heals) I don't know what the pain will be like but I have had so much pain in the last 6 months I don't think I will notice this much.

Happy summer.

Patricia

3 mos. out of treatment for tongue and tonsil cancer.

Mine was easy. Doctor told me to lay back and on the count of three.
'One'
'Two'
He rips it out.
I scream 'Son of a bitch'
He says 'Three.'
No problem

Jack didn't have any problems either - couple of seconds and all done. Great news on getting it out. You probably want to give it a couple of days before you hit that hot tub but you're practically there. It will definitely improve your summer. Regards JoAnne

Call me "chicken", but that was a nap I was glad to take after hearing some of the stories posted about the "yank & tug" methods. One of the nurses told me that some Dr.'s do it "live" but my GI Dr. wants to take a look around while he's in there. He also works closely with all the Cancer center Dr.'s so he kind of gave me a unofficial "sneak preview" of what everything in there looked like. Bottom line, the "cord" was cut, so to speak, and it was another step back to "normal", whatever that means. LOL
Take care,
Steve

Lucky people that had a local... I had mine yanked out It's uncomfortable for a couple of hours, but after that things get better. I like it MUCH better now that it is gone.

The doc who removed my PEG told me that when it was installed, it was much like a fishing pole that is bent over at the end by putting tension on the tip with some nylon filament, the base of which was tied to the exterior part of the PEG.

When he cut the nylon, the PEG straighten3e out and then it was a quick tug on the now straight piece of plastic and out it came.

Not sure if all PEG's are alike in design, but this was a simple, 30 second procedure that was relatively painless (apart from the sensation of watching and feeling a piece of plastic being taken out of your body). - Sheldon

Mine was yanked out and it hurt like HECK for about 10 seconds. Then I was fine. A very small issue in light of all we go through.
Minnie

Question? My husband has a feed tube and there are stitches holding it in place. You can see the stitches. We are not sure who did the surgery to put it in place as it was an emergency. Currently at PMH the doctor there said she never seen stitches used like he has.???? We have no confidence in the doctor who instructed the feed tube to be inserted into my husband. After going to several hospitals, one thing for this one thing for that type thing. Can any doctor take the feed tube out???? What about the stitches that we can see on the outside of his body??? Carol...

Carol, can't answer that-John's 2 feeding tubes did not have visible stitches. I think I would insist on talking to the guy who put it in-face to face- or get some answers from the one who might remove it. In the mean time,I hope it is helping him to keep his weight and hydration stable.That's what they are for. Amy in the Oz

My doctor, who of course has never had one, said that it wouldn't hurt as she yanked it out. It did hurt, but really all the pain was gone about 30 seconds later. It was a bit like stubbing your toe- you do want to scream, but the pain subsides very quickly.

Maybe it was just better that she told me it wouldn't hurt afterall...

Senator13,

You are the first patient on this site that I have seen to have had IGRT. Was that the only rad you rec'd? Did they use that technique on multiple locations or just one? I thought IGRT was designed for cancers of the lungs? Interesting.

Well, my PEG wasn't removed as planned. The dr. punctured my esoph on the way down so wouldn't take the PEG out. He knew my throat would be KILLING me afterwards and it was. Back to not eating OR drinking thru mouth until the hole heals. Could be weeks. So bummed when I woke up and the tube was still there.
Thanks for all of your responses.

WOW Jordan

I just saw this yesterday as I was "researching" PEG tube removal. I hope you are better by now and the PEG is finally out.

I am not the sueing type. I hope the doctor apologized and upped your med dosage!

Best Wishes, Petey

I think I am now glad I had mine yanked out... Even if it did hurt

Sorry to hear your news Jordan.

Thanks-still not eating or drinking cuz the esoph still isn't healed. ugh.