RIG tube

[BlueBeachHut]

Apologies in advance for the graphic explanations in my post but we’re desperate for some answers. My husband was admitted to hospital on Friday last week having had severe abdominal pain and constant diarrhoea for a couple of hours. They are saying he has faecal impaction despite having a sachet of Macrogol and a bowel movement every day. Anyway, the absolute mystery is that whenever he has a Fortisip through his RIG it’s causing pain, rumblings and faecal fluid to come oozing out around the site. He’s had the tube changed and is eating some normal diet. Has anyone heard of this happening? Any ideas on the cause please? We need to get home!

[KittyWithers]

hi and sorry to hear this. I used to work with children who were fed via tubes. If faecal fluid is coming out of the stoma site then it does sounds like there’s some kind of issue with the bowel. It could also explain how uncomfortable he is when being fed. From a medical perspective dealing with the impaction is needed and soon. There are options including enema or physically removing the poo (literally scooping it out). There are also protocols for oral laxatives in most hospitals. I know this isn’t a specific answer but hopefully it could help with conversations with the team.

[PineEater]

BlueBeachHutHi. It appears to me that you should perhaps replace the forticip with something like the complan sachet shakes etc (please contact a dietician) to see does that make a difference? Some people have benefited from that. It may well be that your husband's stomach just doesn't like forticip. Some contents in the forticip might be causing the trouble- the pain and the rumblings besides the faecal fluid...I am hopeful that is likely helpful.

I would also like to know were there any reasons for going in for a RIG instead of a PEG as the latter is always superior to the former. Best wishes to you and your husband.