Having undergone Oesophagectomy 18 months ago, Which resulted in the loss of 5 over stone, I am still having problems due to nausea and other associated symptoms following food intake. as I really need to gain weight, my dietician has suggested that having tried many different types of food combination without much success a peg directly into the bowel may be worth considering. Can
anyone give me advice regarding side affects of this procedure..? This may well be my only option.
Hi Mikey, I'm not sure what a peg is, but it sounds very like the tube I had when I woke from my esophagectomy. Mine was called a J tube, and I was fed through it directly into my jujeum (I'm not sure how to spell that) I had it in for about 10 weeks in all.
It was not painful, but mildly inconvenient having a length of tube taped to my waist.
At one point, while I was still in hospital, it fell out onto the floor. That meant I had to have it replaced under Xray, which again was not painful, but it was difficult to keep still for 20 minutes.
But all in all, it would certainly be worth having it done to help you gain weight.
Good luck
Jane
Like patchworker ( and many of us I suspect ) I had a j peg . The thought of it was awful and I wasn't very nice to the nurse who visited me at home when I started using it .
But it was ok ,no trouble really .
Sounds like a good idea ,surprised not suggested before and that they've let you loose so much weight before going down this route .
It won't help you eat more though as you tend not to be very hungry when tube fed .
I found I had to have it on a very low speed ( I fed overnight ) as a faster rate gave me cramps .
Good luck ,the thought of it is honestly worse than the experience .
Hi violet queen
Yes this sounds like what they are wanting me to consider. I am not too keen on the idea, but I am advised that I cannot continue as I am. Having been overweight for most of my life and constantly wanting a magic pill to make me this, I am now medically "underweight" to the point that life-long colleagues do not recognise me.., ( "be careful what you wish for")
You reply has been very helpful, I really think I need to bite the bullet and be advised by the experts...
take care,
mike
Hello Patchworker.
IMy main problem is an nauseous following eating to the point that I am unable to consume enough protein and calories to maintain weight, in fact I am slowly losing. after 18 months of experimenting with various food types, I have been advised that direct feeding via a line into my bowel may be necessary.
I have heard it referred to as a "peg" but this is probably not the correct term.
thank you for your advice, it has been very useful. My best wishes for your continuing recovery..
My partner is also currently experiencing the nausea and is 1month post op. He has a PEJ tube in from when they did the surgery. The dietician is currently sorting us out with feed regime via this till the nausea hopefully settles. We also, whilst he was in hospital found the slower feed the best, they started at 30mls an hour and gradually got to 50mls an hour. They tried to put it up to abit more but it have him stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
I've heard the medics refer to the feeding tube as a "jej". Maybe that's what you heard? It's because the tube goes into the jejunum ( the small intestine); I think.
First of all a PEG goes directly into the stomach only. As you have had an prostatectomy I take it a journal feeding tube direct into the small bowel is what you are talking about here.
I understand your concern at looking so much weight post operation but as you have tried everything else a dichotomy really is your only option. I know this because I had a prostatectomy back in October 2004 and had massive problems adjusting post operation to eating little but often. Now these past 4 years I have only just got used to using a journal feeding tube for overnight feeding. Yes, there are problems to begin with but considering the massive operation that you have gone through, you need this feeding tube to help sustain your body and yes you will eventually put some weight back on but not all. There are many many people out there who would give anything to Be in your shoes where you can eat anything (and you will one day) and not put weight on. A tribunal feeding tube has it's own challenges but without it you cannot carry on looking weight like this can you? Good luck.
I wish to apologise for my spelling errors in my last post. This is due to the autumn correct settings on my kindle. I shall have to correct these settings. But saying that I do hope you can make out what I was trying to say.
what are the spring correct settings like on your kindle?
Settings, keyboard, next word prediction and auto correct. That's all there is to it. My messages should be ok now wih correct spelling.
Hi Mikey,
I'd highly recommend a peg if you have lost that much weight. I had a similar tube via my nose to my stomach. It took the pressure off from trying to eat enough calories and I quickly gained weight. You can get feeding machine that fit in a ruck sack, so you can move about and go out.
I'd also recommend taking something like amitryptaline (I take 25mg per night). The medication will help with any pain, help with sleeping at night and increase you appetite. It will also suppress the nausea.
Hope that helps,
Jay
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