Please help: Peg tube question

jcortney said:

Flush

Kristen,

You can do it either way.  So SLOWLY with the syringe, you don't need force or you can let it flow like a feeding.  For cleaning (flushing) before and after feeding 60cc (2 oz) is usually enough to clear the tube.  For hydration, just let it flow slowly like you were feeding.  She needs to be hydrated not only for her kidneys but to prevent a whole host of problems.  So make sure she does it.  

Now, the tube is for when she can no longer take nutrition and fluids via swallowing.  She MUST KEEP SWALLOWING even when using the tube or she runs the risk of loosing her ability to swallow in the future.

Hope this helps, any other questions just ask.

Joe

To put it into perspective I only used the tube to drink water for about a week, other than that I was able to swallow it. If she is swallowing medicine she can swallow water.

Kristen,

Just to be clear, you should never have to force fluids down a PEG.  If all is working well you should be able to push a full syringe down easily.

The reason I bring this up is I went through 2 PEG’s and the first one you had to painfully force liquids down and the second one work like a breeze, whether at fast drip or super soaker speed.

I used Jevity and fruit juices mixed with meds down mine, but people on here use everything you can think of including alcoholic beverage (which I do not recommend).  For me, it was hang 2 cans of Jevity up high and let them drip into the PEG (about 1.5 hours).  For flushing I used about a full syringe and about 5 seconds to push it through (slower if needed).

I also continued to drink tons of water and drink one meal a day.

You will get the hand of it.

Matt

one I kept the plunger and only used it for flushing....giving the water a small amount of pressure going down the tube....the other I used only for liquid nutrients (Ensure Plus and Boost) and fed by gravity....sometimes I'd mix the Boost with some milk to thin it out and get it down the tube faster.....the only other thing I put down my tube was coca cola to clean it out.

I kept a 33 oz bottle of water by my chair and sipped on it all day long.....ate what I could for as long as I could.  Many things I mixed with milk to thin them out (like mac and cheese).....plus I went thru a gallon of 4% milk every 2 or 3 days just drinking it....Milk was wonderful and I could taste it far into treatment.

p

fishmanpa said:

It does a body good

Hey P,

Your tip about milk I've taken to heart. Marcia is a big milk drinker and she's been on me too. When she read your milk tip, she was all over it! ~lol~

Anyway... I've been drinking A LOT of milk. Both in my shakes and by itself. By itself I've been drinking whole chocolate milk. Surprisingly, I still have my taste buds and today is treatment #20... Check it out! Tomorrow is T minus 9 ~

"T

The single digit celebration is about to be reality!!  I can't believe you still have taste  buds (mine are still taste aquaintences). 

Milk was my friend and ally all through rads....I'm glad to hear Marcia got you going on it.  Two birds with one stone...nutrition and hydration in one fell swoop - even better chocolate milk, more calories.

p

I had a jpeg tube my stomach was to small,for the peg!  Mine goes in the small intestine! Had part of my stomach removed years ago because of an ulcer!  I also needed the 64oz of water a day!  They count the water in the feeding material also! I took 5 8oz cans of Glucerna daily this counted as my water also.  I was told to flush the tube with 4oz twice a day! So I had to drink only 16oz of water a day or any other liquid!  If it had caffine they said don't count that because you urinate it out!  I had head and neck cancer in July 2012!  Went to Sloan Kettering in New York City!  What a great place I am now cancer free!  

I hope this helped if not let me know I can give you more! My feeding tubes comes out next week! Able to eat enough to maintain my weight! Been off it for two months now!