Feeding tube and still throwing up

omnedon
omnedon Member Posts: 10
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hi all ny nmae is Ron and i was diagonosed with the right tonsil cancer and 1 lymph node infected. I am a non smoker never have they say it was causd by the HPV virius and said this was very curable. In my 6th week i hadn't eaten anything for almost 2weeks so I had the feeding tube placed so far it seems to be a bust My wife feed me a boost plus and some water through the tube. I happend to doze off in the chair about a hour later then about 1 1/2 later woke up due to excessive phelgm which led me right back to throwing up along with a good portion of the boost came up. My question is there any way to stop throwing up the boost  after falling sleep? Any help is appreciated all my treatments have been stopped until my blood counts improve.

 

thanks

 

Ron

 

 

Comments

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #2
    A couple of ideas....

    Instead of laying down flat after the food goes into the tube, maybe try a lounger, where your torso is slightly elevated...also....When I was having an awful time keeping anything down, I'd take a compazine or a zophran about 30 minutes before I poured in the Boost. 

    p

  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member
    #3
    Keeping it down

    Hi Ron,

    When I first got my PEG, I found the speed of the drip made a big difference. I'm using Osmolite as my supplement and I was told an 8oz can should take about 20 minutes. We add an additional 4-8oz of water for extra hydration. I had to play with the drip speed but found that too fast made me sick. Nausea was an issue early on after treatment so an anti nausea drug prior to feeding helped immensely. 

    "T"

  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #4
    Slow feeding

    Sounds like you may be throwing up because of the excessive phlegm, and coughing so hard to get it up.  We've all been there and done that, and coughed till we gagged. 

    I got my PEG after I had been unable to eat for a number of days, so I started out with a very small stomach and got nauseated after just one can.  My doctor prescribed a pump and feeding bag system that allowed me to pump each can in slowly.  I'd set the pump rate for 45 minutes, and I was later able to speed it up to about a half an hour per can.

    Another thing I could do with the pump was fill my feeding bag with 5 cans of the food, set the pump rate really slow, and pump it all in over the six or seven hour period I was sleeping.  It was a good way for me to add more calories.

    Bottom line, don't get too upset about spitting up your dinner.  Just eat again, in a while.

    Deb

  • Hard12Find
    Hard12Find Member Posts: 218 Member
    #5
    Ron,

    Hang in there it gets better. I got to where I couldn't tolerate the medical formulas or most anything through the feeding tube, (lost 85 lbs during treatment, felt like I was vomiting 24-7.

    Try blended real foods, in particular instant malt o meal, kept me alive. Stay hydrated, try some different anti nausea meds, a combo of ondancetron and promethazine worked pretty well for me, but putting some real food made the most difference to me...

    It gets better with time......

    Jim

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #6
    feed me

    Ron,

    I am in agreement with p51, maybe you are lying too flat. I had that problem in my recliner.  Fluids are going to follow the path of least resistance

    Also, I liked T’s advice on speed of drip (I used Jevity set at fast drip).

    Finally, Deb makes a good point about “do it again”.

    We are all junior scientists here.

    Matt

  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #7
    CivilMatt said:

    feed me

    Ron,

    I am in agreement with p51, maybe you are lying too flat. I had that problem in my recliner.  Fluids are going to follow the path of least resistance

    Also, I liked T’s advice on speed of drip (I used Jevity set at fast drip).

    Finally, Deb makes a good point about “do it again”.

    We are all junior scientists here.

    Matt

    Ron

    Suggest slowing the drip just to seee if it helps. I was told not to lay down for 30 minutes after feeding. 

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