Another PEG question

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Greend
Greend Member Posts: 678
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
O'k I have "tube envy" for those of you who've had yours removed. I'm at the other extreme; I had mine inserted after 15 years and it looks like I will have it cremated with me when I die. I've had mine in for about nine months and am wondering what the average time is before this one starts leaking or something and has to be replaced? Can I expect the replacement to last as long as my virgin tube? I do have a G-tube vs the J.

Would like to go on vacation but starting to wonder when this will need to be changed (sound like I'm getting my car ready for a long trip)since I don't want to be out of the country trying to get a new one if I can help it. Berlitz doesn't cover this.

Comments

  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #2
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    G-tube
    Had mine for a little over 15-months. Around the 11th month there was a tear in the plastic flap you remove to open the pathway to the stomach. Went to my Surgeon about this, and he advised that for long-terms it is better to have the "balloon" type of tube, as it can easily be replaced. Fortunately for me, I wasn't using my PEG anymore, and really only popped the top for flushings to make sure the pathway was still open. Thing is, if it wasn't for the tear in the plastic I wasn't seeing any other complication that might lead me to believe it had to be swapped for another. I wasn't having any kind of leakage, or any other complication. Because of how the G-tubes are installed, getting a new one might be a hassle. I'd just keep on keeping on with the one you have, AND be very careful with the moving parts so that nothing like a tear happens.

    kcass
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #3
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    Kent Cass said:

    G-tube
    Had mine for a little over 15-months. Around the 11th month there was a tear in the plastic flap you remove to open the pathway to the stomach. Went to my Surgeon about this, and he advised that for long-terms it is better to have the "balloon" type of tube, as it can easily be replaced. Fortunately for me, I wasn't using my PEG anymore, and really only popped the top for flushings to make sure the pathway was still open. Thing is, if it wasn't for the tear in the plastic I wasn't seeing any other complication that might lead me to believe it had to be swapped for another. I wasn't having any kind of leakage, or any other complication. Because of how the G-tubes are installed, getting a new one might be a hassle. I'd just keep on keeping on with the one you have, AND be very careful with the moving parts so that nothing like a tear happens.

    kcass

    G-tube
    My understanding is every two years or so it needs to be replaced, I am not sure why I read it on another post.

    Take care
    Hondo
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #4
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    envy :)
    Mine (a balloon-type PEG tube of the G sort) would fall out of its own accord every 12 to 14 months, when the solution in the balloon either dried up or leaked out (I have no idea).

    This meant that I had to get to an ER room pronto so they could stick a temp tube in at the very least, or risk having to go back in for a procedure to create a new hole as the old one closed up.

    I never let it kept me from going where I wanted to go, however, and hope that you don't either. Do not become a prisoner of the cancer and especially the tube! You didn't go through all that you've gone through in order to sit at home wondering when a tube was going to expire (I hope :)).

    You may feel more comfortable by talking to Doc first, but I'm betting he/she will tell you, as I am, to enjoy your vacation!

    Take care,

    Joe
  • Lelia
    Lelia Member Posts: 98
    #5
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    soccerfreaks said:

    envy :)
    Mine (a balloon-type PEG tube of the G sort) would fall out of its own accord every 12 to 14 months, when the solution in the balloon either dried up or leaked out (I have no idea).

    This meant that I had to get to an ER room pronto so they could stick a temp tube in at the very least, or risk having to go back in for a procedure to create a new hole as the old one closed up.

    I never let it kept me from going where I wanted to go, however, and hope that you don't either. Do not become a prisoner of the cancer and especially the tube! You didn't go through all that you've gone through in order to sit at home wondering when a tube was going to expire (I hope :)).

    You may feel more comfortable by talking to Doc first, but I'm betting he/she will tell you, as I am, to enjoy your vacation!

    Take care,

    Joe

    PEG problem
    Until tonight I haven't had one problem with husband's peg, but something changed and the syringe won't hold, it pushes back out, I'm tired and not at my most coherent, but seems like the tube opening must have become stretched and its rubber opening won't hold the plastic syringe. It all looks the same but the parts won't fit together.

    I called the place contracted to deliver Jevity and other supplies, they're supposed to be available to answer questions 24/7. But the nurse didn't understand what I was talking about and told me to visit our cancer hospital in the am.

    Anyone familiar with a tube end that won't accept and hold tight to the syringe? Maybe it gets worn out? Thanks for any feedback.
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #6
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    Lelia said:

    PEG problem
    Until tonight I haven't had one problem with husband's peg, but something changed and the syringe won't hold, it pushes back out, I'm tired and not at my most coherent, but seems like the tube opening must have become stretched and its rubber opening won't hold the plastic syringe. It all looks the same but the parts won't fit together.

    I called the place contracted to deliver Jevity and other supplies, they're supposed to be available to answer questions 24/7. But the nurse didn't understand what I was talking about and told me to visit our cancer hospital in the am.

    Anyone familiar with a tube end that won't accept and hold tight to the syringe? Maybe it gets worn out? Thanks for any feedback.

    syringe and plunger or syringe and tube?
    I had that happen on occasion, particularly with the syringe and the plunger, not so much with the syringe and the tube, as I recall.

    You mention not being at your most coherent so I will start with that one first. Mine came with a handy toggle switch (the tube) that I had to turn on before I could get the plunger to go down the syringe. On more than one occasion I forgot to switch the toggle to the on position and would try like crazy to push the plunger down but to no avail.

    Also, it is quite possible for the tube to become plugged up. I prevented this for the most part by nearly always following the Jevity feedings with a beaker or two full of warm water. But, I know, sometimes we are in a bit of a hurry and don't do everything we know to do and, really, over time, they can simply become clogged. When I first came on to this site people were recommending pouring carbonated soft drink into the tube to help with this problem. I never did this but people swore it worked.

    A third possibility is that through repetitive washing of the syringe and the plunger in, say a dishwasher or very hot water, the two begin to expand and contract at different rates so that they no longer fit one within the other properly. I always had spares of both of these critical items in case I needed to switch them out, along with the beakers, as I found, in any case, that over time they would all become a bit grungy no matter how much they were cleaned.

    As for the syringe and the tube itself, I had that toggle switch on the end of the tube, so if I had problems with a fit there, I also had spare toggle switches for replacements, but only remember that happening one time.

    Even so, some of the above might apply with respect to that connection as well.

    Good luck!

    Take care,

    Joe
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #7
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    soccerfreaks said:

    syringe and plunger or syringe and tube?
    I had that happen on occasion, particularly with the syringe and the plunger, not so much with the syringe and the tube, as I recall.

    You mention not being at your most coherent so I will start with that one first. Mine came with a handy toggle switch (the tube) that I had to turn on before I could get the plunger to go down the syringe. On more than one occasion I forgot to switch the toggle to the on position and would try like crazy to push the plunger down but to no avail.

    Also, it is quite possible for the tube to become plugged up. I prevented this for the most part by nearly always following the Jevity feedings with a beaker or two full of warm water. But, I know, sometimes we are in a bit of a hurry and don't do everything we know to do and, really, over time, they can simply become clogged. When I first came on to this site people were recommending pouring carbonated soft drink into the tube to help with this problem. I never did this but people swore it worked.

    A third possibility is that through repetitive washing of the syringe and the plunger in, say a dishwasher or very hot water, the two begin to expand and contract at different rates so that they no longer fit one within the other properly. I always had spares of both of these critical items in case I needed to switch them out, along with the beakers, as I found, in any case, that over time they would all become a bit grungy no matter how much they were cleaned.

    As for the syringe and the tube itself, I had that toggle switch on the end of the tube, so if I had problems with a fit there, I also had spare toggle switches for replacements, but only remember that happening one time.

    Even so, some of the above might apply with respect to that connection as well.

    Good luck!

    Take care,

    Joe

    Won't fit
    Joe might be onto something with the enlargement of the syringe plastic if washing in hot water, which I never did.

    Have you tried a different syringe?

    Also, my tube did get clogged twice after I stopped using the PEG regularly and was back to eating the traditional way. Shooting water would get no results, however Coca-Cola would, as I had been advised by my supply Technician. Just poured some Coke into the PEG, put the top back on the PEG and waited. Took awhile, but did eliminate to clog.

    kcass
  • buzz99
    buzz99 Member Posts: 404
    #8
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    Lelia said:

    PEG problem
    Until tonight I haven't had one problem with husband's peg, but something changed and the syringe won't hold, it pushes back out, I'm tired and not at my most coherent, but seems like the tube opening must have become stretched and its rubber opening won't hold the plastic syringe. It all looks the same but the parts won't fit together.

    I called the place contracted to deliver Jevity and other supplies, they're supposed to be available to answer questions 24/7. But the nurse didn't understand what I was talking about and told me to visit our cancer hospital in the am.

    Anyone familiar with a tube end that won't accept and hold tight to the syringe? Maybe it gets worn out? Thanks for any feedback.

    PEG problem
    The problem you are having is quite familiar to us. We either had to hold the syringe in place or clean the syringe tip and the inside of the end of the tube to get the syringe to stay in place. If there was residual formula inside the tube or on the syringe tip, the two parts would be slippery and would not stay together.
  • Lelia
    Lelia Member Posts: 98
    #9
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    Update
    I was so grateful and impressed that there were replies from you folks within hours of my 2am post about the PEG problems I had w/midnight feeding. Thank you!

    We use gravity and the syringe tip always fit into the rubbery tube end fine but last night pressure pushed it back out, we had to hold it there REAL hard but somehow, despite whatever pressure was preventing the syringe from linking with the tube, we got a gravity feeding in. This morning everything was back to normal.

    You'd think whatever pressure was pushing out the syringe last night would have also prevented the Jevity from flowing in, right? But it did go in, though a bit slower than normal.

    My new challenge is with him eating by mouth, the rad burns inside the throat still produce a lot of mucus. Using the effortful swallow technique he tried for the first time to eat bites of scrambled egg this morning, I think the peg episode scared him and he wants to re-learn swallowing. We tried little banana and fresh peach bites over the weekend--just a few, and cut small--and that went ok. But he vomited the egg, I believe it got caught in his gag spot. We'll try ice chips later.

    Like you guys say, time takes time.

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