Is peg tube removal painful?

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robinleigh
robinleigh Member Posts: 297
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Andy's doctor thinks he is ready to give up the peg tube in a few weeks. He is convinced that it is going to be very painful. He has the type that has an internal bumper (not a balloon). Spool...what's it really like?

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  • Hal61
    Hal61 Member Posts: 655
    #2
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    Easy Peasy
    Sounds like your husband has the same type I had, but there a few variations. I had the long tune into my stomach, with a bumper on each side of the stomach/skin. I laid down in the doctor's office who put it in, just unbottoned my shirt. He put a few sheets of gauze pad around the area. Then he took hold of the outside tube, and said ready? I said yes, there was a puckering sound, no pain, just a sensation, and it was done.

    Just a tiny bit of blood. He put on a gauze bandage, said not to shower for 24 hours, and adios.

    The hole closed up within a few days.

    I've heard of people who have some considerable pain on removal, but what I've heard in those cases was that the pain is brief. Some have soreness, I didn't.

    I hope he has my experience.

    best, Hal
  • Cathelen72
    Cathelen72 Member Posts: 33 Member
    #3
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    Not really
    Had mine removed in December. I would describe it like it was a sucker punch to the stomache though I was prepared for it. The ache not pain lasted for a few minutes and it even made me laugh out loud. Maybe I laughed because I was so happy to have it removed. Like the others said compared to what we all went through this was NOTHING. I didn't have an blood and hardly any leakage. After 24 hours no need for a bandage. Of course everyone is different and I hope for your husband his experience will go just fine.
  • Irishgypsie
    Irishgypsie Member Posts: 333
    #4
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    Cathelen72 said:

    Not really
    Had mine removed in December. I would describe it like it was a sucker punch to the stomache though I was prepared for it. The ache not pain lasted for a few minutes and it even made me laugh out loud. Maybe I laughed because I was so happy to have it removed. Like the others said compared to what we all went through this was NOTHING. I didn't have an blood and hardly any leakage. After 24 hours no need for a bandage. Of course everyone is different and I hope for your husband his experience will go just fine.

    NO!
    Well it shouldn't be!! :) Good Luck!!

    Charles
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #5
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    Ya, what everyone else said here...
    I had the bumper, and it was pretty much the way everyone else here described. My Gastro Doc was a woman, and maybe she wasn't as strong as some that the others describe. I had a really good long pull to get mine out, and then I think I had kind of a muscle spasm for a minute. Left me yelping like a puppy for a second or two there, but then it was gone. No more pain, closed right up with not much in the way of seeping, and I was showering in a couple of days.

    Deb
  • robinleigh
    robinleigh Member Posts: 297
    #6
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    D Lewis said:

    Ya, what everyone else said here...
    I had the bumper, and it was pretty much the way everyone else here described. My Gastro Doc was a woman, and maybe she wasn't as strong as some that the others describe. I had a really good long pull to get mine out, and then I think I had kind of a muscle spasm for a minute. Left me yelping like a puppy for a second or two there, but then it was gone. No more pain, closed right up with not much in the way of seeping, and I was showering in a couple of days.

    Deb

    PEG tube removal
    Thanks for the feed back. Will probably have it removed in two weeks. For some reason the thought of the interior bumper being pulled through the small hole freaks me out. Will make it though. Thanks again for all the responses.

    Andy
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #7
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    robinleigh said:

    PEG tube removal
    Thanks for the feed back. Will probably have it removed in two weeks. For some reason the thought of the interior bumper being pulled through the small hole freaks me out. Will make it though. Thanks again for all the responses.

    Andy

    Harder to watch than to experience...
    My daughter came along to watch, and it really creeped her out. I glanced over, midway through, and she had her head between her knees.

    Deb
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #8
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    Hal61 said:

    Easy Peasy
    Sounds like your husband has the same type I had, but there a few variations. I had the long tune into my stomach, with a bumper on each side of the stomach/skin. I laid down in the doctor's office who put it in, just unbottoned my shirt. He put a few sheets of gauze pad around the area. Then he took hold of the outside tube, and said ready? I said yes, there was a puckering sound, no pain, just a sensation, and it was done.

    Just a tiny bit of blood. He put on a gauze bandage, said not to shower for 24 hours, and adios.

    The hole closed up within a few days.

    I've heard of people who have some considerable pain on removal, but what I've heard in those cases was that the pain is brief. Some have soreness, I didn't.

    I hope he has my experience.

    best, Hal

    What pain there was, for me, lasted only a second or two. My experience was like Hal's, except my Surgeon forewarned me that I'd feel it, then kinda twisted/spun mine a little before yanking it- to make sure the bumper wasn't binding to any of the stomach wall. Not a big deal, and compared to where treatment can take one- a walk in the park, especially when you realize the significance of losing the PEG in the big picture of the recovery.

    kcass
  • arndog64
    arndog64 Member Posts: 537
    #9
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    D Lewis said:

    Harder to watch than to experience...
    My daughter came along to watch, and it really creeped her out. I glanced over, midway through, and she had her head between her knees.

    Deb

    My husband said it hurt for
    My husband said it hurt for awhile. Be careful, my husband ran a low grade fever and vomitted for the first few days. I believe some bacteria got in his stomach during the removal process and made him pretty darn sick. It took him 2-3 weeks to get his strength back from that episode.
  • CajunEagle
    CajunEagle Member Posts: 408
    #10
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    Not really a problem.
    Extracting the tube felt like someone pinched my stomach. In reality, it was a much less amount of discomfort than having all those blood tests, or the placement of those chemo needles in my medi-port. I had a mild amount of itching sensation during the healing process, which took about 2-3 weeks.

    Larry

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