questions: recovery after G-tube procedure

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

At the recommendation of our very conservative ped gastro doc, Asher is scheduled for a g-tube next Tuesday. It's been a long year with no weight gain, then weight loss, and lack of appetite. The decision of going ahead with the G-tube was excruciating, but we've made it and now I'd like to know what recovery is like.

How painful is the recovery from the G-tube insertion, how long does it take, what do we expect? Any ideas, stories, are very welcome as this is quite new to me and my husband.

Thanks,

Anne R

[Guest guest]

Anne, My son Wyatt, age 5 today, amazing how time flies, had his g-

tube put in last month. Like you it was a difficult decision, but we

are so glad we did it. The surgery was pretty easy. We informed

the anesthesiologist of the possiblity that he may be MH so he

cleared his lines and planned for a different drug to put him

under. Then he went into surgery. We had a muscle biopsy,

esophogus biopsy and the tube placed. All of it from the time he

was put under until the time he woke up was about 1 1/2 hours. A

surgeon was with the gastro when they placed the tube. They went in

through his mouth to locate the spot where they wanted to place the

tube. Once they found the correct location the surgeon pressed on

Wyatt's stomach to make sure everything was okay. They then, this

sounds horrible but it was the surgeons exact words, punctured a

hole in his stomach. I try to think of it like having an ear

pierced otherwise it gives me the heebie jeebies. They then placed

the tube in. Wyatt woke up 20 minutes after surgery and we were

able to see him. He was given nubain to recover on. He is allergic

to quite a few pain killers. He was sent to his room and was awake

the rest of the day. His surgery was at 10 a.m. and he stayed up

that night until 9 p.m. They did give him tylenol after the nubain

wore off. I really didn't feel he needed it but they felt it was

better to give it to him then to all of a sudden have Wyatt in pain

and then not be able to get the pain under control. One thing we

learned from other parents, which was extremely helpful, was to make

sure to vent the tube after suregery. Basically what you do is open

the clasp on the tube and wrap a diaper around it so the fluids go

into the diaper. This helps to get all of the air out of the

stomach from being put under. This really made a huge difference in

Wyatt's recovery. I've had surgery and I know what that feeling is

like. There was a little blood in the diaper which was expected

since they had to make a hole. The next day Wyatt was completely

fine. The only reason why we had to stay in the hospital was to

make sure we understood how to work the tube and clean it. Also to

slowly increase his food intake. They are afraid if they eat too

much right away they may be able to seperate the tube from the

lining of the stomach. We were home first thing on the third

morning. It went really smoothly. I was hesitant about the whole

procedure because of the MH issues and the allergies to meds. We've

had surgery before where the recovery was suppose to be 3 days and

we ended up in for 7 because of all of the complications. This

really was a breeze. Hope this helps. Sorry it is so long. If you

have any other questions, please e-mail. Like I said we just had

this done a month ago so everything is fresh in my mind.

Geri-Anne and Wyatt, Complex I

>

Hi all,

>

> At the recommendation of our very conservative ped gastro doc,

Asher is

> scheduled for a g-tube next Tuesday. It's been a long year with no

weight gain,

> then weight loss, and lack of appetite. The decision of going

ahead with the

> G-tube was excruciating, but we've made it and now I'd like to

know what recovery

> is like.

>

> How painful is the recovery from the G-tube insertion, how long

does it take,

> what do we expect? Any ideas, stories, are very welcome as this is

quite new

> to me and my husband.

>

> Thanks,

> Anne R

[Guest guest]

{{{{{{Anne, DH, and Asher}}}}}

Its a horribly hard decision to make, though 99% of the parents I've

spoken to that have them are so very glad they did, and many made the remark

that once done, they wondered why they put it off for as long as they did.

Struggling with the children over their intake is so draining and there

is a real freedom that comes with having that issue off the table.

Unfortunatly, knowing all that doesn't make the decision any easier on

us parents.

Like the others, Madison's recovery went very smoothly and other than

some tenderness at the tube site that was really only an issue (and not

much of one at that) when it was being messed with, it was as easy as something

like this could be. The tenderness was relatively short lived, and

once the bigger tube was switched over to the button, we no longer even

had that.

There's a good g-tube list at http://www.gtube.org

that I'd recommend you join for a wealth of information and other parents

that can really help alot early on.

The first little while with the longer tube can be a challenge, just

because it has to be "contained" to avoid getting yanked on, but once you

get the hang of it, its really not a big issue. You'll be SO thrilled

when its changed to a Mickey Button or whichever kind your doctor is recommending,

and appreciate it even more because you've been dealing with the longer

tube till then. On rare occasions they will immediatly insert the

Mickey, but most want some healing to take place before that happens.

In Madison's case, she has the hole where her button is and then a small

scar to one side where an incision was made to aid in securing the placement

of the tube. Before you know it, if getting a Mickey, you'll be a

pro at changing the tube yourself when needed also. It really does

become second hand to you.

Only "issue" we've had over here is some occasional problems with granulation

tissue, though this really has been quite managable and now that she's

had hers for more than two years, we really rarely see it any longer.

There are some wise people on the gtube list with ideas on ways to treat

it and avoid it, so there are things to do about it.

My thoughts and prayers are with you guys as you enter this new territory

and please know I am here if there is any way I can help.

-- BIG hugs,

Kass, proud mom to Chance(10-Mito), Madison(7-Mito),

and Abby(6-Mito)

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments

that take our breath away" Carlin

AReckling@... wrote:

Hi all,

At the recommendation of our very conservative

ped gastro doc, Asher is scheduled for a g-tube next Tuesday. It's been

a long year with no weight gain, then weight loss, and lack of appetite.

The decision of going ahead with the G-tube was excruciating, but we've

made it and now I'd like to know what recovery is like.

How painful is the recovery from the

G-tube insertion, how long does it take, what do we expect? Any ideas,

stories, are very welcome as this is quite new to me and my husband.

Thanks,

Anne R

[Guest guest]

{{{{{{Anne, DH, and Asher}}}}}

Its a horribly hard decision to make, though 99% of the parents I've

spoken to that have them are so very glad they did, and many made the remark

that once done, they wondered why they put it off for as long as they did.

Struggling with the children over their intake is so draining and there

is a real freedom that comes with having that issue off the table.

Unfortunatly, knowing all that doesn't make the decision any easier on

us parents.

Like the others, Madison's recovery went very smoothly and other than

some tenderness at the tube site that was really only an issue (and not

much of one at that) when it was being messed with, it was as easy as something

like this could be. The tenderness was relatively short lived, and

once the bigger tube was switched over to the button, we no longer even

had that.

There's a good g-tube list at http://www.gtube.org

that I'd recommend you join for a wealth of information and other parents

that can really help alot early on.

The first little while with the longer tube can be a challenge, just

because it has to be "contained" to avoid getting yanked on, but once you

get the hang of it, its really not a big issue. You'll be SO thrilled

when its changed to a Mickey Button or whichever kind your doctor is recommending,

and appreciate it even more because you've been dealing with the longer

tube till then. On rare occasions they will immediatly insert the

Mickey, but most want some healing to take place before that happens.

In Madison's case, she has the hole where her button is and then a small

scar to one side where an incision was made to aid in securing the placement

of the tube. Before you know it, if getting a Mickey, you'll be a

pro at changing the tube yourself when needed also. It really does

become second hand to you.

Only "issue" we've had over here is some occasional problems with granulation

tissue, though this really has been quite managable and now that she's

had hers for more than two years, we really rarely see it any longer.

There are some wise people on the gtube list with ideas on ways to treat

it and avoid it, so there are things to do about it.

My thoughts and prayers are with you guys as you enter this new territory

and please know I am here if there is any way I can help.

-- BIG hugs,

Kass, proud mom to Chance(10-Mito), Madison(7-Mito),

and Abby(6-Mito)

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments

that take our breath away" Carlin

AReckling@... wrote:

Hi all,

At the recommendation of our very conservative

ped gastro doc, Asher is scheduled for a g-tube next Tuesday. It's been

a long year with no weight gain, then weight loss, and lack of appetite.

The decision of going ahead with the G-tube was excruciating, but we've

made it and now I'd like to know what recovery is like.

How painful is the recovery from the

G-tube insertion, how long does it take, what do we expect? Any ideas,

stories, are very welcome as this is quite new to me and my husband.

Thanks,

Anne R