Let's Talk Feeding Tubes

So as some of you know, I've been dealing with a stricture pretty much since my revision surgery on 11/28/11. I've now been dilated 2x and still no luck. So now that I've been a month without any nourishment, I'm going in in the am for a J tube...

Can anyone tell me what to expect? I don't know anything about it... How big will the hole be in my stomach? What will I put in the feeding tube? Will I be there overnight? Etc etc... Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your support!

they put mine in when I was under anesthesia from having my DS.  It was in (if I remember correctly) about 2 months.  It was a lifesaver at the time because I could barely eat or drink.  I pu****er, followed by several syringe fulls of protein drink, followed by a water flush again.  I did this about  3 times a day if I remember correctly.  I never got dehydrated.  I really liked that Dr. Anthones gives us the J tube.  The only thing that bothered me (a lot) were the stay sutures he placed in to hold it into place.  It really pulled on my abdominal skin and hurt to move around.  I finally put a bandage over it and the pain stopped as I stopped pulling at it.

I also had Dr. Anthone and had the J-tube during the DS surgery.   You may have to experiment with what you put in it.  I tended to push water too quickly and would make myself sick.  (Not sure how that's possible since the water wasn't going into my stomach...)  But, I would get a really yucky feeling.   And, I had to experiement with the water temperature.    I also would bandage mine down so that I wouldn't accidentally pull it.

Good luck.

Thanks Felicia... I've been kinda worried about the pain too... I will make sure to keep it covered up!

I, too, had mine placed when I had my revision. It was convient for fluids, protein drinks, and pain medication early out. I had it for 6 weeks and went back to work with it. After a phone conversation with my surgeon, pulled it myself....no pain. The suture which achored to tube to the skin pulled out a few days before I removed the tube and that was painful.

You'll do fine and it'll be a life saver for you.

Thanks Gail! I'm still wondering if since I'm not having along with my revision if they will keep me overnight?

Have you gotten over to the new place yet? You'll get a lot more feedback there.

I had my J-tube placed during my revision to lengthen my common channel, so like others so far, I was already under anesthesia for another procedure. I agree that the worst part were the anchor stitches pulling and stinging. The first time they broke loose, I had to go back in and get re-stitched in the office which was fairly easy. I also had them break loose prior to being given permission to pull it myself.

I pu****er and protein shakes in it. I gravity fed as well as used a infusion pump overnight. It takes a bit to build up tolerance to the amount because the nutrition goes directly into the small intestine. Oh and the other difficult part was my closure would seal so tight it was a devil to pop open sometimes. It very important to flush, flush, flush to keep the line from stopping up.

I believe that J-tube placement is an outpatient procedure.

Thanks Dusty!
And Elizabeth, I hadn't seen the link yet, but I've got it now!

When I had my stricture they didn't do a j tube, they just put a picc line in my arm and fed me TPN through that. I did that for a month to get me back in healthy condition (the stricture dehydrated me really bad, and at first they didn't know about the stricture). Luckily though, it only took 1 dilation to fix mine. I hope yours gets resolved soon! I'd ask about a picc line and tpn before I'd do the j tube. It can be a pain in the butt, but it seems like it would be easier to me.