Any caregiver had to make this decision? Dad had a stroke and had difficulty swallowing. Speech therapist made recommendation to do a nasal tube but they tried 5x and dad refused after 6th. He then had a seizure next morning and whatever consciousness he had was gone. He's no longer able to swallow meds with small spoon of apple sauce. I bought up PEG and doctor ordered the procedure. Am I doing the right thing? Or best thing? Is it too early?
I will say, there are problems that we are still dealing with though, the number one problem is aspiration pneumonia! We have stopped all oral intake except small dropperfuls of water occasionally, but she still has a terrible time with swallowing saliva.. The average person swallows once a minute, and we have to encourage her to swallow 5x every 1/2 hour at least! The swallowing is difficult for her, but with ALOT of encouragement from us , it happens.
She can now stand (with assistance) and talk, although volume is still a problem. My father now has his partner back, it is intermittent, because she has vascular dementia also, but without the Peg tube they wouldn’t have celebrated their 65years of marriage in June!
Is it the whole answer, no, but the PEG tube allowed there to be a possibility of improvement, and for my Mom, thank God, there has been improvement.
Good luck to you and your dad with whatever choice you make, everything about this ageing thing is SOOO hard, all we can do is try! Hugs, Graceland!!
Addtionally we have not had any infection problems yet, she has had the Peg for 1yr and 5 months. I clean the stoma daily and new dressing around stoma/tube daily. We just had a new tube placed as the old one began to break down… very easy procedure, no anesthesia, dr just pulled original out and put new one in stoma.
Nasal-gastric tubes (tube from the nose to the stomach) are usually inserted by a nurse for the purpose of feeding liquid diet and fluids. It requires no incision but may be irritating to the throat and, even if secured by tape, can be pulled out by a less-than-aware or uncomfortable patient. It will probably then be re-inserted. But each re-insertion heightens the possibility of the tube being even more irritating, not well positioned and causing possible respiratory problems.
The PEG tube is inserted by a doctor thorough the abdominal wall and secured by a stitch or two. It is appropriate for longer term use than the NG tube. A quick minor surgery, usually no general anesthesia is required. Once in place, it's not especially uncomfortable for the patient and not easily dislodged ( making it safer than a nasal gastric tube)
I do not think it's "too early", especially if your father is inclined towards seizures.
Also a PEG can be kept in place as the patient recovers. It can be clamped and hidden in the clothing so that it isn't visible even if he is up and about. As a nurse, I once had a elderly patient (not a stroke patient) who loved to dance. On his 100th birthday he danced with his somewhat younger wife (PEG hidden in his underwear) while amazed TV reporters looked on. (He didn't get to eat birthday cake, though)
Seriously my mom had one, it was not like the one you described. Hers was hung up similar to the way IV fluids are hung. If she had wanted to get up and move around she'd have to take the, whole apparatus with her. I thought she would get the other option,portable one, but no.
If I had known that it would have been a NO for it.
https://www.asge.org › for-patients › patient-information
PEG stands for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, a procedure in which a flexible feeding tube is placed through the abdominal wall and into the stomach.
What Is A Peg? · How Is The Peg Performed? · How Should I Care For The...
if you can get a food pump, that will give you alot of relief. And he can sleep while it’s running, but he must be sitting up at least 35%. A good lounge chair or bed that raises & lowers fixes that problem.
you may need to give his drugs thru the tube, so you will need a pestle & mortar which works the best I have found. Add a small amount of water do you can use a large surynge to put in the tube. Remember on the tube, always turn the wheel or you will end up cleaning up a mess!