Naso gastric tube week 6

Hi Liz  Yes I had ng tube fitted towards the end if week 3 it was my lifesaver it enabled me to complete treatment and then  aid recovery without stressing about food hydration or medication going down my heavily radiated   throat. I i had 7  weeks radiotherapy and my tube was in until week 3 of recovery. I do credit the tube in helping me recover fairly speedily it took the stress away. I always knew if I needed a tube it woukd be ng as for trust did not routinely fit peg or rigs, My advise is to have it put in. It’s very rare for a peg to be fitted this  late in treatment  it’s more often fitted prior to treatment starting. The procedure for fitting the tube is a few moments discomfort ,any advise just ask. 
I too had mine as I couldn’t swallow but I did also have a lot of mucus and was prescribed carbusistine,my swallow was too painful as a Dani says 

Birdwoman said:

Has anyone else had an NG later on in treatment? 

Yes me but it was because I couldn’t swallow with the pain. Much easier than a PEG or RIG at this stage as they are both invasive. 
If your husband has little pain and it’s just the stickiness then try a nebuliser or steaming over hot water with a towel round his head. Drinking lots of water or diet ginger ale or coke or soda water can thin it down. There is a drug called carbocysteine you can get on prescription that thins the mucous. 
Hope you get an answer soon 

Thanks Dani. He has got pain, but that's pretty well managed, and is using nebs. I think it's the combination of mucous and milky supplements he's struggling with. Hopefully the tube will get round this. 

Thanks Hazel. We will ask about carbocystine too. 

Birdwoman said:

Hopefully the tube will get round this. 

It will. Ask about pump feeding too. I fed slowly by pump through the night so that I had the whole day free to do all the other stuff and still have some time to be me. It worked a treat 

I had an NG tube fitted just after treatment ended, it was a lifesaver and worked really well with slow overnight pump feeding. I couldn't stand Fortisips - never did like sweet milky things! 

Hi there my husband is on week 5 of radiotherapy,he really was struggling to eat and drink so had a Ng tube fitted last week it takes so much stress away from thinking about food and keeping hydrated ,good luck on your journey xx