Today a short post about a question that I am repeatedly asked: “How does it actually feel to live with a PEG?” To some, this question may sound stupid. But I think it’s good. Because I think it’s a perfectly valid question. Many oral eaters and even those who may not yet have a PEG tube cannot imagine what it is like to get food and fluids directly into the stomach through a tube. When I look at it closely or when I get into this initial question, further questions then arise from this one.
Does it hurt?
Many think that a PEG tube hurts. In fact, it doesn’t hurt at all. At least not in everyday life. Of course it hurts after a new placement. After all, there is a hole where nature didn’t intend for one. Especially with a foreign body in it. But that passes after a while. As long as the insertion site doesn’t become infected or someone accidentally pulls on the tube, I don’t notice the PEG at all.
Do you notice when the food goes in?
As a rule, I don’t even notice when liquid (whether food or drink) is pumped in through the tube. It’s usually too slow for that. The exception is when the liquid is very cold (which should be avoided in principle, as should warm or even hot liquids). Or if we don’t pump the liquid into the stomach with a pump, but let it run in by gravity or quickly enter it with a syringe. I will go into this in more detail another time. It is also the case that in the morning, when the stomach is still empty, I tend to notice the fluid intake by gravity more than at any other time.
Are you still hungry/thirsty?
From the outset, I took great care not to change my eating habits just because the food or liquid no longer comes through the mouth but directly into the stomach through the tube. This means that I still eat at the usual times (i.e. in the morning, at noon and in the evening) and then always relatively quickly. As fast as the pump allows. After all, this is the normal physical process. No healthy person sits at the cereal for 2 hours in the morning or nibbles on a schnitzel or salad for hours at lunchtime. However, this so-called “flow rate” is another topic for a separate, detailed article. Because there are actually cases in which the food has to pass more slowly, so that food or liquid is supplied to them almost all the time. Fortunately, it’s different for me. That’s why I still get hungry or thirsty if it’s been too long since I last had something in my stomach.
Are you full/sated at some point?
As with everyone else, thanks to the relatively quick intake of food or fluids, my stomach is also full at some point, so I feel satiated. I have usually adjusted the amount of food I eat quite well to my daily needs. So normally I am well full after one portion, without it being too much for me. And when the small hunger comes back, it is also soon time for the next meal. But every now and then there are days when I am still hungry after the usual portion. Then I just have something else. Or I may be full before the usual portion has been pumped through. In that case, I stop before then. Otherwise, I feel bloated for the next few hours. Not nice at all…
As you can see, whether it’s via oral eating or the feeding tube, it’s pretty similar. But people only know about such things if they are explained to them. That’s one of the reasons why I’m writing about my “Life with PEG”.
