Of course you can ask. If they say “no” you can ask why. If they say “yes” they might forget, though. In any case, I hope you don’t develop a post-op ileus this time - mine was the longest ten days of my life. Good luck!

I would definately discuss this with your surgeon before your surgery, then remind them right before your put out with anesthesia. 

Its a long road, your close to the last part , it's not going to be easy but you will get thru it , you will recover , and one day it will be a memory , of what you went thru to have a better life . I wish you a speedy recovery and a wonderful outcome . 

Good luck , Peti 

NG tubes are the worst!  I sympathize with you.  Absolutely ask your physician.  Have them note it on your chart.  They should be able to do this for you.  

Yes, I would if I were you.  NGTubes are horrible devices of torture.  I recently had one for 3 days for a small bowel obstruction.  I made sure the doctor sprayed the back of my throat with xylocaine spray before he put it in.  It tastes disgusting but totally numbs the gag reflex and getting it down was almost easy.  Good luck.

Definitely tell your surgeon, along with your reasoning. I had a 1-step, but when the surgeon wanted to remove my N/G tube after a day on liquids, I asked him to leave it in and just clamp it. That way, if I developed problems they only needed to reconnect to suction and not reinsert. He had no problem with it. They assume everyone is in a hurry to get rid of these things. Clamping used to be the standard protocol. Not so much these days.

Jan

Jaypea posted:

Yes, I would if I were you.  NGTubes are horrible devices of torture.  I recently had one for 3 days for a small bowel obstruction.  I made sure the doctor sprayed the back of my throat with xylocaine spray before he put it in.  It tastes disgusting but totally numbs the gag reflex and getting it down was almost easy.  Good luck.

So your doctor spray your throat with a numbing agent and it made it easy? Gosh, no one even mentioned that to me. 3 NG tubes later and the whole time everyone acted like it was no big deal. NG tunes are torture. They are a BIG deal. I prefer severe pain to the NG tube. 

If I ever have to have one again I will insist on the spray.

You can always ask for a gtube, straight into the stomach via the abdoman wall. This is what docs do for the BCIR operation. They will tell you it is surgery, but if they have you opened up anyway, why not?

I wish you good luck !

Don’t forget, g tubes go through the abdominal wall causing pain and yet another area for weakness and potential herniation  when it comes out.  Skin breakdown around the tube happens and the distal end of the tube can wander and not end up in the right place.  You can vent a g-tube to get gas out but it is a bit more finicky.  It is considered a surgical procedure.

NG tubes are nightmares, I agree.

I've had one 3 times. 

No problem. 

What I mean by that is drink water like crazy while they are putting it in and it slides right down. It made it so easy. I do not mean to make light of an NG tube. But the second time I had one in it was such a relief.  I had a twisted bowl and was so full it hurt so bad. As soon as the tube sucked out it was a great weight lifted. I filled a bag so fast they had to change it immediately and I filled half the next one.  Ugliest green junk. Omgoodness  it was not a small bag either. It was big and I couldn't believe all that was in my stomach. No wonder why it hurt so much. The pain was incredible. 

Another way to go is have em do it while your knocked out. I know it's not pleasant to have it in. But it's for a reason. A good reason.  

Richard  

They sprayed my throat with the numbing agent but unlike Jaypea, it didn’t stop the gag reflex. I finally pulled the NG tube out on my own, for which I was harshly reprimanded by a nurse, which I expected. However I had stopped vomiting, I felt better, my ileostomy was filling up and the coast was clear.

Some are better than others at putting an NG tube down. IMHO, it requires a somewhat brutal and aggressive approach and mindset. I would suggest that if they deny your request (which I would definitely make- “nothing ventured, nothing gained”), that the hospital’s most brutally effective NG intubator be placed on standby. In my case, back in 1992, it was an immigrant middle aged Russian doctor from the then recently collapsed USSR, his Russian medical license not recognized by the State of New York, who was  thus reduced and relegated to lowly internist duties such as inserting NG tubes. I had physically resisted the initial attempts at intubation, so they brought him in to get the job done and get it done he did, brutally, effectively, swiftly and precisely, while physically overpowering my scrawny, disobedient little ass.  I later got the impression that at that time, in the J Pouch factory that was Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, he was their resident “NG Tube enforcer.” And he did that job well. I couldn’t believe how quickly he did it. I guess he had a chip on his shoulder due to the relegation to those “lowly” duties. Having a chip on his shoulder made him do his job well. 

One of many lucky moments in my 46 year history of treating IBD.