Question for those with trachs, g-tubes etc.

[alizesmom]

I'd like to hear from people who actually have these. Do they hurt? Is suctioning, if done properly, painful or uncomfortable? Are g-tube feelings painful if cold or hot or given too fast? Even though my kids show no signs of discomfort I worry about these things.

 

[amykathleen2005]

G tube is really not very noticeable at all.

 

[kellyw8863]

My daughter has stomach discomfort if we bolus cold/hot fluids. Everything has to be room temperature. But she also has gastroparesis and therefore a very sensitive stomach.

 

[MaggieMollyMom]

I always found that we had to feed our daughter very slowly, more due to volume sensitivity than anything else. Never a feeding pump, always by hand with syringe. Only thing that ever seemed painful for her was the granulation tissue 'removal'. I felt so bad for her when the nurse/doc did that! No trach experience.

 

[alizesmom]

Thanks.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Our son only tolerates room temp gtube feeds and they cannot be fast. Sometimes his gtube sucks in due to his motility and that sometimes causes discomfort.If granulation tissue begins to grow around it that can be painful as well. But other then that it is usually painless.

 

[alizesmom]

You guys are great to answer. I was hoping to hear from people who actually have these too. Anyone?

 

[Queenie122]

My daughter had both a trach and feeding tube. With the trach, she only seemed to have discomfort if someone suctioned too deeply. It would actually make her gag then vomit. Otherwise she seemed fine. As for the feeding tube she had that until she was about 6 years old. She never complained about it hurting unless it was pulled on. Like, she tried to go down a slide on her belly and it tugged. We always gave her room temp feedings. If we fed her too quickly she would vomit, so I suppose that made her uncomfortable, though she never complained.

I know that isn't coming from someone who actually had them, but as a mom with a child who had both, I often wondered this myself.