NG tube?

     Do most people have to have this following surgery?  Or, is this from complications?

I did not have one.

Sue

My son had an NG tube on four separate occasions and says the insertion is not as bad as the anticipation. The first time he refused it and waited out 6 hours of constant vomiting until finally relenting. He said it was such a relief when they actually inserted it.

Hi Chris,

Even I had an OK experience with NG tube after surgery for my ileo. My intestines didn't wake up and I bloated bad, had pain, nausea and actually was asking for an NG tube. I felt soooooo much better after they got it in. They just sprayed the back of my throat with a numbing agent, had me swallow the tube with a drink of water and bingo it was in. Throat gets a bit sore from having it in, but that is sooooo worth the stomach feeling better.

Then what they did with me was clamped trials. This is a great idea because it prevents them from having to take the tube out and reinsert it in case your intestines have not yet awakened. They just take you off the suction, clamp the end of the tube while it's still in you. Then you go walking around and take advantage of the time to be out of bed, talk to other patients, pass the time. Then in a few hours they rehook the tube to the suction machine and see if you have started to process your own fluid transit. This sure beats them having to reinsert the tube.

When they determine that your intestines have woken up they take the tube out. They just had me look down and I think take a breath and they take it out sooooo fast that you don't even feel it. It's amazing how they can do that. Does not hurt at all.

Then you just take it easy on what you eat. Some people have no issues and their intestines wake right up. WIth MY case being so unusual, I had not been able to eat for 7 months prior to this surgery. Sooooo naturally my intestines did not wake right up as they had not been able to work for 7 months due to all my adhesions. So, you may not even have an issue post-surgical. Rosemary

I had one when I woke up from surgery. And THANK GOD! I have had many NG tubes in my lifetime. And I personally think the insertion is very traumatic. It's awful. Some nurses are good at it. And some nurses are just ok. Plus, some people have different problems with the inside of their noses. So it's different for everybody.

I would prefer having an NG put in during surgery. You are pretty out of it the first 24 hours or so after surgery. By the time the anesthesia wears off completely you are used to the NG. Not to mention the other tubes you'll have in you.

I had my last surgery in 2006 - didn't have one but the surgeon told me they put one in before they started the surgery and took it out when they finished. He's at a teaching hospital though so I find those docs a little more progressive than your run of the mill surgeons and GIs.

It depends on your gag reflex too, I have had several and I don't like them but they do help. For me it's because I got blockages and the NG tube helped a lot!

Yeah Dan. Those NG tubes are worth their weight in gold when you need them. Glad you made it. I had a month of post-op ileus after an ileostomy with take down of adhesions needed to save my life after what turned out to be an unneeded pelvic surgery that left my colon and rectum permanently scarred and no longer functional and my small intestine imbedded in dense scar tissue that left me unable to eat for 7 months. After I threw up poop I begged for the tube. (Sorry to be so graphic, but they do have their time and their place.) So far so good after that adhesion lysis and ileostomy surgery and it's going on three years. PRAYING I stay OK as I have been. Rosemary

LOL I'm sure I had one in. But I don't remember going into surgery or even after the surgery.
They gave me something in pre-op which made me feel awesome. I was laughing while the nurse was trying to get the 16 gauge IV needle in my arm. Then I started playing with the gown that they give you. I had the fancy kind that you can hook up to these hair dryer like things that keep you warm while you wait. I figured out that if you connect the hose just right on the gown and then cover up the holes, you could blow up the gown and look like a snowman LOL.
Next thing I remember was waking up a couple of hours later and then morphine :D :D :D

I actually had one in that came out on it's own. I think.

It was so weird. I was absolutely miserable with it. I had it less then 24 hours so I still wasn't used to it. I went to sleep and woke up and it was OUT!!!! Weird thing is my Mom was had stayed the night and she was asleep in the chair across the room. I woke her up and she was astonished. The doctors and nurses didn't even know how it could have happened. They had only just put it in several hours before so it was taped down pretty good. Plus, I hadn't been vomiting so it was definately down far enough. It was so weird because even when you pull an NG out it's still a bit uncomfortable. No way could I have pulled it out on my own without knowing.