G TUBE CARE

• By Sunfish
• Posted October 26, 2008 at 3:37 am
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perhaps the problem isn't the bag you have but the type of connector? i use a urinary catheter bag myself . i've used several types but have never had a problem with one fitting as they are all a univeral size (the bags). they do make certain "decompression bags" for gastric drainage but for me at least these aren't near as useful as they are very small so required changing way too often. they're also more expensive than the urinary drainage bags so considering that they don't work out as well for me i
ve decided to stick with the urinary drainage bags.

another thing that's important is whether or not your daughter needs to be on gastric drainage continuously or whether it is supposed to just be intermittant? if it's only to be intermittent then what you're doing now is how many people do it, & how i've done it at times...just using a bowl or the sink or whatnot. but if it's supposed to be continuous then what you're currently doing definitely will grow old very quickly (as it likely already has). it's important to be on the same page with the treating doctors though re: whether drainage is intermittent or continuous as it can have a big impact on electrolytes, hydration, etc.

but getting back to finding something that fits.....what is too big? her g tube or the bag? quite honestly i'm sort of confused b/c in my experience over several years with a good number of various tubes they have all been a universal size such that there is very little difference between the different types of tubes. but perhaps there is a connector of some sort that would solve the problem for you?

re: what to do when meat gets stuck, i have a few questions. i obviously don't know the details of your daughters situation, but i think it's pretty unusual for a person who is on gastric drainage continuously to be able to eat meat at all...which again leads me to think that perhaps the gastric drainage is only supposed to be intermittent (meaning as needed)? gastric drainage isn't really intended for the purpose of draining something as substantial as meat. even with only drinking liquids though (which all drain out of my tube...i cannot digest anything), my tube does get clogged occasionally. the best way to unclog it is to use a 60cc catheter tip syringe to GENTLY push & pull, using a bit of water if needed. you should never have to apply a huge amount of force or pressure though. that said, meat has the potential of clogging a tube up much more strongly (for lack of a better word) than anything i've had in my mouth/ stomach so i would think you might have ongoing frustrations if you're trying to eat/ drain meat & as such you might want to talk with the treating doctor about diet, the purpose of the g tube, etc. i also am wondering about the fit of the 60cc syringe that i mentioned as it's pretty much the exact same size as the urinary drainage bags i use that you've said don't fit. since that's the universal size i'm almost wondering if you somehow were given an unusual drainage bag or one with the adapter missing? perhaps all you need is another urinary drainage bag?

i hope my ramblings helped some & didn't just cause more confusion. i sort of thought/ typed out loud in an attempt to help & am sorry i don't have better answers for you.

good luck!
:-)melissa in ohio

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• By MadelynsMom
• Posted October 26, 2008 at 11:21 am
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We cut the tubing off of one of Madelyn's enteral bags and put one end into the G-tube and the other end we put into a specimen cup with two holes drilled into the top. One hole for the end of the tube and one hole just to vent the cup itself. Then we velcro the outside of the cup to the bottom of her IV pole so it won't tip over. We have also used a "leg bag" and a Farrell bag before.

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• By LQ
• Posted October 26, 2008 at 12:55 pm
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Melissa,

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your input. I too am a bit confused by all this. First of all, we did not get ANY direction/instructions from the doctor regarding this tube and how to use it at all. Right now Shea only drains when she gets naucious,(?) which is quite regularly. We were not given any kind of direction on what to eat or not,. She can eat some days, but not on others, as she either does not feel like eating, or can't swallow due to her throat issues. However she is on J-tube feedings as well so she only eats when she wants to by mouth.

It was the hospital that gave us the urinary drainage bag, it was the end of the bag, the valve end I guess that was too big to go inside the end of the gtube . We do use the 60cc syringe to suck from the tube with but that is a tapered end, the end of the drainage bag was big enough for my pinkie to fit in, there was no tapering on it.

The nurse did tell us that the Lopez valve that Shea has on her J-tube will fit on the end of the g-tube but we looked at it and decided that with the thickness of the bile/food that was draining out of her gt-ube that the lopez valve would not work as the opening is small like a pin hole.

Again, I appreciate your help and direction in this, any other suggestions you have would be great, thanks,

LaQuita

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• By Char
• Posted October 26, 2008 at 3:26 pm
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I use a urinary leg bag to drain my g-tube. I at one point would wear it on my leg, under my pants, but now I just wear it at home. When I'm out and I need to vent I just go into a bathroom to drain it. My bag is a Hollister.
As far as things getting stuck in there a syringe might help some, but if she is able to, sometimes drinking something will help stuff drain out. I'm on j-tube feeds too, so I only eat a little when I feel up to it, but just to satisfy a craving that I might get. When I do eat or drink it all comes back out my g-tube and it really does help a lot with cutting down how much I throw-up and helps with reflux and keeps me from throwing-up acid and bile too. I avoid meet all together, but I do have a problem with stuff like bread getting wadded up and stuck in the tube. Sometimes I'll try to drink a little something, but I'm also sometimes able to get it to come out by squeezing the tubing to my bag and that kind of sucks it out. Have her chew her food more, because that will help.
Hope this helps and I hope the tube will help with her nausea.
Charity

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• By JenD
• Posted October 26, 2008 at 10:01 pm
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Hi LQ,

I sent you my thoughts by message. I just thought I'd read what you have here as well. With the severity of Shea's gastroparesis she probably shouln't be eating meat. I eat a very small amount of food when I'm feeling up to it and that usually consists of very soft foods like mashed potatoes, baby food, well chewed crackers, small amounts of ice cream although dairy can be a problem. When you have gastroparesis larger foods like meat and fibrous foods like vegetables and fruits (especially with skin) will get stuck and are likely to cause pain. These foods may also lead to bezoar formation in the stomach because they can't get out (either through the tube or the stomach itself). If a person with gastroparesis develops a bezoar the only way to get it out is to have the doctor remove it piece by piece by endoscopy.

After I was diagnosed with GP in 2001 I immediately went to a vegetarian diet due to the pain induced by meats and even then when it wasn't bad I still had to be very careful eating high fiber foods like lettuce, carrots, fuit with skins etc... Because of the severity of my GP now I stick to liquids or very pureed foods like baby food otherwise you will definitely have problems getting the g-tube drain to work and it certainly will not continuously drain easily if at all if you don't have Shea stick to the GP diet.

I hope this helps. I was actually really surprised to hear that she is eating at all this soon after g-tube surgery. They wouldn't let me eat or drink anything for four weeks after mine...only drain.

In any case good luck and I hope you can get more feedback from your docs on the protocol for Shea. It seems that they didn't give you much direction.

Give Shea my best. I hope she is doing well.
Take care,
Jen
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jenelle

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• By snakeg
• Posted March 28, 2009 at 5:46 am
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I know exactly what you are talking about with the fitting being too big. Do not use it because it will stretch the opening in the G tube and make it hard to seal off when not draining. I always have to cut off the end of the tubing and the connector you are talking about and puting a 5-way fitting in the bag tube. This is no more than a fitting which stair steps down from the middle towards both ends, enabling it to be used on 5 different sizes of tubes. I think it is called a 5-way tubing adapter. I got mine from the hospital. I hope this helps!

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• By Dominics_Mom
• Posted September 5, 2009 at 4:30 am
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Hi,

I know this is an old post but I came across it and thought I'd reply.

We have our son hooked up to a farrell valve bag at night. We use extension tubing that hooks directly to his g-tube and then connect the valve. Regardless of what you use to drain, the extension tubing should do the trick in terms of connecting.

You've probably long figured out how to solve the problem by now but feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

God bless,

Adrienne

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• By mekmoore
• Posted October 12, 2009 at 3:16 pm
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I keep seeing this ferrall bag being mentioned and wanted to ask what it does?

I just had a G tube and J tube implanted 2 weeks ago and I am looking for something to connect to my G-tube to help with venting and draining.

The hospital gave me a foley catheter bag with some rigged up connection that is about 8 inches long. The connection must be taped, then the bag has about 3-4 ft of tubing and then a huge bag at the end. I am constantly getting this caught on things, stepping on it... and it just stinks. I have no idea how to take something like this into public.

I just want something simple that will connect to the g-tube, give a little tubing and maybe connect to a bag or something that can be attached to the leg or waist of something... wherever, so that it can vent/drain. Is this ferrall bag capable of this?

Megan

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• By wing94nut
• Posted October 13, 2009 at 8:20 am
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We are newbees, only been since July, but may have a suggestion for you. My husband too has struggled with keeping the gtube connected to a bag. He uses a leg bag during the day, and bedside bag at night. We have found the Lopez valve to work the best (regular connectors will not stay on without LOTS of tape). I read in another post about a 5 way connector which I will look into. As for going in public, he is a very discrete person and hated to go out when he is hooked up. I am a sewer, so I made him covers for both size bags. Both are made of manly fishing fabric, with black trim. The only thing that is visible to others is the tubing. (I am still working on something to cover that).The night bag cover has a loop to hang from the side of the bed. The leg bag cover has an adjustable strap to go around his neck. The strap is long enough to hang down his side, inside his pants, to mid thigh. The only issue he is still having is the lopez valve cuts into him, or even disconnects at times, so we need to use some extension tubing to get it lower. Of course that means another connector, which are not easy to deal with. We are having a tough time finding our supplies locally. But the covers help him to keep his dignity.

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