new gj

Today, Eve had her new gj tube placed.
When we arrived at Baystate, the nurse asked if Eve was sedated the last time she had the tube placed.  I told her I didn't know because Jim was with Eve when it was done.  She said that they've been doing the gj replacements without sedation, and since it wasn't Eve's first placement, it might be worth trying.  Eve is notoriously a hard stick for an IV, and not doing sedation would avoid an IV placement and any recovery time from the sedation.  So, I agreed.

We went down to radiation and the Dr who would do the procedure raised his eyebrow when he heard no sedation.  I asked him if he thought it was best and he said that it was whatever I wanted.  I told him, no, it's whatever you want.  He said, no, it's up to me.  So, I said no sedation.  When I put her up on the table she looked so scared.  I was pretty worried, but put on a brave face for her.  The procedure took about 30 minutes.  The Dr said that we should do sedation next time.  He said she'd be much more comfortable.  I think she was moving her legs a lot and was pretty scared.  Also, she has some granulation tissue at the stoma (which I totally forgot about during the decision not to sedate) and is very sensitive there.  So, I felt bad that I made the wrong choice.  But, now we know and will make sure she's sedated next time.

Speaking of next time, the Dr and nurses said that the gj really needs to be replaced every 3 months (not 6 months like the GI told us).  I am also supposed to call the radiology department about 2 weeks before the procedure to make sure they order a Mic-Key button in her size and put her name on it.  Apparently, we were lucky that they had a button in her size (even though I thought I had the GI office reserve one for her).  So, I learned a lot today. 

Here is the new Mic-Key button for the gj.  On the left side is the g port.  On the top is the j port.  On the right is the port to fill the balloon that keeps it in place.  We have two extensions that hook into the g and j ports.  One will be hooked up 20 hours a day for her feeds.  The other will get hooked up just during administration of meds.  But, when she's not hooked up for feeds (4 hours a day) or during bath time, we won't have to worry about a dangling tube.  And, if the new system is a pain because of the extensions, then we can always go back to the other type of gj in 3 months time.