My GJ Separation

I wrote last in December, which was somewhere around the second or third time the “J” portion of my tube had coiled and knotted up in my stomach. This continued into early January, late January, early February, and again in late February. Yeah… 4 more times. On the last of those four, because I just couldn’t take it, I went through the ED, got admitted, and (finally) started talking to people about my options as far as a separate J stoma.

It ended up being a week long admission on a pretty chill floor. My first 3 days there were funny because it’s not like I needed any care, I just couldn’t eat. GI started coming up and talking through the options as far as placement, and after a whole lot of chaos I ended up getting a new, second stoma for my “J” tube on the last day of February, 2021.

This will be an eye roll for some of you- and I get it, cosmetics isn’t a huge deal when we’re dealing with things like literally not being able to eat. But I was SO worried the “J” would be in the upper center of my abdomen. A “J” tube goes straight into the jejunum, which can literally be anywhere, and you never know where the tube will actually be until you wake up with it haha. The first thing my mom said to me when I was waking up after surgery was “Jaime! It’s not in the middle!”

LAST PICTURE WITH MY ONE-TUBE BELLY <3

Mine ended up in my lower left quadrant- literally RIGHT on my pants line. So it’s not ideal or the most comfortable! But at least it’s not directly above my belly button :)

GI placed it in endoscopy, which was new. I usually have tubes placed and replaced in interventional radiology. But it was fine. I was discharged 2 days later, with 2 holes in my belly. It’s been feeding fine and it’s an huge relief not having to check myself every afternoon worried that it’s coiled agin.

If you’ve read my “November/December 2020” post then you’re updated on the rollercoaster that has been my GJ tube and all its coiling glory!

I’m pretty sure I mentioned in that post that we were trying to get more info on a GJ separation, because my GJ just wasn’t cutting it anymore. It’s crazy to think that after alllll these years of my GJ giving me steady nutrition, all of a sudden we weren’t compatible anymore. Kind of sad haha.

MILLIE IS UNSURE HOW SHE FEELS ABOUT THE NEW HARDWARE.