My favourite fashion accessory...kind of!

Fashion accessories are great because they can complete your outfit and show off a bit of your personality. For me I don't tend to bother with fashion accessories, I have never really been a fashionista kind of girl however there is one accessory I won't go without- NG tube!

To those fashionistas who were thinking that this blog was seriously about fashion-sorry but you are at the wrong place! 

I love my NG tube, but it is the biggest statement piece to my outfit that I could have, it screams 'Poorly kid!!!'-definitely not the fashion statement I want to make. However, like my bald head I embrace it!

My first chemotherapy made me so ill and covered with mouth sores that I just couldn't eat, my stomach shrunk so much, resulting in me losing 12kg in a month. I dropped to a frail 36kg by my second chemo so I was offered the option of either a NG tube or a G tube, by that point I was fed up of operations so I decided to go for a NG tube. The NG tube has been amazing for me, it has basically saved me, if I continued without it I would just be skin and bones. Also, during the 6 months of intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy I had no appetite at all so being able to eat without even chewing was great! Although the NG tube has really supported me, it has also given me terrible anxiety, anxiety so bad I would get many panic attacks and not be able to sleep at night. Despite all of that I still have my feeding tube now and I have conquered the anxiety, I could really loose the tube now but I find it like a safety net for me. It has helped me so much that I don't want to lose it, and if I lose it I will have to drink my chemo medicine and take the HUGE septrin tablet. So I am tied between losing the tube and looking normal, or keeping the tube and not being able to go on rollercoasters etc. I am definitely more for losing the tube but I am apprehensive to have the icky meds.

How an NG tube is put into your stomach

Getting an NG tube put in is definitely not nice, having something shoved up your nose and travelling down your throat is a weird sensation. Here's how it works: The NG tube is passed through your nose, then it comes out to the top of your throat where the gag reflexes are, after that it is gently travelled down through your oesophagus into your stomach.

Tips for during the procedure

Keep swallowing: Swallowing helps massively when getting the NG tube done as it makes it a whole lot easier for the tube to pass through your oesophagus.
Icy cold water: Icy cold water is the perfect! Water will keep you swallowing and keep your throat moist whilst the tube is going down, and the iciness will numb your throat.
Don't panic: The worst bit of the whole procedure for me is when the NG tube hits your gag reflexes, when it does that don't panic. If you would like stop for a second, what I just do is close my eyes and keep swallowing water. Or what I also find helpful is to concentrate on your breathing, so you are distracted from thinking about the tube going down your throat.
Puking up the tube- Puking up the tube is a scary experience, it hangs out of you mouth-it is very uncomfortable. When this happens just stay calm and DO NOT pull the tube out through your mouth, pull it out though your nose.

I really hope this blog helped you. Ironically in the midst of writing this blog I threw up my tube! I am trialling without the tube, it is going well so far, however chemo tastes gross but I can handle it. Comment down below how you found your NG tube experience!

Thank you for reading,

Ellie

xxx