My DW had surgery February 3, exactly 7 weeks ago, for small bowel obstruction. She had an internal hernia in the descending mesocolon. She was in the hospital 37 days and is now on TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) at home, and can only eat very small amounts. She has pain digesting food rather than fullness. She had a few days of vomiting around a week ago but that has resolved on its own. I keep hoping that she will be able to resume her normal eating and get off the TPN but I don't see much sign of that yet.
We are doing OK with the TPN at home. There is a company that sends us supplies weekly. They come via UPS shipment and the TPN bags are on ice. They need to be stored in the fridge. The vitamins come in 2 small vials which I must inject into the TPN bag. All procedures have to be done sterile so I need to use alcohol wipes on everything, use hand sanitizers and wear gloves. The infusion pump is very small and they provide a small back pack which holds the TPN bag and the pump. The infusion is 12 hours which we have been doing at night, usually starting around 8:30pm. It takes quite a bit of manual dexterity and finger strength so my DW is not able to begin the infusion herself. In the morning, however, she can remove it, do the flush, and cap the line, so she does this while I'm at work in the morning. Then we get a visit weekly from home nursing to change the dressing on the PICC line and draw some blood samples. Everything is closely monitored. We check blood glucose, weight, and temperature twice a day.
Questions for those who have done home TPN: how long have you been on it? Is/was your procedure similar to the above? Have you experienced any of the risks such as infection or liver issues? If you've had the same kind of pain and discomfort after eating, how long does it take to get over that? Have you been able to do chemo while on TPN? If you've been on TPN due to digestive pain, which chemo was it, and does the chemo make it a lot worse? Thanks in advance.