If your doctor orders total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) for you, you must be wondering if you know as much about TPN as you would like to and should know. TPN is a significantly different method of getting the nutrients your body needs than the customary food by mouth method. Now, nutrients will drip through a catheter or a needle in your vein for up to 12 hours once a day or as many as five times a week.
Parenteral nutrition bypasses your digestive system of the stomach and bowel. TPN is a special liquid food mixture delivered into the blood through by way of an intravenous catheter. Proteins, carbohydrates (sugars), fats, vitamins and minerals are in this mixture. This special mixture is referred to as parenteral nutrition. Technology has developed a “three-in-one” solution of glucose, proteins, and lipids. In the process of normal digestion, food is broken down in the stomach and bowel and then absorbed by the bowel. The blood carries these absorbed products from the bowel to all parts of the body.
Parenteral nutrition is used to provide the essential nutrients from food. A typical example of a patient who uses TPN is a patient with Crohn’s disease, cancer and the short bowel syndrome. Patients who suffer from low blood flow to the bowels will use TPN.
TPN is not an easy process. It requires hours to be administered, and daily life can be significantly affected. Most patients agree that these changes in their daily lifestyle are better than continuing the treatments by staying at the hospital. Mobility is enhanced by the use of a backpack pump, and other types of pumps exist to limit the time the patient has to use a pump. The time a patient must be connected to the IV is dependent on the patients condition; some patients require once a day, some require five days a week.
While the Parenteral Nutrition is a difficult treatment to accept for many patients, it is far better than the suffering which comes from the lack of nutrients. Adjusting to the status of a TPN patient requires the examination of the benefits of the life with the TPN versus the life without it. For more information visit Google plus page of Allegheny Medical Integrated Health Services.
