It was explained to me that I would have a central line put in, as my arm veins would not be able to support the liquid feed.

The doctors came round with the neck vein catheter. Administering the central line was a like a minor surgical procedure, and a local anesthetic had to be administered to my neck and collar bone area, so that I would not feel it.

When I spotted the needle to go into my vein, I got very nervous. It was a long needle- to me looked about 10 inches long, and was quite wide (Please note: doctorsimon points out it's actually nearer 2 inches long and is the size of a regular ventflon... ok, so we might have be exaggerating a bit there with an estimate of 10 inches!).

A plastic tube of the same length inserted in the bit where the needle went in would be the transport for my 'food'. I asked for a sedative before-hand to calm my nerves and was given Lorazepam, one of the Valium family. This calmed me down a great deal, and although I was still tearful, it had taken the fright away for me. My husband stayed in with me and held my hand.

I was laid flat on my hospital bed and a small injection given to my collar bone area to numb it. I closed my eyes so I did not see the needle. Iodine was wiped over my neck area and I laid very still as a small incision was made and the needle was inserted into my neck vein. I felt very little discomfort at all- in hindsight, the insertion of ventflons into the back of my hands are more painful! The central line was put in, and a stitch or two was sewn in to hold it in place. A waterproof transparent dressing was placed over the line to keep out infections.

I was taken to the X-ray department later, to have my neck and chest x-rayed to ensure that the line and needle were correctly positioned. They were.

The central line port itself was a rectangular blue bit of plastic with 4 tubes coming out of it. The tubes were capped at the end to keep out infection. I could see a little bit of plastic line going into my neck vein. There was a bit of congealed blood but other than that, it was not disgusting or scary to look at. The whole thing looked like a big plastic earring stuck to my neck.

Each of my medications were administered to each neck-port. The end of the tubes screwed onto the medication drips and a machine dosed the liquids into me. I had one tubes for steroids, one for Flagyl, my antibiotic, and one was used for the TPN. It was also possible to take blood samples from the central line, which was considerably more convenient than having to be stabbed in the mornings! Taking blood from the neck tube was painless and quick- blood tests from my arms veins invariable left me bruised and sore.

When the nurses administed my medications to the neck port, great care was taken with hygiene. Latex gloves were worn, a plastic sheet was placed over me and my line and neak area was sprayed with an antiseptic spray. Only certain nurses had authority to change my medications over. At my specific request I was allowed to be unclipped from my drip machine to bathe daily and take a short walk.

The TPN was a big bag of white milky-looking liquid on a machine that regulated and administered the dosage. It plugged into the wall, and I was able to unplug it and wheel it to the toilet when I needed to go. I was given 3 litres (about 6 pints) of TPN every 24 hours- 2500 calories in all. It was a special mix for me only, and was made up specially by the pharmacy according to my needs.

The tummy pains stopped immediately. Once my bowels had cleared through, I hardly went to the toilet. I didn't need to drink a great deal either. Other than water, I was nil by mouth, although I felt hungry. After a couple of days, the hunger pangs subsided and I felt quite well.

The central line lasted a week before it needed renewing. Another was put in while I was under general anesthetic in theatre for my bowel operation. This time, it was put on the other side of my neck.

The central line was painless and very quick to remove. I had to lay down for half an hour following its removal, and hold a dressing to my neck.

I have two tiny little pink scars on my neck from the line in. During the time I was on it, I felt well and my bowel had a good rest. If I was in the same state again, I wouldn't hesitate to have it. I found it a little restrictive having to unplug it to go anywhere, but the benefits of it were having no pain and no diarrhoea.

For more information on TPN, read Kerry's Crohn's Diary in the article section. I was put on TPN on March 25th 2002

on September 21 2002 01:00:32 ·