I have had Chron's disease for 15 years and have been SBS for the last 11 years or so. During that time I have been off and on TPN several times; usually around a major flare-up and surgery.

This past spring I was again facing the possibility of going back on TPN. That's when I began searching for alternatives and found the NRC.
 

The doctor, nurses, dieticians, and staff are all great at the NRC. Their combination of drug therapy, supplementation, diet, and exercise has already been of great benefit to me.

 
They got me hydrated, eating a diet that works for me, and supplemented properly. They were the first physician and dieticians who actually ran extensive testing to find out what vitamins and minerals I was lacking in
my body. They then worked out a supplementation plan to get me repleated. I now have more energy and I am putting on weight as true muscle mass. I am now home and applying all that I learned and started at NRC.
 

While I was there, another patient was able to get totally off of their TPN and others were able to reduce the number and amount of TPN infusions. A component of this was their ability to reduce transit times and the
numbers and amounts of bowel output.
 

The major drawback to their program is that it is hard to get insurance to pay for it and if your are Medicare, which is likely if you have severe SBS, forget it. I am paying the entire $20K cost out of my own pocket for now,
 

I am still working on my insurance company. I do know that they are looking into relocating the center into unused space at an accredited hospital which will make them Medicare eligible.