Hello everyone,
My brother (63) had a serious heart attack 5 weeks ago, had a stent fitted and then placed in ICU for 6 days on a ventilator and sedated.
He is still recovering slowly in hospital and is now waiting for a neurological assessment with more physiotherapy.
He is mainly lucid but has episodes of what could be described as hallucinations- currently he keeps imagining he is on a ship and has arrived back in the UK -
Has anyone else experienced something similar ?
Thanks
Hi Clarkgrove! That must have have so traumatic for your brother to have such a nasty heart attack! When I had mine 2 years ago, it shocked me and everything came to a standstill! Give your brother time to recuperate, he will get through this! A Lady I spoke to last year, her father also had this Problem after his heart bypass! It will have been the sedation which causes him to be disorientated! But great to have you on here seeking advice! Stay in touch with the doctors and nurses! Your brother just needs time! And we all know that in time we will heal! So don't make yourself anxious as he will be okay Clarkgrove 👍❤️
Thankyou for your reassurance - I will pass message on to the family
Yes I be thinking of you and your brother! Stay in touch and let us know how he's doing! Be great to receive some updates from you or even him eventually 👍👍👍😊 You a caring brother Clarkgrove!👍
This is so common as to be routine I am afraid . When my Dad came round in the ITU after being ventilated following surgery he was irate because he said the nurses were playing the war of the worlds ( film) on the wall opposite his bed and it stopped him sleeping . Even when I pointed out he had severe macular degeneration and wouldn’t have been able to see it anyway I couldn’t get through . Some degree of this is a normal reaction a combination of the drugs and the brain trying to fill in gaps . Being in itu is a serious thing in itself. Many hospitals offer follow up appointments to talk things through . You can be left with PTSD. I do hope your brother is ok
Thanks Peony, you explained this brilliant 👍
Thank you snowdrops x
Thankyou for your reassurance - I will pass message on to the family
Thankyou for your reassurance - I will pass message on to the family
I have no memory of the 4/5 weeks pre/post my SCA, apparently when I was in ITU I was convinced the nurses where trying to kill me! I have a vague recollection of the recurring dream/hallucinations.
I suffered with these for many months post ITU & OHS. I still (nearly 3 years later) occasionally wake up to the same ones, although they have become less & less frequent.
Thankyou for your reassurance - I will pass message on to the family
Take a look at ICUsteps - both the forum on HealthUnlocked and the charity itself. Hallucinations are common and it takes time to recover from a spell in ICU. Ask the hospital about what follow up is available.
Thanks Chris - will check out - Dave
Morning, good to hear your brother is slowly recovering from his heart attack. I hope he/you have mentioned these hallucinations to the medical staff. After my repair to a valve I had some very funny goings on with my eyes which frightened the life out of me. My vision would blurr and I had a line of kalidescopic colour go across my vision. Luckily it happenned when the consultant was in front of me, wonderful man, calmed me down and sent for the anaethetist. From what I can remember, it was to do with the cocktail of drugs, the life support machine and anathestics you have to keep you alive,mine ended up in my eyeballs. It has got better over time and now I only seem to suffer, when I am stressed, or very tired and they do pass. Now it could be the sedation is causing the hallucinations, him not knowing where he is. I had a very good leaflet titled Delerium, to read before my procedure. I did not suffer with this, however fast forward 2 years and my sister did. She was on life support far longer than I, as she was rushed in, in an emergemcy situation. She was utterly convinced that the hospital was falling down around her, holes were appearing in the ceiling and moonlight was streaming in and she could see the stars. My Mum had pre warned me and although by then, she was on antibiotics for a serious infection, she still had bouts of "delerium" We just went with the flow, it was too stressful to tell her she was not in a building about to fall down(brand new it will out see us all) I asked the medical staff who said "completely normal" just let her rant on about it and gentley distract her. One afternoon about to go, we were discussing the quickest way to reach the car park, she said in a very matter of fact, "dont go that way the staircase has gone it crumbled away" She looked at me and for a split second I thought, you, are winding me up, then quick as a flash she starts looking for her phone. We talk about it to her now, she has no recollection of it whatsoever, so anything occurring now which you feel may upset or frighten your brother, he will probably have no memory of. This will pass by and he will make a recovery. It is a hard time for you all so ask the medical staff questions and they will be able to help you deal with it. Let us know how they get on.
Thanks for your comprehensive insight-
I hope that your brother is recovering well. It can take some time. I had really vivid dreams/hallucinations when in ICU. When I started coming round I thought I was in a hospital in New York. Trouble is the staff and my family played along with it until I worked it out. I thought that I would have to pay for my treatment so when the cardiologist asked if I had any questions, I asked him how much it was going to cost.(from Yorkshire by the way)Good luck
Thankyou for your valuable insight
On e of my tablets after a heart attack caused hallucinations but I was just seeing gigantic black worms all over the walls and ceiling. I had no weird thoughts. The only time I@ve come across anything like you describe was my mother in law when she had a urine infection. She kept telling us the man on TV was talking to her and told her to let a group of teenagers in the house. She could also hear babies crying. Her GP knew immediately what it was; a very common sign apparently especially in the elderly.
Thankyou for getting back to me with this insight
Hi Clarkegrove
I had OHS, but didn’t have any problems with hallucinations, but my husband had a big stroke a few years ago and he as lost part of his sight in both eyes, he suffered from Charles Bonnet Syndrome, this is where the brain can’t understand why there is a bit of the picture missing so slots a bit in from its memory bank. Very unnerving for him and me. He would see me on his right hand side but also see me on his left in different clothes! This lasted for a long time and even now 4 years on occasionally he will get it now, but now we can laugh!
Sending you best wishes with the hope your brother makes a good recovery.
Pauline
That’s good news, being unable to visit must be so difficult. Seeing a photo must mean such a lot and him looking well makes a difference.
Pauline
Sorry I missed that Clarkegrove!!! That is brilliant progress! So happy your brother is doing so much better! Wonderful! Whilst he is in hospital, tell him to enjoy the food service 😊😉 it's nice not to have to cook! I live on my own and I appreciated that! Say hi to your brother and partner from us on here! I really wish him a speedy recovery Clarkegrove 😊🙏👍
Thanks - I will
It’s meant to be very common to have hallucinations after heart surgeries or time spent in ICU. It can also affect the memory too. I was in Barts at the beginning of October for a mitral valve replacement but the operation went very very wrong and ended up in ICU for 3 weeks and was in hospital for 3 months, lost 2 stone in weight. I had many hallucinations (not that I knew they were, I believed them to be true) When I finally became conscious enough, the docs would ask me questions... name, date of birth and I was so chuffed I could remember... until they asked did I know where I was! Replied yes, I’m in hospital (thought silly people lol) so they asked, “what hospital” and I realised I couldn’t remember what it was called, then they said that’s ok, do you know where it is and without any hesitation replied “NORWAY”!!! (What the heck!! lol... still makes me laugh 😆... but I really thought I was) can remember everything about it lol ... because I couldn’t remember the correct answers they would put a poster on the wall opposite with them and change the date ... (took me 8 weeks to actually get it right and remember the hospital name was Barts! )
hallucinations got worse when I got home and my husband was very worried about me ... I started talking constantly in my sleep. They told me of other hallucinations I had ... one of me calling to my son to come and get the bear 🐻 out of my room... another time it was a horse 🐎 ... there were loads of others, though I don’t recall any of them (apart from Norway) .... thankfully they seem to have stopped now
Thankyou - Darkshades - for your comprehensive notes - very informative- I will share info with my family
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