British Lung Foundation

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Intensive care unit

I was in ICU in 2016 for 7 weeks in a medically induced coma I had swine flu and sepsis I still worry I'm so confused about my time there can't remember it all but had scary dreams now I can't balance properly but my speech is back and I'm still on oxygen my life isn't the same I thought in intensive care I was being moved to different parts of the ward but my daughter said no I also had a track in my through rough

9 Replies

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Have you talked to your doctor about this? There must be someone you can discuss your worries wth. Sounds disturbing for you and its a long time ago now. Best wishes, Iris x

I was in icu in an induced coma for 3 weeks and then on wards for another 3 because of flu that turned into pneumonia That was 5 years ago. Even now when I look back on my time in icu I can't remember what was real or not but I can remember quite vividly the terrible nightmares and hallucinations. I thought my daughter was trying to murder me and I was terrified of her I know that some people have to have help although this is a small price to pay for saving my life. My hospital do arrange a visit to icu for expatients and they answer any questions you care to ask.

Yes. After my bypass in 2016 I had a similar experience and yes it still bothers me. I did figure out that I wove elements of reality into the nightmares. Usually just gross misinterpretations of what people said or did. Amazing how much of what we say is implied and takes cultural interpretation. I do know I wasn't really back in the 1600s for a while. Lol. I finally coped by realizing it was the meds not me and I didn't have to figure out what the hallucinations meant. My best. Carol

Gosh, I really feel for you. What an awful and traumatic experience. It would be very difficult for anyone to come through unscathed emotionally but anyone with anxiety would be even tougher.

I agree that you really need to get help from someone after this life threatening experience.

All good wishes for you. P

Doctors told me i may never get everything back but I wish I could remember what's real and what was not the nightmares I had were bad why do they put us in induced coma

Mine wasn't from an induced coma. I was told (maybe) that I had a very bad reaction to the morphine I was given after my bypass. I think there is some memory loss associated with the procedure itself. To sortbnightmares from reality I used common sense. If it seems too weird to be real it probably is. Remember your hallucinations were your reality at the time so hard to sort. Carol

Coma I don't know if they are good or bad it's what they leave you with I haven't slept a full night since it's about two hours at the most

Please tell your GP. Carol

I will