I wonder

[patchworker]

I wonder if the fact that there have been so few posts on here recently means fewer people are being traumatized by their time in ICU? It would be nice to think so. I know ICU staff are aware of the problem, and do their best.

It's five years since I spent a month in ICU, Eleven days and nights with that tube down my throat. At the time I thought I'd never be the same again, that I'd never recover from the nightmare of it all.

But I have recovered, I am me again, I rarely think about it.

Good health and good luck to all ICU patients, past, present, and future. And big hugs to the ones who are in the nightmare at this moment. xx

[Mystery]

I have been a member of Icu steps for a long time and have noticed the lack of posts too, I have an idea why this might be but do not want to post my thoughts public

[really-fed-up in reply to Mystery]

I have to ask, why? I know I'm being nosey but you have peaked my curiosity

[patchworker in reply to Mystery]

Do you think it might be because of the off-putting posts at the end of last year?

[Offcut]

Maybe the staff are not getting the word out about ICU steps? I was made aware as soon as I was able of ICU steps and given a leaflet back in 2008.

[really-fed-up in reply to Offcut]

Interesting. I was in ICU 3 years ago and nobody told me anything. Found out about this site by accident

[Offcut in reply to really-fed-up]

I was given a small booklet.

[patchworker in reply to Offcut]

I didn't have a computer or know how to use one when I was in ICU, so I knew nothing about ICUsteps. It wasn't until my granddaughter got a new laptop for university and left me with her old one, that I got interested and finally found this site. It wasn't mentioned by the staff.

[Luckyone]

It would be nice think that ICU staff are finally starting to understand the trauma patients and relatives go through but the lack of support post ICU is still a major concern for many, if you are lucky you may have one of the growing number (19) of ICUsteps local support groups in your area where you can meet others that have been through the trauma and understand what you are going through, over 130,000 booklets have been sent out to hospital to around the country since it was first printed and is available for free download in 14 languages from the website. icusteps.org

The lack of posts may be down to some inappropriate posts late last year, the person posting was sent a warning about the posts that they were not in the spirit of the community and they stopped, all posts are now closely monitored and any found to be inappropriate will be taken down, I hope this will encourage everyone to start posting again to this great community with their questions, experiences and support.

[AnnieBananie]

You know, it actually took me about 5 years to feel somewhat back to normal. Although I functioned somewhat normally throughout that time, I was not okay. I found this site after searching for help to get through the aftermath. In the US we are not told what to expect as we recover.

[patchworker in reply to AnnieBananie]

I agree with you Annie, for a long time I seemed normal, but I was not OK. I was not told what to expect either, but then I didn't know I was going to be in ICU. I had many serious complications following surgery for esophageal cancer.

Thanks to everyone who replied, I hope you're all feeling a little better each day.

[AnnieBananie in reply to patchworker]

Thanks for letting me know I am not the only long term recovery out there. Having to retrain and rebuild your body is just one small step in the aftermath. Glad to hear you are feeling like yourself again!

[eddie1968]

Could be ICU staff are being trained better to recognize patients with ICU delirium and treatment is therefore better. I had a tracheostomy and was so weak I couldn't communicate well and couldn't relate I was psychotic, paranoid and hallucinating.