In icu. I need to understand what j went threw

[joanne68]

I was in icu for almost a month with double pneumonia I also I had a trachiostomy . During my time sedated I experienced horrific dreams. I was in world war 2 during the bombings so many dreams I cant figure out what was real and what wasnt. I'm now at home on recovery . My hair is now falling out and i find it difficult to get up and around with out feeling tired and discomfort from my breast bone to the top of my legs. Any ideas ?

[Sepsur]

Yes - what you have experienced is very usual for a critical care patient. I will answer you better in the morning. I think you will find a few of these pdfs useful.

icustepschester.org/informa...

[Sepsur]

Hi @Joanne68

I was told that it would take me between 10-14 days to recover for everyday that I was in hospital. In retrospect that isn’t far off & I worked bloody harder to retrieve as much of my past life.

What are the main hurdles - chronic fatigue, motivation & brain fog.

I would suspect as well that you may have suffered ICUdelirium - if the vividness of those dreams remain with you especially, I remember all mine like they were yesterday & I came out of ICU July 2016 after 90 days.

What can you do about the chronic fatigue / I found I needed help motivating me to do physio - fighting through this fatigue ( which is normal) is a battle in itself. Good diet, a little outdoor air & sunshine always helped.

We have commissioned a couple of exercise videos especially for people discharging from critical care :

icustepschester.org/exercis...

Wes does a nice job. In the planning is a weekly zoom exercise session - it’s always easier to do something you are struggling with - with others ( especially in lockdown). We also run a weekly zoom drop-in - just message me for details if you are interested.

[joanne68 in reply to Sepsur]

Thank you for your reply. I only came out the 9th march 2020 just in time before lock down. So nothing has been normal since 8th of Feb 2020. I know I'm very lucky as my partner and daughter told me it was touch and go and things were not good at all for me. But here I am . My only concerns are that I am indeed struggling and your absolutely right those dreams / nightmares are like they were yesterday I remember every detail and smell. I just want to be the old me again . I know it will take time but I know I'm not alone. Thank you

[Sepsur in reply to joanne68]

You’re certainly not alone. Recovery takes time & effrt on your part, so you will have to be patient with yourself too.

I would hesitate to say that we are changed for ever by critical care.

I meant to explain hair loss too - mine came out about 9 weeks after initial trauma - it’s called Telagon effluvium - don’t worry most people’s hair grows back.

[Charke80]

Hi Joanne ! I went thru/am going thru similar thing. I was in coma for 5 days. After I came out, my hair began to come out like crazy. Once I was released, I cut all my hair off to start over. I lost so much weight, I hate being small (140lbs). My normal weight is 175 and that fits my body frame. I'm trying to gain but it's not happening fast enough. Did I mention I can't hold solid food down. I am almost positive this is the problem.

I was in the hospital afterwards for about 2-3 wks. All during my hospital stay I had these dreams that seemed so real.. Mostly, I was in water throughout the dreams.

[Woo2]

You are certainly not alone, and I suspect many more people than would normally be the case will be in this position.

I had 18 days in ICU and I was always busy! Weird nightmares, odd dreams hallucinations and delirium.

I then had a week on the acute ward, where hallucinations mixed with reality.

Then followed a week in a Community hospital for rest and physio.

I was home for a fortnight making good progress, being visited by physios twice a week and fed well by my wife.

Last week, I started to struggle to breath, and was rushed back to hospital. Three nights and lots of tests and then home again.

I was told by doctors that average recovery time is a week for every day in ICU and that the worse thing one can do is try and rush the process. If you overdo it one day, you'll be out of action the next.

So patience is the key, along with lots of sleep, naps when you need them, and good nutrition.

Good luck!

[FamilyHistorian]

I came out on 13th March having been in since before Christmas. I had many hallucinations. 2 similar to yours in the first I was in a military unit on the coast and the second I was an injured officer getting treatment in a railway carriage in a siding also on the south coast and a couple of fields from the previous place. Like #Charke80 I had dreams about water in each case I was in the hospital pool!!!! (Not) under water and having either an op or treatment.

I have started to record these to give them some perspective and to help me work out what are real memories and those that are not.

[joanne68]

Strange my water dream was based on a all glass vessels with no means of exit to escape as water was coming in but kept seeing Philippino nurses here there and every where and I would shout at them but couldn't hear me. When I woke from coma I had a trachy done . Feel see smell as if yesterday. Was nearly 6 months ago now. I hope your doing well. I'm still struggling a bit with mobility

[Sepsur in reply to joanne68]

We do exercise groups twice a week on zoom - you are welcome to join us