Toe amputation and vent wearning

[worriedinalabama]

Husband was transferred to a long-term acute care facility this past Saturday to help him wean from vent. He is still being vent-weaned. Now, they are saying his toes will have to be amputated because of damaged from the medicine used to keep his blood pressure elevated. The bad news just does not seem to end. Has anyone here had that happen? What was your recovery?

[Sepsur]

I’m so sorry this has happened. Is this because of muscle or nerve damage? Cases of Neuropathy & myopathy have increased because of the sedatives medics have been forced to use due to world shortages.

I am part of a ‘real’ support group of ICU survivors - many of us have varying degrees of nerve & muscle damage. One particular friend has lost toes because of sepsis infection and another has missing toes due to diabetes. It doesn’t seem to stop them from living a full life - well certainly doing everything they want to do.

[Ferham]

Hello, my husband has nerve damage in his feet, his toes are incredibly painful , so much so it is impacting his physio sessions. He is now on nerve ending meds which have now started to work. His feet were blue, they are now turning pink, the physio seems to think it's a circulation issue as when he stands or has his sessions the pain subsides . Have they given you further information as to what actual damage has been done to his toes ?

[Malletus]

Hi, Good to hear your husband is weaning from vent. Sounds like you’ve been through a lot and it’s still really tough.

Yes, my husband will lose all his toes on one foot. The doctors explained this is due to the drug Propofol which was used to keep his blood pressure up - my understanding is that it constricts blood vessels and directs blood flow away from extremities to vital organs. So sadly his toes have gone black because the tissue and nerves have died. There is nothing they can do. I was extremely upset and shocked when I found out.

I’m told he has no pain and he doesn’t complain about the toes when we FaceTime. His physio tells me he will be able to walk and do all normal activities - he will just learn to balance and adapt.

Hope this helps and best wishes for your husband’s recovery.

[totallydonny]

I had a big toe partially amputated due to infection that despite antibiotics spread to the bone, I also have nephropathy down the whole same leg so unfortunately there was no other option, this was a few years ago now and luckily I am still able to walk with the use of a crutch to help with overall balance which is quite poor anyway.

Wishing your husband well with his recovery.

[Taciab2020]

My brother in law was in the same situation. He was in coma in March after getting into a sepsis shock. His blood pressure was so low that they used extremely high doses of adrenaline to bring him back. He nearly died. The medicine affected his toes and his right hand thumb. He had the surgery for the amputation of the toes recently. He is recovering well. He won’t need any prosthetic. Sorry that this happened to your husband.

[worriedinalabama]

They told me the other day that they are amputating all of the toes on the left foot but will have to amputate the entire right foot which means a partial leg amputation in order to wear a prosthetic.