I'm New... Just want to know I'm not alone...

[Lotus-Blossom]

2018 Dec - Took a life threatening haemorrhage from the abdomen as I lost all my blood in the process, yet I'm still weak in my arms and legs, strength wise. Whenever I see a doctor I'm always asking them "should I still be this weak?" and they say "Yes." They don't even look surprised I'm still weak as they explain that my body has been through a huge ordeal as I was close to death as 2 teams saved my life.

Has anyone experienced this, because it would be nice to speak to someone who has been through it. As it would assure me that I will get my strength back in time.

[Sepsur]

Hi Lotus-Blossom

Welcome to you.

Did you end up in ICU? In an induced coma? On life support? Ventilated? Did you suffer numbness of your fingers hands, toes feet? Did you lose weight, muscle tone & strength?

Sorry for all the questions- I’m trying to answer you as best as possible.

Let me give you my understanding of what goes on.

Once you are ventilated a whole array of machines take over your natural bodily functions - remember, even your heart is a muscle. The old saying - if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it, couldn’t be more exact.

In fact the body in trauma converts protein in huge quantities to overcome what is going on. The body doesn’t store protein, unlike carbs which it lays down as fat.

The most easily accessible protein is in the body’s muscle. So it strips muscle, almost dissolves it. You can lose a kg a day in ICU.

I was told that, with the right exercise, diet & determination, it could take me 14 days for every day I was in hospital to fully recover. In my case that was over 1000 days - to be fair it was fairly accurate ( with the gift of 20/20 hindsight).

You are certainly not alone.

Have a read of these tales

icustepschester.org/persona...

[Lotus-Blossom in reply to Sepsur]

Hi, I did end up in the I.C.U. I lost all of my blood as I had a blood transfusion. I lost a huge amount of weight as I looked like a skeleton along with muscle tone and strength.

It's nice to know I'm not alone.

[Sepsur in reply to Lotus-Blossom]

It may take a long time to regain your strength, it can take 10-14 days to recover for every day that you were in hospital.

[Lotus-Blossom in reply to Sepsur]

Thanks for reassuring me and for replying.