Fluid overload

[Feelingbetternow]

Did anyone have an unrelated medical problem but then experienced pulmonary edema due to aggressive fluid resuscitation (aka iatrogenic fluid overload) resulting in pulmonary distress requiring mechanical ventilation in the ICU? In other words, did anyone experience fluid excess to the point of fluid getting into the lungs as well as the abdomen, extremities, brain and causing hypoxia and acute kidney insufficiency and affecting any other organ systems? In my case, I developed pulmonary edema, pleural effusion, pneumonia, ascites, anasarca, encephalopathy/delirium, kidney failure, arrhythmias, electrolytes imbalance to name a few. Completely unrelated to my presentation. 100% caused by the treatment team. Was anyone else kept against their will after asking to leave AMA 12 hours after presenting to the ED? My repeated requests to leave were completely ignored. I withdrew my consent for treatment. I had full-decision making capacity and knew the Hospital did not know how to manage pancreatitis. I knew they were incompetent and were holding me involuntarity. As a physician, I knew I was not in good hands. The nursing staff ignored my requests to leave and instead administered repeat doses of Ativan thereby chemically restraining me and placed me in physical restraints so I could not leave. I wanted to leave. The staff kept saying I was going to die there. in total they administered fourteen 2mg doses of IV Ativan my first night and numerous boluses of fluids along with an IV drip. By 8am the next morning, I could not breathe. I was drowning in lung fluid but nobody noticed that I needed to be diuresed. I was intubated “to protect my airway,” placed in physical restraints and transferred to the ICU where they continued aggressive fluid treatment. In fact, no one noticed I had developed fluid overload until day #5. I had gained 20 lbs in fluid weight. It was then that they ordered diuretics. During my first 6 days, I experienced severe hypoxia as the fluid in my lungs was compromising normal gas exchange.

My pancreatic enzymes had doubled since my admission. The Hospital never addressed the underlying cause despite me telling them I had a hereditary type of hypertriglyceridemia. They never even checked my lipids and only checked triglycerides after administering propofol for the intubation (propofol can temporarily increase triglycerides). While my triglycerides came back in the 1000s, no one thought to investigate this as the cause of the pancreatitis and instead they all speculated it was due to the propofol.

They were never going to extubate me since they had decided I was “a bad candidate.” Even in my delirium I knew something was wrong. I tried to get up but was in restraints. If my husband hadn’t come, I would have died there. My husband kept insisting they extubate me. After 10 days on the ventilator, with my lipases trending upward, pneumonia, peripheral edema, and kidney failure to name a few, I insisted I was fine and wanted to leave AMA. The hospital reluctantly agreed but only because my husband was there. That same day, my husband and I flew home to Chicago. I was in diapers. I could not walk or talk or swallow but I knew I would have died of multiorgan failure. I still had pneumonia. I had severe chest pain and breathlessness. Once the Fentanyl began wearing off, the epigastric pain returned. I was confused, disoriented, and very sick. I knew I should not have been intubated. As soon as I was extubated I even said to my husband, “Call the police.” I had been involuntarily detained without any justification. My husband and I were never told about any of this. They only said they had to intubate me because I had aspirated. I only learned this through my medical records which I received in a piecemeal fashion after repeated requests.