How long to gain strength and weight

[stevegnfd]

Hi, could someone tell me roughly how long it takes to regain weight and strength back after being in a coma for 4 weeks, my wife has a tumor in her stomach and needs a operation but is to weak for the op at the moment.

[FamilyHistorian]

I will answer the question as far as I am concerned BUT it depends on the individual and also what is meant by strength

I'm a 6'3" male now almost 73. I was ventilated/sedated for nearly 2 months but in hospital overall for about 4 months. On top of that I had a swallow issue which meant I was on "slop" for some time once home.

Before going into hospital I was +- 18stone. When I left I was 13 3/4 stone and then dropped over a further 1 stone for month once home. Over 9 months i'm back to 16 stone.

When I left hospital whilst I could walk I was very weak and it took me some time to be able to make a pot of tea and then get out of my chair without using my hands.

In all honesty I don't think my answer will be of much help.

The physios wil be able to help with strength

[stevegnfd in reply to FamilyHistorian]

Hi, thanks wow looks like a while then, hope my wife's tumor does not get worse 😒

[Sepsur]

I was told it would take me about 10days for every day I was in ICU, to recover - I would also have to work at it - it wouldn’t happen by magic

[LeopardGecko]

It really depends on the person and what level of strength they need your wife to be at for the operation.

My husband was in a coma for 2 and a half weeks but wasn't able to walk (with a zimmer frame for support) until about 4 months later. He did have a lot of setbacks (including Covid) along the way which probably slowed progress down.

He was able to have a procedure done about a month after his coma (where he had to be moved to a different hospital) but I'm not sure if it was done then because he was strong enough or because they felt it was the right time.

It might be worth asking if they can give you any indication on what level of strength they require her to be at in order to proceed. We might then be able to give you a slightly better idea of time (although everyone is different).

[stevegnfd in reply to LeopardGecko]

Yes wife had Covid19, at present she can't walk or move her upper body herself, she has had her tracheostomy removed and now talking and eating soft food which hopefully will speed up her strength.

[LeopardGecko in reply to stevegnfd]

I think having a tracheostomy is definitely a good step forward and feeling a bit more human eating food also helps.

I hope your wife continues to make good progress and can hopefully have her procedure soon x

[Ferham]

Hello , So sorry you and your family are in this situation, It really does depend on the person. My husband wasn't able to talk for about a week after the sedation hold was lifted, only after he started to eat we saw a slow recovery, he is still really recovering now. He was in the 1st wave of Covid. I am only telling you this as a friends father came off the vent last week and is home today, no meds, no oxygen and sticks to help him walk, he is 64 . I just wanted for you to compare the 2 .

The physio's and consultants should be able to give you a better steer . Good luck

[NSMOD]

A lot depends on the ability to hold oxygen and in Covid cases, how damaged the lungs. That impacts how much oxygen one can hold snd therefore how much time and level

of effort each person will have to take. It is different for each of us. I was told yesterday by one of the Doctors that every ten days on ICU equates to ten years muscle loss!?