Walking

[NSMOD]

I am now home after COVID driven 63 day stay in hospital. Most of the time was in bed and I had 3 weeks in ICU and ten days on a ventilator. The last two weeks were on a rehab ward and I am home now thanks to the great teams in the NHS. I am working hard on my recovery and wondered how long it can take before I can walk properly again? I am still using a Zimmer frame and can manage a few steps but my oxygen intake and general weakness are still key limiting factors. Does anyone have similar experiences?

[LeopardGecko]

Everyone is different - I'm glad you are finally home with your family.

My husband spent 5 months in hospital then 3 weeks in a rehab centre. When he left hospital he was walking short distances with a zimmerframe and by the end of the 3 weeks in rehab he was able to walk with crutches. After a few weeks of being home he was able to walk without the crutches (but still needed them for steps). He has gradually built up his stamina and can walk further unsupported now.

Although he had covid, that wasn't his main reason for his hospital stay so he maybe hasn't struggled as much with oxygen requirements as someone who has had a more severe case. He has also been told that he is a young patient at the age of 43 so I suppose he also has that on his side.

Hopefully you are receiving physio visits at home to help you. I would say that you need to try to push yourself but be aware of your limits. You'll never know if you can do something until you try but you don't want to get into difficulty. I hope your recovery goes well.

[NSMOD in reply to LeopardGecko]

Thank you. I am (was) a relatively fit 62 year old and I am doing all exercise given by the physios. I just can’t see progress right now ...

[LeopardGecko in reply to NSMOD]

Give yourself time. I know that it is only natural to want to get back to how you were as soon as possible but it has been a long journey and unfortunately will take time.The exercise classes with ICU Chester are also great 🙂

[Sepsur]

It took me much longer than I anticipated BUT I always looked at how far I had come as opposed to ‘how far I had to go’.

Fatigue, breathlessness & general lack of stamina are common for all of us. I was exhausted when I got home. We do need rest but we also need to keep moving. If your team has given you simple exercises, try and do these daily.

We also run starter, intermediary & advanced exercise groups for people coming out of ICU. Our trainer does a Wednesday morning induction session which you are welcome to. You just need to book a slot. We are a charity run by volunteers - so there is no charge or obligation involved. icustepschester.org

[NSMOD in reply to Sepsur]

Thank you Sepsur

[Gooddaysunshine]

I spent 87 days in hospital with COVID and have now been home for seven weeks. I graduated from Zimmer frame to metal stick, which is a great help for balance and for emergencies if I stumble. I can now walk 1000 metres a day. But there is still much fatigue and my lung specialist said to take one day off a week which I do.

My next goal is to feel confident and fit enough to walk a short distance without the stick.

Don’t expect huge leaps and bounds in physical status, but if you keep at it you will see an incremental change on a weekly basis.

Good luck wit it all and listen to your body.

[NSMOD in reply to Gooddaysunshine]

Thank you I am slowly getting there but it’s early days yet

[Tedsdad]

Not covid but open heart surgery that went wrong. It is tough I did my month in ICU and had real problems like you and went through Zimmer frame and crutches. Four months after op I am still a bit Muzzy headed but do walk up to 5 miles a day with dogs. I am 67 and though toId am doing really well I sometimes wonder if I will ever really recover.

[NSMOD in reply to Tedsdad]

The look forward to reaching your stage and thanks for your response

[Hidden]

Yes, I was infected with Covid late October 2020, I spent about 6 weeks on a ventilator, I came out of my induced coma not able to move, apart from my head, I couldn’t move a finger, I was petrified that I would be permanently paralysed. But the reassurance I received from the incredible staff was crucial to my recovery. They first said, you are obviously a fighter, you have come out alive! Now you have to be patient and stay focused, I too couldn’t even sit up in my bed without being totally exhausted, I had lost all my muscle 20 kilos in total, I couldn’t hear, I had blurred vision, my taste was completely destroyed. So the biggest issue for me was to stay focused and realise that this was a situation that needed to focus on the tiniest improvements. After 6 weeks in rehab I left on walking sticks, I could just about make the 10 meters to the car and haul myself in, again totally exhausted on 3 litres of oxygen. The first real sign for me with my breathing was my oxygen recovery in my lungs, it was getting faster, only slowly, but it gave me confidence to very slowly reduce my intake of oxygen, I was paranoid that I was going to keel over and die without enough oxygen.it became more apparent that I was suffering completely from anxiety re the oxygen. So I have been working with a mind healer for the last few months and it has really helped. I am now able to walk round a field where I live on 2-3 litres of oxygen for about 500 meters, I still feel breathless, but not as bad as I was. I worry that the fibrosis will never leave or improve, but we have to hope that it does. I have a goal to go fly fishing in June, so we shall see what happens. I wish you all the best in your recovery, have belief and patience. K

[NSMOD in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for sharing, that gives me so we confidence and all the replies above have a similar message if don’t rush it, it will come. My personal goal is to march at the cenotaph in London this year

[LeeB73]

Hi there, i spent 4 weeks in ICU this time last year with covid and a week on the ward before being discharged - perhaps a bit too soon but they needed the beds and I had good support at home. As others have said it takes time and we all go at our own pace. I was still using a stick for about 2 months and even then still very weak for a long time and still not 100% today. I can remember the first proper walk I did beyond the front gate was about 50m and I was totally knackered after it. I kept a diary of sorts and looked at what I was doing at the time compared to a week or so previous, don’t get ahead of yourself. But it takes time ... don’t give up ... but don’t overdo it either or you will suffer a set back mentally and physically. Even if you feel great just pace yourself. Are you getting any physio support? It was the outpatient physio who got me up and about and set me progressively more intensive exercise for many weeks. You will get there! Good luck with your recovery.

[NSMOD in reply to LeeB73]

Thank you LeeB

[PeterJu]

hi. I think you have had lots of good replies here. My advice is to set yourself very small goals. I had no support for circa 5 months coming out of hospital and unwittingly over-did it. This then generated a cycle of failure in my mind. One tip I was given was never set yourself a goal walking goal more than 10&% bigger (in time or steps) that what you have comfortably achieved before. for example, if you can walk for 3 minutes (180 seconds) your goal would be max 3 minutes 18 seconds. It sounds daft, but I wanted go go a little bit further based on my "healthy" measure of a small increase and all I did was get into a cycle of boom and bust.

Even doing the above, I have got to a point of plateauing and experienced good days and bad days. listen to your body, set very small goals and don't expect to achieve them all the time. as you have seen, it is about time which is hard to accept if you are as impatient as I am! best wishes, Pete.

[NSMOD in reply to PeterJu]

Thanks Pete, makes total sense. I too am likely to push myself too far and then see that as a failure if I don’t meet my targets. Good advice thanks