Very tired

[jld85]

Hey guys, so I know we’ve talked about how weak you guys are when coming off of a vent. Seems like my dad has slept so much in the last couple days, seems just very tired. I guess this goes hand in hand with the weakness, but were you guys like that?

[Sepsur]

Yes. We don’t sleep much in ICU - not properly- so I was exhausted all the time. You need good REM sleep & nice deep wave sleep to repair - we don’t get much of either in ICU.

Having your eyes closed - didn’t mean I was asleep - it just meant I was too tired to engage in any way

[jld85 in reply to Sepsur]

Ok! Well as long as it means he is resting and healing. It just seemed like the last couple of days he’s been more tired. It worried me. They added his pain medication back to his routine for his severe back pain, so I’m glad he has that now. He is actually down to regular nasal cannula today only on 5 liters and his oxygen has stayed in the 90s today! So his lungs are really healing, he’s just still so weak and hasn’t stood up yet. But some of that has also had to do with his back bothering him. So hopefully he can just get stronger from here!

[Tedsdad in reply to jld85]

YES and even after six months I am still not back to normal.It probably depends on the reason for ICU though I was in For 40 days after complications in a heart op. But it should get better but don’t expect it to be quick or to make any sense. It is very frustrating at times but much better than the alternative.

[jld85 in reply to Tedsdad]

Agreed!

[PeterJu]

Hi. As others have said, the tiredness is standard. It comes from the physical demands anyone who has been in icu has been through and then disturbed sleep from a very noisy environment. Separate to that, your dad is likely to experience fatigue when he comes out. This is not tiredness. Just wanted to manage your expectation. Hope this is helpful? Best wishes, Pete.

[micheve123]

Hi just as everyone else has said really. Its all to do with time. I came out of hospital last September and still get days where I'm exhausted even though I'm back at work now. I still don't sleep at night all the way through. Gp told me it could take up to a year or longer to recover from a stay in ICU. Our bodies go through so much. Please take care of yourself as best wishes to you and your family x

[jld85 in reply to micheve123]

I’m sure it’s a lot, just trying to wrap my head around it. Thank you!

[Hidden]

Yes tiredness is a problem. Currently waiting an appointment with long covid clinic, to hopefully boost my energy levels.

[Sleepalotmore]

I was, and still ( a year on) tire easily. I do remember sleeping a lot for several weeks after coming off life support. It's a way of the body recovering I think.

[jld85 in reply to Sleepalotmore]

That does make sense. Your body heals when you’re sleeping, so that seems right. He’s also on a couple medications that I believe are making him more sleepy than usual. So I think once his body adjusts, it will go back to being just the normal sleepy coming off of a vent!