Pain medications and COVID ICU

[MelissaAdcox]

My mom is (66) perfect health before COVID+ has been in ICU today 22 days on vent. At first, they were lowering the vent and now they keep it at 100% and say that they can’t lower it. Sometime will lower to 95 but say she desats and then give her more pain meds usually at night. She is healthy otherwise. They have her on Fentanyl, Versed and Propofol. How can my mom even begin to breath correctly? She is a small woman that is probably 110 pounds 115 normal. She couldn’t take 400 mg ibuprofen without getting sleepy. She never takes any medication. I feel hopeless because the drs keep saying she needs the meds... Advice please!!!

[Sepsur]

With your Mother being so petite and having what you describe as a very low chemical tolerance, hopefully she has needed very little sedation comparatively speaking, to keep her sedated enough for any healing to take place and for her to be able to tolerate treatment. Intubation, catheters, lines, drains, feeding tubes etc etc are intrusive pieces of apparatus and painful to instal & remove.Hopefully it will mean when she is ready, she can be woken quickly and efficiently, with minimal affect on her, short & long term.

[tookoa]

Hi Melissa

Thanks for sharing your question.

When a patient is put on a ventilator they need to be as relaxed as possible to allow for optimal lung compliance. The vent is undoubtedly breathing as efficiently as possible for your mother because of the fact that they’re giving her fentanyl, propofol and versed. Does she have a tracheostomy or is she intubated? Again, either way it’s not a comfortable position so this is where the fentanyl helps.

It’s scary, I know. The doctors should be explaining in more depth if that’s what you need to feel better - just know everything they do is for a good reason.

We’re all here for you so ask away if you have any more questions.

Love and best wishes,

T

[lynnmarr]

Hi Melissa They had my husband like that for 52 days! They used blood thinners to help clear the blood clots in his lungs and finally anti-anxiety meds to get off high sedation. As soon as she gets a little more stable she needs to get trached! My husband took 10 months to wean off ventilator and they are weaning from trach now successfully. If I knew then what I know now it wouldn't have taken so long!