Is my sister being overly drugged?

[Talaxia]

My sister has been in the ICU for 35 days from a hit and run. She was induced for 3 weeks and she’s been on anxiety medication, fentanyl then methadone.

My mother is concerned methadone 15mg 4x per day is a lot. She has a breathing tube in her neck and half her teeth were knocked out but she has been trying to communicate and is angry when people can’t understand her.

She is on dialysis (her kidneys failed and I think it was due to ventilator settings- they said they had her on “Covid settings” to give her maximum oxygen. (32 pressure, 10 seconds release 2 seconds -it was like this for 7 days)

-we know she’s angry and freaked out about being there.

-I’ve asked her if she’s in pain she says no, and shakes her head when I ask if she wants pain. Medication.

-she has mitts on her hand because when she first was admitted she woke up with the tube and tried to pull it out.

-she’s breathing on her own with ambient oxygen. She’s continually uncomfortable and wants to move and fix herself but can’t.

-she nods in and out and I think that’s due to the medication. And freaks out when someone puts a needle near her and says no.

My mom is insists they’re putting her on medication because she’s difficult to manage. It took 5 nurses to clean her up last night after the bathroom.

When my mom is there she’s calm, but when she leaves they try to just give her drugs to make her sleep.

I think they’re making her delirious.

Can anyone recommend what we should do?

[FamilyHistorian]

I’m not a medical person but what you describe is not unusual. I was angry, had to wear mittens to protect me and the staff. Some patients do try to pull their tubes out and others don’t. I was in a coma for nearly 2 months until I was ready to be weaned off the drugs. I presume you mean she has a trachy in her throat to help her breath this is done because some people don’t tolerate a breathing tube through the mouth.She may well be hallucinating these are very real and frightening. Reassurance is very difficult. Some patients believe they are being assaulted by the staff.

Whilst this is a difficult time for the patient it is also very traumatic time for the family. It is really important that you take care of yourself, the patient may well take sometime to fully recover and I don’t mean just in hospital but also once they are home

[Hidden]

Hi. Sorry about your sister. ICU delerium is very common, caused by the drugs and other treatments. The patient is often in their own world. I had very violent dreams in different countries. Looking at my hospital notes there were times I tried to get out of the bed.The patient may seem anxious and angry. When I was awake my voice and hearing were effected which made it very difficult to communicate.

Once I did recover and was more aware of where I was I calmed down and the dreams passed. I was given an anxiety pill until I came out of hospital care.

Hope this helps

[Hidden]

Hi Talaxia, what your sister is experiencing is known as ICU Delirium. 2 out 3 ICU patients will experience it. It's pretty horrific as the person is having lucid dreams which are akin to hallucinations. Some people can remember these dreams afterwards which can cause PTSD.

I hope your sister recovers soon.

[manicminer001]

Hi, you have to get her out of the icu bed asap. Each day in bed costs her muscle mass, it is so so difficult to get back. I was 4weeks in coma with covid and pneumonia, 2 months in bed. Unfortunately no one was pushing on me to get out of bed. Big mistake.

I know it is too early for her but push them to wean her off the meds asap, I was also drugged I was also angry as she wants to get out I bet. I could not speak either no communication for her is frustrating for her it took me 3 weeks for my brain to clear up after stopping all the fentanyl etc. to be able to use the board with letters… once they gave me a pen what would not write a ball pen! one shift of nurses goes the other comes, they both always pumped me full of sleep meds even during the day it stops drama for them.

ICU is a traumatic place hard to get rest they do checks every 2hours on the patient, try to get here to a ward asap so she can rest.

I was 44days is icu. I never want to go to a hospital after this experience