Stomach Discomfort

[PattyK2310]

Hello Everyone!

I have began posting here about my husband who is recovering from sepsis. Has anyone ever had any stomach discomfort after being in ICU/High Dependency after their discharge home. My husband seems to have what he calls not a pain but a discomfort in his pelvic area. He is ok when lying down but when he gets up to sit a while he can't get comfortable on a chair and he says he feels he's on rocking horse trying to shift himself back and forward to get comfortable. This then means he has to go and lie down again as it's the only way he can get rid of the discomfort and I think this is what makes him less inclined to get out of bed. He has a urinary catheter fitted too so don't know if it's that that is causing it that is due to be replaced in 2 weeks time it's an interdwelling one that is inserted for a few months at a time and seems these can be prone to causing infections. He spoke to his surgeon who performed his bowel cancer operation last year via a telephone call two weeks ago and she said she can't say until she sees him physically. Because his mobility is still not great, he has to get his hospital appointments. Don't know again if it's a side effect of the sepsis. Thanks

[Sepsur]

it’s always a good idea to get these things checked out if it persists.

I definitely had stomach discomfort which slowly eased over time. Some of the cause was that I’d been on such a regime of antibiotics that my gut health was impaired. I went on a course of pre & probiotics. I also made sure I ate a varied fresh diet full of different fibre - I tried to stay away from processed food for a while.

My gut also had to adapt to eating food as opposed to slop or nasal feed bags.

My other trick was to eat little & often and make sure I was well hydrated - maybe curries were best left until my gut was back to normal.

[PattyK2310 in reply to Sepsur]

Thanks again Sepsur just contacting 111 because he is away lying down with it and I'm more concerned than he is. Just don't want to see this going on because it seems to be the thing that is stopping him from sitting up. When he lies down he has no discomfort at all just when he sits up. I think this all began when he got discharged after the sepsis he has mentioned it to medical staff already but nothing has been done and with it being a holiday weekend can't get a GP- can never get anyone anyway well face to face that is.

[Sepsur in reply to PattyK2310]

I’m not trying or pretending to diagnose anything but ICU left me with a hiatus hernia -

With a hiatus hernia you may:have a painful burning feeling in your chest, often after eating (heartburn)bring up small amounts of food or bitter-tasting fluids (acid reflux)have bad breathburp and feel bloatedfeel or be sickhave difficulty or pain when swallowingThese are the symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).

Gavascon works for me

[PattyK2310 in reply to Sepsur]

Hi Sepsur!

Just had the on-call doctor in and as it turns out its a very bad infection he has due to his urinary catheter. It's one of those long term ones and was due to be changed in 2 weeks time but the doctor said no it needs done ASAP so a district nurse is coming in tomorrow to change it for him- Happy Easter to us🤨. The doctor looked at his catheter and his pee he said was a yeuky yellow colour- similar to mustard so he knew right away it was an infection. So he's left antibiotics for hubby to take up until Monday because of the holiday weekend and a perscription for the rest and I can pick that up on Tuesday. So a bit relieved we now know what it is and hopefully something that the antibiotics can fix. He has a hernia too sepsur but where the hernia is is on the site of his stoma (yes one of those too- he has more `bags` coming out him than the supermarket😀). They said to him previously about going in and getting it pushed back in but they mention something about having to cut him again and he is against going back to hospital. So he was convinced this afternoon he was going back in but there a course of antibiotics and hopefully he'll be fine.

[Sepsur in reply to PattyK2310]

that’s good that you’ve got an answer

[Signingfun]

Patty,

I understand part of his discomfort sitting up was from the infection, but I had trouble sitting up after being in the ICU too. It felt more comfortable to lay down. I had to practice sitting up in a chair each day. At first, it felt like it was all I could do, to sit in a chair for a few minutes. Distractions helped: watching tv, playing a board game, ...

Anne

[PattyK2310 in reply to Signingfun]

Thanks Signingfun (Anne)

Yes this has been going on for sometime and at the weekend I just decided that he needed to get it checked out. The on-call GP took one look and said yes it's an infection which seemed to be coming from his urinary catheter. This has begun to affect his everyday functioning and is hampering his recovery. Sepsis I believe can be a complex condition and has many after effects some that may not be listed from the Sepsis Uk site and sometimes you just don't know if an onset illness or anything could be a throwback to that. He will get up and sit in a chair and watch TV but it's as if he is continually rocking back and forth to try to get comfortable in his words, he says it's like being on a rocking horse. He will last for an hour or so and then say he wants to go back and lie down so this stops him in trying to do anything to help himself. He was ok before his sepsis.

Vicky x