Just to let you know that my husband James is back in HDU. He has developed another bout of sepsis which has stemmed from a very bad kidney infection (my post on Stomach Discomfort). He began shaking and shivering again around teatime last night and everything that was going on was what was happening the first time around so I got on to 111 again and they dispatched an ambulance as an emergency but for some reason didn't appear until 8p.m. His blood pressure dropped rapidly again and his temperature had shot up. At one point his blood pressure was sitting at 80/60 which was far too low and when they got him into resuss at one point the lower reading was sitting at 40. I have been told he is very `dangerously ill` this time but they are hopeful that he will pull through because they are giving him intravenous medicine to bring his blood pressure back up and he is responding. When I left him last night/this morning his blood pressure was in the 100's for the top reading and sitting about 50 at the bottom reading. He has been on the phone to me this morning saying he feels slightly better but I'm assuming he's not out of the woods just yet. He said they said that his blood pressure is still on the low side but a great improvement than yesterday evening and the meds they are giving him for this are doing their job. I think they will be starting him on antibiotics today. Kepp you posted.
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PattyK2310
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in many ways he is in the best place - although obviously it is not ideal that he has picked up an infection.
It is important for everyone to understand the circumstances where sepsis can set in.
MOST important for anyone who has been in ICU - please get yourself a decent thermometer & one of those small finger oximetre for measuring sats, I also bought myself a small blood pressure gauge. Each of these can alert you to early signs of infection and potential sepsis.
We have become used to the idea of someone else taking charge of our health - this is in no way an accusation - just an observation. Take charge.
I had to realise that sepsis wasn’t like the mumps or measles - once I’d had it, this did not guarantee immunity from getting sepsis again. I thought sepsis was a ‘disease’ but it’s the body’s (over) response to infection. Bacterial infections cause most cases of sepsis but it can be the result of viral infections like flu and Covid, or fungal infections and of course, traumatic injury.
So if you are immune compromised ( a stint in ICU will leave you temporarily immune suppressed) you might be more prone to pneumonia which can lead to sepsis. You might have reduced kidney function, bladder issues which can lead to UTI s which can cause sepsis. Digestive issues, blood poisoning through cuts and abrasions, catheter sites and wounds or burns- all can lead to re infection & sepsis.
If you have any symptom that persists - seek medical advice asap.
thank you for this post making people aware of sepsis and what to look out for. My brother became critically Ill with sepsis from flu. One minute he was a fit young non smoker with 2 children the youngest age 6. The next he was fighting for his life anf it was an ECMO machine at Wythenshawe and the clinical teams there that saved his life. He spent 2.5 months between intensive care and cardio thoracic critical care at Wythenshawe. When he came out of hospital it was 6 months later he began a phased return to work. Please be vigilant and aware of sepsis symptoms. Sadly a good friend of mine lost her 11 year old nephew Oliver from sepsis. He too was put on ECMO and passed away. Her family do a lot of fundraising for the sepsis trust in memory of Oliver. Thank you Sepsur.
Thank you. I had to go into the hospital yesterday for my husband and I to have a meeting with one of the doctors. My husband unfortunately also has metastatic bowel cancer and now because of the sepsis they can no longer offer him anymore chemotherapy. What they are saying is his immune system from having sepsis 3 times now has weakened so much that he may not now be able to tolerate any further chemotherapy. Although the cancer is there, they are more concerned about the sepsis and if he will go into `septic shock`. If the worst were to happen, they do not think he would tolerate either the assistance of ventilators or breathing machines because of his age (69) and his current condition, he would not be able to tolerate that either. At the moment he is responding well to treatment they are giving him. He is getting medication to bring back up his blood pressure which is apparently working in so much as last night when I called the hospital to check in on him, they said that they may be able to turn down the medication on the blood pressure in that the blood pressure is stabalising on it's own and they are continuing with the antibiotics. They have more or less said that he will die with the cancer and it is something that will just more or less run it's course. How long they don't know, how long is a piece of string? it could be months, maybe another couple of years the doctor told him they don't have a crystal ball. He did get a prognosis from the oncologist who gave him 9 months but they're not sure about that and that was thrown out in that he may now have less or longer time. What he did say however was, that if he were to develop sepsis again in the future and with all the bags catheters he has etc is a possibility, that might just `take him`. We are absolutely broken and I am just on `autopilot` just now and my head is all over the place. Just hoping with his will to live- as he says he's not giving up- he will be still be here for sometime to come and so from now on it seems that we will just have to try to make as many happy memories as possible.
I too have an underlying cancer - a leukaemia/lymphoma- it’s probably why I got so ill so quick - at the point of diagnosis ( whilst still in a coma) it was decided that traditional chemo was out of the question - I wouldn’t have been able to tolerate or withstand the treatment , I wouldn’t have had a chance against opportunist infection.
A year down the line, my disease really took off & I started first line treatments which involved monthly infusions and numerous biopsies & scans. Two years later I signed up for a trial at the Christie - I had daily immunotherapy treatment for two years - I know there are options for immunotherapy treatment of bowel cancer - had you both been offered this? Is it a plausible treatment for your husband?
I am now 7yrs past ICU - there were times since when I have been told I have a year (mean average) life expectancy. Last week I received a letter that supposed I might need treatment again in as much as 5yrs.
I don’t want to understate the bleak position that you all find yourselves but we have been there too ….. wishing you well
Took your advice and enquired about the immunotherapy treatment. I emailed oncologist's secretary, and she told me that the oncologist had retired at the end of March, and they have a lady temp dealing with his patient list at present. But anyway, she said she would pass my query on to the temp oncologist and once hubby gets out of hospital we have to get back to them to possibly discuss options as this can't be done while he is still receiving treatment. They can only say yes or no. It will of course probably depend on if he is fit enough to tolerate any further treatment.
The update is, that he is doing extremely well. He has been taken off the blood pressure monitor and medicines to stabalise it, as it's stabalising on its own now and all his bloods are normal again and they are confident that they are on top of the infection. Spoke to the charge nurse this morning and she said that he is `ward ready` meaning he will be getting moved from HD to a regular day ward but not today it will be when a bed is available for him. So a bit of positive news. No telling yet when he will be discharged, but I'm ok with that though just want them to get this properly this time and maybe there will be less chance of him getting it again months down the line. but then according to the doctor it is something that is unfortunately unavoidable and those with as he put it, `internal tubing and wiring` are more vulnerable to catching these infections.
Never did like his oncologist. Don't know if it was `just me` but I seemed to find him a bit `aloof` and tended to speak down to you a bit and if you made any suggestions, he always had the last say which was usually `no` as if it was `his way, or no way` so you just had to go along with that as he's the expert. I know these guys are top of their field in what they do, but sometimes some can just get so above themselves and maybe not show empathy where it is needed. I just hope a fresh pair of eyes can bring fresh hope and ideas but at the same time hope it's not `better the devil you know`.
you can always ask for a second opinion - I found the best specialist dealing with my disease in U.K. -( so I already had a name). My Haemotology dept at local hospital had so many changing consultants that I rarely saw the same person but when they proposed a chemo two years after ICU, I asked for a second opinion with Adrian Bloor at The Christie. I had been told that a specialist in the field of your cancer ( not a general haematologist or oncologist since they aren’t always aware of every aspect of disease or new treatment options) could improve your survival rates considerably.
Because of my particular genetic pointers, tests had shown that chemo ( specifically FCR) had a very poor success rate hence my desire to find alternatives. My disease is heterogeneous which means it behaves differently in all of us - mine was even more peculiar than usual - Adrian Bloor was probably the only person who would have second guessed the twists and turns of this disease and treated it accordingly.
Chasing other options enabled me to remain in the game and not be crushed.
Hopefully your husband will remain in HDU until Monday - a weekend on the wards straight away was never promising
Thanks. He is now out of HD they obviously found him a bed in a ward. Don't know how long he will be there for though. Doctor said maybe a couple of weeks at least. It's a step in the right direction hopefully his numbers are all good so that's another positive step. We will go with the new oncologist whoever that may be. If it is a woman maybe she will have empathy instilled as most females do😉. Oncologists I assume should have general knowledge of all cancer types.
empathy is important we are all human and I experienced being talked down to. It’s too long to go into here but ‘ In Shock’ Dr Rana awdesh is a book I recommend by an ICU Medic who herself found herself in ICU very poorly and now advocates fir empthaby and compassion in teaching medicine.
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