Inflammation after ICU stay and other after effects?

[lgilb]

I can't find much information on this online, and my GP has not been able to answer my questions either.I was 10 days in ICU on a ventilator in December 2022 (strep a, flu and pneumonia). So I am 4 and a half months post ICU now.

Has anyone else suffered inflammation or digestive issues and when did they settle down?

I was diagnosed with costochronditis (inflammation around rib cage) which has more or less settled now, and have also had nerve pain in shoulders and arms.

Currently awaiting a gastro appointment for what they think is gastritis (inflammation of stomach lining) and am also getting acid reflux.

If I knew these were normal reactions to what I went through in ICU I think I would feel better about it. But as I am not sure the cause, it puts my newly acquired health anxiety in meltdown! I convince myself the symptoms are leading to another serious illness, stomach cancer is my fear at the moment.

The costochronditis came on about a month after leaving ICU, and the acid reflux and sore tummy about 3 months after leaving ICU. Has anyone else had after effects appear several weeks afterwards?

Thanks.

[Sepsur]

try pre & probiotics - eventually I discovered I had a hiatus hernia & have treatment - my guts were completely messed up by icu & antibiotics & meds - pretty normal on all accounts

[lgilb in reply to Sepsur]

Thank you for your reply. Did your gut problems start straight after the ICU stay?

Confused by mine starting about 2-3 months after leaving ICU!

I am trying probiotics and hoping I won't have to wait too long for the gastro appointment.

[Sepsur in reply to lgilb]

during my time in ICU too - I was in there for 90 days. I then went on all sorts of anti nausea, anti vertigo meds, allupropinol, omeprazole and other anteacids - pro and prebiotics - months later my whole system started to work more normally.

[downthemoor]

I'm at exactly the same timescale as you after seizure from low sodium levels and aspiration pneumonia. 6 days in ICU. I've written here about the post ICU nightmare but to respond specifically to your questions...my digestion is all over the place ...now have massive stomach bloating can't wear anything around my waist. . It's taken this long for bowels to settle at all. Have history of peptic ulcer no one thought to consider this so have to take care of what I eat even more now. So many meds administered they all have side effects. Other Symptoms still appearing ...terrible pain in back and neck at the top of my spine , shoulder and hip pain easing. My daughter in law an ICU trainer says the shoulder due to positioning which she asked them to change but they didn't. Numbness now in left leg and weirdly my nose! Have had heart issues from the minute I got home , cardiologist says it's just the trauma but the slightest thing leaves me breathless . So not able to increase my walking in fact walking shorter distances than two months ago The absolute worst is brain function which is getting worse not better. I have my first follow up in June ..only through chasing for one ..hoping I get help there. It's a horrible long journey ....

[lgilb in reply to downthemoor]

Thank you for your reply.Yes I need a reminder sometimes of how long the recovery journey is. But it's reassuring to know others have new symptoms appear some time after being in ICU.

Hope you start to feel better.

[micheve123 in reply to lgilb]

Hi I can completely understand understand what you are going through. I had pneumonia and 9 days in icu three weeks in hospital in total. I have suffered and suddenly overnight gained weight which continued to over 3 stone. I have had bowel and stomach issues acid reflux aches everywhere. After numours ct scans mri scans x rays blood tests nothing was found apart from a beign cyst on my ovarie. I am now on omeprazole. It has been a long journey but I joined a gym after getting frustrated that no-one could give me answers apart from the professor I see for my copd. He has sorted my acid reflux as told me to breath through my nose rather than mouth as this causes air in the stomach. The weight is coming off which is also helping with the breathing and I am less tired. I have less carbs too which helps as full of sugar. Its a long journey but just grateful to be here. I think there are so many symptoms that we all suffer once coming out of icu but varying from one to another and also depending on what we went in for but on the other hand it seems they are pretty normal after a stay in icu just no one tells you unless you are fortunate enough to find this forum😁 which i didn't find for about 6 months after coming out. Its not great for any of us but reassuring that I wasn't going mad. I still have days where I'm shattered and have to sleep but I do still hold down my job. It's been a long journey and still not fully back to being me but so much further than I was. I really have had to push myself but getting there and its so worth it. Good luck with everything x

[Clunk]

stress itself can cause gut issues so i wouldn’t discount this being a response to the stress of being in ICU. It sounds like you’re understandably anxious about it which could be making the symptoms worse (keeps the stress up). Definitely continue with your doctor but I would also look into managing anxiety and/or a brief course of therapy to process your ICU experience.

I wasn’t in the ICU myself but my husband was for 2 weeks earlier this year and about a week and a half after we got home I started to have bad gut issues. I’d had bad IBS-like flareups 10 years ago so am guessing that the extreme stress I went through made things flare up again (all gp tests were fine). I’m working a lot on managing stress and have also just installed an app called Nerva which supposedly calms the gut via the brain link- will see if any good.

All that to say, keep looking to make sure there isn’t any nefarious cause but also don’t discount stress as the cause - it’s a biggie. also it might be worth looking into prebiotics or sauerkraut if not already to help your gut flora after the antibiotics and meds (70% of our immune system is in the gut).

[charliesdad]

Hi First thing I would say is that most GP’s on average will have a patient in ICU once every 5 years, so they can have limited experience and training in this area of medicine.

I previously had a hiatus hernia many many years before my ICU admission. Subsequent to this the hernia seems to be playing up again and am going through the process to review and tests to understand whether the hernia is playing up.

At this stage the gastric surgeon was not sure if this is the hernia repair naturally breaking down or whether the tubes I needed while in ICU have contributed to the symptoms.

The important thing is not to seek to blame the ICU stay for what one feels now.

I still have problems with the lower stomach not something I have had before even now some two years later.

All I can say beyond this is hang on in there, there are plenty of rapid things that can be done to review the symptoms. Try not to worry. There are meds that the GP may be able to prescribe for example PPI’s to help ease some of the symptoms.

[slimsimmons1984]

I spent 10 days intubated in December 2020, ive struggled with heart burn and stomach issues since, ive been asking my gp about a hernia ever since, however a trip to AandE this week, the dr is 90 percent sure i have a hernia without even touchibg me. Seems like stomach issues are common in icu patients

[Tedsdad]

I am two years on. As part of the fun I had a tracheostomy which has left me scarred inside and seems to have affected me adversely as I do have a lot more upward wind than Inused to. Doc has prescribed meds to help but they can lead to diarrhoea and so I only take them sporadically. Gaviscon also helps. But it is a nuisance rather than painful. As I was told and you have reminded yourself this takes time. Partly for the recovery but partly because you get used to the new normal.