Hi - need some help please as feel hopeless...! My mum went into diabetic ketoacidosis on the 23rd December. She never went to doctors, hospitals or dentists previously due to massive phobia so diabetes undiagnosed. She suffers from panic attacks and agoraphobia. She is 72 years old and never complained about feeling ill, apart from feeling tired and being incontinent slightly - she must have kept everything hidden. She was admitted to ICU with DKA, sepsis, infection, pneumonia and on top of this had Influenza type A - all in a day. ICU have managed to control all of these thankfully but when she comes off sedation there's no response - she opens her eyes when I speak and her blood pressure increases, legs move but nothing to acknowledge nurses or family with simple requests. Please can anyone let me know if you have had anything similar with loved ones? Thank you - appreciate anything to help.
Mum in ICU - eyes open, legs move - no response - ICUsteps
Mum in ICU - eyes open, legs move - no response
Hi
Sorry to hear you are going through this with your mum. My mum last year at 61 had a double lung transplant and was not giving any proper response for I think about 4 days, they did a CT scan and found that she had a massive stroke that had cut through the left side of her brain, which they said had happened during surgery, so they didn’t think she was going to survive and I thought she was going to be stuck in a vegetive state . She had no pupil movement, one time when I was trying to get a response from her when sedation was off, she had tears but still no pupil movement. But when they took the breathing tube out, she started blinking in response. My mum had ICU delirium when she fully came around and that lasted about two weeks thinking all the nurses and doctors we’re trying to kill her and seeing alsorts of different things. she made a full recovery speech/ movement, which the doctors told me was a miracle really because looking at their screens she shouldn’t be alive or recovering as she was. I think from watching and speaking with other families living onsite for 6 weeks, everyone is different nothing is guaranteed, sometimes people don’t respond properly for awhile and some come back quickly. The people on here helped give me hope when I was told there was none, it helped me to read others stories. My thoughts are with you and your Mum and I hope she comes back to you xxx
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. So glad your mum bad a full recovery - what an awful time for you all. My mum has suddenly started to respond with eye movement and trying to speak but can't at the moment - two days off sedation. Taking each day slowly but markers indicate going in the right direction. Thanks again and all the best x
it took me much longer to fully wake & respond in the way doctors wanted, so they spoke of hypoxic injury and the need for mri scans etc etc. 11 days later I was fully awake although experiencing bouts of ICU delirium.
I hope you get better news over the next few days.
Thank you for taking the time to tell me about your experience. My mum has started to respond so a massive positive start to this New Year whereas before it was looking bleak. Thanks again, hope you have fully recovered xx
Thank you, that is good news, recovery ( for some of us ) can take a long long time.
It is nearly nine years since I was in ICU - still I improve although age tries its hardest to slow me down 😊
Hi, just read your post and glad to see your mum is starting to respond. The delirium can last for a while after being taken off sedation. I was still seeing and hearing things and doing things that I had no recollection of doing or saying, even after going onto a ward. One example which shocked me a bit. A nurse on the ward after they moved me from ICU & HDU, asked if I wanted my hair washing because I still wasn't mobile. It felt like heaven and I couldn't thank her enough, then she said "we asked you the other day, and got a firm NO!" It was the aggressive nature that she said I answered in that really shocked/traumatised me and that I had no recollection of this ever happening, and so against my nature. She just said I was having a bad day and it wasn't a problem.
So what I'm saying don't be surprised by anything your mum might say or do, things could be going on inside her head. But hearing your voice will help even if you weren't getting responses at the time, you can hear them even if you can't respond or make much sense of what is going on.
Best wishes for your mum, I hope she keeps improving.
It can take a long time for sedation to wear off physically, and also for ICU brain fog to clear. Just keep talking to your mum assuming she can hear everything, even if she doesn't seem to. Play voice recordings from your kids if you have any, show her pics of any pets or family members, talk about your day or memories with her. If they have no reason to suspect a brain issue, then it's just time and physical activity that will clear it up. One of the issues you mentioned is enough to severely slow someone down - all together is a near-death event, and takes time to recover from... her body is working hard to repair. Hope things keep improving for you. Make sure you take time to look after yourself while she's in the hospital - once she's home, you'll be needed even more.
Thank you for your message and advice. Every day she's improving - she also suffers from agoraphobia and panic attacks and hates hospitals - what a mix! What a difference time makes - 3 days ago not responding to sitting up and trying to talk. Really appreciate your message, so thank you x
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