Post Covid / ICU fitness

[NSMOD]

Hiya, has anyone regained full fitness since there stay in ICU? I still find that, two years later, I don’t have the muscle strength to take on anyhthing strenuous ove4 and above daily tasks. Just wondering how others are recovering?

[Sepsur]

not full fitness - I mean I don’t feel particularly’handicapped’ but I am not the same - in some ways I’m fitter - I’ve done pilates to improve core strength for instance. I walk 6km a day to exercise my dogs and I do a physically demanding job at least 5.5 days a week and I maintain 20 beehives - hefty work too probably 1 day a week.

I went into ICU 94kg - I’m now about 80kg

I’m also 7 years older and have endured 4yrs of various treatments for leukaemia since, had 4 different pneumonia & Covid twice

[Dabofoppo]

I'm stronger and fitter than I have ever been but it took about 2 years of training 4-5 days per week but I went into ICU at age 29 so I'm reasonably young and I don't have any other health issues

[Lux95]

Just over a year later and I don't have the endurance, or motivation I used to have. I used to run, ski, hike - former athlete (in younger years). Pushing myself used to feel great no matter how tired I was.

Now, no matter how much I exercise, I seem to hit a wall that is similar to that feeling of trying to stand up the first time after weeks in the ICU - closer to panic that my body will shut down (hasn't yet, so that may just be leftover fear). The adrenaline rush of exercise and working hard seems to be gone. That might not be biologically accurate, but it's the best way I can describe it.

I've come to realize I tend to avoid going to sleep and stay up until I can't stay awake, but then sleep more than I did. I have regained a good bit of strength, and am back to walking 2-4 miles, but I feel like I'm just going through the motions. Maybe all of this improves after 2-3 years?

[NSMOD in reply to Lux95]

I was very fit and active as a soldier and a sportsman. I am older now but frustrated that I can’t seem to get past anything other than a base level of fitness. Must try harder……

[Gooddaysunshine]

Interesting topic. I have been home for 2.5 years after 3 months ICU/ECMO/coma with covid. I am nowhere near physically where I was before.

Part of the problem was that I was left with such a parcel of diverse post-ICU problems that no-one knew who was responsible for my overall recovery ie was it neurology, MSK, or respiratory.

Only this year have I had some targeted pulmonary physio and it was made a big difference in terms of stamina, and helping me deal with chronic fatigue.

However, I can still only walk. Running, or a light jog, are still impossible, and my posture is shocking. However I am 10kg lighter than when I went into ICU, and my lungs are (very) slowly creaking into life again.

My lungs' oxygen volume intake is incrementally growing, which can only be a good thing in helping my muscles do more. So, still all very slow, but on the right path, albeit very gradually!

[NSMOD in reply to Gooddaysunshine]

Thank you.I think the key is that it takes time and a lot longer then we were prepared for. I want to go for a run but fell that I would keel over if I tried 😳

[Tedsdad]

I think one thing that I realise is the the importance of maturity in handling recovery.

Finding a balance between aspiring to get a lot better and realising, and accepting thst might simply not be possible is not easy and a very slippery target.

Accepting too little is short changing yourself but expecting too much is going to be disappointing and frustrating.

One of the factors in this has got be the reason for your initial operation. I had a condition which was totally symptomless but was growing increasingly likely to reach a crisis point which would have lead to instant death.

Because it was symptomless apart from the reassurance that the likelihood of instant death from a ruptured aortic aneurysm, any new status quo concerning how I felt and what I was able to do wasn’t going to be as good as how I was the day before the operation.

Even the sternotomy at the start of the operation saw to that. You can’t expect to have you breastbone sawn in half and wired up again and there not be some long lasting effects.

Inevitably as you recover, and my surgeon gave me wise counsel about this Never think about the length of the journey ahead, concentrate on how much you have achieved since the operation time is going to pass and even without the operation you would probably have deteriorated somewhat, but there is a little corner in your mind when you hit a problem that says “ This is likely to be as a result of my operation and time in ICU” This may or may not be the case, but in my case had I not had the operation I would probably have died in the meantime, and even though I died in the table with a blood clot in my lungs they were able to bring me back to life.

I asked the surgeon if he meant that I had been near to death, and he was most emphatic that I was dead and without speedy and drastic action would have stayed that way,And that he had been very pleased and surprised to find that I had survived without any immediate impairment in my mental abilities.

So my suggestion how to look at this . We need to find the balance between aspiration and acceptance but bear in mind at all time what would have happened without the operation that put us in ICU.

[NSMOD in reply to Tedsdad]

thank you, wise words and a pertinent and timely reminder that we all need at times 👍

[bledi]

hello ℹ been in icu in coma for 10 days

After 2 years I’m back to normal now

In uk I would still be the same tho I move back to Greece and ℹ live here now lot is sun ☀️ sea 🌊 and healthy food

[Back_to_reality]

Two years to the day since I went in (not that I'm counting). I'm pretty much back where I was physically, although I could do with being a bit fitter to be honest. I'm the same weight, give or take a kg. I'm 48.

Still get the odd flashback though, including a couple today. Annoying.

[Misterpaulwood]

Six months on after a eight week induced coma that left me paralised from the waist down, I'm walking two miles a day and doing stairs, I'm back working four hours a day and the pain is tolerable. I look back and think of how things were before and although I know I'll never be as fit I get a tiny bit better every day... That's the trick small wins give you a big end result.Chin up...

Paul at the Steampacket Inn Knottingley