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Colleen Young, Connect Director avatar

Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) - Let's talk

Intensive Care (ICU) | Last Active: Oct 2 2:43pm | Replies (624)

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Profile picture for Miriam, Volunteer Mentor @mir123

I was in the ICU for 30 days--this was decades ago--and had to go on a real quest to find relief from the pain you describe. A doctor specializing in rehab put me on prescription pain medication and monitored a course of OTC medication. If there is no reason not to take moderately strong pain medication it is worth asking your doctors. I found that I needed to reduce the inflammation and pain before other therapies could work well, if this makes sense. Rolphing, a great form of (sometimes rough!) bodywork helped me a lot. PT is very useful but you need a good therapist, so if this one is creating more pain try and switch to someone who is more compatible. Once I got the pain under control I continued with rolphing/PT and mild exercise/stretching. I've found talk psychotherapy useful too, as it gave me tools to not clench against the pain or have a full-blown panic response. I'm guessing that acupuncture/red light/etc. might work better in a few months once the pain is controlled. Can your husband get some pain control prescribed? Keep in touch as the situation continues, and thinking of both of you.

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@mir123 thanks so much for your response. I will suggest this to him. I do think he needs pain meds especially at night. I’ll ask him to check with his doctor. Will see how pt goes or if he wants to switch! Thanks much!