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

I had a total knee replacement surgery at OMC hospital and that night after surgery i had septic shock and severe respiratory distress. I was transferred to St. Mary's ICU. I was put on a ventilator for 3 days and after i had issues waking up. I remember waking up in ICU and not being able to talk . After a week in ICU I was transferred to medical unit where I had to let my brain program itself. I was able to talk later. I had a ng tube in nose so they could tube feed me. I than had issues with eating . I had no appetite at all. I finally was able to get ng tube out once I started eating. Since being home im still not hungry. I've gone a whole day without eating. Ive lost close to 30lbs. Im tired, depressed, fatigued all the time. My family has no idea the trauma im still going through. I was very close to death I was so critically ill. I don't remember much. How long do these symptoms last?

@lonna72789, post-intensive care syndrome is real. Your ICU experience sounds intensive and scary, certainly not what one would expect from a procedure as common as total knee replacement.

I'm tagging a few fellow members like @rosemarya @mattiew @ew62 @emil @bellaphant123 and others who understand the struggle of not remembering and family and friends not completely understanding.

Ionna, have you been able to coach yourself back to eating? Does taking small meals more often help?

My appetite sucks. Ive gone multiple days a week not eating all day. Im not hungry

I survived septic shock in April 2022. I was in ICU for two weeks and recovery for about another 3 weeks. What you are experiencing is all true, fatigue, brain fog, decreased appetite, etc.. Please give yourself time to recuperate and rest, don’t push to get back to work right away and go easy with to do lists. Your body and brain are still in recovery. A very good place to get more information about what you’re going through is Sepsis Alliance at https://www.sepsis.org/
I hope this helps in some small way and please keep reaching out! I would also recommend seeing a therapist. It’s crucial to address your emotional and mental health. I am still dealing with this and it’s been over one year. Mental health is health!!

@lonna72789, I am a liver/kidney transplant recipient, and your story/your experience has caused me to think back to Feb 2009 when I had an emergency situation and spent a week in ICU in critical condition with liver failure, and acute kidney failure. It occurred 3 days before I was scheduled to fly to Mayo Rochester for a liver test before being reinstated on the liver transplant list. I had emergency dialysis which kept me alive until my condition stabilized. My memory of that time is fragmented with an awareness of my surroundings and the medical interventions. I do have some memory of my husband and sons at my bedside, and I barely remember family visiting 2 at a time, as I learned that I might be going into Hospice Care. When my conditin stabilized (thank goodness for great doctors and nurses) I was was flown to Mayo from Kentucky.
I barely remember the 750 mile medical flight or the arrival in Rochester. As I improved, I was frustrated and confused by not knowing what had occurred and there were gaps in my memory. memory. It seemed only natural to question my husband. I later learned how painful it was for him to re-think those terrible experiences that he had experienced! So, after my transplant I began to search my medical records and found some of the missing information which gave me some peace.

That is my experience. I am thinking that the fact that I did have my organ transplant after my ICI trauma allowed me to move on from the PICs that I experienced. I did, however, find myself crying easily and often, because I came to realize how near I came to not surviving.

Please stay hydrated and try to eat something. Do you have a favorite food? My favorite was ice cream, and I was told to eat it when I needed to eat.
How long ago was your knee surgery? How is that recovery going?

Hello all. New here. Had a lengthy stay at UofM ICU after a Cardiac Arrest on March 16, 2024 and have all of the ICU Syndromes. I just can’t get a grip on things and my sleep is almost non existent. I feel like I’m sliding into a very bad place. I’m not suicidal mind you, just feel like my symptoms are deepening. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Hi, @jaypoucher, and Welcome to Connect. I want to say that, I think I know how you must be feeling because I had what sounds like a slightly similar experience 4 weeks ago after a visit to the ER with a fractured wrist that had to be set in place under sedation. I have never had such a frightening response to sedation before. In addition to the pain of the fracture, I could not sleep, eat, or rest because of the frightening hallucinations that took over for the following 3 - 4 days. I guess that I was lucky because this was only for a few days, but my entire body and mind were affected to the point where I feared for my health because I'm a transplant recipient and had never experienced anything like this. Fearing that my organs were affected, I contacted my doctor and my care team who ran tests and assured me that I was experiencing no damage to my transplant. Looking back, I think that the sedation plus me being dehydrated had messed me up inside. I still don't want to talk about it, and the sedation medicine has been listed on my 'Do Not Admimnister' list.
Jay, I have to admit that my story is likely not helping you too much, but you have been through a rough medical time. It is good that you are alive and able to join Connect and I hope that someone with a similar experience will see your post and respond.

Have you spoken to the doctors about this? If not, I do encourage you to do so. Sometimes the trauma of a situation can cause something like this, and a mild medication prescribed temporarily by your doctor can help you to get back on a steady course. You are not alone, and you deserve some assistance from your medical team. You have struggled long enough. Can you contact your doctor in the morning, before the weekend?