Wellness

[adoreqvc]

Dear Poodlepet,

My prayers are that God speeds your full recovery, and anxiety is not helpful for you at all, so try to speak with your Physicians about what occurred and how you are feeling.

Best to speak with medical personnel rather than dwell on what you cannot fully comprehend as of yet,.

You will heal and overcome this situation Poodlepet, so good luck and please know you are in God's healing hands, and in the healing prayers of many.

[Vamp]

Oh my gosh, Poodlepet, what a scary experience that must have been! I am so glad you made it through to tell your tale.

The stress you were under can most certainly affect your psyche. Post-traumatic stress disorder is not just for military personnel and hostages. I'm not saying that is what you have as I would not presume to diagnose you, but I am saying that stress can have a profound impact on your entire system. Talk to a doctor or therapist. I'm sure they can help you until you are fully healed.

Hang in there. Sending healing prayers your way.

[HonnyBrown]

((( Poodlepet )))

I am so sorry that you went through that!

Give yourself time to heal and you won't feel so lost. You'll be back to normal.

[goodstuff]

I'm glad you're home and on the mend -- and I'm not at all surprised that you are experiencing memory changes and emotional ups and downs after such a traumatic experience! Many aspects of your medical experience -- medications, sedatives, treatment in ICU, the cardioversion, and the overall stress and trauma of being so ill -- can have dramatic effects on a person's mental and emotional state. Confusion, memory loss, insomnia, anxiety, and even paranoia and hallucinations can result and can continue for a while. You didn't state your age, but these effects can be especially marked in older individuals.

Give yourself some time and work with your doctors and family day by day to recover your health and a sense of mental stability. Be patient and recognize that these symptoms are very common and may take a while to normalize. Peace and healing to you!

[Gooday]

I forgot to mention in my previous post that when a person is extubated, medications are given to keep them calm. Some of these drugs cause hallucinations but some cause permanent memory loss. Also, if you lost some oxygen to the brain prior to being intubated, a person may have issues afterward.

I am by no way saying this happened to you. I'm just sharing because maybe someone else experienced this in the past.

[sfnative]

Poodlepet,

As others have stated and with which I agree, I was so sorry to hear of the traumatic ordeal your body and brain went through. So many have given you some wonderful thoughts and advice for you to embrace.

There's one bit of information I'd like to leave with you that I hope will help you understand one part of this "picture." When administered any kind of anesthesia, many of these chemicals head for the fatty tissue in ones body. So, in a sense the med gets trapped in the fatty tissue until the body can chemically work it out.

This is so different than, say, taking an aspirin. Aspirin has such a short "half life" that we have to take another one 4 hours after the initial dose and then another one in yet an additional 4 hours, etc. Aspirin, for example, does not head for fatty tissue to get stored, whereas anesthetic agents do. Add to this the fact that some of us process anesthetic agents out of our bodies faster than others and there's the rub. I honestly don't think many physicians appreciate this fact.

I've had 3 major surgeries in the last 2.5 years and am on several major meds right now which are messing with my ability to feel 100% awake. I'm having issues with this, as it's also affecting my memory. I so hear where you're coming from.

Eat well. Sleep well. See that counsellor. Write down questions in your notebook before you go to your physicians and write down the answers while at your appointment. Ask what you can do to enrich your memory, life and recovery.

God Bless - Rebecca

[dobiesrule]

Poodlepet, thanks to the Lord that you are still here and able to post this. The previous posts are spot on. I had a triple by-pass 9 years ago and came through the surgery amazingly well. However, when I got home, I could neither eat or sleep. I remember thinking that I had survived the surgery, but was going to die because I couldn't eat or sleep. My dr put me on sleeping pills and I forced myself to eat just a little. Gradually, my appetite returned. It is a long slow process. I remember when I was released to drive the car, I was terrified that I would have an accident and my chest would burst open. (Neither of those things happened!) I was in rehab for 3 months which was very helpful. After that, I felt pretty good and told the dr that I expected to be back to "normal" by 6 months. He said closer to 9 months to a year. He was right. As overwhelming as things seem right now, you will make it. Take it day by day and and don't be discouraged when you have a bad one as that most likely will happen. But most of them will be good ones and you will be able to see the progress. Good luck to you and God bless!

[Puzzle Piece]

I support you Poodlepet2

[colliemom4]

So many nice posters here. I'm sorry for what you've had to go through and do feel it's perfectly normal. I went through something similar with my mom as she faced a life threatening illness and was in ICU and the hospital for quite some time. She became angry and was depressed, but she did recover from it. I think one of the things that helped her most was having other people around her even when she didn't want to talk. She went on to live about 20 more years and then passed away of something totally unrelated. I'm sure you will feel better. It just takes time. I wish you a speedy recovery.

[TootyJane]

{{{{{Poodlepet2}}}}} - I'm so sorry to hear what you have been through which has not only affected you physically but mentally as well. I'm glad you were able to go home as going through such traumatic events, I think being in a familiar place is best for a faster recovery. I suggest you talk to your doctor, perhaps ask for the name of a therapist or counselor. What you are going through is normal. My Mom went through a terrible time in 2013. She had two major surgeries in a 3-week period followed by 12 weeks in rehab. After she came home from rehab she was happy to be home but also angry, anxious and depressed. She also had no recollection of the surgeries, the hospital stays and parts of her stay in rehab. According to her doctor, the anesthesia and the large amounts of morphine she was on played a big part in her not being able to remember what had happened, she got angry and depressed because she couldn't remember and this is a common thing to happen to most people, especially the older you are. My Mom is 87. Her doctor prescribed an anti-depressant. She started taking it and just about 5 weeks later she really started to feel like herself again. Mom is fiercely independent (she is back to walking 3 miles a day) but she has finally realized that she needed to slow down a bit and ask for help / let me help her. My best wishes to you for a speedy recovery.