What to expect when waking up in ICU

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mikekass

Hi All,

As some of you know my surgery is coming this Firday July-14. This is my first operation of any kind. Except my Valve my heart functions are all normal and I am in a good physical condication ( I am 47 yrs male). I really appriciate if any of you can share with me what should I expect after I wake up in ICU and during my ICU and Hospital stay.

Thanks,
MikeKass
AVR (SJM Mechanical valve)
Stanford Clinic July-14
 
Expect to be sedated! You may or may not wake up with the vent tube still in. If you do, try to bring your mind into focus and not fight it, but breath with it. It will come out just as soon as you can breath on your own. Outside of this, you'll be out of it for most of the first 24 hours, then they'll start you on the spirometer and begin getting you functioning as well as up and about.
 
well when I woke up the first thing i noticed was the resperator and an overall feeling of relief. after they took the resperator out of my mouth it was incredibly dry and I would've done anything for water but I couldn't have any. Thats really all i remember about the first day. I also had my hands restrained. This is standard from what I understand. I don't remember any pain being involved. The next thing I remember was the next morning. I was starting to come to and looked down at my chest and decided the incision really wasn't too bad. There were two drainage tubes coming out of just under the incision and a wire in my neck. You don't really feel it and it was actually kind of funny when they took it out. I thought it was just a small wire in there that I didn't even realize was there until the following day. But when they take it out it actually reminded me of somebody checking their oil. And from one guy to another one of the worst parts were the catheter. but it really doesn't bother you until its being taken out and right after but thats usually not in the ICU. Overall the experience wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The nurses always came in trying to get me out of bed and moving but it was for my own good. I hope that helped a little bit.

Cork
 
DRY MOUTH! It was horrid, so expect it, and understand it won't last forever. It'll just seem like it.

I remember the vent being removed; but I don't remember it being in. You're in and out of consciousness immediately post op. It wasn't pleasant, but over very quickly.

NOISE. I hated the sounds and talk and noise and groans and moans from other patients; I found it scary. Had my hubby buy a cd player & he brought me lots of Mozart. Plugged in, I was fine. I strongly suggest you take sounds with you.

Nausea. I guess from the morphine. Not too bad, never got sick, but a bit unpleasant.

Things were more pleasant (?) - ok - less unpleasant when I got to the cardiac care unit. Except for my roommate and her incredibly rotten relatives who stayed all the time. Until I complained, and they got booted out. Then she left.

I really really hate being in the hospital, so I guess my evaluation is biased. I will say the nurses and care were top notch; every time I rang they were there pdq.
 
I had a tracheotomy so I woke up without the tube in my throat but in my neck. The vent started to act up and I remember the nurses trying to hold it down until they could get another one. It didn't frighten me at all because I had so many meds in me. I did see my family that evening. I did listen to my portable cd player in the ICU the night of the surgery. Had the nurse help me put it on and take it off. I had a private room-all of the ICU rooms are private at the hospital where I had my surgery.
They got me into a chair at 6am the next morning. I was in a lot of pain but once I got the pain pills in me, I felt better.. I do remember walking with the physical therapist that day (day after surgery). I could not have anything until the second night because of the trach being removed. First thing I had was my beloved Diet Pepsi. Nothing has ever tasted so good before or since.
I had great nurses and very good care. I do remember most of the experience. My doctor doesn't use the amnesia drugs. I asked for it at one point but never got any.
Just remember once they stop the IV pain meds ask for your oral pain meds regularly-you will need them the first few days. Do use your spirometer-it will be your best friend.
Just listen to the nurses (I am one) and they will get you through this as smoothly as possible.
Jo
 
While the general scope of the 'basics of OHS' is the same for all of us, we all remember it/don't remember it in different ways.

I remember what must have been the first time I opened my eyes or showed signs of consciousness after my surgery being when my nurse asked if I knew where I was. I must have still been on the respirator as I recall nodding at her but being unable to speak. I have no memory of being frightened or uncomfortable or even being fully aware I was still on the respirator. I don't remember anything after that until what my husband describes has to have been at least several hours when I first remember seeing him.

He was there but I 'slept through' hours of his presence.

I have no concept of time but the next thing I remember is them removing three drainage tubes. THAT I REMEMBER!!! They didn't tell me what they were doing; didn't indicate I might experience some 'discomfort'.......didn't give me a chance to brace myself if you will. It really hurt me very much when she pulled all three at once. The nurse quickly gave me more morphine which, happily for me, gave me few (no) side effects but was wonderful pain control. I take almost all drugs easily and tolerate anesthesia etc with no bad reactions. I am MOST grateful for that.

I mostly slept on and off until I awoke to feel them lifting me to transfer me from one bed to another and they were moving me to the stepdown unit.

I hardly remember the almost three days I spent in CICU post surgery.
I have more memories of the time in the step down unit but still many blank spaces.

You'll be well taken care of. They do this day in and day out and know what we need and provide it as needed. The less you dwell on what to expect the better you'll be.

IF you're really lucky........you won't even remember lots of it.

You know we all wish you the best, smoothest, easiest time possible and a full, complete recovery.
 
As the others have said you are so heavily sedated that you will not remember much. When I woke up I was still intubated and tried to take it out but it didn't really bother me, they put me back out for a bit longer, when I woke up again they took it out. It wasn't bad at all. They will get you out of the bed as soon as they can and sitting down. They will let you have ice (ahhhh ice, better then anything I had ever had in my life) and they will keep asking you if you want to go back to the bed, I actually stayed in the seat as long as I could tolerate, of course I kept fading in and out, my wife still laughs about how she would put some ice in my mouth and I would fall asleep and start snoring, wake back up and finish the ice.

I apparently had a reaction to the morphine, still don't know what, so they didn't give me anything for pain until the end of the second day. The day after, before being released from the ICU they pulled all the tubes and stuff. The catheter was not bad at all. Brief discomfort while it is pulled out and a few minutes of a minor burning sensation(hope that's not in the category of too much information).

All in all much easier then I had expected.
 
Ahhh Ice

Ahhh Ice

That was good wasn't it. I only remember small clips of the nurse messing with my IVs and stuff. They made me sit for 2 hours before I could go back to bed, I liked the sitting though it was nice. My wife told me that I kept trying to take the respirator tube out of my throat myself so it must not be very comfortable, however I dint remember having it in. I had to go back to surgery a second time 4 or 5 hours after the VR to fix a bad bleeding problem. I remember going back to the surgery room and the anesthesiologist had left the pump bag on my chest and I wanted to gasp for air, I tried to grab it and pump it myself but I couldn't move my hands or speak. Kind of funny when I think back on it, the first patient to start respirating himself on the OR table. The dry mouth is bad, but as Georgia said, remember that it wont last forever. BEST OF LUCK
 
dry mouth

dry mouth

I dont remember having a dry mouth at all, course ;) I know Im weird already lol... My biggest memory of CCU the day of the surgery is having them ask if I could wiggle my toes lol, I couldnt open my eyes at all tho felt like I simply didnt have the strenght tho it was most likely because of still being partly sedated, I also remember them removing the Trach and telling me to take deep breaths which was difficult but not impossible. The next morning was when I fully woke up and the nurse gave me some sprite and fed me a popsicle,which was WONDERFUL ;) later that morning I was gotten up and into a chair where I sat and ate lunch(jello and such) then up in the chair to eat supper before moving to the floor..

Once I was moved to the floor the chest tubes were removed, and like others can say that was UNCOMFORTABLE, they had me practice on holding my breath and bearing down a bit a couple times then the 3rd time she pulled both tubes at once, which IMO has got to be better than doing them separately and going thru it more than once..My catheder and IVs were all removed/unhooked too once I reached the floor tho they did leave a access to the central line in my neck and a access to one IV in my wrist(bloodwork was done thru that so I didtn have to get stuck) I had a portable monitor hooked up which slipped into a pocket on the front of the gown,and thats all I was hooked up to from that point on.. that night I was gtting up and going to the bathroom totally un-assisted an was out walking the hall the next day(2days after surgery).

hugz-Grace
 
Thanks, MikeKass, for starting this post. I am also having OHS on Friday.

This has been most helpful. Waking up is my biggest worry right now, so it's good to know what to expect.

Good luck, Mike!
 
Waking up

Waking up

I woke up after surgery with the ventilator still on.The only problem I had was post nasal drip that made me feel like I was choking and they had to keep suctioning it.The post nasal drip was not from surgery. I had also read enough on here to know that I would not really choke. But I was HAPPY when they took it out. Very thirsty but no sore throat. The day after surgery I was sitting in bed talking to my husband.
The chest tubes really bothered me. That is really the only pain I had from surgery. Taking them out was nothing, did not feel anything except maybe a wierd feeling. Same thing with pacemaker wires, no pain pulling them out.
When you wake up, you have nothing to worry about. They know what they are doing and will take very good care of you.
 
When I was allowed to eventually wake-up one of the first things I noticed was that I could hear my St Judes valve...That made me really happy! and then I noticed the dry mouth and begged for ice...all the tubes and stuff didnt worry me at all nor did they hurt. Waking up after your OHS is actually quite exciting .
 
You'll be amazed at how short the Surgery is!!! lol, you close your eyes and next thing you know people are hollering in your ear to wake up and I myself was a bit panicky for the first few moments until they told me I still had the tube down my throat. Relax if you can...You will be heavily sedated and most of it won't seem real for quite some time. I'm an anxious kind of guy and take meds for it and I handled it just fine and you will too. I didn't have a bit of trouble with the breathing exercises they started right away after taking the tube out of my throat. Peace be with you....See you on the other side.

Best wishes
JohnnyV
 
I only vaguely recall family coming in. Shadowy, it seemed like a darkened room, but in reality was no doubt well lit. I definitely recall looking straight up into the tear filled eyes of my son - only his eyes. Next thing I knew I was in a bed in a room.
 
waking up

waking up

Ditto on everything that has been said. If you haven't had surgery before, or haven't been around a hospital much, it can be somewhat of a shock. You may have 10-15 wires, IV lines, hoses, etc. coming from your body. The size/thickness of the tubes may be a shock also. The throat tubes are bad just because I felt like gagging. (I had made up some hand signals before hand with my wife and son so that I could get some info since you are unable to talk with the tubes in.)
Unlike others, the chest tubes being pulled out were hell for me.
You will have hot and cold sensations and it will be difficult for a while adjusting to this.
There will be all kinds of people coming in and out of your room. I was surprised, but glad, at how many times the waste basket was emtied and the floor and walls scrubbed while I was in ICU which was about 24 hrs.
Once your out of ICU they will start having you sit and stand/walk as soon as possible.
Coughing, sneezing, etc. are tough even with the pillow they give you to squeeze. The worst perhaps, for me, was when I took my first shower. Besides getting to really see all the incisions, etc. I started shivering when I got out of the warm shower - this took me straight to the floor.
Don''t be a sissy with the pain pills. I am really leery of taking them and learned quickly that if you wait until you actually need one its too late. Sometimes the nurses are busy and it may take 10-15 minutes to get the med.
Getting home will be the best experience you have - it really makes a difference in how you feel and your attitude.
Hope this helps and good luck.
 
I vaguely remember voices.. I now know that they were the nurses and my mom/husband trying to get permission to get me off the vent.. I was fighting it terribly, but I don't really remember much.. I do know my hands were tied down, which normally would send this claustraphobic woman into a tail spin, but it truly did not phase me.
I had NO narcotics so I wasn't out of it b/c of that, But I was out of it, probably from the gen anest.
I distincly remember I could not open my eyes, the light drove me nuts, and I had a desert in my mouth!

I did throw up but that was b/c someone decided to try a low dose narcotic in the OR, and I had a reaction as I do with all narcotics.

I had 8 glasses of ice chips within the first 12 hours.. I couldn't get enough..they were wonderful!
I was up in a chair 4 hours after I got to ICU.. I don't remember much of that but my dh tells me I kept pointing to the bed and saying I want in!

The next day I was walking, it is so amazing how quickly they move you!
Oh yes I also remember warm cloths washing me..that was wonderful too!

Try not to think about it so much, I was so worried about what I would remember or have upon waking up and it just didnt' seem nearly as bad as what I had anticipated..
Relax and know that they will be monitoring you very very closely.
My nurse was in with me for about 5 straight hours..just watching me and monitoring.
Praying for your peace of mind and successful surgery!
 
Wow. These stories are amazing. I have very little memory of CICU. I think I had told them up front that I wanted to be as sedated as possible since I'm pretty squeemish. I'm actually rather disappointed, now, that I don't remember more since I know my husband and daughter were so vigilant and it's weird not to remember. I do have a lasting image of their warm, caring faces smiling down at me.

I do not remember the ventilator/tube at all. I do remember the drainage tubes being removed (2) but they had me practice a counting and breathing thing (as others have mentioned here) and seemed to make sure that I was aware enough to know what was going to happen. When they pulled them out it was just kind of a warm slurp.....icky and odd, but not painful. I guess I had great drugs! I also remember being very thristy, but knew deep in my head that that was normal because of all the wonderful stories I'd heard here before my surgery. I was very stoned, because I remember trying to reach for the ice chip cup and just not being able to manage it and laughing at how ridiculous it was that I could not reach something so close to me.

As they were bringing me out of my stupor to move me to the cardiac ward, I had the most intense and lovely conversation with the nurse. She was wiping me down with warm cloths that smelled wonderful. I felt like I was in a spa.

So, for my experience (I'm 52 and mine was a simple procedure, like yours sounds like) it was not rough at all. Waking up and knowing I was THERE was an enormously calming moment. It's like every cool breeze you've ever felt on a warm day was rushing into my being........I'm here!! This is good!!

Good luck!

Marguerite
 
1st thing I remember is my Dad standing there and saying, "Yup, he's awake". Very cloudy. I also remember them removing the breathing tube, "At the count of three: one! two!" YANK. They didn't get to three. Of course pulling out the other tubes and cath as well.

The thing I remember most about the Spirometer is being able to move the bar higher than my brother and sister fresh out of surgery. They were both smokers. Neither one does anymore.

My second day in, the nurses brought me a birthday cake for my 18th birthday. That was pretty nice. The thing they don't tell you about is 15 years later having to have scar tissue cleaned out of your junk due to extended cath use. Good old UTI's. I felt like Tom Hanks in The Green Mile.
 
I remember the vent and I never bonded, but I did learn to occasionally get along with it when I had the ability to recall what people on this site had told me about not fighting it.
I remember arms and legs being restrained and the feeling took me back to when I was a wee little person and woke up from eye surgery with arms in casts to keep me from scratching at my patches....all I remember about that time was I was being kept away from my greatest source of comfort and those were my thumbs. (I do believe this is my first childhood memory!!:rolleyes: ) Being restrained made me miserable cause I was no longer in control.
Also I remember my family laughing hysterically at my sucking the sponge dry when they just meant to moisten my lips. I sucked it dry each and every time and I remember not caring one bit if all the water would make me sick.
Chest tubes didn't bother me while they were in...don't recall being acutely aware of them until they were pulled out and even then the pain was so very short lived....less than a few seconds worth. Remember that!! I kept anticipating having to have them stitched up which is not the case. Totally pysched myself out on that one.
Best of luck to you!
It really isn't that bad.
Debbi
 
I was very alert and awake the first 24 hours after surgery. I did wake up with the vent tube in my mouth. It didn't bother me like I thought it would. Prepared to be MASSIVELY thirsty!!!!! I was very nauseated for days. I wasn't in a lot of pain. Best wishes to you!
 
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