I'm an intensive care nurse AMA

[tigertoast]

As the title says ....

Thank you tiger - glad I'm not the only one!

My toddler certainly did Dapple, but it was always reassuring to see how less awful it was with a swift confident nurse

My mum died in an ICU. I thought the nursing care was exceptional both whilst she was alive and after she died. It really helped to see her after death without all the machines and tubes but whilst she was still warm. It felt different at the undertaker. Less her, I guess. She had been away for organ donation for about 24 hours (different hospital to the one she died in).

Thank you for all you do for patients and their families.

So sorry about your mum @stargirl1701, lovely to hear that her final moments were cherished though.

Are there ever times when you have witnessed conflict between the treating team and the wishes of family members? E.g. when the family wants to pursue aggressive treatment but the team believes it is futile?

OP you are all angels.

Currently dealing with a relative in ICU, unsure if they will make it. The care they have received is outstanding.

@canshopwillshop I can tell you of my experience of being unconscious on life support twice with sepsis a year apart. I went to sleep and woke up. There was no conscious thought, awareness of my surroundings or passing of time. Simply nothing. I'm sorry about your sister. x

@armchairanarchist - thank you, that’s comforting to hear (in a weird way). I’m glad you managed to recover from it - twice! How scary 🙁

Sorry for not replying sooner, rough run of shifts!

Thank you @Dermymc I hope your relative makes a speedy recovery.

@tomatosalt this happens fairly often, mostly due to relatives going home and and consulting dr google. They often get on board with a treatment plan or lack of when we sit and educate them about the situation, most of the time it's them not understanding the difference between certain conditions like brain injury or trauma.
It's very sad sometimes when you can't get them on board, grief makes people do silly things. We just try to be supportive in any way we can. Sometimes they need time which can be hard to come by.

Does it really annoy you when doctors bring you a patient back from e.g. CT scan with every single wire/line tangled up? Asking for a friend...

I am sure there was another ama thread started by an ICU nurse. Was as equally fascinating.

I am a not about NG tubes as my DC3 is a tubey but I am guessing it's awful to have to get an NG tube into an adult? My 6mo barely cries but she is well used to being tubed

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/AMA/3313984-i-m-a-staff-nurse-in-an-intensive-care-unit-ask-me-anything

This was the thread.

I am in awe of you lovely people

@SockQueen that made me smile, it's a challenge to get patients untangled but even if we escort to ct and meticulously keep an eye on lines they always get tangled.

@Crunchymum oops didn't know there was already a thread! I had a quick scan before starting this one 😳

NG tubes are awful to have put in, thankfully most of the ones I put in are on sedated patients who have no recollection of the event.

Why are some people intubated at the bedside and some specifically for taken to theatre?

Thank you for all you do.

Do you think the soul leaves the body before death?

Can you describe a patient or an event that has really stayed with you?

Hi op, I used to be a nurse, but not on such an acute setting.
Recently a friend of mine had a heart transplant and ended up in critical care( which I think is a step down from itu?) , he experienced really traumatic hallucinations, and even when I visited him on the ward a few days later he was delusional, and paranoid and confused. It was put down to the effects of the anaesthetic/ surgery/ drugs depending on who you talked to. Have you had much experience with this? Are terrors and hallucinations common on itu?
Thanks , this is a really interesting thread.

I think a common thing people don't realise is dehydration can cause a lot of nasty symptoms similar to psychosis / dehydration.

Sorry half asleep meant to write psychosis / dementia.

@Ohyesiam delirium and hallucinations are really common on ICU (same as critical care, different places use slightly different names). Even more common after cardiac surgery - a combination of all the factors you've mentioned plus going on the bypass machine. Very scary for patients and the best thing you can do is keep talking, keep them calm and ride it out. Hope your friend is recovering now.

Thanks sock queen. Yes it does seem to be a thing with heart surgery.
I would like to the approach towards it do a bit of a sideways shift. It’s so central to the patient’s experience, but a bit of an afterthought from the medical / nursing POV.
For example my friend changed bed 5 times in the week following his op, due to becoming less and less acute and needing less observation /care. This impacted his delirium badly each time, he was really disoriented to the point where an agency nurse was employed overnight to stop him trying to pull out his drips and drains etc.
It would be relatively easy to come up with a system where the patients were moved less once on the ward while still going down the care higherarchy.
There was a moto about holistic care above te door, and this particular unit is working towards being a Centre of Excellence. The medical and nursing care are certainly excellent at point of contact, but a change to this system alone would make a huge difference to patient experience and recovery rates. This would also end up saving time and money and resources.
Anyway I’m hijacking this thread a bit, apologies.

Not sure if your still reading op or if my question will make sense. My dad died of sepsis 3 weeks ago and was in icu a few times when drs were talking to us he got tears around his eyes do you think he heard us even though he was sedated a bit and knew how sick he was. Just hate the thought that he was scared