10 days in Respiratory ICU. Discharged 4 weeks ago. Why am I not feeling better?

[MyPunnyLemur]

I've been home from hospital for 4 weeks after coming close to death and spending 10 days in Respiratory ICU after contracting a virus which has caused more damage to my COPD wrecked lungs and am now being investigated for Atrial fibrillation and damage to heart.
I cannot complain about treatment in hospital and support at home from family and friends. I am wondering however when will I begin to feel better? Everything I do is such an effort. I'm struggling to shower move around and generally do anything. I'm spending all day in pyjamas and laying on settee or outside on patio being looked after. Am I just being lazy? I went for walk round my very small garden today and ended up zonked out deeply asleep and so very tired. Please tell me it gets better than this ! What should I be doing to help myself?

Come on OP, be gentle on yourself ❤️.

You need to probably get blood flowing round your body effectively. That just means moving as much as you can, drinking electrolyte water will probably help, eat well and rest. This stuff takes time.

I would make sure your gp is doing follow up blood tests for you too. Looking at vitamins/ iron for example.

They do discharge people without you being optimal all the time. It's often safer so you don't pick up bugs and can actually get proper sleep.

anaesth/icu doc pov... have you asked your physician what they think is achievable in terms of recovery? It can take months to recover from and ICU admission, but it may also be that this is a new normal. Only the people actually looking after you will be able to give any ideas. Patients lose muscle mass and decondition quickly during critical illnesses, but before you start pushing yourself you need advice from your physicians re. how much it's sensible for you to do, especially if they're still investigating your heart (and if you're newly in AF it may be worth checking how good your rate control is if you don't know). If you're not getting anywhere with the physicians it may be that your ICU runs a follow up clinic that you could ask to be seen in where they can give you a better idea of how unwell you were and how they'd anticipate things going over the next weeks/months.

From the perspective of someone who had double pneumonia and was very ill, it took me six months to fully recover and I was quite young when I got it. I was exhausted all the time and slept a lot. However, the doc’s post above might be more useful to you.

When I worked in ICU, I was told that 1 day in ICU equated to 1 month recovery. So even if you are expected to make a complete recovery, you'd be looking at around 10 months. Given that you already had COPD, you can probably add to that. Be kind to yourself.

I’ve had pneumonia plus pleurisy - 3 weeks hospital, 5 weeks of ABs - I felt weak and wobbly for a few weeks afterwards. Was told it can take 6 months to recover fully (I was lucky) so I expect it’s still very early days for you.
🫰you’ll be feeling a lot better soon.

I had pneumonia this time last year and have genetic COPD. It took months, may've 6 to feel much better. I think the steroids and antibiotics took ages to recover from. Took me months just to wean off the steroids. Give it time op, sounds like you've been through it.

I was in ICU for 6 weeks in 2020 ( ventilated then tracheostomy) took a year to recover.

I was in ICU ventilated for 8 weeks again then trache again in 2023... Not even recovered yet if I'm honest and probably will never recover from some of the disabilities.

From the weakness/ breathing difficulties POV it took me months to recover. It took me 6 months to even do one step after after being taken out of the coma.

The point I'm making is everyone's ICU journey is different and everyone has different outcomes.

Am I just being lazy?
Absolutely not! You have been very seriously unwell, it takes time to recover, do not push yourself.

Take care and get medical advice about how to recuperate.

@MyPunnyLemur outside of hospital admissions, have you ever seen a respiratory physio or been referred to pulmonary rehab? Do you practise any breathing exercises or postural drainage regularly to keep your chest clear? I’m an ex palliative care physio and saw a lot of COPD patients, a fair number had never really been given much info on how to manage / optimise their condition. You do need to try and gradually increase your exercise levels but I know this can be scary when you have had such a serious admission and have other pathologies going on.

I was in hospital (not ICU) for pneumonia in my late 20s, picture of health before I got ill, was only in 4 days. I felt pretty rough for about 6 weeks at least and I was not back to 100% for 6 months. It takes time.

It took me longer than 4 weeks to get over the flu! You’re being very hard on yourself. I know it’s tough when you aren’t back to your usual self but don’t push yourself too hard. Do lots of the right things and rest regularly!

I've had COPD a fair few years so have seen and done everything they've offered to help including all the above but thankyou for advice. Every answer has been helpful and kind so thanks all for input . I'm gonna take it one day at a time and try to enjoy being looked after. Thankyou all again.