To please, please ask for your positive stories of people getting well having been on HDU/ intensive care

[grobagsforever]

DP was admitted last week and moved to HDU last night. They don't know what's wrong. He has fluid on belly, some kind of infection and impiared liver function. There is talk of moving him ti ICU. We seem to be waiting on endless tests. He is 35 we have a three year old and I am 7 months pregnant. I need him . Please tell me your positive stories of recovery from these situations.

i was in hdu 9 year ago with peritonitis.

I too was tested for ca bowel.

My dm had a heart virus - she actually 'died' and had to be brought back. 3 years later happily here, maybe not quite as healthy, but here watching her grandchildren grow up. And dd2 - a 27 weeker, infections and all the rest - now a happy, healthy 8 year old. The NHS are at their absolute very best (imo) in these situations. Wishing that all turns out ok for you.

I've been on HDU and ICU in 2 comas and I am still here. They can tell a lot from the liver numbers/ presence or absence of others and also blood gases. (livers are my thing if you want to PM feel free)

Remember you must rest. In HDU and, if necessary, ICU, he will have the very very best care possible. I'd be more worried about someone transferred to a ward when very ill, if that makes sense. They will monitor him so closely.

Do rest, eat, sleep, take care of yourself. It's a horrible shock, but please believe that many many people get 100% better after HDU/ICU - that's the whole point of them :)

Hi. I spent a week in ICU followed by a week in HDU about three years ago. ICU in particular is a scary place to be but the staff are brilliant and so highly trained. They don't keep you in there for no reason (am abroad and saw the itemised bills which were covered by insurance!) but while that is a scary thought it does mean you are getting the very best care they can give.

FWIW I left the hospital just a few days after leaving HDU (they didn't quite agree but did let me go on the condition I'd go back if any more symptoms showed up).

I made a full recovery and the only issue is a kind of psychological scar. It's a very frightening place to be and three years on I still feel the fear occasionally. I have heard that in the UK they sometimes offer follow up psych therapy to ICU care so when your DH is better might be worth asking about that.

I also had tests to rule out cancer. Remember even a smear is cancer screening so try not to panic.

Wishing your dh the v best for a speedy recovery x

Oh OP, you must be very scared - I've been there and I wanted to tell you my experience because I felt so very alone when we went through my (now) DH's illness. When he was 35 he had pains in his stomach and then started being sick, he had other symptoms too but failed to tell me them at the time. To cut a very long story short, he had a bowel disorder and had caught a hospital infection.

When he first went into hospital it went very slowly, endless tests and moved between HDU and ICU. Some days he'd improve then the next he'd be down again, one day he suddenly took a turn for the worst which was when they operated. The thing that scared me the most, but was the thing that saved his life, was the moving him between places - HDU meant that he was monitored so closely that if anything was to change it'd be noticed immediately. ICU meant that if he got worse there was everything there to help him, this was needed a few times. He made a full recovery, and I promise that things looked very, very bleak for him.

He's had a few operations since as he chose to have reconstructive surgery. Each surgery he's had has taken him to HDU, sometimes to ICU and sometimes backwards and forwards. In fact, the normal hospital wards are odd to us. He has come out every time, he's healthy and we no longer fear being told he has to go to HDU or ICU. But I always remember the first time, I thought I was going to be sick and felt a panic like I've never felt before.

My DH is now 35, he was 31 when he got ill so it's fairly recent. Please remember that hospitals, HDU, ICU and tests don't have to mean the worst, they all mean that he has a fighting chance, otherwise they wouldn't do any of that. It's so hard to put your faith in the medical profession but they saved my husband and for that I will always have faith in them.

I hope your DH is on the mend soon and that they can start to treat him soon. Please look after yourself, I wasn't pregnant when we went through this and it was very, very hard. I agree with the PP who suggested getting off the ward for some of the time, take a book with you to give your brain a break from thinking about the illness and about the tests and outcomes. Look after yourself and keep eating and drinking.

Feel free to PM me, I truly do understand some of what you are going through. My DH had an issue with his bowel and we've had some tough choices to make, it can be so overwhelming. But it does get better, my DH is fit and back to health. Very un-mumsnet-ty hugs to you.

Ooh should just add I was moved to ICU from ER as a precaution. Within hours they were saving my life. If they'd sent me up to a ward they wouldn't have had the equipment and skills to save me. During my time in there they saved my life again several times.

Poor you. I hope they find out what is wrong very soon and that he'll make a full recovery. Keep your strength up by eating well and trying to get as much sleep as you can - adrenaline will keep you going for a bit but he'll need you to be strong when he starts to recover.

A few years ago my then 4 year old DD was in the HDU for a week. You wouldn't know to look at her now. This weekend she has been swimming, doing gymnastics, lighting fires, and building a treehouse.

Agree with a previous poster who said the NHS is simply a wonderful thing!

One of my colleagues spent 64 days in ITU after a bleed on the brain, it was a miracle she recovered and sadly she's been left with MH problems very specific to her brain injury but she's physically very well.

My uncle's girlfriend spent 2 weeks in ITU after meningitis, she's 100% well now.

Another colleague had a blood clot in the bowel that stopped her bowel from working, she was in ITU now has to take warfarin but she's very healthy otherwise.

I was a student nurse on the ITU/HDU and the most amazing thing I saw was a 85yr old man who had problems caused by his underlying bowel cancer - he was unconscious for some reason, was given the last rites then began to recover from that episode of illness and went home!

Some of our current patients go to HDU to be monitored post op if they have very low blood pressure or other serious problems. Almost without exception they return to us or to another ward.

Good luck, hope your DP will be well again soon x

I've had multiple stays in the ICU, my DD has also been in ICU - we have both made full recoveries physically. One of my closest friends spent 3 weeks in ICU after a GA when horribly wrong, she also fully recovered.

My Mum was on HDU and she's fine now. She had pancreatitis....it's gone now and that was ten years ago.x My Brother was there too for some part of his inside which got twisted...he's fine too!

Thank you so much everyone. DP still on HDU but transfer to ICU looking very possible. They are taking great care of him. I wish I had a fast forward button to get to his diagnosis. Thanks again

You had a break from the ward, or, something to eat yet? Get some sleep, it might be a long few days.

Another story, I'd forgotten - mum at the gate, about 34weeks pregnant when she got chickenpox. Dearie me, dreadfully ill, landed up in ITU. Baby delivered by C-section, didn't look good for the mum at all. Took a month for her to get out of ITU, but, she is absolutely fine now - baby was always fine, apart from not meeting her mummy for the first month of her life.

My mum was on ICU for a few months (and then HDU for a while). Itwas horrible but she made a full recovery. The staff on ICU were fantastic and the best medical staff i've experienced.

I hope you're ok and your DP gets better soon

he staff on ICU were fantastic and the best medical staff i've experienced.

This, very much this! The resus team run them very close (if not equal) but it takes a special type of person to work in ICU and almost every nurse I've been looked after by has been brilliant both in terms of clinical skill and emotional support.

Oh, my love. No advice here but and lots of Will be checking back on the thread tmrw looking for news xx

My sister was on hdu following a big back operation. She's grand now.

OP- no story just seconding what lots of others have said. He'll be getting second to none care. Far better than a stretched medical ward and likely reach diagnosis much quicker.

I hope it's all down to infection. I expect microbiology will be involved too- fingers crossed with the right drugs he'll turn a corner.

I hope someone is looking after you?

Firstly - fingers crossed for you and your DH.

Secondly - I have been on HDU. I had pancreatitis which made my heart rate increase so much I became unstable and this was mixed with some sort of infection. I barely remember being there but by all accounts, the care and staff were amazing and I'm fine. Took a few months after to be 100% back to normal but they did a great job with me

Thanks all.Dp has now been transferred tp ICU for monitoring. I am trying to sleep. Would give anything to have him next to me.

Hope things are better for you both today.

Hope things are looking better for you both today OP.

My five year old daughter was rushed to HDU after becoming quite seriously ill over Christmas. We were told to prepare ourselves for the worst and were looking at a helicopter transfer to a much bigger hospital. Thankfully she stabilised - we still don't know what was wrong with her - and after a 8 days spell in HDU she went onto a normal ward then came home a few days later.

She's currently procrastinating about getting ready for school...

Rang hospital. He is more stable now. Still on ICU. Hoping we get some test results today. Will update later.

My friend's daughter has been in ICU for four weeks with fungal pneumonia due to leukemia, on a ventilator and laterally a tracheostomy. She had the tracheostomy out on Thursday. She's away to a normal ward tomorrow :)

I know a few people who have been in HDU/ICU and made a full recovery - sometimes the situation is not directly life-threatening but people are there to help support their organs while fighting a major infection or similar. Hugs to you and sending all good thoughts and best wishes xxxx

My dad has been on ICU 3 times now, each time he makes a full recovery. It's a horrible experience, but it really is the best place for him to be.

The first time he was in ICU was when I was tiny. My mum was pg with my sister, I was 18 months and my brother was almost 4. She left us with grandma and spent the whole time there with him, they thought it was a brain tumour but it wasn't, I'm not quite sure what it was but he recovered and was back in full health within a couple of months.

Then 10 years ago he had a perforated bowel, septicaemia and peritonitis. We thought we'd lost him, we said our goodbyes, but they carried on saving his life and after 3 weeks on ICU and HDU he was eventually well enough to go back to a normal ward for a week or so, and then came home. It took him a long time to recover fully but he did.

Then he had a supposedly routine operation on his bowel but there were complications, so he spent another week in HDU.

He tells people all the time how lucky he is to live somewhere with such fantastic staff at the hospital because without them he wouldn't be here.

I hope you get your diagnosis today so you know what your dh is fighting. The ICU is truly the best place for him, I hope he makes a full recovery soon.