Dealing with Anxiety

[needhope]

What Can Be Done?

The nurses are having to keep my dad heavily sedated (knocked out) because once he comes out of it he becomes agitated and starts trying to get up. Almost like he's fighting the ventilator. Right now they are giving him 50% oxygen and are lowering it every day (so there has been some progress) but have had to keep him sedated for the past few days so that he doesn't freak out and cause his oxygen level to drop. I asked the nurse could it be panic attacks and she said that it is possible. Has anyone dealt with this before? Is there anything else that can be done to help my dad with his anxiety? Right now, this seems to be the primary thing that is keeping him in ICU and not allowing him to be moved to a regular room.

If we could only get hime to relax.....

Rochelle

[hockeyma]

Ativan - usually put under the tongue - helps with anxiety. Ger had alot of anxiety once he had a problem breathing. We found when he took the ativan that he could breath better again. I would ask about that. Also note - that even thinking about doing something - like climbing the stairs - would cause the anxiety. I still think to this day that before we kept him downstairs the reason that he couldn't breath at the top really wasn't the climb but the anxiety about thinking about it. Best of luck and sending positive energy your way. Heather

[Cathy's daughter]

I was going to say Ativan too, IV if necessary. It is not uncommon to have anxiety when on the ventilator, and it's a pretty standard drug ordered for intubated patients. Encourage him to take slow, deep breaths when the vent isn't breathing for him. Also, when he is off the vent and extubated, he can do pursed lipped breathing (in through the nose slowly, out slowly through pursed lips) to allow better oxygenation and reduce anxiety. I hope he gets some relief soon.

[Don Wood]

I hated the ventilator. I had one when I had bypass surgery on my heart in 1997. It was a good thing they had my hands tied down, because when I woke up I wanted to pull the damned tube out. I can see why they would keep your dad sedated. They put me out and when I woke up, the tube was gone and I was a lot calmer. Best to you. Don