PTSD after being an ICU patient

[elprup]

From the NY Times a video about PTSD after being a patient in ICU. Makes sense to me, but something I never thought about (but then again I have never worked ICU). The end of video discusses how some nurses create a diary for patients to take home to help piece together their ICU stay. Not sure how much time that takes, or what liabilities might arise from a diary, but it is interesting idea.

http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/07/23/health/100000002352596/nightmares-after-the-icu.html

[Phoenixbyrd]

Hey, I am glad to see this article. I became interested in the nursing profession after my own icu stay with a brief stint of PTSD. I wondered why no one addressed my PTSD at the hospital. Later on I thought it was the perfect topic to write a capstone project. This issue really needs to be addressed, although I haven't had the chance, after getting my prereqs done, to re-focus on this issue.

[EC18]

Thank you for posting the article! I'd have to agree that this is a huge problem that is hardly ever addressed. I see the lasting effects of an ICU stay nearly every day as my boyfriend was a patient there when he was about seventeen. He put his arm through what they call "fire glass" and tore the median vein in his forearm. He ended up in hypovolemic shock and was intubated and restrained in the ICU. He's 22 now with a vein graft and skin graft, extensive scarring and nerve damage, but I notice the psychological trauma he experienced is what gets in the way of his everyday functioning. To put it simply, he has this near constant compulsion to clear his throat. He says he feels like there's something constantly caught in his throat. He also refuses to swallow anything that he can't spend a minute or two chewing on (like pills or tiny ice cream toppings like sprinkles or "jimmies"). I don't blame him at all, but it's really hard to watch people stare at him when he clears his throat in public, I just wish people could understand.