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Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: My Dad’s Not Waking Up After 43 Days Septic Shock in ICU, Off Sedation for 3 Weeks & Off Opiates 1 Week

If you want to know what to do if you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care for 43 days and they’re not waking up after an induced coma, stay tuned! I have news for you today.

My name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I have another quick tip for you for families in intensive care.

So, I have an email from Andre who says,

“Hi Patrik,

I found your website by doing some research about induced comas in the context of septic shock and subsequent issues with waking up.

My father has been in ICU for 43 days now with septic shock. According to the doctor today, the sepsis or septic shock has been treated. However, there are still some issues. He has some inflammation in his abdomen and he’s not waking up despite being taken off propofol three weeks ago and opiates one week ago. He doesn’t open his eyes and he’s not responsive, though he does respond to music by sometimes moving his head. His liver volumes are also not optimal.

Should we continue to insist that they conduct further investigations until we actually have proof that his brain is damaged? We have regular conversations with the doctors, and it is hard to remain assertive after such a long time.

Thank you.

– Andre”

Thank you so much, Andre, for giving me your dad’s situation in so much detail, so 43 days in ICU after septic shock.

I’ve worked in critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care here at intensivecarehotline.com since 2013. We have saved many lives with our consulting and advocacy. You can verify that on our testimonial section at intensivecarehotline.com or you can watch and look at our podcast at intensivecarehotline.com where we’ve done some client interviews who verify the work that we’ve done for them.

So, I’ve seen patients for 43 days plus in ICU after septic shock in an induced coma, and that can be a very, very difficult situation because your dad has been in an induced coma for a long time. As a matter of fact, he’s been taken off the propofol three weeks ago and he’s been taken off the opiates one week ago. There’s a high chance that if your dad was in septic shock and is in ICU for so long, he probably would have been on dialysis, the kidneys might have failed, there’s a very high chance for that. So, I’ve seen this over and over again.

The other question here is, are you 100% certain that all sedatives and all opiates are off? Do you have access to the medical records? How do you know that this is definitely accurate? So, I would trust, but I would verify. You can verify by looking at medical records. This is your right, it’s not a privilege to get access to medical records, assuming you’re the power of attorney.

So next, if his liver is not working, simply he might not be able to metabolize some of the sedatives and opiates that he has been on. So, it might still be going around in the system, that is another reason or might be another reason why he’s not waking up. Like I said, there might have been some kidney failure. Is he still on dialysis? Are the kidneys working? Because there could also be an issue that the kidneys are not excreting everything they should be getting rid of.

Next, is he swollen? Has sedation and opiates accumulated in the tissues? Is his albumin low, potentially, is he what’s called third-spacing? And does he need to draw back some fluids into the system? So that then it can go out through the kidneys and through the liver, that is another reason why he may not wake up.

Next, have they done an MRI scan or a CT scan of the brain or an EEG/electroencephalograph of the brain? You have not mentioned that at all, and that is probably the first thing, as a matter of fact, that they should be doing right in a situation like that; CT scan, MRI scan of the brain, and EEG of the brain. Has a neurologist look at him?

Lastly, are they doing physical therapy with him? Are they trying to mobilize him? Are they trying to wake him up? Are they stimulating him? Those are all critically important questions that you should be asking. Also, it could be as simple as that he is simply so sick that he’s not ready to wake up. It’s at another option that’s happening here, or that’s not happening here.

You got to ask all questions, you’ve got to leave no stone unturned, you have to leave no stone unturned in a situation like that. So, I hope that’s given you some insights and one thing that I forgot to mention, if he has been paralyzed, which he might have, if he has been chemically paralyzed, that also often delays waking up because when patients are paralyzed, they get even more sedatives and opiates and that can also delay waking up.

So, I hope that’s given you some insight about that. And also, what’s happening with the sepsis? Is he still septic? Because that could just make him really, really sick and that will also delay waking up. So, all these questions that need to be asked in a situation like that. So, I hope that answers your question.

Because we get so many questions from families in intensive care, that’s why we created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care and you can become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com if you click on the membership link or if you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In the membership, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and via email, and we answer all questions intensive care related. In the membership, we also have exclusive access to 21 eBooks and 21 videos that I have personally written and recorded and that will help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment.

I also do one-on-one consulting over the phone, Zoom, WhatsApp, Skype, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly. I handhold you through this once in a lifetime process that you can’t really afford to get wrong. When I talk to doctors and nurses directly, I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care.

I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams.

We also do medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time when you have a loved one in intensive care. We also do medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are suspecting medical negligence.

All of that you get at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send us an email to [email protected] with your questions.

If you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care. Click the like button, click the notification bell, comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have, and share the video with your friends and families.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on a show and you will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel, or if you are a subscriber to our email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com.

If you want your email written out fast because I have email sitting there from early this year, late last year that I haven’t even gotten to, leave a donation here on the super chat button and I will read out your email in the next couple of days and publish it so that you can get to your answers quickly. If you want to leave a donation anyway to support our work, you’re welcome to do so, so that we can make as much content and as many videos for families in intensive care all around the world.

Thank you so much for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.

Take care for now.

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