Short of breath ?

[Vanessa]

Hi everybody , sorry this is a day late . My hubby did great yesterday . I was wondering tho , he is very short of breath and he isnt doing anything , he acts as if he is laboring to catch his breath . Is this normal ? I had a run in with the nurse this morning and refuse to ask her anymore questions . He is still in ICU waiting for a room to become availiable . He also has major swelling in his arms along with yellowish color of skin that didnt seem to be there last night . Thanks everyone for being so caring .

 

[Lynlw]

Hi, Sorry you are having problems and getting frustrated with the nurses. How long has he been out of surgery? First off if it is this early in the day and you are at the point you won't ask the nurse any questions, I would talk to the head nurse of the Unit and ask for a new nurse. You need to be able to talk to the nurse. What was the run in about?
Do you mean he is short of breath when he isn't doing anything, just laying/sitting there..? IF he is just laying there, not doing any excercises and is SOB all the time, it is probably best he is still in the ICU. Is he on Oxygen? Speaking of which, You can problem figure out which monitor shows his oxygen levels (if not ask what they are). Some swelling is pretty common the first day or so after surgery , mainly from all the fluids/iv they pump into you during surgery, hopefully as he is able to move around, it will come off faster.

 

[Luana]

Well, I wouldn't imagine he's doing much in the way of walking around today, so the SOB makes me wonder. I would imagine he is still on oxygen. I would ask to have his doctor paged and talk to the doc about what's going on. Don't let a nurse stop you from asking questions and getting them answered. She/he is there not only to take care of your hubby but also to keep you informed as to what is going on. You can ask that he have a new nurse and I would ask to speak to the supervisor.

 

[Mentu]

Vanessa, the shortness of breath can also be caused by the fluids one receives during surgery. Being puffy is very normal but that should decrease overy the next few days. Thanks for your update.

Larry

 

[Nancy]

If you don't get along with that nurse, you can speak with the manager of the unit and get her taken off that particular case and get a better one. If she did something nasty, then report her.

Re: the shortness of breath: As mentioned, ask to have your surgeon or the surgeon on call paged so you can speak with them. It is most likely fluid, but it could also be other things. It has to be evaluated by the doctor.

You could also ask to speak with the surgeon or surgeon's PA.

They should be monitoring his oxygen SATs with the little finger thingy, or they should be coming in several times a day to check oxygen level and other vital signs. Ask what his oxygen level is.

 

[Lynlw]

The reason I asked questions, is because everyone is different and different hospital seem to do things differently than others. So it helps to know what is going on. Some places try to have you up and sitting in a chair, if only for an hour at a time, the morning after surgery, working on your breathing excercises and start short walks just in the room. If so just standing and getting to and from the chair can make you a little SOB. Some other places/people even with out any complications, tend to relax the first day and mainly lay in bed or maybe sit up on the side of the bed and don't really start doing much until the 2nd day post op. So Being SOB, if he hasn't done much, would be even more of a concern, to me. Some people need the nasal O2 when they get off the vent the first day or so, others don't. Most of Justin's surgeries, he stays on a vent a little longer even while awake ( hour or so post op) But usually doesn't need/use O2 once it is out.
IF he is SOB but isn't using O2, he may need it. but I would ask questions until you are satisfied with the answers you are getting.

 

[Vanessa]

Hi everybody . It is day 3 after surgery for my hubby , he is still having those bad head aches but that will be addressed today seeings how they keep telling me it could be from many simple things and I understand but this is really hurting him so bad that it makes him sick to his tummy . Yesterday he was having pain in his ear and thought it was wax build up so he cleaned it out and there was blood on the q tip . I told the nurse and they are going to check on it this morning.......... maybe he has an ear infection also I was thinking maybe he is very dehydrated so that will be asked this morning too . He has some really bad bruising on his chest Im thinking thats because hes such a little guy with no meat at all there that it couldnt be help . Ill give more updates later thanks so much.

 

[ARGreenMN]

Oh, I did miss an update yesterday! Keep us posted on what you find out about the shortness of breath. And totally agree - ask to see the surgeon, or at least their assistants! There's too much variability in the 'regular' nurse's knowledge. The first couple days were rough for most of us I think as far as being able to breath as deep as we'd like. That breathing exercise thing they give you works wonders though (after the first couple days), and it helps to keep fluid out of your lungs. If he is getting some fluid already, I think they can give him you something called lasix (sp?) to get the fluid out. I had a little bit of fluid start building up, and they did that - and within a day or so it was gone.

Definitely get a different nurse. There's a HUGE difference in nurses from one shift to the next. Some of mine were absolute angels, others were about as much fun as a drill seargent. Get an angel!!! And yea, those nurse supervisors are VERY interested in knowing which ones are working for you and which ones aren't so they're probably the best ones to start with.

Keep us posted!