I mean I agree. We only have less than 70 persons in the ICU att the moment. I have the underlying condition of left ventricular hypertrophy. In 2019 my heart, liver and kidneys were all failing at the same time and my temp was sky high but somehow I made it. This time all they said was they easily sucked phlegm out of my lungs. All organ values are normal this time, good blood oxygenation. No cough unlike last time.
I don't know if they put me under unnecessarily. I was begging them in the ambulance not to do it. Maybe they could have tried the Donald Trump treatment first with dexamethasone. Last time they put some type of mask on me first but it made me panic and they say no one can stand having tubes going down their throat while concious. The recovery process is a bitch, it was only in the last couple of days I've been strong enough with enough motor control to type on my phone. I was ready to leave today but they say one more week.
They gave me a shitload of insulin, 40iu Tuejio (long acting lantus) and 30iu regular Lantus. Don't know the exact reason.
I too know morbidly obese people who barely felt sick. My aunt died early on of the pandemic and a friend of a friend died at 35. They took my brother in for observation for 3 days, just put a catheter on him, gave him paracetamol and told him not to move and things turned around.
I work in critical care here in the states so a few thoughts to maybe give some insight:
1) They likely tried non- invasive mechanical ventilation first (Bipap mask, etc) but you might have been panicking and too large to restrain. Intubation & sedation is only option. Likely factoring in is the perceived difficulty of the intubation. Large neck and "off-season "
physique compound the difficulty of getting the tube past the glottis, so they may have opted to intubate while you were still stable rather than wait till you crash at 3am.
2) I guarantee they gave you some type of corticosteroid, be it dexamethasone, methylprednisolone, prednisone - whatever. it's standard of care for all sorts of acute resp failures. Would also explain why you're on so much insulin
3) 21 days vented is a loooonnng time. Be patient with the recovery process. The physical effects are easy to see-- weight loss, loss of strength/coordination --but psychological effects are easily missed or neglected. Covid patients are hard to sedate and you're pretty big so here in the states you would have received a heroic amount of narcotics. Our colleagues across the pond are a bit more judicious in their use but still: between the drugs, the disease state, and the plasticine hellscapes that are ICU rooms, delirium and other cognitive impairment is common in patients who survive the ICU. Be open to mental health care to hasten your return to normal.
Glad to hear you're ok, I've been a fan of your posts for 10 years now - back when you were KillerMuscle on ProM LOL. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
