Awake while intubated

Has anyone every been awake while intubated? Have often thought what it must be to be wake and breathing through a tube. Would love to hear any stories about being awake while intubated.

People wake up while they are intubated, or come to a state of some level of consciousness during intubation. Often times, they want to fight the intubation, and pull the tube out when they are not in full possession of their faculties; and, even if they are. It takes great courage, and a positive mental framework, to surrender to the machine breathing for you, to relax, and to go with the flow.

Let's here from some of our medical experts. In a safe setting, it would be interesting to try and set up 'intubation play'. However, I don't think we can establish a 'safe setting' for this type of play.

And, in r/l, it would scare the hell out of me to wake up on a ventillator...

Now ~ go out and make it a gr8 day!

Hermann, although I'm nowhere near an expert on the subject, I think you gave exactly the reason that sedation is employed for intubation. I know when my partner underwent CABGx4 in April, he woke up while still intubated. Because he was still not quite stable they gave him another dose of sedation and let him nod back out again. The next time he woke up, he realized that he was in loosely applied wrist restraints (this is quite common). His care team deemed that he was stable enough to have the tube removed, and so it was.

In animal medicine, we used to check all our patients for a blink reflex when they were coming up out of anesthesia. As soon as we could elicit that response, we would extubate the animal. There is a fine line between waiting too long and not waiting long enough. I'm sure it's the same with people.

I will face the same situation when I have my renal transplant. I'll try to keep my wits about me enough to let you all know how it goes.

I have always had a fascination of waking up intubated. I think it came from years of watching ER. I think it's the fascination of not having control while still breathing. I have read that is not a pleasant experience being on a ventilator but is tolerable. At some point I would also like to have someone use a ambu bag on me, either intubated or just with a mask.

Some part of this had been referred to me after I was fully awake and back in my room in the hospital.

But this is what I remembered, very well...

and I hope it will never happen again.

First I felt being pushed , touched and something brushing over me and my belly, suddenly I felt cold.

Then harsh noises, voices and clangs of metal, the annoying beeping from some machines or devices... I start to feel very uncomfortable, I wanted to sit up but I cant move, I cant open my eyes, I tried and tried...

Then I remember. I'm in surgery, having a C-section, my baby girl will be born this morning, in a HOT 32°C typical Italian summer, and I am laying here, freezing...

then lights starts flooding through my closed eye lids. I can hear my doctor say ''gosh , this baby is huge ! someone gimmi a hand?!'' and hear him teasing with my then- husband ''you are not going to faint now are you?''... then my doc shouted '' oh Lord! it's a boy!! '' (both my 2 ultra sounds have confirmed its unmistakable 100% a girl)

and between the echoes of voices talking near and form distance, I started to feel pain, sharp pain and pressure form my pelvic area, a deep burning feeling, so awful I cant explain, I yelled, I screamed , I begged them to please stop! please stop hurting me, but my voice remained trapped in my throat, I tried to scream again, but finally I realised that they can't hear me... as I can't speak. I can't move or communicate due to the paralysis from the drugs , but I am acutely aware of everything that's going on... God that pain....

Why am I in pain? Please stop! Then I remember a final attempt trying to move my hands down and cover my wound area, I tried and tried to move, hoping to take the pain away...

obviously I failed and somehow I slipped back to that pitch black artificial-sleep world...

____________________

later on, when I awoke, I realised that they've applied me wrist restraints, the nurse told me I was being very ''agitated'' during my surgery, so they have tied me up to prevent me from hurting myself blah blah.. plus they had to sedate me again...

when I tried to explain that I was conscious and felt the pain and can hear them talk, they didn't really believed that I was 'so' awake, not until I've told them (before anyone could tell me) that I know I've given birth to a baby boy of 3Kg 92 grams and 51 cm long! 😉

Mirta.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

So what happened to me ?

found on the net from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anesthesia_awareness

''Anesthesia awareness, or unintended intra-operative awareness occurs during general anesthesia, on the operating table, when the patient has not been given enough of the general anaesthetic or analgesic to render the patient unconscious during general anesthesia (often when agents used to paralyse the patient have been administered). In brief, it is the post-operative recall of intra-operative events.''

statistics says waking up during surgery is a reality , 1 to 2 per 1000 patients experience some form of awareness.The majority of these do not feel pain although around one-third did .

Gosh, that must have been awful. I can't imagine how panic-stricken I would be if I became aware what was happening and couldn't make myself understood. That really is a surgical nightmare.

But the worst part is that you gave birth to a baby that was 4' 3" tall! (You do realize that's what 51 inches translates to, right?) I'm sure you meant 21 inches long!

Either way, a terrifying experience. Thank you for sharing with us.

Hi ladydocisin lol I forgot to use centimeters ! 51cm ( i will correct it now) thx for telling me lol

and thanks for your comment😃

Scared to death of this. I'm trying to avoid surgery on my broken ankle... can't even think about waking up while screws are being drilled into my tibia....

Im afraid to get pregnant

"im afraid to get pregnant" I'm sorry, maybe I missed the boat here, but what does getting pregnant have to do with being intubated while you're awake?

@ ladydocisin

I read that post too, maybe she was thinking she might need a C-section?

( if she gets pregnant )

does sound odd..

Even if that were the case, most C-sections don't require intubation, at least not here in the US. If regional anesthetic is used there is no need to pass a tube. I understand that she is from Nigeria and perhaps the procedure is different there.

Intubation was horrible; one of the most frightening parts of my world. Serious asthma attack...in order to save my life (after hours of other treatment), hospital team put a tube down my throat while concurrently putting me on a muscle relaxant. I recall chocking and nearly vomiting...then passing out. Then being paralyzed on a drug for a few days. Everything wound up fine- standard treatment, I'm told, but nothing at all erotic about it.

Woke up while intubated before a surgery. Kinda hazy, and I passed out quickly. It was rough on my throat.

I suddenly became wide awake in the middle of an EGD with a scope down my throat, but no memory of what was happening or why. It was a terrible experience.

I would not want to be intubated awake. No thanks. I don't even like waking up after the tube is out.

I had a jerk of a dr start an endoscopy before the sedation kicked in so I have perfect memories of the scope going down my throat. Not cool

After open heart surgery, in recovery, I "came to" and thought I was dying of asphyxiation. It was frightening. The male nurse told me to "stop fighting the breathing tube". My wife approached the bed and i tapped SOS with my foot on the foot of the bed. I passed back out and when I awoke, the tube had been removed and I could breathe. That single incident was the most "painful" part of having my heart lifted out and four bypass procedures performed.

Being awake while intubated is a daily occurrence in most ICU's, you have to be fully awake and breathing spontaneously and comfortably ( as well as being fully orientated) on a ventilator before being extubated. Most patient are initially somewhat anxious and concerned, but after reassurance will relax and breathe normally ( post sedation). The most uncomfortable procedure is being suctioning to remove respiratory secretions. Most people complain of a sore throat which usually last for a day or two.

Waking up from sedation can be very disorientating and frightening which will result in agitation. In the UK physical restraints are illegal and are not in use, it can be very trying to prevent the patient self-extubating (as giving sedation defeats the purpose of trying to extubate the patient), its only human nature if there is something in your mouth and its uncomfortable you will try to remove it.

We have "boxing like" gloves/mittens that can be applied but you still have to be extremely vigilant as patients can still self-extubate.

I had an experience like Olddog. Had a mitral valve repair via open heart surgery. They did not extubate until I was well into the recovery. I remember trying to open my eyes and thrashing around fighting it. And I do remember being able to open my eyes and being grogy, but feeling like I was suffocating. Family members said that they would talk to me and calm me down and that helped... and tell me "not to fight it" That is really my worst memory of the procedure. Five years later now (and doing well), I still will have a nightmare every now and then about being intubated... Discussed that once with my cardiologist and he said that most who go through the surgery really wont remember it due to the anesthesia, but he does have some patients who remember it and some that have nightmares

Being intubated is one of my utmost fears. I had my wisdom teeth out and requested to be put to sleep for the procedure. I have no idea what they used or how they induced me into a "sleep" state. I've read it can be anywhere from full on anesthesia, or just a twilight. I remember waking up and my throat hurt afterwards, but i don't know if that's because they were working on removing the wisdom teeth or if they had to put something in my airway to splint it open while they worked. Any research i've done on the subject has come up with mixed answers.

I awoke in the PACU intubatedvwith an LMA after a minor surgery. I actually recognized it immediately and wasn't alarmed. Itwas not painful and I was breathing easily with it. I distinctly remember the sound of breathing through it above anything else. The nurse saw that I was awake and rolled over in her chair and said "you're doing fine, gimme a sec and I'll take that out.". She slipped the LMA out and gave me some ice chips to suck on a few minutes later, as being intubated left it a bit raspy. Not painful, but rather like a dry throat.

I still fantasize about that experience to this day!

Waking up intubated? Yes. It was HELL!

I was told repeatedly that I would wake up with no memory of the open heart surgery. NOT SO. I was not told that I would be intubated or that my hands would be restrained.

I had told all those involved that I had been raped by priests when I was in grade school so that I must avoid trauma that recreated the sensation of helpless rape.

So, when i awoke with something rammed down my throat and my hands restrained, I freaked. The situation triggered memories I had more-or-less successfully buried for 55 years. The charge nurse did nothing to help. She was busy on her computer in the corner of the Cardiac ICU.

It took five years of psychotherapy and a lawsuit against the diocese that permitted and covered up the abuse, to make me functional again.

"Hopeless Hospital," is a good place for surgery if you are at death's door and don't want to exit just then. The hospital is rated highly each year by the Powers That Be, but is is a terrible place for patient care.

The hospital claimed that what the staff there did that night was within the scope of the Standards of Care. As one of the commentators here said, staff must be vigilant as to how the patient is doing. The tube should be removed or perhaps the patient should be re-sedated) if the patient exhibits signs of distress. The staff did neither. Nurse Ratched is alive and well and working at Hopeless Hospital outside DC.

My experience did not rise to the level of malpractice. To the hospital's credit the head of the Cardiac ICU promised many changes that would make my experience not likely to be repeated.

That's the good news. I have no idea if changes were ever made, since the hospital's legal staff got involved and I was no longer permitted to contact the staff.

Such is life.

Chuck in Washington, DC

Usually, intubation doesn't happen before iv sedation even if the sedation is the prime anesthetic

1shot of versed makes people relaxed and with no memory of the process

I recently had surgery. When I awoke I had a breathing tube. It was difficult and I felt like I was choking. I was already warned to stay calm and the tube would come out faster. It was removed within the hour and they stood me up to drain my throat. Bad, but not real bad.

Usually, intubation doesn't happen before iv sedation even if the sedation is the prime anesthetic

1shot of versed makes people relaxed and with no memory of the process

Versed often does not remove memories but rather suppresses them. There are more than a few documented cases where patchy memories, nightmares and PTSD happen with Versed. Don't blindly drink the big pharma kool-aid.

After a fall i had spiral fracture of humerus

Arm splinted and sent home

Next day home nurse found me barley breathing was flown to large hospital woke up while intubated and started to freak out

Nurses sorta ignored me and just injected me with more drugs

woke up second time and was pissed because they had tied my good arm down and left tube in nurses still ignored me till i broke bed rail arm restraint was tied to then reached up and pulled tube out

herd daughter call head nurse a dumb bitch and tell her "i told ya he would pull it out" was sedated again and woke up 2 days later after surgery

end result i had to pay for bed but they took the money outta the money i got from the very large settelment

In reply to those who set me e-mails concerning me filing a lawsuit

As a small business owner i am required to carry 1 million dollars insurance

I build and repair racecars

If i screw up someone DIE'S i must be perfect and expect the same

I had a breathing tube for a recent surgery i awoke in the icu with it in. my wrists and ankles were in soft restraints like cloth for a lack of better wording. as for the tube itself i was very scared as i had this piece of like plastic in my mouth i couldnt close my mouth or anything it was in like i think 10 mins while i was awake could have been more or less idk i was still drowsy from meds i remember them removing it and my mouth being very very dry.

For the record they did make me aware in preop they "may" have to put a breathing tube in durig the procedure.

I was intubated as part of my bypass surgery. I awoke while still intubated. I recall having very negative reactions, but some assurances from the staff and family, calmed me down. The nurse took my hand and encouraged me to breath through my nose. I found that this was tolerable until I could be extubated which occurred within a fairly short period of time. This was not a positive aspect of the overall experience, but I'm alive and well. While enemas are at the top of my list of favorite medical procedures, being intubated is definitely at the bottom. Even being catheterized or having cystoscopy are higher on my list.