Keep doing the breathing exercises the physiotherapist or nurse gave you. Your breathing muscles need to get stronger too. Making these muscles stronger will lower your risk of getting a chest infection.

If you were on a breathing machine (ventilator) for more than a few days you may have had a tracheostomy. A tracheostomy is when a hole is made at the base of your throat (into your trachea) and a tube is put in. This tube is connected to a ventilator. The tracheostomy makes it easier for you to breathe while you’re on the ventilator. If you had a tracheostomy you’ll have a scar on the front of your neck. As the scar heals it will fade and you won’t be able to see it as clearly.

You may notice that your voice has changed, especially if you’ve had a breathing tube during your stay in the ICU. Your throat may be sore at first. Try not to strain your voice. Talk normally without raising your voice (yelling). Try to relax your throat and mouth as much as you can when you talk. Drink plenty of water as your throat and mouth may feel very dry. This will likely get better as your begin to produce normal amounts of saliva again.

Your skin may be dry or itchy after your illness. You can use a regular moisturizer for this. Use it as often as you need to instead of scratching itchy areas. You may also have several bruises and scars on your arms and hands from IVs, tubes, and injections. These usually fade and go away in a couple of weeks.

Your hair might feel different and some of it may fall out. This is normal after being very ill. This can even happen months after you leave hospital. It usually grows back but it may be more curly, straight or thin, or a different color than it was before you got ill.

Your hearing, sight, taste, touch, and sense of smell may have changed while you were so ill. This can be upsetting but these changes don’t usually last very long. Some of the things you might notice are:

• hearing – ringing in your ears, sounds are too loud, or too quiet
• taste – metallic taste in your mouth or things don’t taste the same as you remember
• sight – sore, dry eyes, or your eyes are puffy and swollen
• touch – things that touch your skin may feel odd, or you may have tingling in parts of your body
• smell – very sensitive to smells or sometimes things don’t smell like you remember

Many of these changes are because of the medicines you got while in the ICU, the fluids given to keep you hydrated, and from your illness. They are usually temporary and should go away over time. Talk to your doctor about this if you are concerned.

When you were in the ICU, you may have had a tube into your bladder to drain your urine. This is called a urinary catheter. When the tube is taken out, your bladder muscles are often weaker so you may find it difficult to control your bladder. You might find it hard to start your urine stream or you may leak urine. Don’t worry, this usually goes back to normal in a little while. Ask your healthcare team for exercises that can help being this back to normal more quickly.

The amount and colour of your urine can sometimes change because of some medicines you’re taking. They may even affect how often you need to pass your urine.

Some medicines can affect your bowel movements. Your stool might be too hard or you may have diarrhea. Eat a healthy diet (as directed) and be sure to drink enough water to keep hydrated. Talk to your doctor about this if it’s not going back to normal soon or if you have any questions.

If you smoked before your illness, now is an ideal time to give it up. If you stopped smoking while you were in hospital, don’t start again when you get home. If you have been very ill and on a ventilator, smoking can damage and weaken your lungs even more. You may have been given smoking cessation products (to help stop cravings and stop smoking) while in the hospital.

Please go to Alberta Quits for information on stopping smoking.

While you’re in the hospital, 1 or more members of your healthcare team may talk to you about whether you’d like to quit smoking. They’ll talk to you about information that’s available, nicotine replacement options, and counselling. You can also talk to your local pharmacist for more information on smoking cessation products when you get home.

You need regular sleep to keep your body healthy. It can take time to get back into a normal sleep routine. You may find it harder to fall asleep, or you may often wake during the night. If you have trouble sleeping, try a milky bedtime drink but avoid caffeinated tea and coffee. The caffeine in them can keep you awake. Herbal teas may help you fall asleep. Reading or listening to the radio before you go to sleep may also help. Your family doctor can give you advice if you have trouble sleeping. As you become stronger and more active your sleep routine should return to normal

It’s common for patients in an ICU to have hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there) or nightmares. You may have had dreams where you feel like you’re being tortured, trapped in bed, or that you’re being held captive. This could be from the intravenous (IV) lines and catheters connected to you to help support your body and monitor your condition when you were in the ICU. The fear this causes can stay with you for weeks after you’ve been transferred to a general care area or discharged from hospital.

You may also have felt some paranoia as you tried to make sense of things when you were confused. This too normally passes with time.

If going back to hospital for a follow-up appointment frightens you, take someone you trust along with you to reassure you.

In a few cases, you (or your family) may have extreme symptoms of stress after their treatment in the ICU. This is known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and is rare. Most people who have suffered from PTSD found that talking to a professional counsellor about their stay in hospital helps. You can ask your family doctor to refer you for counselling.

While you were in intensive care you may have received your food as a liquid. You may have been fed through a tube inserted into your nose and down into your stomach, or by a drip straight into your vein. Your body will have used its stored fat and muscle for energy to help fight your illness. You may have difficulty eating because:

• you don’t feel hungry
• your mouth is too sore to eat
• food tastes different
• it hurts to swallow

Try starting with small portions and eat more often during the day. Instead of having big meals, have small meals and 2 or 3 snacks each day. You can buy specially prepared milk drinks and desserts, like the ones you were given in hospital, which contain lots of vitamins and minerals.

Take your time when eating. Relax afterwards to avoid indigestion. If some foods taste very salty or sweet it’s likely that your taste buds are taking time to get back to normal. This is common and will soon improve – don’t add extra salt or sugar to your food in the meantime.

Alcohol
Check with your doctor before you drink alcohol if this is something you normally enjoy. The medicine you’re taking or your overall health condition may make it necessary to wait to have a drink again. Some medicines don’t interact well with alcohol. If it is safe to have drink it’s best to be careful not to drink too much.

Your mouth
Strong antibiotics and steroids can lead to infections such as oral candida (thrush) in your mouth. Thrush can cause a thick white substance to form on your tongue and the roof of your mouth. This makes it painful to swallow. If you think you might have thrush talk to your family doctor about it as it can be treated easily.

Drinking water
During your recovery you’ll want to make sure you drink enough fluids. It’s important not to become dehydrated.

Dehydration can:

• dry out your skin
• make your body produce less urine – this can affect how well your kidneys work
• make you feel very weak and tired

Water is your best choice to drink. You can also drink juice, tea, or coffee. Limit the amount of caffeine in your drinks so that you stay hydrated and so that you can sleep better.