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ICU/Critical Care/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| scary incident | 2/9/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: 41 yr old female. not overweight, do not smoke or drink. Two nights ago, I woke from a deep sleep ... A: I am very happy to hear that you are feeling better, however, this does not rule out the heart. A ... | ||
| Pulmonary and Bilateral chronic subdural hemorrhage s/p Burr holes | 2/6/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: Cipriano, My Dad is going to be 83 by this march. The past history of ou cataract s/p 22 years ... A: Your dad is a lucky man. He has survived a great deal of medical problems. Thank you for the ... | ||
| how long can this person live | 2/4/2012 | Swatantra Mishra |
| Q: How long can someone live who has complete liver and kidney failure, the mal score is a 35 and they ... A: My apologies for being so late in answering this question of yours. I thought that I had already ... | ||
| scary incident | 2/3/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: 41 yr old female. not overweight, do not smoke or drink. Two nights ago, I woke from a deep sleep ... A: I have been overworked at my position. I hope you did not wait for my reply. Whenever there is a ... | ||
| Liver | 2/3/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: Is it true that drinking too much Patrons will lead to blurry vision? A: Alcohol enters the stomach and small intestines and is immediately absorbed into the blood stream. ... | ||
| Tracheostomy Removal | 1/18/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: My 40 year old son suffered severe brain trauma from a motorcycle accident June 14, 2009. He has a ... A: First, let me extend my happiness to you and your son. What a wonderful miracle! I did a literature ... | ||
| crtitical care | 1/18/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: I was in the hospital diagnosed with CHF and PE in both lungs.While I was in the hospital they ... A: Unfortunately, not all hospitals are created equal. It appears that the hospital you were initially ... | ||
| food poising and cough | 1/16/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: I am a healthy obese 36 yr old male who developed food poisining 4 days ago with a lot of vomiting ... A: Unfortunately, healthy and obese are not synonymous with each other. Your heart rate, blood ... | ||
| Asthma | 1/11/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: My mother is on ventilator for last 5 days. She is suffering from asthma. When ventilator is she was ... A: I am very sorry to hear about your mom. It is difficult to answer your question without some ... | ||
| COPD/heart attack/stroke/ICU | 1/4/2012 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: My dad had a heart attack and stroke 11 days ago. He is in the coronary ICU of a hospital. He had ... A: I am so sorry for what you are going through. If I understand you correctly, your dad had both a ... | ||
| ICU & ventilator | 12/9/2011 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: My mom is 61 and had lung cancer she under went kemo and radiation to get rid of it. she has been ... A: I am so sorry you and your mom are going through this. Emphysema is a diagnosis sub-grouped into ... | ||
| ventilator | 11/19/2011 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: My grandpa had surgery to remove kidney stones. He was rushed to icu after. He had a massive ... A: I am very sorry to hear about your Grandpa. I am going to try my best to make a very confusing ... | ||
| Sedation after Surgery | 11/8/2011 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: My 69 yr old brother underwent major vascular surgery 3 weeks ago and was kept sedated for 2 weeks ... A: I'm happy to hear that your brother is on the road to recovery. If I understand your question ... | ||
| ANXIETY RELATED TO ICU STAY | 11/5/2011 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: MY NEPHEW WAS ADMITTED TO ICU 4 WEEKS AGO,HE ENDED UP ON DIALYSIS A VENTILATOR, DIAGNOSIS IS ... A: Dear Anita, I am so sorry your nephew is so sick. Legionnaire's disease is a bacteria that infects ... | ||
| ICU after gallbladder surgery | 10/20/2011 | Pamela M. Cipriano, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC |
| Q: How many days can I expect my mother to be in the ICU? After gallbladder surgery she was taken to ... A: Paula, I am sorry your mom is going through this. There are a few things I need to know before I can ... | ||
| ARDS and recovery | 1/2/2010 | Wesley |
| Q: I have a relative that has been in ICU at the University of Pennsylvania for 6 weeks now. He is a ... A: It really depends on the kind of H1N1 test they are running. A rapid test will almost always have a ... | ||
| Induced Coma after a severe Pancreatic attack | 1/1/2010 | Wesley |
| Q: I have a very dear friend who has suffered from panacreatic attacks for several years. Recently ... A: Often the pancreas can cause severe heart and lung failure. In order for a person to have a chance ... | ||
| difficult removal of vent. due to extreme agitation | 12/30/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My husband was put on a ventilator 5 days ago due to pnuemonia, non viral, non bacterial. He has ... A: We often have a hard time with this. If his numbers don't change, but he is just agitated then there ... | ||
| vent | 12/30/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My mom is on a vent and in ICU She had part of her lung taken out in 04. She is on oxygen all the ... A: I am sorry that you are going this hard time Peggy. I am surprised that they went straight back to ... | ||
| drawing of blood from neck | 12/30/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: is drawing blood from the neck of a three year old very dangerous in that it can cause a clot prior ... A: Get a lawyer. I don't answer post-forensic questions for the simple fact that is impossible to have ... | ||
| MRSA lung infection | 12/30/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: I was told today that sputum culture came back with MRSA infection in my lung. Put on 3 week course ... A: Well Lynn you survived lung cancer, I imagine you will survive this too. You are most likely a ... | ||
| swine flu autopsy | 12/28/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My grandson fourteen years old passed away August 24,2009 of the swine flu. We had an autopsy ... A: Michelle I am truly sorry to hear of your loss. Autopsies of any kind can take an average of eight ... | ||
| drawing of blood from neck | 12/27/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: is drawing blood from the neck of a three year old very dangerous in that it can cause a clot prior ... A: Depending on how you mean. If it is a central line placed for the purpose of drawing blood and ... | ||
| pancreatis and sepsis | 12/27/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: my dad was admitted to hospital with severe abdominal cramps on the 3rd december 2009. he was ... A: There are two schools of thought on pancreatitis: drain or no drain. You have seen the the best ... | ||
| mrsa pneumonia | 12/27/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My 28 yr old niece contracted the mrsa bacteria almost 2 years ago during childbirth. She was first ... A: Okay, I am going to try to answer this, write me back if I get wrong. She was told she had MRSA. ... | ||
| My mom is in the ICU | 12/23/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My mom was admitted in the ICU on Thursday. She has double pneumonia and apparently symptoms of the ... A: You used all my standard answers. I've no idea how long it will take. I wish I could answer this ... | ||
| Ventilator and cardiac arrest | 12/22/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My uncle a heavy smoker until 5 years ago, suffered severe breathlessness 10 days ago and again ... A: Aubrey a lot should go on now. Too much to explain here. Most important is to figure out the ... | ||
| My mom is in the ICU | 12/21/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My mom was admitted in the ICU on Thursday. She has double pneumonia and apparently symptoms of the ... A: First suggestion, be patient. I hope that she progresses well and gets off the vent soon. If it ... | ||
| infection due to improper hernia surgery | 12/20/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: my uncle(71)was operated for hernia surgery about 13 days back and post surgery he started ... A: Bhvani, your uncle sounds fairly sick although, not outside the realm of the normal unfortunate ... | ||
| Respirator | 12/19/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My dad had COPD, his carbon dioxide levels were over 100 they said? he was a retainer....was on Cpap ... A: In light of this I wonder if he was actually having one of two things: a heart attack or a pulmonary ... | ||
| is there any chance of survival | 12/18/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: my mother was admitted to the hospital about 2 weeks ago for what we now know is cellulitis. 2 days ... A: Oh, Marie these questions are always so hard to answer. I hope that in some way you know that if you ... | ||
| Mother with pneumonia, ARDS and ventilator | 12/18/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: Our mother was in for surgery to assist her with eating again. She hasn't been able to eat in 1 1/2 ... A: Stephanie, interestingly we've just completed a course with a man who had nearly the exact issues to ... | ||
| very slow recovery from icu/unconsciousness | 12/17/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: The sedation was stopped 4 days ago, but due to aggitation he has has several small doses of ... A: Jennie I'm sorry to hear about your dad, I hope that he is well tonight. Sedation is a tricky and ... | ||
| Sepsis Shock in ICU | 12/16/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My Mom is in the icu and has been there for almost 11 days, sh went in with a bad infection on her ... A: Elizabeth I'm sorry to hear about your mom. There are only a couple of things that help creatinine. ... | ||
| Alcohol withdrawal danger after bypass surgery | 12/12/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My father is currently in ICU following open heart surgery to replace a valve and perform two ... A: I'm sorry Missy, this is a unfair thing that your father has brought you all into. Yes, being ... | ||
| Respirator | 12/12/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My dad had COPD, his carbon dioxide levels were over 100 they said? he was a retainer....was on Cpap ... A: Sadly, no. If he passed so quickly then I feel that he would have suffered just the more on the ... | ||
| gastric issues | 12/10/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: i am asking if having some gastric issues is frequent when someone is in a critical care ward. is it ... A: In a series of autopsies from 1999-2003 in deaths from unknown causes in patients in the ICU, 38% ... | ||
| ALS-VENT PLUS TRACH | 12/9/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My wife is an ALS patient, bulbar onset. It has been just over a year since diagnosis. Recently, she ... A: Mike, I hope that this is not the first time the thought of 'what if' has occurred to you guys. If ... | ||
| grandfather with COPD | 11/24/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: I would like some help making a decision about placing a trach tube for my grandfather. He was put ... A: Well I usually say yes when asked this question, but it doesn't sound to me like he needs this yet. ... | ||
| ventilator | 11/23/2009 | Wesley |
| Q: My aunt has been on a ventilator for three weeks. She has five infections and herpes has been ... A: I'm sorry she has so much going on, I hope that she is comfortable and you and your family are able ... | ||
ICU/Critical Care
Answers by Expert:
Wesley
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can translate the jargon and answer the complex emotional and medical questions related to an ICU stay. I am a constant student of the changing face of Medicine, and hopefully I can help you come to a better understanding about what you can expect during your stressful time. I find that once the language is explained a little clearer, the puzzle comes more into focus. Usually, just to know that you are not alone may help. I am familar with all facets of critical care except transplant and neonatal care. Questions about Sepsis, ventilation, gall bladders, hemodialysis, complicated cancer surgery and alcohol withdrawal, suicide/overdose attempts are welcome. Students are welcome
Experience
12 years as an ICU nurse and 2 yrs on Neurosurgery. Mentor, teacher, been there in your shoes myself.
Education/Credentials
BSN from Clemson, 15yrs grunt medic in the ARMY.
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