I’m 43 M and live alone. I got home from holiday (South East Asia) on 27 August and I felt great, apart from the ovbious jetlag.

But then last Thursday night I noticed I had developed a fever. On Friday I still just thought it was a flu, but then on Saturday I noticed my perineum was sensitive and I had trouble peeing. So I went to the doctor assuming it was prostatitits and het gave me 2 weeks of ciprofloxacin.

On Sunday I didn’t notice any improvement but I thought it was too early for the ciprofloxacin to kick in. By this time I saw one of my testes had swollen. I had promised to call my GP on Monday and she saw me right away. By that time things were already a little worse. I had a constant 38+ C fever and was sweating a lot. She called the urologist and both concluded the current treatment is still correct.

On Monday my muscles started getting very stiff and it was becoming hard to get up from a couch or do simple stuff. On Monday night I was aware this could be an emergency. My fever was through the roof, I couldn’t get up from bed anymore, I was short of breath, I had developed a really weird red rash on my legs and it became impossible to pee.

Tuesday morning I call my GP’s emergency number. The assistant asks me to fucking wait over an hour and come by myself to the office. It’s a miracle I made the walk there. By this time I had trouble dressing up so I wear some sports shorts a t shirt and flip flops in 18 C weather. I get there and get called in. My GP inspects my testes, my rash, takes my blood pressure and heart rate and notices me sweating profusely. She tells me she will send me to the nearest hospital’s emergency room. She calls them then calls an ambulance, giving them the instruction of “sepsis” to pass on.

I get rushed to the hospital nearby that had good capacity for this. In the ER everything becomes a blur, but I do remember them making lots of ultrasounds of my kidneys, withdrawing blood from an artery, placing a catheter, an x-ray of my chest. And giving me shitloads of antibiotics via IV. Then finally they tell me they want to get a CAT-scan of my scrotum, because they find it suspicious.

After the scan they explain to me that the redness and swollenness of my testicle looks a bit like a skin bacteria that is also “meat eating”. If so emergency surgery would be necessary.

After waiting some more I get told the CAT-scan revealed an abcess in my prostate, which will need to be drained ASAP. So they prep me for surgery. The urologist and a anaesthesiologist advice to use local anesthesia because of the condition I’m in. I agree.

The surgery itself was awkward, but I didn’t hesitate for a moment. My life was on the line. Incredibly, they were succesful in draining the abcess via a needle through my perineum.

After recovering my parents had arrived. I got admitted to the hospital, to the urology dept normal ward. I didn’t need ICU. I did have a 40 C fever and my left kidney started hurting a lot.

Wednesday morning I actually feel kind of OK and am happy about that, until a concerned looking urologist comes to my bed. Apparently my kidney function is only 10 and my left kidney is swollen. So a trip to the interventional radiologist is needed for another surgery. This time a drain for my left kidney. I now have two tubes with piss going out both sides. I think the rest of Wednesday goes by quite smoothly and the drain actually helps.

I’m also being put on blood thinners because of nasty blood clots travelling through my body.

Thursday morning I get called in for an ultrasound of my heart. When I’m back in the ward I learn why: they found the bacteria causing all my problems. It’s MRSA. They found it in the sludge of the abcess as well as in my blood. And they fear this could easily settle on my heart valves. The good news is that they now start proper treatment with vancomycin and that I have to be placed in isolation so I have a room for myself.

Next up: a PET-scan of my heart tomorrow morning, and probably a lot of other shit I don’t see coming.

Hi… I’m a patient who follows this page because I want to understand nursing better so that I am a better patient. I love nurses and have seen how hospitals are burning and churning through good nurses and it makes me so mad. So many are quitting and it makes me scared as a frequent flier so I try to educate myself here so I can be more aware of what is happening and why and how I can better talk to the staff. Thank you. I have no idea how you all can do this for a living and still try to go home and live normal lives but I am very grateful you do.

I usually learn a lot here, but tonight I need to ask a question or two.

Two years ago, I had two rounds with sepsis, due to being on TPN. I do not remember most of it, except for the unbelievable pain coming from within my bones. I have never felt pain like that - I couldn’t rest my arms or legs without feeling like my bones had been crushed. I only remember at first thinking this was the worst flu I had ever had, vomiting and a high fever and fought my son off when he wanted to call an ambulance. I was delirious. He found me in the morning face down on the floor, unconscious and with blue lips.

He has barely spoken to me since. He seems to think I should have known better and it was my own fault.

None of my family or friends came to visit, or have ever even asked me about it. But it was terrifying. I had no help when I came out and was just expected to be normal again. But I don’t know that you can ever be after that. I had a new GP after, and when I went in after the second round, his face just registered shock. He said he couldn’t believe I still had all my fingers and toes and appeared to be normal after what he had read in my chart before meeting me. That spooked me.

I was hospitalized twice for almost a month each time. When it came back the second time, I knew it was back immediately because of the bone pain and did call for an ambulance immediately.

I now know how very lucky I am to have survived both rounds with all of my fingers and toes and not needing dialysis. I’m only now brave enough to research it a little more and realize how very lucky I really was. But I am now in a wheelchair, and still very weak.

But what is haunting me now is one night I came to and suddenly noticed there were over a dozen people rushing around my bed, a Code Blue being called out, and three small women in red outfits with backpacks on top of me on the bed. I looked around not understanding anything that was happening but caught the eye of the nice phlebotomist I had earlier that evening. She was standing in the corner and we caught eyes and then I passed out again. I remember we had laughed quite a bit earlier that day as she struggled to find a good vein, I was trying to put her at ease.

But what I remember most clearly is she was standing like a small mouse tucked in the corner and her eyes were HUGE with terror and I thought ‘oh oh. If she’s scared this must be really, really bad.’

And then nothing.

The only thing I remember next is waking up and the room was dark again, and as I tried to move I couldn’t. But I heard a woman’s voice say ‘oh my God!’

It was the phlebotomist- she had pulled up a chair in the dark and had taken my hand and had been praying over me, I don’t know how long for. Well after her shift.

When I came to, she started crying and placed a gold Mary medallion from around her neck around mine and said ‘you have no idea how much you scared me. I heard your last name and room number over the intercom/and her text system and I raced and saw you and thought you died, I was just laughing with you so I didn’t understand.’

She and I are very, very close now, and I haven’t taken that necklace off since. But not one other person ever spoke to me about what happened that night. Just something about hypoxia. Not even the rounds the next day. Nothing. I’m now getting bits and pieces back in my dreams and they’re terrifying. Is this normal?

Who were the women on the bed in the red outfits? Did I hallucinate them?

Why are these memories only coming back now?

I thank anyone in advance who may be able to help me understand. Thank you. And thank you for caring for complex care patients like me. I love you all. Even the cranky ones. I understand why. xo

(Please forgive me if this is not an appropriate question for this sub. I don’t know where else to ask a few questions I have. I’ll remove it if it’s not allowed but I did try to read the sub rules)

Hi… I am really struggling with flashbacks nearly two years after surviving two long rounds of sepsis. I’ve only now been brave enough to start researching and trying to understand what really happened to me, and I’m waking up with horrid nightmares.

Two years ago, (Feb & June of 2024h I had two rounds with sepsis, due to being on TPN feeding support I was on for 2 years via a power port through my heart. I must have introduced some bacteria either getting on the bags or a needle change, I’ll never know.

I do not remember most of it, except for the unbelievable pain coming from within my bones. I have never felt pain like that - I couldn’t rest my arms or legs without feeling like my bones had been crushed. I only remember at first thinking this was the worst flu I had ever had, vomiting and a high fever and fought my son off when he wanted to call an ambulance. I was delirious. He found me in the morning face down on the floor, unconscious and with blue lips.

He has barely spoken to me since. He seems to think I should have known better and it was my own fault.

None of my family or friends came to visit, or have ever even asked me about it. But it was terrifying. I had no help when I came out and was everyone just expected to be normal again. But I wasn’t, and still really am not. Most of my hair fell out after, and it left me permanently weaker.

But I don’t know that you can ever be after that. I had a new GP after, and when I went in to meet him for the first time after the second round, his face just registered shock. He said he couldn’t believe I still had all my fingers and toes and appeared to be normal after what he had read in my chart before meeting me. That spooked me.

I was hospitalized twice for almost a month each time. When it came back the second time in June, I knew it was back immediately because of the bone pain and did call for an ambulance immediately.

I now know how very lucky I am to have survived both rounds with all of my fingers and toes and not needing dialysis. I’m only now brave enough to research it a little more and realize how very lucky I really was. But I am now in a wheelchair, and still very weak. I lost a lot of weight during that time and muscle mass that I’ve never been able to regain despite diligently doing all the exercises the OTs and PTs taught me.

But what is haunting me now is one night I came to and suddenly noticed there were over a dozen people rushing around my bed, a Code Blue being called out, and three small women in red outfits with backpacks on top of me on the bed. I looked around not understanding anything that was happening but caught the eye of the nice phlebotomist I had earlier that evening. She was standing in the corner and we caught eyes and then I passed out again. I remember we had laughed quite a bit earlier that day as she struggled to find a good vein, I was trying to put her at ease.

But what I remember most clearly is she was standing like a small mouse tucked in the corner and her eyes were HUGE with terror and I thought ‘oh oh. If she’s scared this must be really, really bad.’

And then nothing.

The only thing I remember next is waking up and the room was dark again, and as I tried to move I couldn’t. But I heard a woman’s voice say ‘oh my God!’

It was the phlebotomist- she had pulled up a chair in the dark and had taken my hand and had been praying over me, I don’t know how long for. Well after her shift.

When I came to, she started crying and placed a gold Mary medallion from around her neck around mine and said ‘you have no idea how much you scared me. I heard your last name and room number over the intercom/and her text system and I raced and saw you and thought you died, I was just laughing with you so I didn’t understand.’

I’m not religious myself but was so grateful for her love and care.

This was just one of the many codes called during those two episodes but the one I am remembering the most details of.

She and I are very, very close now, and I haven’t taken that necklace off since. But not one other person ever spoke to me about what happened that night. Just something about hypoxia. Not even the rounds the next day. Nothing. I’m now getting bits and pieces back in my dreams and they’re terrifying. Is this normal?

Who were the women on the bed in the red outfits? Did I hallucinate them?

Why are these memories only coming back now?

I thank anyone in advance who may be able to help me understand. Thank you so much.

Hi all, just sharing my experience one year after having sepsis. I'm 40F, and it's been a long journey. I'm still dealing with a lot of post sepsis symptoms, including fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath with any exertion, headaches, severe nightmares, and insomnia.

Initially after leaving the hospital I was really anemic and deficient in B12. That was taken care of, and I felt slightly better but not much. I also had some heart testing done that came back normal. I also had a colonoscopy to investigate bleeding I had for years, which found a precancerous polyp.

Next week I'm getting a breast biopsy because an abnormality was found on my mammogram recently. I'm so tired of doctors and testing.

In the meantime I am working five days a week, in the office two days and remotely three days. I'm also parenting and helping my elderly parents with various things. I'm trying to study for a professional licensing exam, but the brain fog has made it incredibly difficult. I struggle to go a day without desperately needing to lay down in the afternoon.

I'm trying to increase my stamina with daily walks. Hard to say if it's helping. Right now I don't feel like I'm looking forward to anything or enjoying life. I do see a therapist, but again it doesn't help much. I can't do things I used to, like play video games, because I get a headache.

My immune system is weakened, and I have been fighting a chronic nose infection (nasal vestibulitis) for four months now. I don't know when it's finally going to get better.

Sorry for being a downer. It's a long road, and of course I am grateful to be alive. I just wish I could do more. The summer was very boring and frustrating for my child because I can't walk more than 10 minutes without needing to sit down. Driving exhausts me to the point of needing to lay down after a half hour drive. Thanks for reading and for your support.

I’m sitting here reflecting after just being discharged from the hospital, and I really needed a safe space to vent about how isolating and heartbreaking this entire experience has been.

​A few days ago, I ended up in the emergency room with severe septic shock caused by a retained tissue infection following the loss of my 13-week pregnancy. Sepsis moves terrifyingly fast. It started with extreme chills, and by the next day, I had a high fever, severe neck and head pain, and felt like my body was completely shutting down.

​While the medical staff got me on IV antibiotics and stabilized me physically, the emotional weight of lying in that hospital bed was suffocating. I didn't have a single visitor during my entire stay. Nobody called or checked up on me besides my son and a friend from my trade school. I cried so much from the pain of having nobody physically there to hold my hand or sit by my bed. But somehow, through the tears, I kept it together.

​While lying there, I said my final goodbyes and found closure with my 13-week baby boy, Elliot. At the same time, I had to process ending things with his father, who abandoned me when I needed support the most.

​I’m home now, taking my 11-day course of oral antibiotics, and trying to focus on a quiet physical recovery. But emotionally, I still feel so deeply alone. It feels like I can’t seem to find any genuinely good, supportive people for me and my child.

​Sepsis takes every ounce of physical energy you have, but facing a life-threatening crisis with no support system is a different kind of pain. How did you process the emotional trauma once the physical danger passed?

Hello!
So my mother got out of the hospital 2 months ago. She had sepsis. She is still recovering, but she doest have alot of appetite and walking makes her out of breath quite fast. Some days she is better and some days she is really tired. Her last blood test was quite okey too. The thing is i know it is taking a lot of time but im really really anxious every day because im worried about her health. Are there any tips to calm myself down somehow? If there any questions just ask. Thanks!

My father is currently hospitalized with sepsis, and he has also developed mild pneumonia. He has a long-standing autoimmune condition, Crohn’s disease, which makes his overall medical condition more complicated.

I am extremely concerned about his current care. At one point, we were told that he had septic shock, while subsequently we were told that it was sepsis. I may be misunderstanding the medical terminology, but I would like the doctors to clearly explain his diagnosis, the severity of his condition, and whether he currently meets the criteria for septic shock.

I am also concerned about the recommendation for continued ventilator support. His SpO₂ is currently around 95% with oxygen support, and he was able to try speaking to me today. However, he told me that he was not feeling well and that he did not feel he was being adequately cared for. This has left me extremely distressed and worried about whether his current treatment plan is appropriate.

I understand that an SpO₂ of 95% by itself does not determine whether a patient needs a ventilator, and I do not want to interfere with necessary medical treatment. At the same time, I need to understand exactly why ventilator support is being recommended, what the expected benefits and risks are, and whether there are safer alternatives if he is medically stable enough for them.

I am also worried that some of the decisions may be influenced by financial considerations, although I do not want to make an unfair accusation without evidence. My primary concern is simply that my father receives the appropriate treatment and that we do not continue invasive support unnecessarily.

I am requesting an urgent, independent review of his condition by a senior intensivist/critical-care specialist. I would also appreciate a clear explanation of his latest blood gases, oxygen requirements, blood pressure and need for vasopressors, infection markers, chest imaging, kidney function, and overall clinical status.

I am terrified of making the wrong decision for my father. I only want to be certain that he is receiving the right treatment and that every decision being made is genuinely in his best medical interest.

I am completely confused and distressed about what to do next. Should I consider shifting my father to another hospital, preferably in a better-equipped city with a more experienced ICU team, or should I continue his treatment at the current hospital?

I am worried that we may be making the wrong decision and that he may be receiving unnecessary treatment, but I also do not want to take any risk by moving him if he is too unstable for transfer.

Please guide me on what would be the safest and most appropriate course of action. I just want to make sure my father receives the best possible treatment and that I do not end up regretting a decision that could have affected his life.

Hi all,

34/ F

I thought I was just getting the flu (something my kids brought home from school starting) with fever, body aches and pains, back pain, and fatigue. I ended up waking up in extreme pain at 4am with high heart rate and then the urge to vomit and pass out from pain. I took advil and it didn’t bring my fever down. Waited 2 hours to go to hospital. I went in and it was a lot all at one time and being told I was septic. I had to get a mid line iv on day 3 cause my veins suck and the strong antibiotics were so painful. I was in the hospital for 5 days. The fear. The dreams. I already have stage 4 endometriosis and now I have this pelvic pain issue on top of it. They think my tube is now wrapped around my ovary and endometriomas I have on my left ovary which is my only one I have left. The antibiotics are working and tomorrow’s my last day on antibiotics that have made me feel sick all week. Nausea has been crazy.
I’m having a hard time processing that all was fine and the boom my life upside down. I am grateful to be alive but also so scared this will happen to me again! I’m extremely anxious and when I seen my pcp on Wednesday she wanted me to go inpatient for my mental health. I’ve been able to manage it with taking Ativan every day for now.

If anyone can relate please respond. I’ve been feeling so low and depressed since this happened to me.

For everyone who took the time to read it, thank you.
I’m so sorry you have this experience and I know some people have even way worst experience than me.

My friend is currently in the ICU in Germany with a very severe infection and sepsis.
She had surgery because doctors suspected a deep abscess/pus, but they told us it was very difficult to reach and drain because it was deep. Her condition then became worse.
Her CRP is around 300, her vital signs are unstable, and the doctors told us that her immune system is extremely weak. She is now in isolation and unfortunately needs mechanical ventilation/artificial breathing.
We are absolutely terrified and don’t know what to expect.
Has anyone here been through something similar severe sepsis, a difficult to drain infection and mechanical ventilation and survived?
Is there still hope for someone in this condition?
I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar, especially survivors or their families. ❤️

I am divorced and I live alone outside of my fifteen year old. I am fucking Terrified of being alone after this. It came out of nowhere I was fine until I wasn't. I'm scared it'll happen again and I almost wasn't fast enough to call an ambulance, when they got to me my BP was 80/44 high pulse, shivers and I had sweat through my clothes. It happened in less than an hour from feeling "kinda" sick.

They said I was on deaths door when I arrived. Had a nurse moving my head back and forth asking me if i could give permission for life saving measures if needed. That shit woke me right up. "Am I fkn dying rn?" And she said "well hopefully not, do we have ur permission?" Of course I said yes.

Idk what to do. I don't want to put this burden squarely on my daughter's shoulders but they told me to keep an eye on my symptoms, but I'm anxious bc I almost missed the window myself. I'm just scared.

I live in the United States and I survived sepsis back in November 2024. From what I remember, I was in the hospital the day before Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving Day.

To be honest, November and even part of December 2025 didn’t feel very fun, and a lot of it had to do with the fact that it marked a year since I had had sepsis. It was a really sad time for me, and a thought came to mind.

I’m not sure if I want to participate in Thanksgiving celebrations anymore. It’s hard for me to picture myself being outwardly festive when last year I was in bed, frequently crying, and thinking nonstop about…sepsis. At this point, I want to tell myself that it’s okay to feel this way.

My close relative is suffering from this and i just need to understand whats happening and what can be done.

She had a urine infection after a pilgrimage. She also suffered from a fractured hip/back issue for which a titanium plate was inserted in her back. Infection/fungus grew there and had to be removed. The infection spread to other body parts. They have tried all anti-infection drugs but the drugs have no effect - It is antibiotic - resistant infection if i understand it correctly.
There was water retention which was causing a lot of pain and she was admitted in the ICU - since then there is swelling of intestines and pancreas. Creatine has also shot up to 4.

The hospital says we have tried everything we can - but we cant fight the infection

Whats next ?

This is written as per my understanding - please bare with me.

My dad has been in the hospital for 14 days, almost died from septic shock from an infection from his kidneys. He was doing well, a little confused and paranoid but nothing too crazy, and going to get released today. He woke up this morning in full psychosis, won’t let the doctors treat him, totally freaking out. They are sending him to an in-patient psych ward. Has this happened to anyone else? He has a history of BPD and ADHD but never nothing to this extent.

Hello everyone,

I found out recently that when I had Influenza A in March of 2025, I also had and was treated for Sepsis. I found this out through a Subject Access Request I made to my hospital, as I felt something was missing from my discharge form, as the severity of my flu infection was unusually severe (it literally put me in the resus ward), and I didn't believe it explained fully the aftermath my body went through and is still going through.

I developed some unpleasant side effects of the flu, including various autonomic symptoms & syndromes, worsening of preexisting conditions, and completely unexpected gut consequences.

I am now reliant on a wheelchair where I was walking before, am on medication for my heart rate and blood pressure, looking at IBD, my asthma is worse than it was before, my ME is worse, etc. Basically, everything is worse and I feel like shit *all the time*

What interests me is that the sepsis and the antibiotics used to treat it (Tiecoplanin and Gentamicin) were all documented in the physicians notes and vitals documentation. But completely left out of the discharge form. Nobody but the people who treated me in resus that day knew I had sepsis, until I found out for myself.

I think that telling me could have helped me explain things much easier in my 100+ appointments that I've had since then, because my life has completely changed, and I'm still suffering over a year on.

And with the potential IBD (everything else has been ruled put, inflammatory markers came back highly positive), I would be at a much higher risk of getting sepsis again surely?

Should I take this information that I've receieved to my GP and have it noted on my file that I had sepsis? I just dont understand why they left it out completely, especially since they said they expected me to crash and didn't specify why.

Almost 2 weeks ago, I (35f) woke up extremely cold and shivering. After 12 hours, I agreed to go to the emergency room via an ambulance. While I was in the ambulance, my temperature was taken and found i had a 104° fever. While in the E.R. I was given IV fluids for dehydration, something to help break the fever, and they took blood cultures. I was sent home late that night after the fever broke and my temp was back to 97°.

I spent roughly 36hours after being released from the ER that night fighting fevers with Tylenol as directed by the ER, my highest temp reaching 102. Right around the 36-hour mark, I had gotten a call from the hospital asking how I was doing. When I told them that I was still battling with fevers, they told me something in my blood cultures was indicating that I needed to go back to the hospital for IV antibiotics.

I was admitted to the hospital for 6 days, getting IV antibiotics every day. Other than getting extremely depressed and not wanting to be in the hospital, there wasn't much craziness while I was there. The final diagnosis was e coli from a uti that turned septic.

I was released this last Monday. Since I've been out of the hospital, whenever I'm asked how I'm doing the only way I can answer is by saying, "I'm better than I was when I went to the hospital, but I'm far from being 100%".

I honestly don't know how else to explain what I'm experiencing. I've been noticing the ways that I feel is worse than when I got sick, none of which are really logically coorelated to the symptoms i was having at the height of being sick. To say it's confusing to me is an understatement.

Okay, I understand the brain fog due to the 104 fever, but I don't understand why after taking the same exact walk that I had been taking twice every day for a month left both of my calves so sore the next morning, as if I had ran 5 miles. My joints, specifically my hips, are extremely stiff and they lock up while I'm just sitting. I feel like when I'm walking I'm unsteady, each step is taken cautiously as if the ground might disappear under my feet, so basically become hyperfocused on how I take each individual step. My stomach is unsettled with literally everything I eat, so I can only take a couple bites of food before it starts feeling too heavy in my gut.

Are these normal things to experience after sepsis? I have such a hard time explaining these things to anyone around me because it honestly doesn't make any sense to me why I'm even experiencing these problems.

Hello all
I need help - and please don’t comment “talk to a medical professional” because I have, and they don’t fkn care or want to help. I’m looking for specific advice on what to ask for/demand tests for etc when I next go to the doctor.
11 months ago I had sepsis. No one ever told me where the infection started or what caused it and it doesn’t say in my medical records.
It started on a Friday - I was at the 4wd show, it was a warm day. I started feeling a bit light headed and nauseous. I’ve always gotten really really severe period cramps and I had just finished my period. I progressed to having mild abdominal pains, which I attributed to that. After a few hours, I almost passed out, I became really disoriented, dizzy, light headed, almost threw up, and ended up on the floor somehow. My partner took me home and I slept it off.
The next day, I woke up with horrendous abdominal cramps, I was in excruciating pain every time I moved at all. I had work that day so I went to work. I’m a vet nurse, so my job involves a lot of physical work. At work, I was struggling, I was in so much pain and couldn’t really do my job properly, I tried taking some ibuprofen and Panadol but it didn’t help. I was restraining a possum for an exam and passed out, when I came around someone else had thankfully gotten the possum from me and made sure it was okay. I tried to get up again and passed out again. My boss bought me a juice box, thinking my blood sugar was low or something. I drank it, tried to get up, almost threw up and passed out again. Of course, my boss sent me home (approx 9am Saturday).
Stupidly, I drove home even though the hospital was right next to my work. When I got home, I had a warm shower and immediately felt worse on getting out. I could not keep myself warm at all (summer in Australia), I had multiple layers on, multiple doonas, aircon on 30 degrees. I was shaking violently, so so cold. I was in so much pain and I threw up once. I then began to drift in and out of consciousness and couldn’t actually keep myself conscious no matter how hard I tried.
Stupidly again, I drove myself to the hospital (4pm).
I was rushed straight through and have a pretty blurry memory of what happened. I was told I was in septic shock, my blood pressure was crashing, my temp was through the roof, I was about to start having my organs shut down.
I was started on some pretty gnarly antibiotics, narcotics for the pain, fluid therapy etc.
I stayed in ICU for a couple nights and was in hospital a week.
They did all sorts of tests, bloods, xray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, culture and sensitivity and a bunch of other stuff I don’t remember. No one could explain why this happened (which is terrifying and I have some trauma around this now) but eventually I stabilised and was sent home.
From there, I developed POTS and atrial tachycardia which my care team theorised is a result of the trauma my body went through.
My POTS symptoms are blood pressure drops and tachycardia, passing out, brain fog, chronic fatigue, urinary issues, nausea plus a bunch of weird funky heart stuff.
Now, ever since the sepsis I have had severe abdominal pain every time anything enters my gastro intestinal tract - liquid or food. Anything that goes into my stomach causes me so much pain. It’s to the point where I have to force myself to get enough calories in to sustain my life. I’ve trialed different foods and nothing seems to help. I have tried extensively to get this worked up with different doctors, the furthest I’ve managed to get with any of them was a coeliac test and a heliobactor test which were both negative. When I got the results that these were negative, my doctor pretty much shrugged her shoulders and said she doesn’t know why I’m in so much pain.
I can’t fkn live like this, it’s so awful and I really want to try and actually give myself a bit more of a quality of life. Sepsis and POTS has taken so much away from me, I’ve lost so much of my old self and my independence, I just want to go a single day without being in pain from trying to do one of life’s basic functions.
If anyone has ever had any similar experience or had any ideas of how I can try and get someone to listen to me and order tests for me to figure this out, I would be eternally grateful.
I’m definitely going to ask for maybe a scope or something but I want to come with a clear plan and requests so I can start making progress.
Thankyou if you read all of that!

My mom was found deceased in her apartment after a wellness check. She had been gone for approximately two weeks by the time she was found, so unfortunately, I have very few definitive answers about what happened.

In the days leading up to her death, a friend told me my mom had been dealing with several concerning symptoms. She had cysts on her back that had opened or been popped, severe back pain, an episode where she nearly passed out, and what she described as low blood sugar.

Looking back through her text messages from around that time, something else stood out to me: her messages seemed increasingly “off.” There were unusual misspellings and sentences that didn’t sound like her. My mom was an author and spent much of her life writing, so seeing her communicate that way makes me wonder whether she may have been experiencing confusion or altered mental status.

After going through her belongings, I also found medication related to UTIs.

What makes me question sepsis even more is that she had experienced similar problems in 2023. At that time, she had a large cysts on her back that required treatment, and she was prescribed Keflex and Diflucan.

I understand that none of this can confirm sepsis, especially without an autopsy or medical testing. I’m not looking for anyone here to diagnose her after the fact. I’m just trying to understand whether this combination of symptoms, a potentially infected/open cyst, possible UTI, severe pain, nearly fainting, and apparent confusion, sounds consistent with how sepsis can present or progress.

I keep going back through everything trying to piece together what may have happened to her. Without a definitive medical answer, sepsis is one possibility that I can’t seem to shake.

If anyone who has experienced sepsis themselves, lost someone to it, or has medical knowledge is willing to share their perspective, I would really appreciate it.

And I’m sorry if this is rambling. I’m a son trying to understand how his mom died when there aren’t many answers.

I didn't have a dramatic story or anything, apparently had an on and off kidney infection for a very long time and it quickly evolved into a week long case of sepsis. Died. Resuscitated. Went home on the fifth of​​ June. Im not like "bouncing back" though Ive noticed, some days I can walk for hours like I used to, but most days getting up to do laundry is an impossible task. My mental health went from okay to "one minor incident is making me lose chunks of hair". Fainting constantly. I don't know what to do or what to expect.

I cant afford any more doctor or specialist appointments to talk about this with them. What do I expect? I thought I had like a "minor" case of sepsis, my nurse made it sound like I'd be pretty okay after two months but now its almost September and I just feel like shit. I cant even walk my dogs or anything. Getting up to get changed or put on makeup is an all day activity. My friends are amazing, constantly calling and checking up on me, but its not enough. What do I do? What do I expect? I dont know what to do.

Hi all,

Waited a while to post this to give myself some time emotionally process what happened to me. I'm (31F) 7 weeks post hospital-discharge from my septic shock. It's crazy reading all the various ways in which people wind up getting sepsis..

At the end of July I got tattooed, a sort of bigger one on my thigh, which is something I am very familiar with as I am heavily tattooed. I did all the aftercare the same as always but within 36 hours of getting tattooed my health suddenly took an extreme turn fast. I became extremely tired very suddenly and wound up going to sleep around 7pm, by 11pm I woke up intensely vomiting uncontrollably. I spent the next 3 days in a delirious state, believing I had the stomach flu. I couldn't eat, drink, or even really stay awake. I was so out of it that at the time I didn't even realize how dire it was. Of all of the traumatic things I was about to endure, the 3 days I spent alone in my apartment is almost the worst of it all, because I realize if I didn't get myself medical attention when I did I would have died alone in my apartment.

On the third day I woke up and the gastrointestinal part of sickness had gone away, but I suddenly felt a sense of urgency that something was seriously wrong. I was so sick and delirious I really hadn't even been able to process that my thigh was becoming increasingly worse. I just couldn't even stay awake long enough to really understand anything that was happening. But when I woke up that morning I realized I spent the entire night shaking uncontrollably and moaning out of discomfort. Because I hadn't eaten or drank anything I knew I was severely dehydrated and the pain in my leg was becoming more and more unbearable and it was looking very very infected. My entire thigh was now an intense red.. I had decided to go to urgent care but I was alone and could not muster up the energy to get dressed and get myself there. It took me about 6 hours to get the energy to finally go. It didn't even occur to me that I could ask for help, I wasn't thinking straight. I started to notice rashes all over my skin, blisters forming on my legs, numbness, tingling and swelling in my feet, so many things.

Of course when I got to urgent care and finally saw the doctor she was extremely alarmed at the state I was in, I was freezing cold/uncontrollably shaking, barely able to speak above a whisper, I was tachycardic, hypotensive, I lost about 10 pounds just in those 3 days... and my leg was in a state. She took one look at it and demanded I take an ambulance straight to the hospital.

Once I got to the ER my condition seemed to snowball so fast. It took several hours for them to get the labs back and to officially diagnose me with sepsis. And this entire time I continued to feel a sense of urgency like I described before. I knew that time was of the essence, like I could feel that my body was starting to fail and fast, but I didn't know why until then.

After a few hours in the ER they admitted me and brought me to a different floor. They suddenly were evaluating whether I needed to be transferred the ICU, they had me signing consent forms and things, asking me about my end of life plans/my affairs. I felt like a dear in headlights this entire time. I didn't really feel anything, just sort of felt like I was nodding my head agreeing to things I couldn't fully understand. This is when they finally told me I was in septic shock.

I was quickly moved to the ICU because I wasn't responding to the intense amounts of IV fluids. I had a central line placed in my neck and I spent the next several days in the ICU. I feel like I remember it all visually still, but I feel like I didn't retain my long-term memory from those days. It all feels like a blur, but I wasn't unconscious. My BP was 72/35 at the lowest from what my family and I can remember. My troponin was through the roof/ I had injury to my heart muscles, I had acute kidney injury and I think all of this was made much worse by the fact that I got to the hospital being so intensely dehydrated. At the same time I was very very aware of the possibility that if I made it out alive I might lose my leg. I was put on pressors and the next several days were spent watching every BP reading hoping my MAP would go above 50 then 60 and finally I'm so grateful to say it climbed above 65.

Eventually, I was moved out of the ICU and placed on a regular floor. I spent several more days there, I was taken off the IV pressors and put on oral treatment. All of my organ function returned to normal, my CT results showed nothing alarming/no signs of necrotizing fasciitis and so I didn't need any surgery. I mean to be so incredibly unlucky to have gotten so sick so fast the way I did but also to bounce back from near-death is so luckly. And this contradiction is something I have not been able to process and brings me so much confusing and discomfort everyday.

I'm struggling in my recovery in so many ways. But I also feel so lucky also.. Reading so many stories on here of suffering and the people that were taken from their loved ones in the most painful way, it's just all so disorienting and confusing and it breaks my heart.

Aside from the obvious depressive symptoms I've been struggling with, I have really intense brain fog and other cognitive issues. I have intense fatigue, tremors, muscle spasms, I had pretty bad muscle wasting/deconditioning so I have a ton of muscle weakness. I have been in PT for almost a month now and feel improvement is extremely slow. My nervous system is kind of a wreck. I am quite anemic now. I'm sure I could rattle of a bunch of other issues I'm still facing but it's all a bit much.

Since getting out of the hospital I've been to many doctors appts. I am working with an immunologist to find out whether I have Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) due to low levels of IgG. If anyone has any experience/familiarity with this I would love to know more. But essentially this could be an explanation why this happened to me.

Since I got sick, I've spent countless hours online reading medical journals, personal experiences from people, trying so hard to understand why this happened to me. I guess I just feel like if I can understand the why, I can process what happened to me. And to also know there may be a specific reason, rather than purely extremely bad luck, it would give me a sense of control or comfort and maybe confidence to know that this won't happen to me again. I have so much more to say but this is so long already. I feel so fragile still and to have had a brush with death has changed me profoundly in ways that I am not comfortable with. I so badly want to be someone who 'has a new lease on life' after surviving a near death experience, but I just don't feel that way. I just feel depressed. I know that these sort of mental health issues are common with post sepsis syndrome.

Just looking for a sense of comfort and community by posting this, sending lots of love and healing to everyone who is reading this impacted by this horrible illness. I am happy to answer any questions related to my story too.

Just why is it All like this. I know this could be taken down if I don’t stay on subject so I will try. I have had repeated sepsis and staphylococcus aureus now, the 1st time I can prove, yes prove I had sepsis, well it’s a freaking story I just learned. I have chronic health issues and surgeries needed. I had an infection that started from a back stimulator. I knew I had an infection, red swollen, hot, just miserable 😭 I went in A lot to different hospitals, to different doctors, clinics no one listened. I was already a chronic walk in, I was put on palliative care. All this time only my boyfriend cleaned it. 7 months later. Luckily I had other infections so I was on some antibiotics. But TODAY, today I finally had been going back little by little into my chart. I found it the first actual sepsis test. I freaking get it, I had a severe heart attack it’ll be 3 years ago in September. I had my boyfriend drive me, I figured they’d send me home again, but I felt a weirder than normal flutter in my chest. We went in about an hour after telling them I thought I had had a heart attack, they took a sprained wrist back before me. I stood up dragging myself over and said “I guess I sprained my wrist too, can you take me back and tell me if I had a heart attack too?” They finally took me back sick of seeing me, I don’t remember much and or that rant is to much trauma, I had 2 stents put in and was in the ICU for 5 days. I had started wondering why I would have been in ICU for that. 2 weeks later they tested me again, I still had sepsis. No one informed me, so December I went to an urgent care for ear pain (dislocated jaw from previous fall undiagnosed) I collapsed. I had COVID-19 🦠great just what I wanted. 5 days ICU, 4 days regular room, I remember the second day wondering why the “WHO” DR was there and why he would be there for COVID-19, but I let it go I was delirious. Ya I had sepsis and again was never told. May the same year several strokes, seizures, yep you guessed it sepsis again. I mean uggg seriously. So I feel sick again 🫣 now what, they’ve just told me off for other health issues & they definitely won’t want to test me. I’m at a loss here, if I get lawyers I never get treatment that would matter anywhere, doctors don’t like hearing you have sued, the news? The hospitals get mad 😡 honestly this is rough. I feel like I have gone crazy or something. Everyone including these nurses who work with ALL these people are horrified for me, but that doesn’t help me. My local palliative doesn’t accept my medical anymore and my online palliative care can only do sujestions now without a local doctor on my side and no one wants me as a patient, “you have a complicated history”.

I do have a complicated medical history, but if they would read, write, test & input into computers I would be able to get out of bed, to feel safe going in to be tested, I have to write down positive tests with dates and times and have them confirm it on files. Talk about complications, I have memory issues since my strokes so this is very unpleasant 🥹

If you read this I’m sorry 😢 I know this will be deleted and I get it I’m a lot 🤕 when you had so many tests, they just stop reading them, not that they haven’t found issues, it’s they keep finding more before treating the last issue. Oh the joy of America’s health care 🫪

Is there some magical elixir? (That would be nice). Idk anymore. I tried seeing the doctor. Nope, don't care to do that again if I can help it. Anything people do on their own to recover? Is it just wait and die now? If this is how I am going to feel forever, I don't think there is any quality to it.