Reply #4: It depends on why they are being placed on the ventilator. I will give you an example.

[cbayer]

There is a condition called Guillain-Barre. It can cause various levels of paralysis and is often reversible, though it may take an extended period of time. If it begins causing paralysis of muscles needed for breathing, a patient may be placed on a ventilator.

Ventilators can be extremely anxiety provoking in a patient who is not in a coma. For this reason, patients are often very heavily sedated for the duration. They may also be given drugs to further paralyze them, as patients have a tendency to want to pull the tube out.

Patients are generally weaned from a ventilator. The sedation is reduced for a while, while the settings on the ventilator are turned down. Once a patient passes the test of breathing on their own (adequately) without assistance of the ventilator, attempts will be made to remove it. The wean can take an extensive period of time.

Your best questions are about appropriate sedation, if you feel the patient is overly anxious or agitated, and about how the weaning process is going. The nursing staff who works with the patient should be very able to answer these questions, or they may refer you to the pulmonologist or anesthesiologist.

You may also want to ask about signs of infection, appropriate nutritional support and physical therapy.

I hope that helps and that things go smoothly with a positive outcome.