Suctioning, does it get better?

It has been a week and a half since Caeley got her trach, and she still panics when they suction. Â*By panic I mean Â*it takes 3 people to hold her down, and she hits everything out of their hands, rolls over so they can't get to her, her heart rate jumps up to 200. Â*It's really horrible to watch, and it is really difficult even for the experienced RTs to do. Â*My husband and I haven't even started trying yet, right now the RTs just want to get it done and get her back on the vent before she desats, it's a huge ordeal. Â*She is the same way whenever her trach care is done. Â*She panics over every noise that she hears because she thinks someone is going to mess with her, and she won't let me cuddle her because she thinks I'm just holding her down so someone can mess with her. I'm really worried about how my husband and I are going to do all this at home, I don't think it is going to be possible for just one person to suction. Â*Everyone tells me it will get better, but I'm really stressed over it. Â*How long does it take for them to adjust? Â*My daughter wasn't intubated Â*before the trach, so she hasn't been suctioned in a long while. Â*I hate doing this to her, and she gets so agitated that learning how to take care of her trach isn't going very well, I usually end up having to help hold her still so she doesn't get the cannula out. Â*
On a side note, she is breathing much better, and I'm not sorry we did it, she really needed it, but now getting her to accept it is a big concern. Â*

[babyhugger]

Awe! This post breaks my heart! As a nurse, I have had to watch parents go through this many times. It is so stressful! She will start to relax, but it may take a while. Each child is different and there is no specific time frame for things to get better. YOU CAN DO THIS! She will settle down, but she has to be terified at the moment. Hang in there, things will improve!

Blessings,

Dawna

[Johnny2005]

When John was born he had the ET tube. He did not like being suctioned either. However, over time I think he started to realize that when he is suctioned it feels better afterwards. Or maybe I am making myself think that? After a while if they were going to suction him he would just lay still. He has the trach now and doesn't seem to mind it at all. Like Babyhugger says, it is different for everyone. Just hang in there, this is something new to your baby right now so she needs to adjust.

[sandra]

Ask if the RT's have an adapter that can go between the trach and the vent tubing that allows them to just open a little port and suction through a little hole. that might make it less stressful. The ones we used were called "Double trach swivel with suction port".

I'm sorry that this is so hard. It will get better and you will be able to suction alone. Hang in there!

Give it time, Im sure it will get bed. Mary Elizabeth used to always freak out when we suctioned her. Now she cries cuz she wants to be suctioned lol. It's the funniest thing, she will be screaming her head of and well suction her, then BAM shes sleeping. LOL

[JWorthington]

Hi Mary

What others have said, it does depend on the child. Sam was 19 months old when he got his trach, and, like Caeley, it was new and strange to him. Added to that the fact that they began tube feeding at the same time and he was unable to take anything orally, he was pretty stressed and very irritated at times in the early days.

However, as everyone else has said, it does get better with time, and soon it is second nature to everyone. Caeley will learn to accept it and will begin to understand that it does make her feel better.

Thinking of you,
Julie

That is so sad to hear. I bet your heart breaks everytime. Since Kayla was intubated from birth until she was trached at 5 months we never experienced what you are going through. I can just say that I hope things get better soon. I'm sure it's not easy to go through. Like others said, I think eventually she will get used to it and not fight as much. Maybe she will even accept it more if your or your husband were doing it because she trusts you more when you are comfortable with that. Hope things get better, Lisa

My niece Halle got her trach in December. She was born in May of last year 15 weeks premature. After being in the hospital 4 days shy of being in the hospital one year she came home. Since then, she's been doing great. She no longer minds being suctioned, in fact, she acts like she almost enjoys it. Don't give up it will get better.

[Alethia]

Babes, it's so hard at that stage and they need more suction initially than they do later on. Angus would need suctioning several times an hour sometimes and would desat, go pale and sweaty and sometimes pass out. I felt sick with anxiety every time. He wasn't as old as Caeley, so he couldn't fight you off so well, but he obviously hated it. It was much better after 4 weeks and nearly completely OK by 2 months. Now, 10 months later he'll sometimes completely ignore me when I do it if he's engrossed in something he's playing with. Other times he'll even smile when I do it! So this is just the awful initial phase - it really should get better. She's been through something really frightening and it will take her a while for her logic to set in and tell her that certain things feel better. I hope it happens soon.

Lots of love,

Kate
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