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Do you want to be resuscitated?

Have you left instructions with friends or family on whether or not you want to be resuscitated? How much do you know about resuscitation and what it means and your chances of surviving? Would you like to be kept alive at all costs or is there a limit to what you want to keep you alive. For me it's about reversible causes and how long I've been without oxygen. If I arrest outside of hospital my chance of surviving is about 20% even with good cpr.

Josephine 7 June 26
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63 comments (26 - 50)

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2

One of my next steps is to sign a dnr. I have cancer and no longer wish to live if I'm not cured soon. I would probably feel differently if things were different but I've come to terms with it. We all die. Why prolong the agony.

2

If you arrest outside the hospital, your chances are a good deal worse than 20%... Particularly in most rural areas. I work as a paramedic in rural northwestern Pennsylvania and I've been keeping score for about 30 years. Surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest AND remaining neurologically intact is around 8% in Erie County, PA. Five year survival is somewhat less than 10% for those that ARE successfully resuscitated. As far as I'm concerned, save you effort for cases with a better chance for meaningful survival. Do not resuscitate me.

2

No

2

Yes I do! That is why I train our student nurses. Yes bloody keep me alive. I have a lot to do yet.

Amisja Level 8 June 26, 2018

I trained nurses too and they were the least prepared and mix in some denial and “I’m just treating these patients. They seemed so unattached to the very people that remind us of our mortality

2

My thought process is this, my brain is me. If my brain is damaged to the point consciousness isn't possible then I'm already dead, no point in supporting the support structure if the brain is gone.

2

I have very specific instructions that I left prior to going to Afghanistan earlier this year. If say, I'm in a coma for 60 days, pull the plug.
But I suppose if I had a heart attack and was brought back quickly... Sure. I still have MUCH I need to see before I go.

Thanks for your service and returning alive

@Millerski25 I appreciate that! I honestly wanted to stay there longer, lol.

2

Considering that I look forward to nonexistence, no.

My thoughts exactly.

2

Depends on my physical or mental state... If I'm showing signs of dementia I'm a danger to everyone around me and I'd put myself down. If I'm unable to move at all, I want the plug to be pulled. If I've got a terminal illness I want to die. I've lived with a woman who was terminally ill and her last year... Waking up to her screams of pain... That shit is etched in my brain. That year she was either drugged out of her mind and asleep or writhing in pain. Awful.

It depends...

2

Nope, no heroic measures, no machines.

2

At my age, no and I have informed my family of that.

2

i have wanted to die since i was young why would i wanna be revived

I wanted to die when I was a teen. I'm now 43 and if I die for any reason, just let me be.

@countrylife that seems sad.. I’ve lived a life I’m proud of can look in the mirror and know I’ve done my best ang treated people with respect and while I’d love to live at least to 100...if I die I’ve been there and done. I’m 66 years young just maybe I could squeeze a few more healthy years

@Millerski25 I have too I have loved and been loved and had great amazing sex
I am so blessed I have beautiful great kids and drop dead gorgeous beautiful grand babies and amazing sweet great grands becoming of age to procreate
there at least 5 women that can't stand my name cause they don't measure up or are compared to me
im so well loved and im 70 but ive had a hard life since 5 left with a father that didn't have a clue but I learned and survived and hid so much and though I gave I was always guarded that I regret
and mistakes omg the mistakes and the triumphs but I don't wanna be here

2

Not if the prognosis is poor - if I’ll have no real quality of life, just lying there like a blob, no matter my mental condition. If I can’t LIVE, I don’t want to live.

2

Yes. Life is worth living

EvanW Level 2 June 26, 2018
1

I have both a living will and a DNR. Also, paperwork regarding guardianship of my children, my estate, and my wishes to be cremated.
It was wrote it when I was 27. I faced cancer alone and needed to be sure I had a plan in place.

1

I'm one of the lucky few. I arrested out of hospital 18 months ago. I was down for about 20 minutes I believe but was given quality CPR. I was in an induced coma for about a week after that, during which time family were told at first I probably wouldn't make it, and eventually that I'd probably survive but with an unknown degree of brain injury. Had I somehow had forewarning of this I guess my choice would be DNR. As it happens I've made what I think is a 99.9% recovery! Perhaps very slightly more forgetful than before, and 5-10 seconds of being unable to get any words out, but that's only happened 6 or 7 times. The only struggle for me now is the emotional side of things, trying to come to terms with it all and move forward. I'm fairly active in a community of UK cardiac arrest survivors and many say exactly the same. I'm personally so grateful I hadn't given any prior opinion on resuscitation, though i realise this is largely down to pure chance and things could've worked out very different!

Salo Level 7 June 30, 2018

@Josephine Thanks Josephine on many levels it hasn't really sunk in how fortunate I was. The emotional issues aren't too bad, they're there every waking moment and I don't know what I'm doing with the rest of my life but I wouldn't describe myself as suffering, in shock perhaps but I'm coping fine. If/when that changes there's plenty of help available 🙂

1

I'm immortal, prove me wrong.

1

No, we spend our entire life preparing to die...I don't want to fail at that.

K9luvr Level 2 June 26, 2018
1

Of course I would always choose life.

1

Had 3 close calls-no breathing or feeding tubes

1

No I do not want to be resuscitated! At a younger age I would feel different, but now I have left instructions...’do not resuscitate!’ I am trying to live ‘fully,’ now and I will leave in peace, when ‘the time’ comes!

1

No resussitation, and my body goes to a body farm. No embalming, no grave. For me it's not going to be "rest in peace", it will be "rot in peace."

NerdyB Level 4 June 26, 2018

@Morganfreeman There are several exceptions. Take a look at Forensic Anthropology Research. I've already done the paperwork.

@Morganfreeman Not true. They have a body farm belonging to Texas State University 10 miles from here. My brother and his wife signed up for it.

1

Not currently.

1

I do not want to be resuscitated if there is likely to be catastrophic or irreversible...brain damage..or if injuries and or damage drastically diminish quality of life..as in paralysis from the neck down..vegitative state..or massive stroke leaving me me immobile or uncommunicative...

1

I was anRN forever 30 years and few have advanced directives and some even rescinded theirs but as long as I can live is great but not like a turnip.... euthanizing is my answer to stage 4 cancer

1

I have never thought about it before, but I guess I should.

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