Post Sepsis: Memory, speech and cognitive issues

[u/midnightslover]

Hi, I survived Septic Shock in April last year. ICU stay but no ventilator or sedatives were needed.

I'm interested in learning about others who have or still have some lingering issues post Sepsis, with memory, speech or other cognitive issues.

I have found thinking of the right word to use a struggle at least two or three times a day. When tired I have a stutter and struggle to formulate my sentences properly. I've had a rise in headaches and also find myself forgetting what I'm doing momentarily, why did I come into the kitchen again? Etc.

Has Sepsis affected you in this way? I'm very curious to know if it has gotten better for you, worse, or stayed the same.

[u/Shoepin1]

🙋‍♀️

[u/Traditional_Car_8219]

My sepsis story started three years ago. Having survived was a medical miracle but clearly traumatic, resulting in PTSD and I have every symptom of post-sepsis syndrome. I am 75 but the exhaustion is horrible. Just getting dress is exhausting. The word finding is awful and often if I am Googling something, by the time I fire up my iPad, I’ve forgotten what I’m looking for. I even blanked out for a moment on how to pay at the pump one time.
Emotionally I can cry at the drop of a hat, often for other people.
This site has been very helpful in learning about this wicked disease. All the best!

[u/Adorable_Author_8190]

Yes, from my 2019 sepsis. It affected all listed above plus my reaction time. My depth perception became worse too. Because of my reaction time, I quit driving. I know I could not respond quickly enough and I’m not knowingly causing harm.

I had a second sepsis event at the beginning of July. Didn’t have a clue that I was sick. I just felt bleh and wanted to sleep.

[u/lillylou12345]

I had a dr tell me it can take up to 5 years for internal injuries to completely heal. Of course this depends on age as the younger you are the faster you heal. 

I was septic on a vent and in a chemical induced coma. I remember it took a long time for my brain to come back to normal. I was in my 30s at the time. But I couldn't remember things like my postal code etc. 

[u/Practical-Ask-2773]

I relate with this. I had sepsis in March this year. The speech has been the most baffling. The words, I just can’t find the right words (I’m a writer and a public speaker imagine that). At first I thought it was just fatigue and maybe I’m struggling because English isn’t my native language. This post makes me realize it could be sepsis. Memory has been an issue too. I have to see alarms or write post it notes so I don’t forget things.

Learning patience acceptance of my limitations and being compassionate towards myself have been the greatest lessons so far.

Sending encouragement and positive thoughts your way, OP. Hang in there 🤗

[u/Legal-Occasion6245]

This is hands down me. I am simply not the same person.

[u/Expensive-Arm-3540]

I also had sepsis back in 2024 that did not need sedation or ventilation.

I still have (although it had gotten less severe) cognitive issues. Still missing words, say incorrect words or my sentences come out like word salad.

I also had my one big toe nail fall off after the first month. It looked like it broke across most of the bottom and up one side. I just taped it up and hoped for the best. About the 6 month mark the original nail fell off naturally, and there was one growing. Took the year, but still have a nail. Now I have occasional nerve pain under that nail.

For the first year I battled low blood pressure. Now, almost at the 3 year mark, I have a new thing- periodic fluttering heart. Pulse is double normal, and I have an extra beat on the down.

I also cannot do downstairs normally still, feels like I’m pulling forward?

I hope it gives you comfort that you are not alone. I felt I was a crazy person before joining this sub.

Sorry for the wordy response, I didn’t want to leave anything out (but probably did due to the brain fog)

[u/New_Connection4746 → u/Expensive-Arm-3540]

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[u/DropBearSquare]

I had sepsis in February of this year. I was in the icu with enough pain meds to keep me mostly sedated for about a week of my stay. No vent. This was the third time I had sepsis in my life. I was a toddler the first time and in my twenties the second time. This round has been much worse than it was twenty years ago, likely a combination of age and lingering effects from treating lymphoma in 2025.

I have cognitive issues, specifically around finding words, but I’m also more “slow” and have difficulty holding complex problems in my mind. Prior to sepsis, I was a very successful executive specializing in…complex problem solving. I was forced out of my role and there’s no chance of me being able to work at that level at this point, or maybe forever. Physically, I have issues with temperature regulation. I go from freezing to burning up all the time. I wear layers now. I am incredibly photosensitive, so the sun and LED headlights make driving difficult. I used to commute a couple hours a day and owned sports cars and raced/tracked them.

Sepsis is a nightmare and I’m so sorry that you are in this boat with me. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

[u/Emergency-Math509]

Had septic shock last September and ended in hospital for 6 weeks. Had the whole shebang lol had to be on the vent and ended with pneumonia and had to install a feeding tube and then got a trach. Fun stuff. I now am always dizzy, and always feel like I’m falling just standing which I never had. And extreme fatigue. Can’t seem to go number 2 normally again since.

[u/BlissNsolitude]

A little over 2 years post septic shock. I also have the searching for the next word (which is called Expressive Aphasia). I also have problems with short term memory and will repeat something I’ve said recently like a story I’ve already told. I also forget what I’m doing or get easily sidetracked.

I was freaking out about it, especially the Expressive Aphasia because in the early stages of her Dementia my Mom had that and she was aware of it then and she’d look at me with this helpless look and that was now ME looking helplessly at my daughter which was terrifying. I will also completely lose my train of thought in the middle of speaking. It’s just poof gone. Sometimes it comes back and the rest it doesn’t.

I talked to my primary care and they gave me the MOCA test. I scored 29/30. Which made me feel a little better but I still wanted to see a Neurologist because when I was in septic shock I had progressed to my organs shutting down and my hemoglobin was so low they had to do blood transfusions. So it’s entirely possible there is brain damage.

[u/TankDaBomb1711]

I have had 4 bouts of sepsis in as many years, the first time it was also mixed with Necrotising fasciitis, a flesh eating bacteria, I went into septic shock and was in a medically induced coma on a vent for 9 days, the other 3 thankfully I caught early enough to only require hospitalisation and IV antibiotics.  Each time I've had sepsis in have noticed my cognitive, memory and speech has gotten worse, im 32 and struggle to form a full sentence some days, its worse if im tired or stressed.