Dad not waking from sedatives

[Stn89]

Hi everyone. My dad came off his pushbike 12 days ago (28th of October) and suffered a traumatic brain injury. They said he wouldn’t make it due to the pressure unless they operated and remove the left part of his skull. They did that the same evening and they said it went as well it could have gone. He was on midazolam, propofol, morphine and fentanyl for around 48 hours. They stopped these and the paralysis drug after 2 days but put him back on to a lower sedative for another day as his tube was irritating him. When they finally took him off of that sedative on the Monday morning (after around 72 hours since being admitted to ICU), they said they would hope to see some sort of response and signs after anywhere from a few hours to 48-72 hours. It has been 9 days now, and he still hasn’t opened his eyes. They say his pupil response is good and he was moving in response to pain that they inflicted. Over the last few days he has started very occasionally to moved his arm and hand up towards his chest/face, but then that will probably be it again for a while. One nurse said when they turned him yesterday that he opened his eyes for just a second.

I guess what I am asking is if anyone has been in or known anyone to be in a similar situation. From what the doctors and consultants have been telling us, it’s unlikely he is going to be in a good way when he comes around because of both the severity of the injury and how long it is taking him and that we have to prepare for the worst. As small as they may be, each day has given us something new such as finger movement, then hand, then arm movement, then yesterday a slight eye open. I understand that every case is different, but it is sometimes good to hear any situation of a case that is similar or other people have read about in order to gain some sort of hope.

I have obviously read or heard about people waking up after weeks or months, but they are from a natural coma and I struggle to find as much regarding coming around from sedation. I was also wondering how much to take from him moving his arm up to his chest and face.

If anyone has any knowledge or input then it would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Sam

[Sepsur]

after a medically induced coma of 57 days - it took me 11 days to come around.

Everyone has different tolerances - his body might just be needing longer to switch on again.

this link might help

icusteps.org/information/in...

[Stn89 in reply to Sepsur]

Thank you for your reply. I guess your sedation was a lot longer and every case is different. He pressed him thumb down twice earlier today when I asked him to squeeze my hand and three times in a row he wiggled his fingers when I asked him to do that, so hopefully it wasn’t just a coincidence. Small progress

[Copse77]

dear Sam remain hopeful was the best advice we were given by an ICU consultant and I have passed this advice on to others on this website many times. Like you I struggled to find information and that was very hard. I am a scientist so reliable sources of information and evidence is important to me. My brother was like your Dad. It was a full month after his medically induced coma when he started to come round. It’s not like they show in films where people wake up and instantly are awake and can talk. The small signs you are spotting are progress. I would make notes every day and these helped me stay strong when he had bad days. Keeping a timeline of progress will give you something positive to focus on. I hope your Dad had a good recovery

[Stn89 in reply to Copse77]

Thank you so much for your reply. How long was his sedation may I ask? As my dad was only 2 or 3 days so they seem to say that they expected it to be a couple of days to wake. And how is he now? Dad pressed his thumb down twice earlier today when I asked him to squeeze my hand and three times in a row he wiggled his fingers when I asked him to do that, so hopefully it wasn’t just a coincidence. Yet still no eye opening. Small progress 🙏🏽💙

[Copse77]

my brother was sedated to be put on ECMO to rest his lungs that were failing. He had been on a ventilator- life support as he became critically ill with sepsis from flu. ECMO was the last resort when the ventilator was proving support as his organs were failing, was not sufficient so they gave him drugs to induce a coma and stop him moving and pulling out wires so that he could go on ECMO. . He was only on ECMO for a short time, days when they undertook a trial to take him off that was successful.

I am pleased to say almost 5 years on my brother had made a great recovery. His two children were young at the time and so was he so it was very hard. I hope your Dad makes good progress

[FamilyHistorian]

first of all we are all different. My coma was induced by sedation. Initially I was expected to come round after a few days. That didn’t happen. First they said maybe a week then 2 weeks then they said he will come round when he is ready. My coma lasted nearly 2 months. I nearly died twice. At this time it is most important that you look after yourself.

[Stn89 in reply to FamilyHistorian]

Thank you for your reply

[Ta-thanx]

In my experience I've no idea how long it took me to come round. But I can say talk to him because even if you are trapped in a coma you can hear things going on, you don't make much sense of the things that are going on but it helps to hear voices you recognise. One thing I do remember is hearing my sister saying we'll see you tomorrow and I just about managed to move a finger, and then I heard my nephew say he moved his finger then, so I did it again. Little things mean a lot in these situations.

[Hidden]

took hubby 4 weeks to open eyes after icu , he just stared blankly at ceiling and did a robotic left right, left right head movement for weeks and didn’t track or move eyes until 6 months ! I noticed him looking at me and he followed my movements as I moved around room that’s a good sign . 8 months to respond to simple qs . 1 year to finally say his name . Give it time the brain has gone through a lot and will take time to heal . You could try him to smell familiar things. I took In strong stuff like coffee grains , garlic, lemon rind , perfume etc and got responses. The smell is the sense that reaches the areas of information deep in the brain first So do try that you may find hel move his head or wrinkle nose in response ! Once he’s semi comatose and is sat up by physio you can also offer flavour on tip of tongue. Taste testing also works on tip of tongue. Mini drop of coffee powder or strawberry milkshake, garlic powder got a response of disgust ( not liquid as can go down in lungs ) so only something powdered/ pinch . This told me that my hubby was able to respond but needed more time to come out of coma . There are many stages of coma so be patient.

Once he came around he was able to hold a conversation and listen to radio etc and communicate with family. Good luck with everything and hope he becomes aware soon .

[Stn89 in reply to Hidden]

Firstly, thank you for your time and your reply. It is greatly appreciated and reading that now has helped to give me positivity and hope.

Do you at all mind me asking the situation with your husband. If you don’t want to go into it I completely understand.

And do you mean that it was 4 weeks after leaving ICU to another ward that he first opened his eyes or 4 weeks after first being admitted to ICU?

My dad was first taken into ICU 5 weeks ago today. He was progressing, but then had another bleed and some more swelling on the brain around two weeks ago and he became fully unresponsive again. Over this last week, he has started to open his left eye (sometimes both eyes) a few times a day for about 10 seconds at a time. When we can sense him stirring and showing signs of being a little more with it such as yawning or a cough, we have been asking him if he can hear us or if he is ok and he has nodded yes on a few occasions. Wether or not he fully understands the questions we ask, we are still taking this as a huge step as he is aware he is being asked a question, knows the correct response and is able to execute that response. He has also been moving his right arm up and down slightly.

We are fully aware this is a very long road and there is no telling yet whether or not he will improve anymore from where he is now or if this will be as much progress as he can make. It just helps to hear other stories and know that the progression is possible no matter what length of time it takes.

Many thanks again, Sam

[Hidden in reply to Stn89]

your dad seems a lot ‘ with it ‘ and that’s a very positive sign . I should think hel make a better recovery than most from his early response.

[Hidden]

you can direct message me for more information?

As it’s 4 years past tbi so a lot has happened since