Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from www.intensivecarehotline.com , where we instantly improve the lives of Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care, so that you can have PEACE OF MIND, real power, real control and so that you can influence decision making fast, even if you’re not a doctor or a nurse in Intensive Care!
This is another episode of “your questions answered” and in last week’s episode I explained
“How many blood tests should my critically ill loved one have in Intensive Care per day?”
If you haven’t read it, you can check it out here.
In this week’s episode of “your questions answered” I want to answer another very important and frequently asked question of our readers at INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and the question that I want to answer this week is
“What could be the cause if my critically ill loved one is removed from an induced coma but still hasn’t woken up?”
Many critically ill Patients in Intensive Care, mainly if they have been admitted to Intensive Care after surgery, after accidents and/or if they require a breathing tube(endotracheal tube) for mechanical ventilation for their critical illness have been placed in an induced coma (What is an induced coma and why is my critically ill loved one in an induced coma?
The induced coma serves a specific purpose
The induced coma or artificial coma means that your critically ill loved one is getting intravenous drugs(sedatives such as Propofol or Midazolam and opiates such as Morphine and Fentanyl) that keep your loved one in a deep sleep so that
- most body functions are kept at a minimum to not stress the body and your loved one
- Tolerate the breathing tube(endotracheal tube) in your loved one’s throat and the mechanical ventilation as they couldn’t tolerate the breathing tube without the induced coma and without the sedation
- Your critically ill loved one’s body has time to recover and heal from surgery, accidents, head injury etc…
In any case, if your critically ill loved one requires mechanical ventilation and a breathing tube he or she will need to be induced in a coma temporarily.
Once the time is right, your loved one will be removed from the induced coma
If, however the time comes for your critically ill loved one to be removed or woken up from the induced coma there could be a delayed process for your critically ill loved one to actually wake up and come out of the induced coma.
If all the sedative drugs(such as Propofol and Midazolam) and opiate drugs(such as Morphine and Fentanyl) for the induced coma have either been completely switched off or have been significantly reduced so that your critically ill loved one should wake up in order to be taken off the ventilator and breathe by themselves and you find that there is a significant delay in your critically ill loved one waking up, after your loved one has been taken off the sedative and opiate drugs there is generally no reason to panic.
Related:
Several other reasons and factors may delay for your loved one to “wake up” and come out of the induced coma. So let’s look at those reasons that may delay for your loved one to “wake up” and come out of the induced coma
- Your critically ill loved one has too many sedative and opiate drugs in their body system and therefore those drugs have accumulated and delay for your loved one to “wake up”. Once the body has gotten rid of those excess sedative and opiate drugs your loved one will wake up if there are no other reasons that keep your loved one in the coma
- Your critically ill loved one has kidney or liver abnormalities that stop the body from clearing all the sedative and opiate drugs that are ‘floating’ in your loved one’s body system. Both organs, the kidney and the liver are responsible to not only process the drugs, but also to ‘get rid of the drugs’ after they have been in the body system
- Studies have found that with increasing age, it takes longer for a critically ill Patient to come out of an induced coma. As a rule of thumb, if your critically ill loved one is above the age of 60- 70, there can be a delay to come out of the induced coma
- Again, as a rule of thumb, the longer your critically ill loved one has been placed in an induced coma, the likelihood of a delayed and slower waking up process is increasing. You and your Family might have to be Patient
- If your critically ill loved one has head or brain injuries and is in an induced coma, there could be a significant delay in waking up. You can read the following articles to get more information about brain injuries or head injuries
Related:
Not enough oxygen supply to the brain could mean there is a delay as well
In some instances, especially if the Intensive Care team suspects that your critically ill loved one may not have had sufficient oxygen supply to their brain for a prolonged period of time, there could be a delay for your loved one to “wake up” from the induced coma as well
In any case, the most important thing for you to know is that you need to be Patient if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care, especially if they’re not waking up after the induced coma. The reality is that your critically ill loved one will recover and wake up in his or her own time.
You and your Family always need to make up your own mind
It’s also extremely important that you and your Family make up your own mind whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care
The last thing you want is to be at the mercy of the Intensive Care team and you want to have as much control, power and influence whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care.
How do you get to that all important feeling of control, power and influence whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care?
You’ll get the important feeling of control, power and influence by downloading your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” Report by entering your email below NOW!
In your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT you’ll learn how to speak the “secret” Intensive Care language so that the doctors and the nurses know straight away that you are an insider and that you know and understand what’s really happening in Intensive Care!
In your FREE reports you’ll also discover
- How to ask the doctors and the nurses the right questions
- Discover the many competing interests in Intensive Care and how your critically ill loved one’s treatment may depend on those competing interests
- How to eliminate fear, frustration, stress, struggle and vulnerability even if your loved one is dying
- 5 “killer” tips& strategies helping you to get on the right path to PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence in your situation
- You’ll get real world examples that you can easily adapt to your and your critically ill loved one’s situation
- How to stop being intimidated by the Intensive Care team and how you will be seen as equals
- You’ll get crucial ‘behind the scenes’ insight so that you know and understand what is really happening in Intensive Care
- How you need to manage doctors and nurses in Intensive Care(it’s not what you think)
Thank you for tuning into this week’s “your questions answered” and I’ll see you again in another update next week!
Make sure you also check out our “blog” section for more tips and strategies or send me an email to [email protected] with your questions!
Also check out our Products section where you get more Ebooks, Videos and Audio recordings and where you can also get 1:1 consulting!
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and I’ll see you again next week with another update!
Sincerely,
your Friend
Patrik Hutzel
Related Articles:
- What is an induced coma and why is my critically ill loved one in an induced coma?
- Why does my loved one need a Tracheostomy in Intensive Care?
- How long can a breathing tube or an endotracheal tube can stay in?
- My wife wants to die in Intensive Care after she had a lung transplant
- My mother sustained serious brain damage after a stroke and she now is in multi- organ failure
- My sister has been in ICU for 21 weeks with Tracheostomy and still ventilated. What do we need to do?
- Severe lung failure and my aunty is not expected to survive…
- My Family can’t agree on what’s best for my sister in Intensive Care…Help!
- Six weeks in Intensive Care after Cardiac Surgery and my mother isn’t getting any better…
- My husband is dying in Intensive Care, but we need more time…
- Why are Intensive Care staff often relaxed when the Alarm bells go off on the Monitor or ventilator?
- How much longer does my son need to stay in Intensive Care with Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
- How long can somebody stay in Intensive Care?
- How long does a cardiac arrest patient stay in Intensive Care?
- How long should a Patient be on a ventilator before having a Tracheostomy?
- How long is a Patient kept on a BIPAP machine in Intensive Care?
- What is an induced coma and why is my critically ill loved one in an induced coma?
- Tracheostomy and weaning off the ventilator in Intensive Care, how long can it take?
- How long does it take to wake up from a Traumatic brain injury or severe head injury?
- How long is my loved one going to stay in Intensive Care with Pneumonia?
- What is the prognosis after my critically ill loved one’s brain has not had sufficient oxygen supply(hypoxic brain injury)?
- How to stay positive if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care
- Why your critically ill loved one might need Dialysis(Kidney machine) or Haemofiltration for Kidney Failure(Renal Failure) and is having a Dialysis machine attached to them(Part one)
- How long your critically ill loved one can stay on a Dialysis machine and also what’s happening if your loved one needs Dialysis outside of Intensive Care(part two)
- The 5 things you need to know if your loved one is confused, agitated and delirious in Intensive Care
- What are normal visiting hours in Intensive Care?
- Does my critically ill loved one in an induced coma or with head injuries feel my presence?
- If my critically ill loved one has a breathing tube(endotracheal tube) do they need a chest x-ray daily?
- How many blood tests should my critically ill loved one have in Intensive Care per day?
- What could be the cause if my critically ill loved one is removed from an induced coma but still hasn’t woken