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hypoglycemic coma:cognitive damage/repair
by niomi, Dec 12, 2004 12:00AM
my fiancee went into a hypoglycemic coma(diabetes coma)he was in this coma for at least 4days. he has since then recovered most of his memory and cognitive skills. but he is having some short term memory loss and cognitive damage. He seems to be recovering but he's recovering without any intense rehabilitation. should he get intense rehabilitation? will he recover his memory and cognitive skills fully? doctor's are not giving me any answers. his actual rahabilitation is coming from me and his emediate family and freinds. I need some help from SOMEONE, ANYONE???!!!
Doctor's Answer
by JDRF-Team-sgg, Dec 13, 2004 12:00AM
I feel for both of you. Actually, nobody can really say what a person's brain is going to do when damaged by this kind of coma or an injury. Each person is different. From my readings, it appears that some short-term memory loss can happen if a person is severely hypoglycemic for a long period of time, but I frankly do not know of anyone with severe problems from this type of coma. I suspect that in time, he will recover fully or very close to fully.
My experience is as a type 1 diabetic for 35 years who has had her share of severe lows. For a number of years, I had lows in my sleep often enough to be concerned about death by hypoglycemia, and shortly after my second child was born, i did almost die from a hypo. But modern insulin regimens have brought back my hypo awareness and have removed the danger of severe lows with tight control, so I do not live in fear anymore. Although my memory may not be quite as good as my husband's, it never really WAS, and I do not feel that my intelligence has been impaired at all.
But all tightly-controlled diabetics have to walk that tightrope, and of course a slip can be dangerous. I am so glad that your fiance survived the experience. I do know that severe brain injury takes about a year to heal, for my son-in-law was ejected from a vehicle and nearly died from a head injury several years ago. He was in a coma for 14 days, and was severely impaired when he did recover his consciousness. However, a year later, he is very much as he was before, although short-term memory problems may always be part of his life now.
Now, your fiance's damage is probably not nearly as severe as my son-in-law's. Although nobody can say for sure how he will recover, I suggest that you continue to help him with memory and to stimulate his cognitive skills and then be very patient, for he will require lots of sleep while his brain recovers and this will take time. I suspect he will be fine as the months go by, but don't expect the recovery to take just a few weeks. It can be a lengthy process.
Most states offer state-sponsored brain injury therapy if you ask for it. I believe that the injury has to be significant in order to be eligible for this therapy, and your fiance may not be eligible. But it is worth making some phone calls -- your fiance's doctor may be able to tell you how to contact the brain injury office for your state. In my son-in-law's case, he was eligible, but opted not to participate, and he is now driving and working and living a pretty normal life. I suspect your fiance's damage is less than his and that he will recover better and faster.
Your fiance may do well with brain stimulation such as crossword puzzles, music, or just interesting conversation. This is just an idea to help you help him. Meanwhile, he needs to put together a safety net to make sure that this never happens again. The answer is NOT in raising overall glucose levels, for high glucose numbers can cause the complications that destroy quality of life later on. The real key is frequent glucose testing so you KNOW when glucose levels are rising or dropping. I suggest to folks who attempt tight control that they test not only before each meal and at bedtime, but also at least once in between each meal, so the tests happen every few hours. This way, the diabetic can see when a drop is happening and catch it before it gets serious. In my case, doing this works beautifully, and I can keep my tight control without fear of hypos.
Night-time is a little trickier, for 8 hours is a LONG time to go without checking. Drinking alcohol is dangerous for type 1 diabetics and so it is recommended that diabetics do not drink, especially at night, because hypos can result. Also, it is important that he eats early enough every evening to be still awake when his insulin is doing its peak work so nothing major is happening after he goes to bed. Late evening meals can be dangerous, for food is still digesting and insulin still peaking while the person sleeps. He should try to avoid this at all costs. And if a late meal happens, it may be smart to set an alarm clock and wake up a few hours after going to bed to check the glucose levels.
I do hope he will be OK. Please keep us informed about his progress.
My experience is as a type 1 diabetic for 35 years who has had her share of severe lows. For a number of years, I had lows in my sleep often enough to be concerned about death by hypoglycemia, and shortly after my second child was born, i did almost die from a hypo. But modern insulin regimens have brought back my hypo awareness and have removed the danger of severe lows with tight control, so I do not live in fear anymore. Although my memory may not be quite as good as my husband's, it never really WAS, and I do not feel that my intelligence has been impaired at all.
But all tightly-controlled diabetics have to walk that tightrope, and of course a slip can be dangerous. I am so glad that your fiance survived the experience. I do know that severe brain injury takes about a year to heal, for my son-in-law was ejected from a vehicle and nearly died from a head injury several years ago. He was in a coma for 14 days, and was severely impaired when he did recover his consciousness. However, a year later, he is very much as he was before, although short-term memory problems may always be part of his life now.
Now, your fiance's damage is probably not nearly as severe as my son-in-law's. Although nobody can say for sure how he will recover, I suggest that you continue to help him with memory and to stimulate his cognitive skills and then be very patient, for he will require lots of sleep while his brain recovers and this will take time. I suspect he will be fine as the months go by, but don't expect the recovery to take just a few weeks. It can be a lengthy process.
Most states offer state-sponsored brain injury therapy if you ask for it. I believe that the injury has to be significant in order to be eligible for this therapy, and your fiance may not be eligible. But it is worth making some phone calls -- your fiance's doctor may be able to tell you how to contact the brain injury office for your state. In my son-in-law's case, he was eligible, but opted not to participate, and he is now driving and working and living a pretty normal life. I suspect your fiance's damage is less than his and that he will recover better and faster.
Your fiance may do well with brain stimulation such as crossword puzzles, music, or just interesting conversation. This is just an idea to help you help him. Meanwhile, he needs to put together a safety net to make sure that this never happens again. The answer is NOT in raising overall glucose levels, for high glucose numbers can cause the complications that destroy quality of life later on. The real key is frequent glucose testing so you KNOW when glucose levels are rising or dropping. I suggest to folks who attempt tight control that they test not only before each meal and at bedtime, but also at least once in between each meal, so the tests happen every few hours. This way, the diabetic can see when a drop is happening and catch it before it gets serious. In my case, doing this works beautifully, and I can keep my tight control without fear of hypos.
Night-time is a little trickier, for 8 hours is a LONG time to go without checking. Drinking alcohol is dangerous for type 1 diabetics and so it is recommended that diabetics do not drink, especially at night, because hypos can result. Also, it is important that he eats early enough every evening to be still awake when his insulin is doing its peak work so nothing major is happening after he goes to bed. Late evening meals can be dangerous, for food is still digesting and insulin still peaking while the person sleeps. He should try to avoid this at all costs. And if a late meal happens, it may be smart to set an alarm clock and wake up a few hours after going to bed to check the glucose levels.
I do hope he will be OK. Please keep us informed about his progress.
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She was travelling & on her way back she was sleeping & when my Dad went to wake her up ,he found her unconsious @ about 5:00 am.By then she was unconsious for 10 days & doctors say that she is semiconscious now,coz hs opens her eyes,moves her limbs.But doesnt recognise any of my family members nor she speaks.
Please let me know more about this.
Thanks in Advance.