Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Lack of Oxygen to the Brain leading to a Coma

My Father-In-Law had an ulcer in his stomach which caused his stomach to rupture causing severe pressure which cut off his oxygen supply and he went unconscious.  My husband tried to give him mouth to mouth resuscitation until the ambulance arrived approx 15-20 minutes later.  He has been in a coma for 2 days and is on a life support machine.  The only sign of any brain activity so far is that he is taking some independent breaths.  How long can someone go without oxygen before there is brain damage ?  If someone has been without oxygen for 15 minutes is there any hope that they can wake from a coma without any brain damage.  If there is brain damage, is it always severe or does it depend on each patient ?
44 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Hi, I read your comment i see that its from 2010...how is your uncle? How are you dealing? I'm in a similar situation with my father for the last two years, having hard time dealing with it still
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Am so sorry about all your loved ones...Like all of you, I am trying to understand the whys of it all.  My nephew was found unconscious due to drug overdose and low blood sugar (he's diabetic).  He has been in the hospital for three days and the doctors says that there is virtually no chance of recovery.  He is in a coma, but is breathing on his own and has movements of the arms and legs.  After 5 days, the doctors want a decision as to whether or not to take him off meds and let him pass away naturally.  From what I have been reading, that time frame seems way too short.  A patient needs time to recover and it seems as if the doctors have given up already.  It's just so sad...he's only 21!!
Helpful - 0
2 Comments
I'm curious about this as well. My cousin has overdosed with heroin and also has Huntingtons disease. At 30 yrs old he's in a coma and has been for 6 days. Now being treated with end of life care. No machines, but also no nutrients. Food and water are not given via Hospice or hospital in palliative care. I just don't feel like they are giving him a chance to recover. He just broke a 5 day fever and vitals are all normal. His breathing is now labored due to being dried up and other reasons I'm sure. It seems so inhumane and so fast. I feel my family is just giving up on him way too soon. 12-15 hrs without oxygen and brain damage increased from day 2 to day 4, but he had much more swelling and high fever. Any thoughts?
omg. i a m going through the exact same thing with my brother. he has been off everything for 4 days now and his vitals are all very good. how do you expect for anyone to recover after being left to dry up lke that. I told the doctors that ITS VERY INHUMANE!
Avatar universal
Hi there thaw same thing has happened to a friend of mine. I was wondering if its not too painful if you could tell me the outcome of your brother? He was without oxygen for about 20 mins and had also hung himself... its been 3 days is there any hope?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
If he had a heart attack is so different than cardiac arrest let me know. I do have information. ***@****
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My 28 year old friend was driving and suddenly felt sharp pains in his chest.. He asked his girlfriend to take the wheel and pull the car over he was able to control the pedals... He then had a heart attack its said he has 1% brain activity he's on a vent and they put him in a medically induced coma ... His girlfriend had their first child that next day . Do anyone know if he'll regain brain activity? We've been praying and praying
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Hi you can leave me a message at my Facebook page I went through a coma its north Queensland coma survivors support group
Avatar universal
My 28 year old friend was driving and suddenly felt sharp pains in his chest.. He asked his girlfriend to take the wheel and pull the car over he was able to control the pedals... He then had a heart attack its said he has 1% brain activity he's on a vent and they put him in a medically induced coma ... His girlfriend had their first child that next day . Do anyone know if he'll regain brain activity? We've been praying and praying
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My 28 year old friend was driving and suddenly felt sharp pains in his chest.. He asked his girlfriend to take the wheel and pull the car over he was able to control the pedals... He then had a heart attack its said he has 1% brain activity he's on a vent and they put him in a medically induced coma ... His girlfriend had their first child that next day . Do anyone know if he'll regain brain activity? We've been praying and praying
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My brother has been in a coma for 13 days after being attacked and left for dead.  He suffered a heart attack I believe it was 10ins before cpr brought him back. In ctu they put him in an induced coma and kept his heart etc cool. The doctors are not holding out much hope as they say that he has minimal brain activity.
He is breathing on his own and eyes flick open and is on minimal drugs and has a feeding tube. We don't want him to be in a vegative state. Should they really be giving him a ct scan or mri scan to be certain about brain activity? Has anyone been told this and the patient recovered?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
after reading your post I am wondering how all went? on Monday a friend of mine had the same thing happen, it has been 5 days now, she is in ICU, and the swelling of her brain is still so severe, is there any hope?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello, I had just read your post about your uncle.
I deeply apologize,  was he ever able to come out of it?
And if so what state was he I'm when he awoke. I'm sorry
To have bothered you but the same thing has happened with my father
Any answers will help. I thank you for sharing your story.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi
I cannot answer your questions about whether your brother will be OK.  I am looking at this site as I have a relative who is in a medically induced coma due to a serious motor bike accident.

However, my 12 year old son hung himself many years ago.  We had no idea anything was wrong.  We believe it was a spur of the moment impulse action and he didn't fully understand there would be no coming back from what he was doing.  I don't know how old your brother is but he may have just been feeling upset or depressed about something & just thought he would do that.  They are not really considering other people only how they are feeling at that moment.  It is hardest for the ones who have to deal with what has happened afterwards.  We live a long way from the hospital & the air ambulance got lost, everything that could go wrong did go wrong & it was too late for my son by the time he got to the hospital.

I really feel for you as I know what you are going through as my son who died had a younger brother.  There are people who can give you some support if you need it like the "compassionate friends" though I am not up to date on these groups now.

Don't blame yourself or any other members of your family.  It was just how your brother felt at the time.

It is a terrible path you and your family are traveling up and you will need to find a lot of strength to keep going on some days.  My youngest son was a quiet shy little boy but he had to come out of his shell.  He is now a very strong & confident person.  I cannot say what has happened has not affected any of our family as our lives were changed forever.  It is not something that we can ever get over, but it is something that with time the pain grows less. Your family needs to support each other & be strong.  

I wish I could wave a magic wand & make everything better for you but sadly I can't, so i will just send you my best wishes & hope things will turn out well for your brother.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've read almost all of your stories and it makes me have even more trouble understanding how this could of happen, why this has happen. Why couldn't he ask someone for help, why couldn't any of us see what was happening.  My brother hung himself 3 days ago,and by the time the ambulance got his heart beating once more, he had been without oxygen for 25 min. I'm losing my brother and i don't understand the **** why. I'm scared and i don't know what to do. I'm scared for my brother, and my mother because i don't know how much more of this she can take. pleas if there is any hope of him coming out of this without being a vegetable tell me.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My brother got really sick and kinda passed out while he was with someone( thank god) so they took him in to the hospital. They had to resuscitate him when he got there it was small hospital so they life flighted him over to a bigger one on the way there he died again. He was gone for a total of 12 mins. His oxygen was soo low they put him on oxygen where it still stayed low the doctors had to put an emergency artificial lung into him and prep him for the mayo clinic to be put on ECMO its and artificial lung and heart so his lungs could rest. He ended up having legionnaires disease. He was under sedation and on the ECMO for 4 weeks during that time they were not hopeful that he would come out of the sedetion or have brain function. It's been 7 days since the ECMO machine has been off and 5 days since they brought him out of sedation.  He came out of it and was responding to commands....Right now he will move everything and answer yes and no questions but I guess he just acts confused so they want to do a CT scan. HE is on dialysis because his kidneys are not coming back yet but every thing seems to be doing good. I hope the CT scan comes back and he is just confused my mom is going to go down there and we are hoping he jsut need something familiar we all had to leave the day after he was taken out of sedation. I hope all your loved ones come out of the comas with no brain damage and I pray my brother is ok too!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My sister in law overdosed on heroin and xanax last night .She is in the hospital right now, in a coma.When ems got to her she was already purple and blue and they guestimated that she had been without oxygen for 55 minutes. There has been no changes in behavior.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My best friend is in coma now. She had fever, which lead to a cardiac arrest. There was no oxygen supply to the brain for 10 minutes,. It has been 3 days now. Hoping for her to talk to me..God is great..Miracles are possible. Pray for Sasi..
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Never lose hope my father is 69 had a pacemaker for going on 8 years (which was shut off 2 months ago ), his heart only pumps at 5 % has 8%kidney function and cirrohsis of the liver. He had a seizure Sat and was unresponsive for 20 min. And according to the dr's he should not be able to communicate or move, he is in the hospital arguing with the nurses and talking to everyone . His speech is a little slurred but you can still understand what he is saying. NEVER lose hope and faith God is great and knows why things happen. My father should not be alive according to all the different Dr's that have taken care of him and yet he is still here fighting for his life.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle.  I understand exactly what you are feeling.  My mother, just a week ago, went in for neck surgery.  Surgery went fine, recovery was fine, but some time during the night, she aspirated and went without oxygen for approximately 30 minutes.  Why in the world the hospital didn't check on her but every hour I'll never know because she was 76 and had actually flatlined in their recovery room just 4 years earlier.

She, according to doctors, was in a severe coma and was not able to even  breathe on her own.  The brain didn't meet brain death criteria but was one step from it.  We ended up taking her off life support because there was no improvement whatsoever, and doctors said it was irreversible damage and would probably meet criteria for brain death within 48-72 hours.  I know she would not choose to live in a vegetative state if she had not been brain dead.  I believe we made the right decision as my Mom died within minutes of taking her off life support.

It was the hardest thing I've ever endured.  All I know is to pray to God that he will wrap your uncle in his loving and healing arms.  It's truly the only way I am getting through this.

I feel that the hospital was negligent in her case.  I'll pray for your uncle.  Keep hoping and keep the faith!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi im writing to see if anyone can give me any hope for my uncle, he took an overdose on sat night sunday am an was only found the next morning, so quite a long time to guess how long he possibly wasnt receiving oxygen to the brain, we we found him he was breathin bt had been sick and aspirated into his lungs, that at first was the main worry, now they are talkin about the fact due to his position when found he th oxygen may not have been getting to his brain for a period of time as he was liein in quite a confined space. since then he as been in acoma now for 5days without any form of sedation or medication, using a vntilator to maintain his airwaays and support his breathing, he is breathing a good bit on his own.  yesterday wen the family were in an talkin he made crying facial expressions and tears came, and today there was slight movement in his arm and legs, his eyes remain closed. is there any hope!? devasted neice x
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
So sorry to hear about your sister in-law. My family has a very similar story. my dad just said to me one evening that he had a sharp persistant pain in the middle of his back.  i tried to get him to describe the pain when i noticed he was short of breath it was very difficult for him to talk and he was in a lot of discomfort.  i called the paramedics, he was taken to the hospital and the diagnoisis was aortic dissection. We were told he needed emergency surgery ASAP so we consented. The surgery was 6 days ago and we are still waiting for him to awaken he also suffered kidney failure and was placed on dialysis, so far his kidneys have shown signs of improving a little. The Doctors have done the CT scan and the EEG both determined his brain is functioning but the medical staff doesn't know why he has not awakened.  the MRI is pending but i'll tell you this waiting has about drained us all......Thank you so much for sharing your story and allowing me to share mine...May God bless your family as well as mine.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My cousin is in the same situation as your dad. It's been nine days since his cardiac arrest I've been waiting for any posts that might give us some positive information and hoping that someone out there has the solution. We don't want to give up on him it's sad and difficult to comprehend. Prayers is the only thing we can do at the moment. God bless us all.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
my dad is having 2 cardiac arrest and having brain damage. he is opening his eyes but not responding its all most 15 days over. he is breathing on his own
but Doctors are not say any thing for brain recovery.so if any 1 is having any information about brain recovery plz share.God bless u all.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My sis in law had hyperension since the age of 20 , she is now 34yrs old.  She experienced chest pain and went to hosptal where they detected aortic dissection and performed emergency surgery with 20% survival chance. Within 24hrs of surgery her heart stopped due to internal bleeding. after 15 min they could get it started and brain lacked oxygen during that period. All EEG, CT scan reports say no activity in the brain and shows severe brain damage patches. We waited for 2 weeks she was still on ventilator and had other organs issues as well due to the impact of surgery. She has atlast opened her eyes but they dont react to light, they are like ball floating on the water, her legs moves some time and jerks at times. My father in law doesnt want to give up but Drs have given up and informed us that she will be in vegetative state if she starts breathing on her own. We all do not want to give her this life but it is hard to take such decision. Its been almost 2mths not and we cannot see any improvement in regards to her brain. They are last going to try with some current through her brain and see if she comes back to us. I hope things work out but if not we will take the support off after 1 week or so and hope she doesnt survive in that stage after the support is taken off.
I feel sorry for everythg and feel selfish at times but then i have to be practical as i know we wont be able to face the consequences if she stays inthat stage. I hope God would forgive me to encourage family for this decision btu i like her a lot from bottom of my heart. I although dont appreciate my Father -i-L to keep trying if no recovery is seen as this will have a great impact on our lives if she comes out of vent and survives inthat stage. I have cleared my heart and feeling better.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
What happened to your father? Going through the same thing with my brother.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
What happened?
Helpful - 0
2
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Neurology Community

Top Neurology Answerers
620923 tn?1452915648
Allentown, PA
5265383 tn?1669040108
ON
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
1780921 tn?1499301793
Queen Creek, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease