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People Who Were In A Coma Describe What It Was Like, Here Are 30 Of The Most Interesting Answers
A coma is a state of unconsciousness when a person is unresponsive and cannot be woken up. It can be caused by a number of reasons, including a severe head injury and even alcohol poisoning, and usually lasts a few weeks, during which time the person may start to gradually wake up and gain consciousness, or progress into a different state of unconsciousness.
The experience of being in a coma, however, differs from person to person, and those who emerge from it can have very contrasting memories. Interested in these recollections, Redditor u/jassandra asked other users: "Those who have been in a coma, what was it like?" And the comment section got full of interesting stories. Here are some of them.
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#1
Not me, but my dad has described his coma after his car accident. He was pulled up a little too far at a stop sign, and a guy who was speeding and on his phone swerved off the road.
So he was in a coma for about two months. On my end, it wasn’t like the movies. He didn’t just wake up miraculously. It was two months of steady improvements. One eye opened, then a few days later his other eye was half open, then he could wiggle a toe, then he could move his fingers, etc.
On his end, he said he could hear bits and pieces of what was happening around him, but it was like a dream that he couldn’t wake up from. When me and my two younger siblings would come in and talk to him, his heart rate would go down. When a football game was on and his friends came to sit with him and watch it, the nurses made them turn it off once his team started losing because his heart rate blew up.
Alicia Miller 4 years ago
My dad was in a coma for 2 months, after a very difficult heart surgery, which doctors didn't think he'd survive. He had a few memories of people talking around him but the thing that stuck was the darkness. He felt trapped in the dark, so much so that he hated the dark for the rest of his life. He never slept in the dark again.
Night Owl 4 years ago (edited)
I hope that never happens to me (about hating the dark). I like the darkness and I don't want that to change
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General practitioner, medical researcher, and founder of PrimeHealth Clinical Research, Iris Gorfinkel, M.D., told Bored Panda that it's a good idea to start talking about a coma by taking a look at a paper by Dr. Eelco and Dr. Coen, which explains how contemporary motion pictures shaped our understanding about this condition.
"True, it's old; it was done in 2006. But it's still relevant and informs us of the way people think," Gorfinkel said. Dr. Eelco and Dr. Coen looked at 30 different movies depicting a coma and found that the most common reason (18 out of 30 cases) for why people fell into it were motor vehicle accidents.
"What happens to these individuals who are comatose, they get up and suddenly, they're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, they literally open their eyes, they look great, they sound bright, and their makeup is even done," Gorfinkel recalled these pictures.
Next, the doctors pulled 72 viewers and asked them whether these movies seem realistic. The majority said no but 39% said they could potentially allow these scenes to influence decisions in real life, meaning that misrepresentation of a coma and awakening from it was common in motion pictures and has probably shaped an ill public perception of the condition.
RELATED:
#2
My wife was in a coma for about a month. I brought the kids to see her later after prepping them. Despite the initial shock at seeing her with a ventilator, they were vocally loving, hugged her, held her hand, etc. We sat in the room and talked. At one point, I asked the kids what their favorite vacation was. They both agreed it was the road trip we took from Vegas down to Arizona. My wife heard it all but in a hallucinatory way."
"We talked about driving all over and seeing all the incredible sights. We talked about rides and amusements along the way. It was nice, then they kissed her goodbye saying, 'See you soon.
My wife now has — nearly 10 years later — a vivid memory of a second Arizona vacation she went on with us. She even asked me early on after she woke up if we had gone on vacation recently. Her mind went through every detail we talked about and even added to it as if it all actually happened. The memories of it are as real as any.
There are different levels of a coma, ranging from very deep where the patient shows no response or awareness at all, to shallower levels where they respond to stimulation by movement or opening eyes. Still shallower levels can occur, where the patient is able to somehow reply to speech. The exact level of a coma is usually determined by the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS).
Now let's go back to the definition that we briefly introduced in the beginning of this text. What is a coma? "It's a state of prolonged unconsciousness [that] can last from days to years," Gorfinkel said. "Basically, for whatever reason, the brain is not getting the oxygen that it needs and that can happen because of trauma that can [be caused by] cardiac arrest. That actually accounts for a full quarter of why a coma happens. Stroke is another 20%. But it can also happen because of things like brain tumors and infections, whether viral, bacterial, or fungal. It can happen because of drugs ... [or] other toxins like alcohol, and also because of blood sugar (it's either too high or too low), because of heat ... What happens to these individuals is they simply stop responding to the things we normally do. They don't respond to light, they don't respond to sound, they don't respond to pain."
Gorfinkel pointed out that even though these people have their eyes closed, what they're experiencing is not sleep. "When we look at their brainwaves, the pattern is totally different."
#3
Not me, but my dad—he was in a coma for about a week after riding his bike head first into a telephone pole. He says that he remembers the accident itself, followed by an out of body experience. He remembers flying high above the scene of the accident and looking down at his body laying there lifeless. He remembers seeing a woman from the neighborhood rushing over to see what happened and other neighbors brought out a flat beach chair to put him on while waiting for the ambulance.
After he woke up from the coma and immediately broke down crying as the influx of stimulation and confusion poured in. His brain was stuck about 5 or 6 years in the past. He remembered his phone number, address, etc. but from years ago and he couldn’t remember the current info. It took about two weeks after coming to for his brain to catch back up to current day.
The spookiest part? He went to the house of the woman who he had seen first from “above” and asked if she had been the first to get there and other info about what he saw from outside his body and.... she confirmed all of it.
Pretty wild!
D K 4 years ago (edited)
Goosebumps… I had an out of body experience when I was choking, 4 years old. Except I was too young to have any real concept or understanding of death. I was “floating” at the ceiling looking at myself and my mother rushing into the room. I wasn’t scared. All I remember feeling was surprised and a little confused (how can I see myself from all the way up here??) it wasn’t until I was in my 20’s I randomly remembered the incident and realized it was an out of body, near-death experience. Another part of me thought it was maybe a dream. So I asked my mom if she remembered it and she said “yes… I picked you up off the floor.”
Cecilia 4 years ago
I've never told anyone, but I experienced something similar during my first brain cancer surgery, floating up to the roof and seeing myself and the doctors working on me. Those doctors confirmed that I had died for a minute or two in the middle of that surgery
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Seabeast 4 years ago
Lucky this turned out all right, but the first rule of first aid for a head injury is, don't move the person. You don't know if they might also have a spinal fracture.
Night Owl 4 years ago
Yes! And if you absolutely have to move the person, first stabilize the neck
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Wonderful 4 years ago
My father in law had a stroke and they removed his cerebellum, as he was coming out of it and finally able to communicate his memory stopped at around the time my husband was around 8 years old. It was crazy over the next few weeks he would gradually age up. My husband would be 12, 15, 17 and so on. He had no idea who I was until he got to the time period that my husband was 27 years old. That’s when we started dating. Then his dad actually acknowledged me and knew me. It was pretty wild. Eventually he was able to work again and drive a car even without his cerebellum but unfortunately the damage caused more issues and he died last year.
allan newstadt 3 years ago
I went into a coma for 10 days, after a bad reaction to anti epileptic drugs ( Steven Johnson Syndrome ). The hospital sent me to Hospice, who sent me home, with a nurse, to basically die at home. I woke up covered in huge, deep blisters covering +- 75% of my body, including in my mouth and nose. I have no recollection whatsoever, it was just like a long dreamless sleep. This was 19 years ago, and I am still covered in scars, that look like old burns. I have no memories of the coma, and just a handful of the 5 years preceding it! I remember my daughter being 3 years old, and then being 8 seemingly overnight. We were living in a house, that I never remember buying. Retrograde amnesia, I believe it's called. Zero stars, I would not recommend.
But those who are looking after coma patients undergo a lot as well. The pressure that they experience is horrendous. "They feel a full burden of care," Dr. Gorfinkel said. "Sometimes they even go into clinical depression. And the truth of the matter is, what they go through is very unlike what movies show because when most people emerge out of a coma, they are suffering very significant deficits. These include physical deficits (because if a person has not been moving for days, weeks, months, or years, they're going to have muscular atrophy from disuse) and intellectual disabilities. Their thinking may not be the way it used to."
Even if we disregard serious psychological difficulties, Gorfinkel said this goes with anybody who has been threatened with their life. "We see that 50% of people who have heart attacks experience clinical depressions. People who emerge from a coma struggle tremendously with very deep questions about life and its meaning." It's a very serious condition that can affect not just the person who plunges into it but also everyone around them.
#4
Not my story but on a previous post asking this question there was a guy who talked about having a whole second life while in his coma. He talked about vivid memories of his family and friends. He met a woman and they had kids together, then one day he was sitting in his lounge and started staring at this lamp. There was something off about it but he couldn't tell what. He stared at it. And kept staring all throughout the night... Then he realised the lamp wasn't real. Suddenly he started recalling his real life and woke up from his coma. He said that to this day he still grieves the loss of his family from the coma. I believe he said he sometimes sees his coma children in his dreams.
It was really interesting and depressing.
Ssss 4 years ago
I remember this. I've never gotten over it. Such a vivid description. The kind of story you see in the movies.
Gary 4 years ago
I keep going back to it as well. I believe it, left to my own devices I can imagine complete stories or evolution's of planets in my head. Add to this the dreams we have which seem so real and where you wake up coming back in to the real world with a jolt.
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Mister Ghost Foot 4 years ago
The lamp was red. It was giving off a red light and that's why he couldn't get over it. He stared at the lamp. He watched it. It was turned changing sizes and turning upside down. He heard voices after staring long enough and woke up surrounded by people trying to help him. Scary story if you've never heard it before.
Legen ( wait for it ) dary 4 years ago
That's so sad. Maybe he was remembering some kind of previous life.?
Death Metal Kitty 4 years ago
He claims still catching glimpses of his child from the corner of his eyes every now and again. Here's the repost if anyone wants to read --> https://www.reddit.com/r/Glitch_in_the_Matrix/comments/30t9kd/repost_a_parallel_life_awoken_by_a_lamp/
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Marcellus II 4 years ago
In the Sopranos there's also a plot where Tony dreams on and off of his life as a salesman, over several episodes.
Anne McKinney 4 years ago
There's a really good Star Trek TNG episode where Picard lives an entire second life. He has a wife and kid and everything.
#5
I know this will get buried but I’ll post my experience anyway. I went to the hospital with renal failure and a pulse ox reading of 32. I remember the nurse saying my pee looked like root beer and when she stabbed my arm to give me an IV all she said was “Uh oh...” My arm got really warm and my dad moved my head so I wouldn’t see how much blood was coming out. Next thing I know I’m in a hospital bed, tearing through the desert at 60+ MPH. Nothing but me and a hospital bed. No motor, nothing. Just cruising through the desert. I’d see all sorts of weird things, most specifically was Ronald McDonald. I saw him all the time. Then my hospital bed would come to a screeching halt and I’d be in the living room of someone I knew. Gramdma, good friends, former coaches... basically any living room I had spent time in with someone I cared about. The weird thing was the living rooms were always three walled. One wall was missing and beyond that wall was a barren desert. We would talk for awhile about god knows what, then I’d be pulled back into the desert cruising at 60 mph again. It happened over and over again. Sometimes the same living rooms would reappear, but almost all of them were unique. When I came out of the coma everyone kept commenting how good my hair looked. I couldn’t figure out why they kept saying that so I finally asked my mom how long I had been asleep. She said 13 days. And I had cards and flowers from all these people who’s living rooms I’d been visiting in my coma. It was surreal and I definitely can’t explain it. Especially since most of the cards came from people who weren’t allowed to visit me in intensive care and were sending well wishes in writing, not in person.
Lovin' Life 4 years ago
Maybe your mom had been reading you the cards and you heard what she was saying?
#6
10 days I don't remember anything about. Not sure if it is a blessing or a curse. Hit by a drunk driver. My wife and I lived, our daughter didn't.
To me that stuff on tv where the part wakes up and everything goes back to normal is bulls**t. When I woke up I was in a conversation with another pt. Air Force had sick bays, not individual rooms. I can only compare it to a computer, I had been hung in an update and then, flicker, new screen.
I had "woken up" several days earlier, but nothing stayed with me. My wife says I was paranoid that they were "putting acid in my I.V." because I was tripping. I was hostile and aggressive. I read the medical records, they kept me restrained for a couple of days after I hit an nurse. I started acting normal so they moved me from ICU to the sick bay.
The blessing is forgetting 10 days of some pretty intense pain. I was broken in a lot of places and bruised in all the rest. Never knew you could bruise some of them. That freaked me out.
The curse was I wasn't there when my wife needed me most. There is that tinge of guilt that she faced that grief alone for 10 days. I know, couldn't be helped. not my fault, but live through it and tell me how it feels.
Cold Contagious 4 years ago
Also so very sorry 😞, it's absolutely heartbreaking for all three of you.
Load More Replies... WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Despite drunk drivers killing people every day, the legislation in all countries is so damned lenient that the majority of them get away with fines, probational sentences and a temporary driving ban.
Nathan Pogorzala 4 years ago (edited)
The internet doesn't affect me emotionally, but this and the thought of my own children, hurt me.
Cecilia 4 years ago
Seabeast, sorry, but they deserve much worse punishment than that. I was hit by a drink driver too, literally changed my life into before and after
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Raven DeathShade 4 years ago (edited)
There are moments that the words don't reach; there is suffering too powerful to name. You hold your child as tight as you can, and push away the unimaginable. If you see him in the street, walking by himself, talking by himself, have pity. He has to live with the unimaginable.
#7
I can only compare it to when you’re little and wake up at a friends house and don’t know where you are. I was in a coma for 2 months after a bad car accident. It wasn’t medically induced, it was thanks to brain damage. When I woke up I was alone in the hospital room and had no clue what happened or why I was there. I had a neck brace on due to a broken neck so I figured something was wrong with my neck but was unsure how or what happened.
For some reason I thought I was 60 years old (I was in my 20s). I was paranoid and scared, but didn’t know why I was there. I used context clues to figure out I was in the hospital. It was frightening. After about 5 minutes I decided to go back to sleep. 2 months of sleep wasn’t quite long enough.
Von Haiklei 4 years ago
- If you woke up from a coma, what would be your first question? - 5 more minutes...? ;)
Ellie Rosser 4 years ago
Probably yes. Being in a coma is nothing like being asleep, it is not restful, it is actually exhausting to the body so sleep would be a good idea.
Load More Replies... #8
I was in a medically induced coma for 3 days during my cancer treatment. My identical twin brother died around a year prior (also to cancer) and the entire time I was in the coma, I was with him. We were in a large green field with lots of sun and my conversations with him felt real.
Other than that, I didn’t hear any of my family talking to me while I was asleep. It was just like I had gone to bed for 3 days, and I woke up feeling very tired.
I do wonder whether my interactions with my twin brother were real, or if it was just the drugs I was given causing them
T J R 4 years ago
I believe they were real. In 1997, I lost one of my closest friend's in a tragic accident. My brother was best friend's with his brother, so they were also close friends. A few months after his death I had a dream that me and him were sitting on a couch in an open space (hard to explain). He said he wanted to let me know that he was okay and that he could still hear me any time I wanted to talk to him. He made sure I understood that he was okay, it was very important to him. The next morning I told my brother about my dream. He had the same dream - on a couch talking and needing to understand our friend was okay. I truly believe that it happened, that he came to visit both of us and we had a long conversation.
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago (edited)
In a dream a dear friend who had died in a drowning accident appeared & told me he had come to see me. We had a discussion about how this wasn't real, but just a dream because he's dead. He kept saying he wasn't. To prove he was not dead he asked for my hand. When I gave it to him he blew on my hand 3 SEPARATE TIMES. It felt absolutely real. Warm even. He asked if I could feel that & when I answered that I did, he then told me that if I could feel that it means he's not dead. He then said "THATS HOW YOULL KNOW ITS ME". ???🤔 All caps for emphasis of importance. 8 months later I'm at my dad's bedside & he's dying. He's pretty out of it. At one point he reached for my hand, brought it to his lips & blew on my hand 3 SEPARATE TIMES and then gave me my hand back. It hit me like a ton of bricks. "THAT'S HOW YOU'LL KNOW IT'S ME". My friend was letting me know he's there. My dad never even knew my friend existed. But there was my friend letting me know he is there. I've got my proof. I have no doubt.
Load More Replies... Lovin' Life 4 years ago
I would like to think it was real and be happy that you got to spend some unexpected time with him. That's awesome and not everyone gets that opportunity
David Robertson 4 years ago
Twins are unique, I had an event as a child when my brother was seriously ill in hospital with meningitis I was ill for a single day. The doctor was at my home five times that day. They telephoned the hospital the following day and found out my brother had started to get better. This happened over 60 years ago, Doctor had to go to a neighbour's house to telephone, most people didn’t even have a house telephone then. Hospital was over 30 miles away.
Raven DeathShade 4 years ago
The ones we love never really leave us. They are always there, watching us and helping us to grow. I lost an online friend in April of 2020. I now have a lasting regret because if I went back on the site earlier, I could have spoken to her one last time. The most saddening thing was that my mother asked if I was going to rejoin shortly before she died, but I forgot to. I never even told her my real name, and she was one of my biggest supporters in my writing.
#9
2 weeks induced because of Swine Flu. During this time Oprah announced she was ending the Oprah Winfrey Show. I was very upset to learn this after the fact. Mostly because the tv running in my room + the drugs they gave me to keep me under gave the most cinematic dreams I've ever experienced - somehow the news of Oprah retiring filtered into my brain as dreaming about saving the whales with her in a submerged Chicago. We had champagne brunch. It was excellent. I was also a superhero who could fly and fought my enemies on the rims of volcanoes.
And then I woke up and not only could I not fly, but my buddy Oprah had betrayed me into retirement. I was crushed.
#10
I had meningitis when i was 12, which got misdiagnosed for stomach flue and ended up with me being taken to the hospital last minute. The last memory i had was 'falling asleep' watching the emergency news on the Brussels airport attack. I later on had a sort of fever dream, which ended up to be true, about my parents driving me to tge ER saying 'it's ok' over and over again. I couldn't move or talk, so it seemed more like a dream than something that was actually happening. I saw the lights of the ER parking lot which made me close my eyes and after that it was like taking a nap. I had no awareness of time at all, it's like going to sleep and just waking up what feels like a second later but it's actually morning already. I woke up 6 days later, highly drugged but only gained consciousness the day after. My first 'memory' after waking up is opening my laptop in the hospital bed to play minecraft, i have no idea what happened or what i said when I woke up before that.
RaroaRaroa 4 years ago
That's what any kind of sedation feels like. One second you're wide awake, then you wake up. It feels like no time has passed, but it's 40 minutes or in this case 6 days later. Not saying you were sedated, but when you're out, you're out and you have no concept of time passing if you're not dreaming.
#11
I was in medically induced coma for about a week.
The coma itself is not much to talk about - there is just a gap in your memory, even from before it happened (I don't even remember the accident that brought me there in the first place).
Waking up from it is much different story though. Since I was fully dosed by painkillers and sedatives and whatnot I was basically high as kite and since the trauma I suffered was very serious my brain constructed very stressful, vivid nightmares I remember to this day.
#12
My daughter was in a medically induced coma for two days from a drowning accident. She made a full recovery, but the things she told us about freaked me out but my wife kind of knew and accepted it.
Imagine having your three year old tell you about playing mermaid tea party with your dead parents. Then describing how she was denied being able to come into the gates of Heaven because St. Patrick told her it wasn’t time yet. (I know it’s supposed to be St. Peter, but I wore a shirt that reads St. Patrick is my homeboy and she exclaimed excitedly that she met him).
The after effects have been extremely weird. Mentally she is ok, physically and emotionally okay, but she sees ghosts. I could write a whole r/nosleep series on what she sees and the things she has said. The most recent one was a few months ago after her uncle/my brother in law passed suddenly.
Lovin' Life 4 years ago
Glad she is okay. And maybe you should write a book, at least for yourself and your daughter
memyselfandI 4 years ago
Have you heard of the book Heaven is for Real? It’s about another kid who had a similar experience and what his parents ended up learning from him about what happened. It’s really a fascinating story.
Lynn Morello 4 years ago
Never tell her that these people/ghosts are not real, they are real people, they will never harm her, they will always look after her. She has been switched on and is linked to the other side, telepathically, she will have this all her life. Encourage her and accept what she tells you., Please.
Wednesday 4 years ago
encourage her to learn how to protect herself while still remaining open. It's a tough walk, and a curse as much as a gift, and not a damn person will believe her (so she really should learn how to mention things without saying how she knows them) but it's an extraordinary thing to be able to do... And she need not engage with the things she sees ( not really ghosts, but that's a whole other thing), in fact, she probably should lean how to make them go away.
#13
In 2016 I was in a coma from March 31 to May 5, then half awake for another month after that.
It was like the longest scariest dream of my life. I was medically induced by a fentanyl drip for about a week at first and let me tell you, fentanyl is a demon. Whacky dreams about fighting corrupt hospital officials, so my brain knew where I was.
They didn't think I'd ever talk or walk again, but in the hospital bed I laughed at an episode of That 70s Show and inclined every day after. Putting me at about 85% health overall these days. But pretty much an average guy.
Oh it was a head injury, had a seizure in the bathroom that made me fall onto the sink.
#14
When I was in 5th grade I fell out of a tree and bonked my head pretty well. I woke up 3? days later in the hospital. For me, the experience is easily summarized in three parts:
When I fell, I blacked out before I hit the ground... or at least that is where memory fades. And "fades" is really the best word. It was as if my consciousness was drained away and then blackness and nothingness. It was as if my body knew how badly it was going to hurt and so it shut down.
I have very, very, very, vague memories while in the coma of hearing my Dad reading a book, or my Mom telling me that she knew I would pull through, or of a tube in my nose. But these were always super fuzzy moments and I never was conscious during them, it was more like a half second of being aware of one particular thing--the way the tube felt being taped against my arm and wishing I could reach out and move it--and then back into the nothingness. I think that I was somewhat aware of the fact that I was a little more aware each time that this happened but honestly I am not certain of even that much.
Waking up was sudden. So, so sudden. I was in blackness. Had a moment of awareness, like "my neck hurts" and then the pain was magnitudes higher. No longer a distant perception but something that I was actively conscious of. Waking up was the most painful moment of my life and I just started crying and then couldn't even cry it hurt so bad. I think that had more to do with injuries sustained to my neck and head than the coma, but that is what it was like. After an hour my body was used to the pain and I was totally normal, albeit very weak, hungry, and thirsty.
I survived and am fine now without any lasting issues.
Eglė Bukauskaitė 3 years ago (edited)
a friend was hit by a car while riding his bike. A 25/26 year old with decent career got reset to a 17 year old. We knew each other for good 5 years at a time, but he did not remember me and did not seek my help - no hard feelings, understandable. Most interesting fact is after his recovery, 10 years later: memories are still lost, he moved to another country, through trials and errors, career experiments and expat life... he got himself to exactly same spot as he was before the accident. Career (the one he used to hate), family life (he was not married nor still is) and even personality are the same! At some point he even reached out to me asking to rekindle - so our "relationship" is also at a stalemate it was back then.
#15
I was in one for three weeks after a brain aneurysm ruptured. I don't remember anything. I remember waking up in rehabilitation confused and weak. I atrophied so badly, I'm 6' 4" and was like 150 pounds when I woke up. I'm now like 210. I also grew two inches. All around would not recommend if you can avoid it. But better than being an organ donor. Edit: not to disparage organ donors!! My family is under explicit instructions from me that I want anything they can use donated. Either to people, or science, I'm just grateful I get to use them for a while longer!
over it already 4 years ago
Amen - donate all day the pieces after you're done with them, but stick around as long as you can.
Rider 4 years ago
Same, except no keeping any part of me in a jar even my ashes. There are enough dead relatives in the closet, no thank you.
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Lovin' Life 4 years ago
What a great way to show your appreciation to a nearly lost life. I am also a donor
#16
Was hit by a car when i was 5 years old. Ended up with toxic shock syndrome and went into a coma for 4 months. I just remember some very weird 'dreams,' which i can still recall vividly 26 years later. Someone mentioned something about visiting another realm, and that's pretty close to the mark.
#17
I was in one for like 2 weeks I would not wish it on anyone. For me I was in a long dream. I did realize I was asleep for a long time. I was still able to feel and hear, which was interpreted into my dream. Example: My hands were restrained so I would not pull out any tubes and my dream was that I was being held in a prison.
#18
I was in a medically induced coma last year after a cardiac arrest. I remember nothing from the day it happened to when I woke up. It just feels like I existed, then suddenly I didn't, and then I did again. It's the craziest feeling going from sitting at my desk in my office to waking up in a hospital bed and learning over a week of your life has passed. I wish I could say I remembered anything my loved ones said to me while I was "asleep," but I don't. All I remember is opening my eyes and hearing my mom say, "Cinnamonbun, you're in the hospital, your heart stopped but you're okay now."
PurpleDoople 4 years ago
I think it’s their real name being replaced by their username for the post
Load More Replies... #19
I was in coma because I fell 15 meters and broke nearly all of my the bones in my back and it was horrible. When I woke up I thought the nurses were torturing me and that I need to escape. I started hallucinating a lot and couldn't even understand that I am in hospital. The biggest problem were my dreams. I thought I was a time traveler or some kind of God. I thought I was shot by the police and other s**t. I still have flashbacks to this day and it is no fun. But I am getting therapy to deal with it. And I could watch p**n in my dreams so yeah. It was confusing and horrible at the same time. 0/10 would not do again
#20
I was put in a medically induced coma after a car accident in which the driver fell asleep at the wheel, swerved off the road, and my car flipped over three times. I suffered a brain bleed and traumatic brain injury, and was operated on, with the doctors removing a piece of my skull to relieve the pressure. I was put under for three weeks, and I remember distinctly having a two week long dream. I don’t really know how I knew it was two weeks long, but I had a variety of really weird dreams.
The dreams included scenarios like: 1) I was a box of ginger ale, and I was in a race against a box of Dr. Pepper in a supermarket. We both had a shopping cart we were on, and I barely won against the Dr. Pepper. After that I wanted ginger ale for weeks. 2) something involving a bunch of ninjas and a boat and an assassination that was going to occur. 3) I was a fish stuck in some kind of enclosure that I had to escape. 4) I was in some kind of turf war with my fraternity (they were just my friends) against a rival fraternity, and we both had battleships. Gravy and mash potatoes were involved somehow. 5) I was trying to escape this hospital I was at but I was too weak to walk and could not figure out how to get out of my bed for the life of me.
When I woke up three weeks later, I was a little confused and had to piece together what happened from bits and pieces the doctors had told me. I would laugh very easily, like just from random phrases my friends who would visit me were saying to me. I had to undergo rehab for three months afterwards, learning how to walk and talk again. The doctors told me that my recovery was pretty fast. I still suffer from impaired concentration and energy levels, and I managed to get prescribed adderall for that issue. One positive out of that, I guess.
Brandon Marlowe 4 years ago
Congratulations on your recovery so far. I hope it continues until you are as good as new!
Carol Emory 4 years ago
I would say that most of your weird dreams were probably based off conversations people were having in the room or from broadcasts on a TV.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
When "Getting an Adderall prescription" is jotted down as a positive, you know in which country that person is living.
#21
I was in a medically induced coma for about a week. I was metabolizing the propofol (sp?) Very quickly, I can remember coming to, my hands strapped to the bed and a ventilator tube in my throat. I would panic and try to communicate with my hands to the voices I heard in the room. My entire family was in the room during one of those times waking up, I was so frustrated that I couldn't communicate I ended flipping them all off with both hands as the nurse administered more medication and I passed out again. My family was relieved that I was still in there and laughed. When I finally came out of the coma it took me a few days to learn to use my legs again, I had the craziest most vivid hallucinations and my sense of what is real and what was a hallucination is still kind of fuzzy. I know the totem pole of people smoking a cigar and blowing all of their collective smoke through the hole in the roof wasn't real, that's so crazy it's obvious. But I don't know if all the nurses, conversations with family members are real. I still question my memories to this day and it's been about 8 years. Opiates are are a f***ing dangerous drug kids, be careful and do your research on harm reduction. I wouldn't wish an overdose on anyone.
Cold Contagious 4 years ago
That must've been a scary experience and yes, opiates will send you on a very unwanted trip, some that you won't come back from.
Faith Nicole 4 years ago
I know they can only use certain drugs for comas but why use an opiate to put them under? You would think it would be another type of drug with an opiate for pain management whole under. I was an addiction for may years and the things I "saw and felt" the withdrawls.. why would you do that do someone in a coma?! I am so glad that this person and all the ones above this story have recuperate and are doing better but I can't imagine the s**t they went through in their dreams!
#22
My wife was in a diabetic coma for 2 weeks when she was in elementary school. She knew her sugar was low, then all of a sudden she woke up in the hospital with absolutely no idea that any time had passed.
Lovin' Life 4 years ago
That's scary. I am diabetic and my doctor preaches the point that most people never recover from a diabetic coma
#23
My best friend was in a medically induced coma for 2 weeks and he truly believes he fought the devil in the depths of hell and then had a talk with God on a mountain about it. He says God told him he could never be this weak again. He also thought he got a make-a-wish and went on an elk hunt. He woke up and asked his wife when his elk would be back from the taxidermist
#24
I was in a medically induced coma for a month, and in multiple organ failure during it too. I really love horror movies and books and unfortunately I think I gave my brain too much material for hallucinations. I spent the whole time thinking I was being vivisected and tortured in a government lab in New York.
Bored Birgit 4 years ago
That's one reason I don't read/ watch horror, because I think my brain will have too much weird stuff for dreams. Or a coma.
#25
I was in a medically induced coma for 1 week after getting run over by a car. I didn’t remember anything that happened weeks before the accident or the accident itself and when I was told what had happened I genuinely thought they where joking so I started laughing. Apparently I also knew the exact date and day when I woke up without having to be told which is the weirdest thing about it.
#26
Similar experience, drip and all, but I had guillain-barré syndrome. I dreamed/hallucinated that my younger sister was dead, cut in half, and they were making me lay on her severed body. When I woke up the first thing I asked was how she died and everyone looked at me like I was crazy. There were actually many times I believed they put a random dead body in my bed. Another one I had was about the nurses encasing me in concrete, I was paralyzed so that's just how my brain processed it. I was aware of people talking to me and being with me, I just couldn't communicate and my brain processed everything in this weird dream world.
#27
I had a motorcycle wreck a few years ago. Someone texting blew a stop sign and 8 ended up t-boning them. Not sure if coma is the correct term, but I was definitely unconscious for two days, honestly just felt like the worst, least refreshing nap in the history of naps. Had the wreck on a Sunday, woke up sometime Tuesday afternoon/evening and asked if the bike was ok.
It wasn't.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
I wonder if victims of drunk drivers still get their claims covered by the insurance company of the drunk driver in all countries? In the Netherlands the insurance has to cover all the damages the drunk driver caused and they will have to try and get their money back from the driver. Wonder if this is the same in other countries?
over it already 4 years ago
Good question. I would assume here (US) that they should, but can 100% see an insurance company denying claims for any reason at all, including this. Also, unfortunately the habitual drunks have often had their licenses revoked so they have no insurance but that doesn't physically stop them from driving. I have a neighbor like that - even switches registration plaques amongst different cars/trucks before heading out on the road. Rage-inducing neighbor.
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Jane Alexander 4 years ago
First concern of all who ride/wreck the chrome pony; "Ah, what have I done to my Bike?"
#28
I was in a coma for around a month. The month went by super fast, like half of a second, but here's the weird part. My family and friends came to check on and talk to me during the coma. I remember what they said, but don't know when they said it.
Eunice Bentley 4 years ago
I remember very little about the 10 days I was in a medically induced coma. I do have a very vivid memory of a sweet little blonde nurse walking past my bed with a hand on her hip and saying "if she needs a transplant I got lots to donate." I had no idea what she was talking about. Necrotizing facsiitis had consumed some of my lower back, and the surgeons cut away the damaged tissue but I didn't know about that for a few days after being brought out of the coma. Mid-morning I thought it was midnight and just wanted to sleep. Memory came back slowly bit by bit. Much to my children's annoyance I do not remember them visiting me.
#29
It was odd. And very interesting.i think you'll like this answer, it may be unique. I was playing a lot of Halo 4 at the time, and I also had that weird Android Galaxy live wallpaper, so when I was knocked out for over a month I saw that Galaxy spinning around as if it were a Halo 4 loading screen AND what's really weird is I remember that odd thing being at the bottom right of the screen that said "Don't turn off your Xbox 360 console" Honestly being there, too. kinda weird and cool.. idk. I was in that area of my mind for about 30 seconds and then I woke up.
#30
It was dark. I was in one for 4 months a couple of years ago, and it didn't feel like 4 months, just like a long sleep, with the occasional memory of my mom crying or begging me to wake up. I remember this vividly, I woke up in the hospital, surrounded by my friends and family and the first thing I remember asking was
"You should have posted this with the serious tag"
#31
My dad was in a coma for 3 weeks after suffering a pretty bad traumatic brain injury. He describes it as being caught in a dream where you can't fully understand anything going around you--garbled voices, no concept of time except light and darkness. He said he wanted to scream and yell out to everyone talking to him, but he couldn't. He said it was hell.
#32
A kid I went to middle school with spent 5 months in a medically induced coma waiting for a new heart. He said that in dream-time it was equivalent to several years during which he could fly and was stronger, but also had to fight clowns with chainsaws. He was aware that he was in a coma but couldn't really do anything about it (obviously.) Interestingly enough, there was a point in this dream where he was tasked with doing something that was literally impossible and he was somehow able to do it. In the real world, I believe medical professionals at one point said it was literally impossible for him to recover (I'm not sure what health complications were happening during this time, or if this was pre or post-transplant.)
#33
I was in a medically induced coma for just shy of 7 days. It's hard to explain, I remember it but I don't. When I think back to that time, I just remembering seeing the color black. I also remember feeling very peaceful, and calm. It's the feeling that sticks with me when I remember that time, a nice calm serenity.
#34
I was in a medically induced coma for four days. When I was woken up, I was extremely disoriented. I could barely sit up. It was basically like being asleep though. I started to remember some of the dreams I had. My muscles were weak and sore from lack of use. Also, apparently my brain made a song out of the rhythmic mri machine noises that was the ongoing soundtrack of my coma. I didn’t realize that’s what it was until I had to go get an mri well after waking up.
Faith Nicole 4 years ago
Coma soundtrack- haven't heard that one yet throughout these stories. That is crazy. I wonder if this person got in front of a piano or some other instrument if they could play the mri soundtrack, would love to hear what it sounded like. Glad this person was alright. I cant imagine how scary it is being awake one day going about your life then all of a sudden, darkness and crazy dreams for a period of time, to waking up not being able to move your body without a fight, no memory and mass confusion.
#35
I was in a medically induced coma after being resuscitated from a sudden cardiac arrest I remember bits and pieces from a few days leading up to it and some of the days after but nothing from during. Apparently when I woke up I had false memories from what happened thinking I had fallen into a frozen lake because while I was in the coma they were keeping me covered in ice to keep my body temperature low to save my brain.
#36
I wasn't in one for long (just under a week). While I was in the coma, I didn't remember a thing. When I came out of it, I just remember hearing my mom yell to the attending "HE'S UP!". Then I woke up with a bunch of white coats in the room. I was super stiff and incredibly confused.
Oddly enough, I kept having vivid dreams of myself in the coma after the fact. Still have them to this day. They're almost like an out of body experience because I can see myself laying in the bed with people around me.
#37
It felt like a series of dreams, i think i was a detective at one point, also a plane pilot and a spaceship captain.
#38
I was in a very short coma (6 days) after a brain hemorrhage. I recall nothing during the coma. I have a fuzzy understanding of my first week or two after waking up, having pieced it together by the stories I was told. And memories of the day (days?) leading up to it were temporarily wiped out, though they have since returned. This was over a decade ago, so take this with a grain of salt. My memory in general is imperfect at best.
#39
I got in a dirt bike accident during the summer between grade 8 and 9. I don’t remember much about the day or two before...just kind of flashbacks like a dream. I woke up in the hospital a day or so later. To me it was like sleeping all of a sudden I woke up. I did have some memory loss though which lasted for a couple of hours. This memory loss was different then just not remembering the day or so before. I woke up and although I knew my parents and everything I didn’t remember the previous few years of school (like graduating from grade 8). It was a full on panic attack. I though I was going to have to repeat a couple grades and then essentially I was mentally handicapped (this was in the 80’s, so I didn’t use that exact term). Everything did come back...but that hour after waking up still haunts me.
#40
I was in a coma for almost three months. I had a few vague dreams of people standing very close and shouting that I would be okay. I later met my chief surgeon (several operations while I was out) and nurses. While I didn't recognize any of them, their voices were very strongly familiar. Otherwise, I lost all memory from a few hours before the coma to waking up in a different hospital.
#41
I was in a coma for two hours after a car accident it just flashes then blackness for what feels like a few seconds then you wake up.
What do you think ?
Sarah Luna 4 years ago
I wish I had memories like that. I was in a coma for about 8-10 days. Or maybe longer... I don't know, I was sleeping. I had a brain aneurysm that caused a stroke and my first real memory was in a rehab hospital. I'd been to three other facilities before I got there and don't remember a damn thing. It's probably for the best, it's been a rough ride.
christie lowe 4 years ago
My boyfriend was hit by a truck on Halloween when he was 5. It dragged him about 30 feet and left his foot attached only by an artery. He was hospitalized until the day before Christmas. About a month later, his mom took him to a doctors appointment and as they got into the elevator, he asked a man "Where is your gun?" The man and his mom started talking and they discovered that he was the first responding officer on the scene when my boyfriend was hit. And he was in plain clothes in the elevator novni Thofficer wasalmentioned
christie lowe 4 years ago
The officer also mentioned he called my boyfriend in as a fatality
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Kyndal T 4 years ago
My mom was put into a medically induced coma 5-6 years ago. She'd had pneumonia for a few days and couldn't breathe so she went to the hospital and they had to intubate. I was up there for 3 weeks before she was stable enough to be brought out of it and even then it took a few days for her to wake up. I still have nightmares about the crazy look in her eyes and the weird garbled nonsense she kept muttering under her breath while twitching all creepily. It only lasted one day but it gave me chills. Terrifying to see someone you know and love not being (or even knowing) themselves. She died a few years ago. Flu leading to pneumonia. Don't do drugs or smoke, kids. You'll die gasping for air while your heart just slows down and gives up. You don't wanna go through that and your family shouldn't have to either.
Lord Mysticlaw 4 years ago
I'm healthy and not major accident prone so I have no experienced to share. But earlier this year 3 members of my family all got covid at the same time (mom dad and daughter all living in the same house). Within a few days they were all admitted to hospital and placed in induced comas. The dad passed away and on the same day the mom and daughter had major setbacks. Then the mom passed away and the daughter had another major setback. Eventually the daughter passed away too. On the one hand we're kind of grateful that none of them ever woke up and had to hear that their loved ones didn't make it. But on the other hand... it would seem like they very clearly knew and grieved even though they weren't even awake.
memyselfandI 4 years ago
If anyone’s interested, I’ve read two books about stories like this that are actually really interesting. The first one is Heaven is for Real, it’s a true story of how a very young boy had a near death experience and went to heaven, then came back and later on told his parents the story over several years. The book is from the point of view of the parents learning what happened, and it’s fascinating to read. The second is fiction, but it’s What Alice Forgot. It’s about a middle aged woman who hits her head and loses all memory of the past ten years. She thinks she’s happily married, pregnant with her first child, and 30 years old, but then learns she’s actually 40, with three kids, a best friend who recently died, and an ongoing divorce process. The book is about how she learns to cope with the “new” reality and slowly gets bits and pieces of her memory back. No idea how accurate to actual experiences it is, but it’s a good story.
Rita Shapiro 4 years ago
The first book turned out to be fiction too. The boy eventually dropped the dime on his dad who apparently put him up to the lie.
Load More Replies... Seabeast 4 years ago
My partner's sister was unconscious for about a week before she died at home. I don't know if it was actually a coma, but she didn't really respond to anything. The palliative care nurses that came in to care for her told us to talk to her, as the sense of hearing is apparently the last thing to go.
Carol Emory 4 years ago
Closest I've ever been was being 10 years old playing tag in a neighbors backyard. They were renovating their bathroom and had the old tub sitting out on the backyard lawn. I was running to avoid being tagged and fell into the tub banging my chest on the edge. I knocked the wind out of myself and couldn't breath. I ran to the back door where I could see all the parents inside talking around the table. I blacked out. As soon as the lights went out, I heard what sounded like a child screaming...just one long scream. I woke up and saw my friend's father leaning over to pick me up. He had panic in his voice. "Are you OK?!?" "I'm fine" I said...like this kind of stuff happens everyday. My mom didn't take it so well since it was the second time I was injured playing tag. Guess who was banished from playing tag anymore...LOL.
Faith Nicole 4 years ago
Just wow. So glad all of these people survived & were able to share their experiences. I would never wish this on my worst enemy! So scary, the confusion in itself can be traumatic let alone eventually being told or remembering what put you in the coma. Some of the dreams these people experienced were nightmares that literally wouldn't stop. Praying I never ever am in a situation that will cause this type of trauma on myself.
Sarah Luna 4 years ago
I wish I had memories like that. I was in a coma for about 8-10 days. Or maybe longer... I don't know, I was sleeping. I had a brain aneurysm that caused a stroke and my first real memory was in a rehab hospital. I'd been to three other facilities before I got there and don't remember a damn thing. It's probably for the best, it's been a rough ride.
christie lowe 4 years ago
My boyfriend was hit by a truck on Halloween when he was 5. It dragged him about 30 feet and left his foot attached only by an artery. He was hospitalized until the day before Christmas. About a month later, his mom took him to a doctors appointment and as they got into the elevator, he asked a man "Where is your gun?" The man and his mom started talking and they discovered that he was the first responding officer on the scene when my boyfriend was hit. And he was in plain clothes in the elevator novni Thofficer wasalmentioned
christie lowe 4 years ago
The officer also mentioned he called my boyfriend in as a fatality
Load More Replies... Kyndal T 4 years ago
My mom was put into a medically induced coma 5-6 years ago. She'd had pneumonia for a few days and couldn't breathe so she went to the hospital and they had to intubate. I was up there for 3 weeks before she was stable enough to be brought out of it and even then it took a few days for her to wake up. I still have nightmares about the crazy look in her eyes and the weird garbled nonsense she kept muttering under her breath while twitching all creepily. It only lasted one day but it gave me chills. Terrifying to see someone you know and love not being (or even knowing) themselves. She died a few years ago. Flu leading to pneumonia. Don't do drugs or smoke, kids. You'll die gasping for air while your heart just slows down and gives up. You don't wanna go through that and your family shouldn't have to either.
Lord Mysticlaw 4 years ago
I'm healthy and not major accident prone so I have no experienced to share. But earlier this year 3 members of my family all got covid at the same time (mom dad and daughter all living in the same house). Within a few days they were all admitted to hospital and placed in induced comas. The dad passed away and on the same day the mom and daughter had major setbacks. Then the mom passed away and the daughter had another major setback. Eventually the daughter passed away too. On the one hand we're kind of grateful that none of them ever woke up and had to hear that their loved ones didn't make it. But on the other hand... it would seem like they very clearly knew and grieved even though they weren't even awake.
memyselfandI 4 years ago
If anyone’s interested, I’ve read two books about stories like this that are actually really interesting. The first one is Heaven is for Real, it’s a true story of how a very young boy had a near death experience and went to heaven, then came back and later on told his parents the story over several years. The book is from the point of view of the parents learning what happened, and it’s fascinating to read. The second is fiction, but it’s What Alice Forgot. It’s about a middle aged woman who hits her head and loses all memory of the past ten years. She thinks she’s happily married, pregnant with her first child, and 30 years old, but then learns she’s actually 40, with three kids, a best friend who recently died, and an ongoing divorce process. The book is about how she learns to cope with the “new” reality and slowly gets bits and pieces of her memory back. No idea how accurate to actual experiences it is, but it’s a good story.
Rita Shapiro 4 years ago
The first book turned out to be fiction too. The boy eventually dropped the dime on his dad who apparently put him up to the lie.
Load More Replies... Seabeast 4 years ago
My partner's sister was unconscious for about a week before she died at home. I don't know if it was actually a coma, but she didn't really respond to anything. The palliative care nurses that came in to care for her told us to talk to her, as the sense of hearing is apparently the last thing to go.
Carol Emory 4 years ago
Closest I've ever been was being 10 years old playing tag in a neighbors backyard. They were renovating their bathroom and had the old tub sitting out on the backyard lawn. I was running to avoid being tagged and fell into the tub banging my chest on the edge. I knocked the wind out of myself and couldn't breath. I ran to the back door where I could see all the parents inside talking around the table. I blacked out. As soon as the lights went out, I heard what sounded like a child screaming...just one long scream. I woke up and saw my friend's father leaning over to pick me up. He had panic in his voice. "Are you OK?!?" "I'm fine" I said...like this kind of stuff happens everyday. My mom didn't take it so well since it was the second time I was injured playing tag. Guess who was banished from playing tag anymore...LOL.
Faith Nicole 4 years ago
Just wow. So glad all of these people survived & were able to share their experiences. I would never wish this on my worst enemy! So scary, the confusion in itself can be traumatic let alone eventually being told or remembering what put you in the coma. Some of the dreams these people experienced were nightmares that literally wouldn't stop. Praying I never ever am in a situation that will cause this type of trauma on myself.
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