friend in an induced coma/ drug overdose

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☮&Love ftw

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Hi Jenny,
You certainly have had your share of medical problems, you say you have brain damage from your heath problems, what kind of brain damage do you have? With all your probelms you do have a good attitude but on the other hand I can tell you do understand what people go threw when they deal with pain day after day, you deal with it everyday. I know allot of people suffer from depression when there sick or in pain all the time, I don't blame them, I'd feel the same way.
My friend is still alive, He has metobolic encephalopathy-(temp. or permanet brain damage)-He started to wake up a little on Monday, they changed his medication trying to get him out of the induced coma state,( the first try on Sat. did not go well, blood pressure and heart rate issues), he did open his eyes and squeeze the nurses hand, Tuesday he had a trach put in, right now he cannot breath on his own, Now today he is having his lung tapped. I say a pray for him a few times a day, I feel so helpless, right now it's in the doctors and gods hands, we have to be patient and wait. The doctors don't even know what is going to happen, it's a waiting game right now, Waiting is hard.
Thank You for posting
Kay
 
I have a friend who has had 4 back surgurys and is addicted to pain killers and is also bunge drinker. Last week he had a pain pump put in, they also gave him a perscription for 90 hyrocoden pills, well he took to many, kidneys shut down, he vomited and the vomit has gone into his lungs,(couldn't breath) he is in the hospital on a vent and an induced coma, they have reduced the medican which puts him in the coma state but he is just not coimg out of it, I's scared for him and his family, has anyone ever been in threw this type of situation? I guess he did move his leg today but that was it, it's been a roller coaster ride of emotions that you fell when this happens, you go threw scared, fell hope less but also angry-( like how could you do this to yourself), I say a prayer for him everynight but so far that prayer has not been answered.
kay
 
If it's Hydrocodone that he was given, that has Tylenol in it, and just a little bit of Tylenol and any amount of alcohol can kill you. I know this for sure because I found out the hard way. My mom found me in a coma about a year and a half ago, and the hospital I was taken to did blood tests and the tests came back saying I had overdosed on Tylenol and alcohol. Truth...I took one dose of the hydrocodone (Lortab) I had just been prescribed for the nerve damage I had just had happen in my arm the week prior, and I took a dose of Robitussin because I had a cold. Had NO clue there was Tylenol in either of those two medications, and I took a dose of Tylenol-PM (I obviously knew there was Tylenol in that). All these years I have drank some with my medications, but this Hydrocodone (Lortab) was new. I had so much trouble sleeping, hence why I took the Tylenol-PM, but not knowing there was Tylenol in the other two medications, and washing it down with alcohol...was an (almost) deadly combination. The blood tests showed I had overdosed, when in reality, I took only a double dose of extra strength Tylenol with alcohol. I was in a coma for only a day, but family was ready to pull plug because my condition was so bad. Obviously, I came out of it... and have still been going through hell. But accidents with a seemingly "safe" medication (even though I didn't know Tylenol was in 2 of the 3 medications I took) with any alcohol is probably what happened to your friend. I know your post was 2 years ago, but I just thought my two cents might count for something. Hopefully your friend is okay.
 
Hi Kay. I'm sorry your friend has had to endure all of this. I've had 2 spine surgeries and talk everyday with people who have had multiple surgeries and are in horrible pain. the problem with surgery is you think it's going to make the pain go away and frequently doesn't. Once the damage is done, it's done and all the surgery is doing to stopping the injury from progressing to paralysis. Some probably would have preferred the numbness of paralysis instead of the constant pain but having been there, it's not a good place to be, either.

So many people with bad backs do self-medicate with alcohol as well as their prescribed meds. The induced coma is to prevent brain swelling and it varies when people wake up. His brain may still be healing from the OD and not ready to wake up yet so give it time. I suffered a combination of morphine psychosis(makes you unable to remember anything at all)and stopped breathing(which caused brain damage) after my last spine surgery and it took about a year to finally recover enough to know what was permanent and what was fixable. This is a long process and everyone must be patient.

I hope he hasn't had anything permanent happen to him and if it was a suicide attempt, he has reason to do so. Living in constant pain is a tough life. If it was accidental, then he needs to learn about the weird side-effects of his drugs...such as an undependable memory as to when he took what. I suspect his biggest problem now is the lack of oxygen he had when he aspirated. He could have brain damage as I did but again, you need to wait and see what can be fixed.

Your friend has a tough life to start with and now he's made it much worse for himself so he's going to need lots of support when he comes around. Not "syrupy" sweet support but honest support. Like what are you going to do now to learn to cope with the pain? Most of us have to explore so many avenues to cope. You could be a big help for him by doing some exploring on the web for him for when he wakes up. Check out sites on spine problems and chronic pain problems. Educate yourself so you can be a guiding force. He's going to need it.

gentle hugs and prayers for your friend...............Jenny
 
Dondigan....please notice this thread was from over a year ago. Although I was one of the people responding to the thread, I have no idea what the outcome was.

Jenny

PS...dates are at the top left corner of post.
 
I realize that. But as with some doctors, all they tell you is that,"Oh, your friend/son/brother/sister (etc.) overdosed." Or something without explanation. And some people do not search for adequate explanation after being told that. So even though it's been almost two years ago since this thread was started, and even a year and a half since the same thing happened to me... it is still bring people to this thread. So I though it best after reading through everyone's replies, that I would put my personal, and somewhat professional opinion on here. I did NOT overdose on Hydrocodone, but because it was taken with some alcohol, I was not aware of how drastically those two medications interact, compared to the millions I've been on in my entire life. The interaction is Tylenol. Most Hydrocodone prescriptions are written to _mg/500mg, and that second number is how much Tylenol is in Hydrocodone. In this case, 500 mg, is only half of a dose of Tylenol extra-strength (per pill). In my case, I took one of those, one dose of Robitussin, which had only 160 mg of Tylenol in it, and a dose of Tylenol PM (which is two pills) that is 1000 mg. I didn't even take the maximum dosage recommendation, which is 2000 mg, per day (if you consume 3 or more alcoholic drinks per day). I didn't know all this at the time, but I didn't take the maximum alcoholic drinks a day either and it put me in a coma, where I was not expected to come out of it. The reason I posted regardless of it being almost two years ago since the start of this thread, search engines are bringing this page to the surface, because people are STILL, or starting, to look for answers. In my opinion and many others, many doctors and professionals too, Tylenol is more dangerous than narcotics when it comes to what you can take, and all the products Tylenol is in. People are uneducated to the scientific or generic name of Tylenol, so even if they "know" what is in the medication they are taking and think it's "safe" to take, even just a little more of... (in my case I had no clue, until after the fact), but it isn't safe and can kill you in a moments heartbeat. I was one of the lucky ones, but not without repercussions. The scarey thing is...I had NO addiction, and do not to this day...it was just a bad combination I was not even warned about.

But I still hope the outcome of the original starter of this thread, and anybody else that was brought to this, turned out on the brighter side.
 
Why don't you post this as info in the Drug Interactions Board. It would be good info to have there whereas things go by quickly on this thread.

My response had nothing to do with the info in it but that the people involved, are no longer posting so they wouldn't get your info.

As for me, I know all about it all too well.

Jenny
 
Dear Jenny,
Thank you for all your info, I really appreciate it, I don't think my friend tried to commite suicide, His son just got married 2 weeks ago and he has a grand-daughter who he totally adores, He did take pain meds and sometimes he'd bindge drink, I know he was in constant pain that is why he had a pain pump put in, he didn't get much of a chance to find out if it worked becasue theat is why they gave him the hycodine pills and I guess he had a hay day with them, I sure anyone who is in pain suffers from depression becasue this is not how you wanted your life to be, I'm sure you feel the same way, you probably think to yourself-why me? what did I do to deserve this? How are you doing these days? Are you in a allot of pain? Are you able to work, My friend has been unable to work for about 4 years now, The docotr said today his lungs sound a little better and his kidneys are working better also but he is still in a coma, time will tell,The waiting is hard,
Kay
Thanks for your caring post, I
appreciate it.
 
Hi Kay......I'm glad your friend is slowly improving. Don't assume someone is not suicidal....you never know what can push someone over the edge. If he's been in so much pain for so many years, he should know what he can and cannot take and if he can mix alcohol with it. Most people having been in bad pain for years know the ins and outs of all the pain meds and he should have known how much to take safely.

I've had 2 major cervical spine surgeries and had to cope with partial paralysis and brain damage as well as pain, both knees replaced from long standing arthritis, both shoulders operated on for arthritis, both hands operated on for arthritis and both eyes operated on for steroid induced cataracts from all the cortisone shots I've had. And I don't take any pain meds on a regular basis. And if I need something for pain, I take nothing stronger than ibuprofen and Tylenol. I have stronger drugs but they always make me sick so I don't take them. I've learned to handle my pain in other ways.

If your buddy comes around, he's going to need to learn how to live with his pain and a good therapist would be a great start. And I bet they don't let him out of the hospital without being evaluated for psychiatric services. I've been thought all sorts of relaxation methods, meditation, and visualization. They all work. I've had acupuncture(works well with backs)as well as massage. He's obviously in a pain management program but he needs more support than that. I find physical therapy really helps me when I get bad.

No, I am not angry or bitter over this life. In fact, I thank God everyday for my life. It's a hard life and I have more surgeries coming but I am alive and I thank Him for that. Anger and bitterness sucks the life out of you and makes pain worse. I always look for the good things in life and that's what makes the difference!

gentle hugs and prayers for your friend............Jenny
 
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