My mother is 52, had endovascular coiling for a ruptured aneurysm one week ago, and she is sleeping most of the day. She wakes up and talks normally but falls asleep again. Is this expected with her recovery and medications? Sorry for asking because I overthink too much
I’m sorry to hear what your mother is going thru. I suppose she is still in the hospital? Please ask her doctor about this. We only answer based on our own experiences. If you ask me who ruptured and got coiled to stop the bleeding, yes, I slept a lot! I wasn’t aware of what happened during the stay in the ICU, only some vague memories of the 14 days before I was able to get home. I needed a lot of sleep during several months and it seems that it is a common thing. But as I mentioned, talk to her doctor and ask these questions. I hope she gets better.
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Yes she is still in the hospital. Hearing that also experienced a lot of sleeping makes me feel not to overthink too much. We will definitely ask her doctor about it as well. I appreciate your response Thank You!
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Thanks for starting a new topic! Your mother and your family have a road ahead of you many of our members have been on. Make sure you take time for yourself, rest, eat, try to enjoy a few hours each day. My experience in NSICU was 26 days. Sleep wasn’t a really a restful sleep for me but it came in spurts and sputters. The hospital only had a handful of private rooms the rest of the unit was open with curtains between patients. The sounds of the machines, the constant taking of blood pressure, Residents and doctors doing rounds and the RNs check every 15 minutes. The RNs are very good at being quiet when they do all their checks if the patient is asleep. There are different sounds than one is used to at home. So not a restful sleep which is one of the reasons I think that patients often are asleep trying to get the full sleep cycle in.
When I had my stent installed 7 years after I ruptured, NSICU had been upgraded with private rooms for all patients. Rooms were big and even had a couch in them! Best of all a window! There was also a private bathroom with a shower! (I really wanted a shower for three weeks, bless the RN that finally gave me a proper bed bath and washed my hair.)They must have soundproofing because we couldn’t hear people walking in the hallways. The RN assigned had what I call a cockpit because I don’t know the word. It was a little room that they could watch the two patients and their machines. Much better than having to watch the machines in the room itself. The machine set up was very different so no flashing lights near the patient and none of the sounds they make. I hope your mom has one of these types of rooms and not the other.
Your mom’s brain has been through a lot and sleep is one of the very important ways to help it heal. @oct20 has given you the best advice - talking to her doctors. If she’s at a teaching hospital there may be many doctors around that are Residents. Residents have already achieved their M.D license and are working to get their speciality degree. If you’re not there when they do one of their rounds, the RN can let them know you’d like to speak with them. There are several studies and papers (opinions or a compilation of other studies) on sleep for someone with a SAH, when you’re doing any research in this quickly changing Neuro world, try to stay within the last 3-5 years. There’s been so many advances in the field since I ruptured, it boggles the mind.
Wishing you the best for your mom!
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As was shared, each person reacts differently, so communication with your mom’s medical team is crucial.
That being said, I also had a rupture. I was in the icu for a week of which I have no memory. The second week I was in the hospital room and didn’t “wake up” until the third day. What that meant for me is that, like your mom, I would wake up occasionally, say a few words, have very little interaction, and return to sleep. I have no memory of any interaction for the 10 days following the rupture, but my family says I did some. I continued to sleep a lot, but not as much, the rest of the hospital stay and into the next couple months.
Sleep is truly the best medicine for her body as it lets all strength be focused on the healing. I understand it is confusing and scary, but you being there for the few minutes she is awake is wonderful and strengthening for her. Knowing she has your love and support will continue to give her the will to heal.
As long as the doctor doesn’t share a different concern, please don’t worry about the sleep.
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After my rupture, I would bet I slept 70% of the time I was in the hospital. Your mom went through a major medical issue and the brain and the body need to rest. I went through a lot of phases during my recovery. Some were what you’d expect and some not. Try not to overthink this and just keep an eye out for really strange behavior. It’s a long road to recovery and patience and rest are the key. Speaking for myself, I’d rather be sleeping than feeling the hammering headache I had after my rupture. Sleep can be a blessing.
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My understanding is sleep is when the brain does most of the healing. To help mine heal they actually had me in a drug induced coma for nearly a week following rupture and asked my loved one to not stimulate me too much. My sleep patterns were quite erratic for months following rupture as well. Waking up and “talking normally” sounds like good news to me though.
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Speaking from what I remember of my experience in January this year, I remember very little of the 2 weeks post rupture and coiling, my family says I slept most of the time and even when awake and talking I would later not recall that they had been there. Once discharged I spent most of my days sleeping too. I’d say most of the initial three months was spent sleeping. By month four I was up and about but easily fatigued and would need to sleep after three to four hours. If I was on out of the house and amongst people that time would decrease to two hours before I needed to sleep. And when I say need to sleep I recall the need being a debilitating fatigue that could not be ignored. I’m now six months into recovery and still need to take regular breaks and most days a nap in the early afternoon. At times when my family was concerned about the sleep, and the confusion and memory loss of the early days, they enquired from doctors and were assured it was perfectly normal, expected and in fact the best thing for the healing brain. I know that the memory loss from the very early days is probably more of a blessing than anything else because from what I can remember I had the most horrific headache. Best wishes to you and your mom, the road to recovery is long but she will get there.
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Sorry to hear that you and your mother are having such a difficult time. My aneurysm ruptured and I slept and slept and still find it difficult some days to stay awake in the day.
I do not remember much of my hospital stay but i do remember people visiting me at home and I would just nod off while they were there. I was told it was my brain rewiring itself. I hope things improve soon for you all
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