19 Hard-To-Swallow Realities About Experiencing (And Waking From) A Coma, According To People Who Lived Through Them
If you've ever watched any medical dramas on TV — from Grey's Anatomy to House — you know the scene: Someone finally wakes up from a dream-filled, close-to-death coma and suddenly snaps back into reality. The reality, though? Well, people have actually gone through this, and over on Quora, they're discussing what it's like. Here are the sensations and feelings that people remember experiencing after coming out of a coma.
1."I was in a coma for about nine days when I was seven. The coma was the result of a severe head injury following getting hit by a motorcycle while riding my bike. I am now 48 years old, so this was just over 40 years ago when I wrote this response..."
"...When I 'woke up,' I could not remember how to speak, and I had minimal movement on the right side of my body. Other than not remembering the immediate time leading up to the accident, I did not suffer any memory loss.
My speech came back fully within a month or so, and I regained movement in my right limbs right about when I was getting used to being left-handed. I had vivid dreams while in the coma; frantic is the only word I'd use to describe them. They were fast-paced, loud, very visual, and anxiety-filled. They are not necessarily nightmares, but they are not good either, and they are definitely not peaceful. They had to reset my broken leg while I was under, and I was not given any pain blockers at any time, I assume because of the head injury. I know when I came out, I was in a lot of pain; my entire body, from the skin to the core, hurt.
My leg was reset again about one to two weeks after coming out, which involved rebreaking the mending bones, and it was pretty painful. So, I am sure that physical pain strongly affected my dreams while I was in a coma. One of the nurses in the ICU ward would sing to me, and I remember hearing her. The lyrics would affect my dreams and calm them down.
While I was under, my mom would rub aloe vera gel over my scars and scabs (which pretty much covered most of my body). I recalled that I was aware of that, but if I were to be honest, at this time, I am unsure of how much of those memories were ones I formed while in the coma or making the mental connections later. 40+ years later, I still remember those dreams. The memories are pretty strong, but at the same time, it is hard for me to put a finger on a specific aspect of the dreams. I remember the sentiments of the songs and how they would modify the visuals in my dreams, but I do not remember the words anymore.
The memories come back to me stronger at times, particularly when I have a high fever, but sometimes they flood back when I am in the middle of a long run, and my mind is pretty calm and blank. The best analogy I can come up with to describe my memories of those dreams is like watching a fast-paced fight in an action movie. While it is unfolding, you are aware of who is winning the battle and the general flow of the fight, but when it's over, it is hard to recall the specific sequence of moves during the struggle. I have much more vivid memories of the time trying to relearn how to speak and move."
2."I was in a medically induced coma after my liver transplant. I was under for eight days. My mom and my daughter kept me company the whole time. They talked to me a lot. I don’t know what they talked about, but they said I responded by holding their hand..."
"...The one thing I remember just after waking up was being terrified that I had been out for so long, and the dreams that I had. I remember four particular dreams: two were frightening, and two were just bizarre. The trouble is that I remember these dreams after 12 years; I can’t remember any other dream to save my life."
3."I was in an induced coma after a gallbladder surgery went wrong, and the surgeon accidentally cut an artery. I lost a huge amount of blood, and they couldn't stop the bleeding for many hours. My family was told I may not survive the first night. I was operated on on a Monday; I woke up properly on a Tuesday. I thought it was the next day, but it was really the next week. The only memory I have of my time in the coma was being told, 'We have to cut your rings off.' I thought it was a dream, but it happened."
"...I was told that was the day after I survived the first night as my organs were all failing, and I had swelled so much that my wedding and Claddagh rings were cutting off my blood supply. Although I didn't know I was in a coma at the time, when I woke, I had never felt more at peace. I knew something was wrong, but it was also as if I had been somewhere peaceful and full of love somewhere else. I don't think back on it as a good experience in any way; I spent many weeks in the hospital and had to learn to eat, walk, and even breathe properly again. It took me over a year to recover, and even three years on, I'm delighted to be alive, but I'm still not back to full health and probably never will be."
4."On October 31, 2021, I fell into a septic/diabetic coma at home. I had come home from work feeling like I wanted to nap, so I laid down, which was the last thing I remember. I was 'down' for an estimated 17 hours. My mom and I lived together but had different schedules; she thought I was sleeping and left me be. In the morning, when she came to wake me, she realized I was dying. Within five minutes, an ambulance arrived..."
"...They intubated me with breathing after assessing me. This ended up being a traumatic intubation and collapsed my left lung. The paramedic made the right decision, as I was very close to not breathing. I stayed in an incompetent hospital for a week with really no answers. They thought I may have had flesh-eating bacteria and didn't have any surgeons available; they finally med-flighted me to a level one trauma center in Milwaukee called Froedert.
I was kept in a coma for three weeks. My blood sugar was 1360 upon admission. And they quickly figured out I had fungal sepsis. Nobody could pinpoint the cause of the sepsis, nor could they say what came first. But high blood sugar just feeds fungal infections. I had a lot of complications and finally fell into complete blown septic shock; I also had brain swelling, muscle wasting, multiple organ failure, an enlarged heart on the right side, a pulmonary embolism in my left lung, high fevers, and I'm sure there were other things. On the Glasgow coma scale, I scored a three (severe).
I didn't dream while I stayed induced in the coma, but I did once I was finally okay enough to come out of it. I was still very sick and would slip in and out of consciousness. I had some strange dreams and downright night terrors. I remember them all. In that state, you can't tell dreams and reality apart. It feels real. I had funny dreams about Obama and Biden visiting and giving me ice cream. I dreamed that the entire cast of SpongeBob was in the next room over having a cast party, and I dreamed about being In a plane (which is common), and because my mom was always there speaking to me, I would dream about her and my dog.
Then, I had night terrors. These terrors really felt like they happened. I finally sorted it out myself and realized that it was a dream/delusion.
I also hallucinated a lot. Mostly auditory. I would hallucinate people/voices trying to help me. I would be thirsty and then blank on what to do about it. Sometimes, a voice would tell me to click the call light. Eventually, I stopped falling in and out of consciousness. So, I believe that I didn't dream while I was entirely In a coma. I don't remember anything but feeling peaceful. Feeling, not thinking. But I did dream while coming out of it. (It had to be a week, give or take; it took a while.) However, that was the most traumatizing thing.
I woke up unable to move, speak, or communicate at all. My muscles wasted away, I couldn't hold myself up. I could do anything but lay down. I was in a lot of pain, and I couldn't tell anyone. Luckily, my mom advocated for me when she could. And it feels unsettling to know you've been 'asleep' for that long. I didn't experience that much in those first weeks. It is strange that people had touched my body and done procedures and surgery. It's a weird feeling. But between septic shock and diabetes, I'm lucky to be alive.
I have neuropathy and chronic leg weakness, my lungs are scarred, and I have post-sepsis syndrome. I'm now disabled and can't do much, and became very depressed. I couldn't afford to do things. I couldn't spend a day out with my friends.
But at the same time, this experience has made me much wiser. I gained a unique perspective that people my age don't have. I'm not told where I'm at; I'm insightful and patient. I stopped taking myself for granted and have worked hard on my mental health. My T1 Diabetes is controlled now that I have an insulin pump. I'm done physically healing, but not mentally. I'm still processing what happened to me and have PTSD flashbacks and triggers. But I'm still here and for a reason."
5."I was in a coma for about a month. During that time, the doctors would tell my parents that I was brain dead and that they should donate my organs. I had various experiences while I was in a coma. I did have dreams and some other things; I don't know what I would call them. I remember being sucked through. What I can say is similar to when you go to the bank, and they have the canisters that get sucked through a tube, and the banker gets them pretty quickly. I saw different things and met people. I did not want to come back. Where I was was the most peaceful place I have ever been."
6."I was in septic shock and briefly (about eight hours, maybe a few more) either in a coma or a coma-like state. There was no room in the ICU, so my room was turned into a makeshift one..."
"My blood pressure was barely registering, my body temperature was 94 degrees, and I was unable to be roused with pain, light, or the noise from the doctor and five additional people assisting him by administering bolus after bolus of fluids, antibiotics, shining lights in my eyes, calling my name, etc. My mom was with me and spoke off and on with the staff, but she mostly spoke to me. And the weird thing is, sometimes I could hear her.
I was like a blank slate — I had no idea where I was, what was going on, or why my mom was saying such strange things — but I could hear her voice and felt peaceful. When I awoke, the first thing I thought of was her voice. She was still sitting beside me, but I was confused about why she kept saying such weird stuff. I only got bits and pieces, like a phrase here and another 45 minutes later, so it made no sense, not that I remember most of the details of what she said, mostly the tone of her voice. After that, I remember being cold and confused about where all that time had gone."
7."I have been here. I was placed into a coma after a drunk driver hit me. I recall being unable to 'think about' why and what happened. I recall just laying in bed with my sister telling me that I'd been run over. I had so many nurses and doctors in intensive care that I just felt I accepted the whole situation, as I guess the trauma just shuts down the questioning and reasoning side of your brain..."
"...I had family constantly around me but the total incapacity to engage with anyone other than just hold hands. I could not speak because of the tracheotomy. I could not eat as it hurt. I couldn't express pain. I just accepted the pins sticking out of my leg. I hated being held to sit up because it was a struggle. I hated having to try to walk because it was too much effort. I was sad because I lost my hair. The one arm I could use had to do everything for me, including feeling my hair, which I had lost as it grew back. I expressed little need because I was so shocked. I would have panic attacks if I couldn't breathe fully as I started experiencing short breaths. It took a long time to speak and be heard. And I still get breathless in long sentences. That even my work colleagues notice."
8."I have been in a coma twice in my life. The first time was for 28 days, the second time for 33 days..."
"...I was diagnosed with adult-onset respiratory distress syndrome. The first time when I came around, I was very disorientated and was having hallucinations and believing people weren't who they said they were. When the drugs were reduced, I thought I had only been there three days and just wanted my family to go home. It took a while to be able to walk, talk, and breathe properly on my own again before I was allowed to leave the hospital.
All I could think of the second time it happened was, 'No! Not again.' Knowing I had lost another month of my life, a month of missing out on what was going on with my kids and many months of therapy to be able to function normally, or a new normal for me due to all the scarring in my throat from the tubes. There was fear, actual terror at times, weakness, frustration at not being able to communicate or move due to being weak, pipes everywhere, and a trachea in my throat. For a person who likes being in control, this was devastating. It also had quite a negative effect on my family. In retrospect, I am lucky to be alive and quite glad I am still around to watch my daughter grow up."
9."I remember zones and to-do lists. Six months pregnant, I had bacterial meningitis and ARDS (basically, lung failure), so I was in an induced coma for 11 days while they tried to kill the bugs and get enough air in and out of me to keep me and my baby alive..."
"...When the fever finally broke, they slowly weaned me off the propofol, fentanyl, and morphine, so I emerged from the coma in stages, very confused. I couldn't speak for a while because the track was still in, nor were my hands/arms strong enough to hold a pen, so my first contact of any kind that helped my family know I was still conscious was sign language — my brother cradled my hand and asked me simple questions. I answered by forming the letters with my hand.
After I could write, I first wanted to know what time zone I was in because, during my dream hallucinations, I had 'spent time' in various other countries, most recently South Korea. I remember staring at the clock and believing I was still there. (In fact, I've never been anywhere in East Asia.) As I became more lucid, and of course, after finding out that they thought my baby was ok, I spent a lot of time trying to sort out what parts of my dreams had been based in reality and what had been totally invented in my mind. Then I worried about the work I'd missed (I'm a schoolteacher), so I started writing a to-do list. (This is funny because, all told, from the illness through recovery, delivery, and maternity leave, I missed almost the entire school year— seven months! Postscript: It's five years later, and my 4.5-year-old is just fine."
10."I was in a coma for nine days (non-medically induced) and have no recollection of myself for about two weeks after coming out of it. I've been told that I had no idea who I was, nor who my family and friends were. I didn't know I spoke Italian fluently; I had to be told. As time went by and I stayed in the hospital for treatment, I slowly regained a rudimentary self-awareness, but I don't remember thinking about much at all. Things and people just were or were not."
11."For me, it was like sleep paralysis. I knew what was going on in the room. I was aware of my husband begging me to come back. But I couldn't respond to him. I knew how worried everyone was. I knew I had died during the surgery and that I was on a ventilator..."
"...My nurses were wonderful at explaining everything happening, even though they weren't sure if I could hear or understand them. They told me every time they interacted with me what was happening and apologized if anything hurt. I felt very cared for and safe. They even told me that the tape might pull if they had to change a bandage. The first thing they did when I woke up was bath me for my 'reunion with my husband.' It was extremely sweet. I spent my 23rd wedding anniversary unconscious, and they remembered. Strangely, so did I. I remember him crying at my bedside."
12."I was in a terrible car wreck and spent a few weeks in a coma. As I started to regain consciousness, my thoughts were simply that I'd died and that I was traveling in between planes, from mortality to Heaven, if you will..."
"...The curious thing about this is for those last few comatose days, I was with my family, mother and father specifically. Like, literally alongside them in the hotel where they were staying. When I eventually came out of the coma, my mother told me when I was healthy enough, we would be staying at the hotel near the hospital. I asked her, 'You mean the one with the pink walls that you and Dad have been staying at?' she said, 'No… I don't remember any pink walls, but we just changed hotels, and I don't remember what the last one looked like.' So when I left the hospital, I asked her to drive by the hotel I remembered from my 'in-between' state. Bear in mind this was a city I'd NEVER been to, NEVER seen the hotel in my (100% alive) life, as I was airlifted to this city while comatose the entire time.
Lo and behold, the hotel my parents were staying at had the same pink walls I'd seen in my near-death experience. This alone confirmed that there is more to existence than the biology of breathing, eating, reproducing, and dying. My mother was beyond bewildered that I could so accurately describe a building I'd never been in or seen. I distinctly remember traveling around the building's stairwells and corridors and being beside my parents. So the first thing I thought after leaving the coma was, 'Wow, I died, but now I'm alive again.' Then I decided to figure out if the 'dreams' or 'hallucinations' were just that or were really glimpses of a higher plane of existence. Now, I am 100% convinced of life after death, of a higher power, and more than can be explained by any current science. While I didn't ask God for a sign, as I've always been a Christian and accepted Heaven based on faith, I was blessed to learn that there's something out there."
13."Did I dream during six weeks in a coma? No, I did not. What was it like? I cannot tell you what the coma was like as I have no recall of it. Unfortunately, what I do recall was when they tried to bring me up from the coma. It was so traumatic that to this day, 20 years later, I have PTSD. It was painful, suffocating, seizure-inducing, undignified, ugly. It can take days. Your senses are scrambled to shit. Your perception of what is real and what is not is all over the place."
14."I was in a medically induced coma (with induced, full-body paralysis) for six weeks. I distinctly remember where I 'woke up' in my head a handful of times. What was the experience like? It sucked..."
"...When I would wake up in my head, I had no idea what had happened. So I'm fully conscious; I know that I'm me, but I can't open my eyes, I can't move a muscle, and I can't speak. The first time it happened was terrifying. I started to panic, and for a minute there, I thought I might be dead.
Then I realized I was thinking so, but that didn't seem right. I tried to move and couldn't. I tried to speak and couldn't. I tried to scream and couldn't. I realized then that if I didn't calm myself down, I would go crazy inside my head, and no one would help me. Though I was on a ventilator, in my head, I did deep breathing exercises. (At the time, I thought that I was breathing.) I listened to the clicking of machines and tried to focus on those. Then, I started counting the sounds of something that seemed repetitive. That gave me enough to focus on until I eventually drifted off again."
15."I had a pulmonary embolism about six years ago; too many airline flights in too few days. I was feeling really out of breath, making my last connection. I got home somehow, and things kept getting worse. I saw a doctor twice (who didn't figure out what was going on), and then that evening, I started feeling bad. I made it to the bedroom and told my wife to get 911, and then I just flopped on the bed..."
"...I vaguely remember being loaded in the ambulance and remember a few things from the ER, and then things started to get dark. I could feel myself being wheeled to the ICU, and I remember a couple of times hearing voices and then a voice telling me that I was going to need help with breathing and — well, that was it. Lights out! Nothing. Just black. Then I heard a voice telling me to cough, so I did. I felt something awful going on in my throat, and then it got black again. Then I woke up, but it was fuzzy.
It was a week later. The awful feeling had been when they tried to remove the respirator hose, but it didn't work, and they had to stuff it back down my throat again — I don't remember that part. I do remember being semi-awake with the respirator still running for quite a while after I came to; they wanted to be sure it was OK to take it out the second time. Those hours were the worst. My wife was there and terrified that I was brain-damaged or something, and there was no way I could say anything with the hose down my throat. She went home and returned with a couple of photos I'd taken on a trip. She held them up. I winked at her, and she nearly fainted from relief. And only five weeks later, I went home."
16."I was in a medically induced coma for about a week. I didn't know that they had put me in a coma, but I remember hearing the machines, I remember tasting what was like rubbing alcohol, and then that warm feeling. And as a person with an addiction, the scary and unfortunate part was I can recall thinking to myself: 'I'll just stay here forever...'"
"...I recall at one point hearing a nurse come into the room rather abruptly and extremely angry at her. Although I didn't know precisely why I was furious, all I knew was that I hadn't gotten my kiss goodbye. I still wonder what that was about who I might have been dreaming of or if it was a heavenly visit.
I'll never know. I recall being woken, and the doctor immediately said you've been here. We've had you in a coma for this long, so they must know precisely when you're coming out, which I was kind of surprised me; it felt odd that somebody could just stop your life basically with the coma, but I had to heal so it was best I understand, just bizarre. And I was just very grateful to be alive because the last I recall, a doctor telling me I was probably going to die."
17."For me, it was a big black nothing. I had gone code blue in the ER, dying from septic shock after a bladder infection went batshit and started shutting down my organs. I could hear everything that was happening..."
"...At one point, I heard the doctor say: "Okay, we need to run an AIDS test," and I remember thinking: I don't have AIDS, WTF? I later learned that they were opening my trachea to insert a tube and clear the fluid out of my lungs, and the needle had punched right through both my neck and the doctor's hand. Both of us bled like hell, hence the AIDS test. I never felt a thing.
I also heard the hospital chaplain administering the Last Rites to me in Latin, and I thought, 'Oh, I'm dying. Okay, whatever.' I didn't care. I was just floating in darkness, totally without pain or fear or concern. It was a relief, as I had entered the ER seven hours earlier in an excruciating amount of pain, and now all of it was gone. But man, when I woke up three days later, hooked up to life support with tubes in my mouth, in my arms, up my nose, down my throat, up my ass, and other unmentionables…wow, that was a world of agony."
18."I went through a window as a kid and fell into a coma a few days later. I remember the hour before going into the coma vividly: it felt as if I was moving up and down violently inside my body..."
"...The noise was a rhythmic dum dum dum — deafening, terrifying. Like being simultaneously dizzy while being slammed again and again into a wall, each hit a disorienting flash, a truck hitting my brain. I cried for help in my grandparent's arms, and then I blacked out. I woke up three days later.
My parents, out of town on a romantic holiday, were there. I knew that was odd, but I couldn't understand why. For some time, everything was confusing, like coming out of a fog or waking up from a deep sleep. People would speak, and I could answer, but I was always detached from a distance. I'd have the same conversation multiple times. I knew because I could see it on their face: patience and love poorly masking concern and fear. Within a week, I was fully recovered, or at least unable to perceive whatever damage had been done. I have no memory of the time lost and only photograph memories of my recovery."
19."I was thrown from a horse and kicked in the head. I was in a coma for two days, semi-conscious for a week, and have little memory of the year following the accident. I can tell you I could hear everyone around me talking, but it was like I was underwater... like I was lying on the bottom of a swimming pool. I knew there were people up there and that they were talking, and probably talking to me, and I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, and it was just way too hard to swim up to the surface. So, I would close my eyes and allow myself to sink deeper until I couldn't hear them anymore."
Have you woken up from a coma, a near-death accident, or a critical medical emergency? What did you experience, feel, or remember? What was it like? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
