Comas

[too-open-minded]

Comas are still somewhat a mystery in the medical field. Our brains go through trauma and we cant wake up sometimes for weeks even years sometimes.

 

Is it possible that a coma is self-induced and a way for the brain to conserve all of the body's energy into healing the damaged brain?

 

Think of it this way, you exert a lot of energy moving around and with your brain processing information right? So when your brain gets damaged it tries to make the amount of energy you wouldn't use healing your brain minimal.

 

I'm just an 18 year old high-school dropout, no need to get mad if I'm wrong. Just throwing something out their to think about.

[Domnik]

From my knowledge I don't believe Comas can be self-induced.. Unless you throw yourself off a bridge ;-)

 

I could be mis-understanding you at the same time, though.

[too-open-minded]

Well To be completely honest I think the term coma needs to be narrowed down to some sub-categories.

 

1. A intense coma is when your brain recieves so much trauma, from what I see ( and i'm not a doctor ) physical force; Like from car wrecks.

 

2. A chemical coma is when you go into diabetic shock or some other chemical induced coma

 

3. A comatose like state is when someone isn't in a coma but are in a lower level of consciousness.

 

She is almost out of the hospital and made a full recovery but like I have witnessed my grandma in and out of hospital the past 2 weeks. She had a bleed outside the brain, it was considered a stroke. Although the bleed was from a fall the doctors still said it was basically a stroke. I'm guessing they meant they were going to treat it like one? Anyways they put two drains in her head to relieve the buildup blood inside putting pressure on her brain. The day after her surgery she was conscious and could nod or shake her head. Say uhhh-huu(yes) or uhhh-uhhh(no) and I luhh you (I love you.) The next two days she was unable to open her eyes or really move or do anything, she made some noise but that was about it. Then she could Finally have a little bit of conversation but not understand much and her speech was horrible. A day or two later she could have a full on conversation but would be very forgetful. Day before yesterday she finally got some water and coke to drink then some ice-cream, but the physical therapist said she cant eat yet Because her swallowing isn't at full strength. She was taken out of ICU and ate some yogurt this morning but still can't eat. Her memory is still a little off but her speech is phenomenal compared to how it was, You can barley notice a difference in how she spoke before this whole thing happened. I expect her to be out very soon.

 

Anyways Just from watching her and i spent 6 hours a day at the hospital everyday after her surgery. It really seemed to me like the brain says "Alright body i'm going to deactivate you and stop a lot of my processing to conserve as much energy as can be used into healing the damaged part of me."

 

Does it even sound plausible to you that in some cases of comas or comatose like states that it is self induced and so the brain can heal itself faster or more properly?

 

If a coma was just the brain shutting down then wouldn't it not be able to absorb oxygen in the parts it doesn't use because its "shut-down?"

Edited July 21, 2012 by too-open-minded