I Have A Hypothetical Question. I Wanted To Know If

Posted on Wed, 19 Feb 2020

Question: I have a hypothetical question. I wanted to know if a person is unconscious and taken off life support but is not breathing , do they feel like they are suffocating until they die or are they unaware of what’s going on.

Answered by Dr. AJEET SINGH (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
AWARENESS DURING REMOVAL OF LIFE SUPPORT.

Detailed Answer:
Hi....
Welcome to "Ask a Doctor"service.
I am Dr Ajeet XXXXXXX

I have gone through your query and here is my opinion.

When a patient is in a state of unconsciousness,he can neither be awakened,nor do he reacts to the surrounding environment,pain, light,sound etc.
Such patient do not make voluntary actions.
It's just like being asleep,not dreaming and unaware of absolutely everything.

But just like a sleep,state of coma has many grades.
The above mentioned applies to deep coma only.

As per experiences of people who had been into medical or induced coma,some kind of awareness (and of course discomfort) might be retained and that is difficult to classify and quantify.

Patient is unconscious,not breathing and is on life support but until he is not brain dead,chances of preservation of some degree of awareness and response can not be ruled out.

Hope that I have answered your query.

Stay healthy and stay blessed.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng

Follow up: Dr. AJEET SINGH (4 hours later)

Can a person be kept on life support until they eventually die or do they have to be taken off life support if they show that they will not get any better?

Follow up: Dr. AJEET SINGH (1 hour later)

Is a patient administered morphine if they suffer from Dyspnea or Cheyne-Stokes? If so, does the morphine kill the brains pain signal so a person that might be suffocating before they die not feel it?

Answered by Dr. AJEET SINGH (3 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
END OF LIFE ISSUES

Detailed Answer:
Welcome back.

Cessation of life support and end of the life decision making are very tough to take.
There are many legal,social,emotional and ethical dilemmas.
Such decisions are taken by the health care providers and the patient's families (and sometimes patient too).

When a patient is brain dead (as a consequence of some life threatening illness),due to negligible chances of recovery, it is usually not futile to continue the medical care.
At that point of time,the treating doctors,medical team and the patient's families may take a decision to withdraw all support.
But these decisions are individualized and there is no blanket policy for it.

Regards.

Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D