My mother was taken off sedation 3 days ago. Last night she began responding with her eyes and mouth. She still cant squeeze my hand or wiggle her fingers or toes. Can it take days to awaken? Can you wake slowly and this is just a slow process? Has anyone seen this? Do you think she has brain damage? If so what could have caused it? She had triple bypass, but woke and moved and talked 2 days after that. Her blood pressure got low but never below 75/40. They found she had an allergy to heparin. She was never deprived of oxygen. She was on dialysis for 5 days. She has severe diabetes. She was sedated with propofol for a week. Is it normal to take this long to wake?
She was awake, responding, squeezing hands, and even talking the day after and the 3rd day. Now she is not. What could cause the brain damage. She reacts when they stick her witha needle, smiles, and opens her eyes. She does not squeeze my hand move her toes or blink.

It sometimes can depend on the person.

Normally a person is awake within 4 hours after heart surgery but this depends on the age & other factors.

With heart surgery, when they use the cardiopulmonary bypass machine, there is a risk of damage to EVERY organ.

It is possible that she has brain damage.

The most common r damage to the brain & kidneys but all organs r at risk.

Anesthesia also carries risks & is sometimes riskier than the operation itself.

No one on here can tell what is going on, please just ask the physicians that r assigned to ur mother is case.

l wish u the best!

If she has kidney disease, which can go along with diabetes, she may not be clearing the sedation from her system normally. l have seen this happen. It really is hard to tell how fast she will wake up. God bless you both.

Because her kidneys were not working properly, the sedative drug stayed too long in her circulation. Yes all the above happens. She is going to be alright in a week or so.