Aa
Memory ~ Huh, what was I doing?
Ok, seriously. How many of you experience, more than the normal for your age, memory lapse on your not so good days?
This problem has pretty much gone away post-op. Then this morning 'whammo' out of nowhere we found out this is still a problem. Felt kind of light headed but that goes with the territory so I just felt thankful there was no HA or other associated symptoms and went about my plans for the day. I drove about 12 miles from here to our meeting place to use the copy machine. Someone else came in and was talking to me for just a few seconds and then they left. Long story short, I finished what I'd went there to do, jumped in my vehicle and left. I could not for the life of me remember where I live. Remembered my dad's house and how to get there, remembered a friends office and how to get there. I drove for some time before the HA started and then like a snap of the fingers I recalled everything. This hasn't happened since before the surgery.
This may or may not be associated with Chiari. The Drs up at the clinic had told me that they want to reevalute me at around 6 mos. Dr stated that the team there had noted some other, non-chiari, issues on the top of the brain that they where not able to dx. I'm just curious if the above is, could be or is not a chiari thing????
Wolf
This problem has pretty much gone away post-op. Then this morning 'whammo' out of nowhere we found out this is still a problem. Felt kind of light headed but that goes with the territory so I just felt thankful there was no HA or other associated symptoms and went about my plans for the day. I drove about 12 miles from here to our meeting place to use the copy machine. Someone else came in and was talking to me for just a few seconds and then they left. Long story short, I finished what I'd went there to do, jumped in my vehicle and left. I could not for the life of me remember where I live. Remembered my dad's house and how to get there, remembered a friends office and how to get there. I drove for some time before the HA started and then like a snap of the fingers I recalled everything. This hasn't happened since before the surgery.
This may or may not be associated with Chiari. The Drs up at the clinic had told me that they want to reevalute me at around 6 mos. Dr stated that the team there had noted some other, non-chiari, issues on the top of the brain that they where not able to dx. I'm just curious if the above is, could be or is not a chiari thing????
Wolf
Thank YOu very much for that response.
With me this has been a problem getting progressivly worse for the last 16 years or so. It started around the time that this stupid he-man decided he could build a swing set for his sons. Upon lifting the 10' 6x6 over my head while the wife and boys pulled the support under it with the truck something happened. That was approx 16 years ago, since then many many weird things have been happening. Then a year ago last month I took a bad fall on the ice that knocked me out. That is when the rest of cognitive functions really went heywire. Some to the point where our PCP not only verbally suggested my wife either not work or get a day-nurse to stay with me but he went one step further and sent a letter to welfare requesting help on our behalf and telling them she needed to stay home. [BTW- that letter met deaf ears... no surprized] When Chiari was suggested the PCP flat out said this was not Chiari [egg on his face] but anyway for a couple mos right before the surgery this had been much more of a problem than now. Even at one point while I was driving I just like zoned out, was on no meds other than an anti-seizure, while driving my truck. The truck has a 7.3 diesel under the hood so you do have to pay attention to speed even when feeling good. But this instance was what made me quit driving for a while as upon coming home I realized this black vehicle in front of me was going 'way to slow'. It was like all of a sudden he went from off in the horizon to I was on his tail. Well I glanced down at the speedo to see how much faster I could go to pass them as there was a car coming. That was a BIG no HUGE wake up call as my speedo was pointed straight down and the tach was near red-line. I was flying, and frankly didn't have a clue even after looking at the speedo and tach I could have swore I was doing no more than 35mph rather than near whew let not think about it. A few other things in that time period really scared me but nothing 'real' bad since the surgery until this instance. Just a few dirty clothes in the toliet, in the freezer, food items where they do not belong and yes of course my wife's favorite -throwing away the dirty dishes rather than putting in the sink or washing them. :-)
YOu have to laugh, otherwise you'd cry. I'm curious as to your explination. Mostly as the docs out at the clinic said there was much more brain stem compression than what they could deduce from the MRI. They only found it upon getting into my head. This makes me wonder at times if there was any nerve damage???? Who knows we'll just keep going one day at a time but curiosity does make one wonder esspecially when even the best docs have seen problems they admitted they can't identify.
Oh well.... back to life. :-) Have some studies to catch up on.
Thanks again for those comments!
Wolf
With me this has been a problem getting progressivly worse for the last 16 years or so. It started around the time that this stupid he-man decided he could build a swing set for his sons. Upon lifting the 10' 6x6 over my head while the wife and boys pulled the support under it with the truck something happened. That was approx 16 years ago, since then many many weird things have been happening. Then a year ago last month I took a bad fall on the ice that knocked me out. That is when the rest of cognitive functions really went heywire. Some to the point where our PCP not only verbally suggested my wife either not work or get a day-nurse to stay with me but he went one step further and sent a letter to welfare requesting help on our behalf and telling them she needed to stay home. [BTW- that letter met deaf ears... no surprized] When Chiari was suggested the PCP flat out said this was not Chiari [egg on his face] but anyway for a couple mos right before the surgery this had been much more of a problem than now. Even at one point while I was driving I just like zoned out, was on no meds other than an anti-seizure, while driving my truck. The truck has a 7.3 diesel under the hood so you do have to pay attention to speed even when feeling good. But this instance was what made me quit driving for a while as upon coming home I realized this black vehicle in front of me was going 'way to slow'. It was like all of a sudden he went from off in the horizon to I was on his tail. Well I glanced down at the speedo to see how much faster I could go to pass them as there was a car coming. That was a BIG no HUGE wake up call as my speedo was pointed straight down and the tach was near red-line. I was flying, and frankly didn't have a clue even after looking at the speedo and tach I could have swore I was doing no more than 35mph rather than near whew let not think about it. A few other things in that time period really scared me but nothing 'real' bad since the surgery until this instance. Just a few dirty clothes in the toliet, in the freezer, food items where they do not belong and yes of course my wife's favorite -throwing away the dirty dishes rather than putting in the sink or washing them. :-)
YOu have to laugh, otherwise you'd cry. I'm curious as to your explination. Mostly as the docs out at the clinic said there was much more brain stem compression than what they could deduce from the MRI. They only found it upon getting into my head. This makes me wonder at times if there was any nerve damage???? Who knows we'll just keep going one day at a time but curiosity does make one wonder esspecially when even the best docs have seen problems they admitted they can't identify.
Oh well.... back to life. :-) Have some studies to catch up on.
Thanks again for those comments!
Wolf
I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry about your father....I'm glad that you have taken up the iniative to research this yourself. Unfortunately, there is still not enough known about this so most of us do have to advocate for ourselves..
I have not had my surgery, but perhaps I have an answer that makes sense?
I lost my father to Chiari's (and to idiot doctors that didn't know what Chiari's was)... and in the process of his coma, and then after I found out about my Chiari's, I have done some research.
Anyways, as our brain matures, neuro-pathways alter, narrow, or are cut off entirely. This causes many memory problems as we age. However, trauma, surgery, infiltrates and various other things can also disrupt these pathways. In the case of non-age related neuro-pathway alterations, the brain will try to reroute its own wiring so as to continue functioning properly. In this process, you may notice a sharp, albeit temporary decline in motor functions, memory, verbal ability, or cognitive abilities.
Not saying this is what is happening in your case, but it could explain it. As the pathways are being reworked, perhaps there is just a detour that is throwing things off.
I lost my father to Chiari's (and to idiot doctors that didn't know what Chiari's was)... and in the process of his coma, and then after I found out about my Chiari's, I have done some research.
Anyways, as our brain matures, neuro-pathways alter, narrow, or are cut off entirely. This causes many memory problems as we age. However, trauma, surgery, infiltrates and various other things can also disrupt these pathways. In the case of non-age related neuro-pathway alterations, the brain will try to reroute its own wiring so as to continue functioning properly. In this process, you may notice a sharp, albeit temporary decline in motor functions, memory, verbal ability, or cognitive abilities.
Not saying this is what is happening in your case, but it could explain it. As the pathways are being reworked, perhaps there is just a detour that is throwing things off.
Hi Wolf, confusion or memory loss of that nature is truly frightening.I had problems with my short-term memory, I have problems remembering names, phone numbers and the like. My concentration is also poor as is my ability to digest information, However nothing as severe as you have experienced.
I hope you can get to the bottom of this soon
Ray
I hope you can get to the bottom of this soon
Ray
Wolf that is so frightening! I got a bit of anxiety just thinking about that happening! Glad you can laugh the other stuff off, though. Otherwise you'd just be miserable!
I haven't driven since surgery cuz my neck hurts to turn it and I just don't trust myself yet, so I'm not sure how my night vision is now, but it was horrible before -- long before my chiari dx, but many things came before the HAs started. The only memory thing I am still struggling with is word recall. I still reach far too long for the simplest word or my thoughts still scatter while I'm speaking -- but most of my wit is back enough that I can crack jokes and whip out comebacks like I used to :) It's shocking everyone...let 'em realize the hard way that I'm back and it was the surgery that did the trick!!! It's a good thing...considering I TEACH ENGLISH!! Hahaha...maybe my spelling on the board will get better too. I always let my kids think I spelled wrong on purpose to see if they were paying attention :)
Rosemarie
I haven't driven since surgery cuz my neck hurts to turn it and I just don't trust myself yet, so I'm not sure how my night vision is now, but it was horrible before -- long before my chiari dx, but many things came before the HAs started. The only memory thing I am still struggling with is word recall. I still reach far too long for the simplest word or my thoughts still scatter while I'm speaking -- but most of my wit is back enough that I can crack jokes and whip out comebacks like I used to :) It's shocking everyone...let 'em realize the hard way that I'm back and it was the surgery that did the trick!!! It's a good thing...considering I TEACH ENGLISH!! Hahaha...maybe my spelling on the board will get better too. I always let my kids think I spelled wrong on purpose to see if they were paying attention :)
Rosemarie
Just last year I got my drivers liscence and I am 26. I just never had a need for it until my dad came to live with me. He also has a lot of med issues and I couldnt make my boyfriend do all the driving. I plan my routes and get stuff done early in the day because I have bad night vision, Astigmatism. I have found myself driving less and less, my neck starts hurtin and who wants to turn their neck all the way when it hurts? My night vision has gotten worse, sometimes blurry. If I don't drive, I cant remember where the car was parked. I forget who I am calling sometimes, and have to look at the phone before they answer or I have to test out my voice identification skills. I have tried to put the cereal in the fridge many times, I just hope that no one was looking. I just thought this stuff just happened to every one. Well except the astigmatism.
My dad Is king of misplacing things. He would sleep walk when I was a child. My sister and I would find milk in the cupboards, food in the bathroom, my dad sleeping on the toilet. He would come down to use the bathroom and direct my sister, me, and our neighbor at the time, to do janitorial tasks, "you, go sweep, you go dust, and you need to vacuum the stairs" then go fall asleep on the toilet. He was on Amitriptaline and was an alcoholic, but I can laugh about it now. He has been off the bottle for like 8 years now, I am very proud of him
My dad Is king of misplacing things. He would sleep walk when I was a child. My sister and I would find milk in the cupboards, food in the bathroom, my dad sleeping on the toilet. He would come down to use the bathroom and direct my sister, me, and our neighbor at the time, to do janitorial tasks, "you, go sweep, you go dust, and you need to vacuum the stairs" then go fall asleep on the toilet. He was on Amitriptaline and was an alcoholic, but I can laugh about it now. He has been off the bottle for like 8 years now, I am very proud of him
COMMUNITY LEADER
Wolf I just had a lovely laugh at ur freezer episode.....too funny bcuz it sounds sooooo familiar....and it is a relief to know we r not alone in some of these weird effects we experience.
Enjoy ur John Wayne movie : )
Enjoy ur John Wayne movie : )
Well I've alway had a really bad sense of direction...quite the family joke that when I leave my house I wouldn't find my way home again!! Shannon- I do that weird thing of driving and then realizing that I got somewhere and didn't even know how I got there...sometimes I think I'm better off working on auto pilot then actually trying to think how to get somewhere..My kids have many a story of mom trying to follow directions to somewhere they call them "adventures". Well, time to do some house work now..gonna try not to put everything in the right place...lol
LOL wolf! Now how would you know about that mt. dew?? lol believe me i've done worse than the clothes that was just the only one i put. ;) I'm like you on directions i just always seem to know which way to go ... or did! Now i can leave the house and will turn left when i know i'm suppose to go right. Who knows! When i do something weird in public or around my friends i just say "sorry, my brain is leaking out of my head" and then laugh and most people will laugh with me. The other day i told a friend of mine who's a teacher that and she said "so will you just eventually not have one (brain)?" I laughed so hard i got a HA! Lol
:-) Wow! Thanks! In a weird way your comments make me feel much better.
The other day I just had to smile on the outside and cringe on the inside. My youngest son found my shirt from the previous day and the bottle of Hershey's Chocolate in the freezer. For some reason he and my wife came to me laughing and asking how they got into the freezer. I laugingly told them the shirt stunk so it was nessasary to freeze the stink in order to be kind to the person who does my laundry. Pre-surgery that happened all the time, post op not so much but it's starting to happen more and more again.
The really scary thing is as my wife says "But you never get lost". It is true many guys have this bad pride problem of not wanting to admit being lost. However normally I just don't get lost, put me anywhere and I can figure out which way to go. But for the last year or so since this stupid head problem started getting bad I can't tell what direction I'm going most of the time. Right before surgery I had several episodes like today, one where I literally didn't remember where to go until after speaking with my wife on the phone. Today my mind snapped out of it when I drove past the house where my wife was to be having a bible study. A very bizare feeling..... I don't recall if before the surgery I had this symptom or not but now that I"m back home and memory is back just the most severe chiari ha in quite some time. grrrrrrrrrrrr working on a talk and can't even focus on scripture
BTW- it's much worse to put the 2 liter of MD in the oven than to misplace a stack of clean clothes. Trust me, it's worse. Dunno how I would know that..... must have read it somewhere. :-)
Oh well, that is what John Wayne, Lous Lamore, and a few others shows are made for.. time to veg.
The other day I just had to smile on the outside and cringe on the inside. My youngest son found my shirt from the previous day and the bottle of Hershey's Chocolate in the freezer. For some reason he and my wife came to me laughing and asking how they got into the freezer. I laugingly told them the shirt stunk so it was nessasary to freeze the stink in order to be kind to the person who does my laundry. Pre-surgery that happened all the time, post op not so much but it's starting to happen more and more again.
The really scary thing is as my wife says "But you never get lost". It is true many guys have this bad pride problem of not wanting to admit being lost. However normally I just don't get lost, put me anywhere and I can figure out which way to go. But for the last year or so since this stupid head problem started getting bad I can't tell what direction I'm going most of the time. Right before surgery I had several episodes like today, one where I literally didn't remember where to go until after speaking with my wife on the phone. Today my mind snapped out of it when I drove past the house where my wife was to be having a bible study. A very bizare feeling..... I don't recall if before the surgery I had this symptom or not but now that I"m back home and memory is back just the most severe chiari ha in quite some time. grrrrrrrrrrrr working on a talk and can't even focus on scripture
BTW- it's much worse to put the 2 liter of MD in the oven than to misplace a stack of clean clothes. Trust me, it's worse. Dunno how I would know that..... must have read it somewhere. :-)
Oh well, that is what John Wayne, Lous Lamore, and a few others shows are made for.. time to veg.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hey Shannon...Yeah I know what u mean...I have opened the freezer to put something in that just does not belong in there and yeah, I just stand there and laugh...the only other choice is to cry.....and if it is going to hurt...laughing is more fun : )
That's scary..I can relate. Before surgery when I was having a lot of problems but I didn't know what was wrong...I put my two year old in his highchair for a snack and then went back to what I was doing. Somehow, I completely forgot I did that and when I couldn't find him I went into panic mode and was ready to start running around the neighborhood looking for him. I happened to run into the kitchen and see him contently eating and it really scared me that I could completely forget like that.... I've had smaller issues since then but nothing as scary as that. Post-op I am still finding word finding hard...the other day at a party I was trying to tell someone that I had to wait for my son to get back from a walk before I left. I just couldn't get the right words out and all that came out is that he was missing which is not what I meant!! They were looking at me like what do you mean? You know he went for a walk. I was really tired at that point so I just blamed not feeling well!!
That is scary wolf! Sorry you went through that. Mine hasn't gotten that bad ... Yet but i have had times where i was driving to the school or the store (places i go all the time even though i'm not driving much anymore) and halfway there would not remember the first part of the drive. And selma, the word recall is getting really bad! Then i have times where i go to get a glass out of the cabinet but i open the cabinet with the plates and i just stand there and stare wondering why the glasses aren't there ... Then i just laugh! I mean sometimes you just got laugh at this crazyness called chiari. When it comes to my cabinets i'm a little OCD. My friends have always picked on me bc my cabinets are "perfect" lol but here lately there's no telling what you'll find when you open the cabinet ... like a stack of the girl's clothes next to the peanut butter! LOL
COMMUNITY LEADER
HI Wolf..wow that must have been a bit scary.....I have done that once or twice b4 surgery, but not to that extreme...I had a recall issue with a word the other day....I wanted to tell DH that the weather called for snow flurries with a viability problem due to the winds...all I could get out is there will be snow and u could have vision problems....about 2 hrs later the word visibility finally came to me....it is frustrating and I had an idea but could not get it out...but I was close and DH said he knows how to figure out my cryptic messages.
I have not had the issue like driving, since I do not drive.....but not had an issue as scary as urs....I hope the drs find out what is going on for u......
I imagine this is keeping u away from the woodshop yet.....
Keep us posted on how u r and what the drs find out : )
"selma"
I have not had the issue like driving, since I do not drive.....but not had an issue as scary as urs....I hope the drs find out what is going on for u......
I imagine this is keeping u away from the woodshop yet.....
Keep us posted on how u r and what the drs find out : )
"selma"
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