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5887915 tn?1383378780

Cognition anyone?

Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a Merry Christmas or holiday season.

I saw my Neuro recently & he wants me to have some cognitive testing done. He seemed a little concerned about me which is nice but also a bit of a worry. :-(  I will be having a repeat MRI soon as well.

I have noticed my cognitive problems, speech problems & memory problems but hadn't realised they were that bad. I am a bit nervous about having these tests because through what I have read about them I'm going to fail badly.

If anyone has had cognitive testing & has some advice I would appreciate that. I'm not so good at simple arithmetic so should I mention this to them before starting? I know that fatigue plays a role in many of these issues & they said to expect the tests to take 60 to 90 minutes. How do you stay on top of these tests if your fatigued?

Thanks.....Karry.
18 Responses
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5887915 tn?1383378780
Thanks Kelly.
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Avatar universal
Good to hear the testing was good in that area!
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5887915 tn?1383378780
Thanks Kyle!  I've decided to duck tap my bag of marbles to be sure lol. :-)

Karry.
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1831849 tn?1383228392
Great news Karry! Isn't it nice to know there is no hole in your marble bag :-)

Kyle
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5887915 tn?1383378780
Thanks Corrie. It was a big surprise to me. I am still going to work on my cognition anyway because I can clearly see there are things I can improve on.

Karry.
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Avatar universal
That's awesome news! What a relief and a wonderful way to start the year.

Like you, some areas I thought I did poorly on in the testing but apparently not as bad when compared to the average.

Corrie
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5887915 tn?1383378780
Thanks everyone for your imput. It's always appreciated.

I have since been back to my Neuro who told me my cognitive tests were very good. I honestly didn't think I did so well in certain areas like memory & processing speed but maybe it isn't as bad as I thought it was. It was only an hour of testing which gave him a rough idea of where I'm at.

He also said my MRI is stable & he doesn't need to see me for 6 months. Yay! It is soooo nice to have some good news for a change.

I also wanted to add big THANK YOU to the caring people on this forum. You have always given me honest, informative & caring feedback. I am not sure if some of you are aware of how much difference you can make to a persons life. So again a big THANK YOU to you all & thanks for caring. :-)

Have a good day.

Karry.
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695104 tn?1442193588
That's a good way to look at it, Karry. Finding out how things are will take away some of the "What ifs??", too...

I have to really watch my worrywort self and the "What ifs??". Thats another thing my husband is smart about..he really is much better at not fretting over things than I am... I know worrying won't change a thing, yet it's a hard habit to get out of. I used to tease that I worry if there's nothing to worry about..lol..

Regards,
C
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5887915 tn?1383378780
Your hubby does sound like a smart guy to me. I am not competitive by nature but I do like to do my best in everything I do in life. I think I find any sort of exams difficult. When I was studying in my late teens & early 20's I would find any exam would invoke me to forget the things I had worked so hard to learn.

If someone gave me an exam & said here go home & bring it back I would have no issues with it. I think it's more the feeling that you are under pressure that makes me start to screw up big time lol. It will be good to see what is going on with that side of things with me though.

Take care......Karry.
Helpful - 0
695104 tn?1442193588
Forgot to add, with my "loopy brain" - What I call my Lupus addled brain sometimes, I can definitely relate to cognitive issues.

Regards,
C
Helpful - 0
695104 tn?1442193588
Hi,
Just wanted to say great advice above!

I am on the other side of this, in that when we eval patients for OT, there may be some testing that involves cognition and memory. Of course every patient is different, so evaluations differ, too. There is a "standard protocol", but of course there are also adjustments built in so to speak, as everyone is different.

I always think of what my husband told me back when I had taken my state board licensing test...when classmates started getting their results, a few wanted to know everyone's actual numerical score. Even though there was a numerical grade, there was also a cut off number that anything above was "Pass". Below was "Fail".
At 1st I did kind of wonder if my grade was in the upper or lower groups? Then my oh so smart husband said to me, " It's pass/fail, doesn't matter what the number is. You either get licensed, or you don't."
So simple, and yet I was trying to complicate it...I knew he was a smart guy when I married him! :-)

I agree it can be nerve wracking wondering, but I try and think about how far we've come these days. And early intervention (if intervention is needed) can help in many cases.

Take care!

C
Helpful - 0
5887915 tn?1383378780
Thank you so much for the support.

I have been trying to prepare for the test but as some of you have mentioned this is pointless. I think what I have realised from your answers is that I am not alone which is somewhat of a relief.

I think there must be different types of testing because I know mine is not as long as some of you have mentioned. I will try not to look at this as a pass or fail situation. I am hoping I can find out what areas need work & try to do some brain training to hopefully improve those areas.

Thank you all again. I'm feeling a lot less alone today after reading you have all had testing as well.

Karry.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I wouldn't worry to much about the test or preparing for it or fatigue during it. That's what the test is for - & they may note this on your results - that due to fatigue, you may be worse at some times during the day because of your fatigue. My inital test was from 9am to 3pm, then the last one I just did was from 9am to about 1pm.

Then I had to wait a month for my results.
They found cognitive problems in many areas ie executive functioning, processing speed, attention, memory, visuospatial, etc. Some of the tests like executive functioning I am severely impaired on. And they also tested my fingers for motor dexterity & speed which showed moderately impaired for both, bilaterally.

They've decided to put me on Namenda XR that's typically prescribed for Alzheimer's/Dementia.  It seems to be helping a little bit.

-Kelly  
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1831849 tn?1383228392
Hi Karry -

I want to reinforce what others have said. Don't worry about failing the test. You can't. Don't try and prepare for the test, other than being well rested. You can't. Don't worry if you get frustrated during the test. We all did.

Before the test I was having trouble finding words. Mid sentance I would stare off into space looking for a word. SOmetimes I would find it, other times I wouldn't. I was convinced I was loosing my marbles.

A week later I met with the neuropsychologist that administered the test. She said "I have good news and bad news. The good news is your're average. The bad news is you're average) :-)

Eventually my word losing faded and I'm back to my version of normal. It will be good to establish a cognitive baseline early.

Kyle
Helpful - 0
645800 tn?1466860955
Do not think of the test as a pass or fail. It is to determine your weaknesses and formulated a plan to deal with them in your every day life.

Personally I think the one that takes 4-6 hours (mine took 5 hours in all) give a better picture of how you are able to handle cognitive issues in your life. The break down of how my testing went is as follows.

1 hr talking to Neuro Psych doctor where he explains the test process, asks about what kind of problems you are having, and determines which tests he will do.

about 2.5 hours of various tests.
about 45 minutes where the doctor goes over the results and telling you his recommendations to deal with the issues he has found.

The rest of the 5 hours were breaks and time setting up for the tests.

Due to the length of the test process my doctor was able to see the decline in my ability to handle problems as a fatigued. It also help with getting my MS DX as it showed that my test results were typical for someone with MS.

Dennis


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Avatar universal
Hi there, I had mine done a couple of months ago and it was a little over 4 hours but there was a break about halfway through.

The neuropsych administered it and met with me for an hour to go over my results a couple of weeks later.

I admit that I was quite upset at the results until I sat down with the report and dissected it.

For example, I had always had problems putting things together and following directions so I think I was always weaker in those areas. I do think that has gotten worse over the last while so it was lower than I expected.

I have issues with what they call executive function, attention, memory, visuospatial, and some others.

It helps to know what I am working with and then I had follow ups with an OT to help me with coping strategies.

I have also been told by many that geting the eval done gives a baseline which can be helpful later on.

Try not to worry too much, it is a very good idea to have it done and I am sure you have learned it is a good thing to get as much info as possible in situations like ours.

Corrie
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1740498 tn?1328962585
My testing took 60-90 min. They did a bunch of screening tests for language, memory, and basic orientation, such as asking me to say as many words as I could that started with a certain letter or asking me to memorize a list of words and repeat them back. From what I can recall, it was the mini mental, Boston Screening, and a memory screening test.

As far as staying on top of the tests if you are fatigued... I suppose you don't. The point is to have testing that shows how you are doing every day. They do not stop the 500-meter walk if I am tired (although I wish they would), and the neuropsych technician will not stop the cognitive tests if you are tired.

Actually, do you know if it will be neuropsych or speech/language? Mine was neuropsych, but I was displeased with how things were conducted. This was at Johns Hopkins. I never met the neuropsychologist face to face, only a technician. And then the neuropsych from up a report about me.. never having met me.

Neuropsych has a mediocre understanding of language, because that is not their area of specialty. They do better with memory and processing speech. I have been meaning to make an appointment with a speech-language pathologist ever since a psychologist said that I have aphasia. I am a speech pathologist myself and failed to recognize it! But I do have trouble answering questions or coming up with words. Better some days and worse some days, just like everything else up in here.

Best of luck. I do not think you need to be nervous about this testing. Least painful tests you will ever have. :)

BC
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900662 tn?1469390305
I've been there  and done that twice now..   second test was 19 months later.

As far as the testing goes,  it may be 4-6 hours and you may take breaks,   try to get  the best rest your able to get before testing.

You won't have to reveal any deficits,  the tesst will  distinguish any areas  in the brain that are impacted.  Keep in mind  there are normal changes in the brain and not every thing is related to lesions and then some deficits are related.


I have a damaged working memory and slower processing speed which is related to the lesions,  I'm not DX  with MS.
I knew something was off when I sent out Cert mail and the person never received it,  it was returned to me, I had addressed it wrong,  and dialing wrong phone numbers.


I have posted  my Neuo testing report under my photo's if  you would like to have a  look.


Keep in mind  that once you learn about your short comings they  may be able to help you over come them.


I hope this helps
take care
JB
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