Aa
Grabbing at words and other problems
I have notice some new problems lately. One I am constantly searching for the words I need. I have to stop and pause or describe or start over and usually it take a long time to find the word, or I never find it. I am really struggling with that. I don't know if this is something I should be worried about or not, but when it happens like 10-20 times a day it gets hard to communicate.
Also I make a lot more little mistakes. Like mislabeling, missing little details, forgetting little things and not being able to multitask. I used to be very good at all of these things. I never had a calender because I could remember everything. I used to be doing like a hundred different things at once and now I am lucky if I can do one.
Yes thanks to gabapentin the pain is mostly gone, but I can still feel my muscles twiching all of the time. Especially in the morning and a night. Sometime when I wake up at night or in the morning I feel like the whole room is shaking like the bed I am on and everything. And sometimes I am shaking. or feel like it. Also I sometime will feel like I am throbbing, but without the pain does that make sense.
Most of the pain is gone unless I forget to take neurontin then it comes back. Yes I have these on my timeline, but are they things to get worried about.
Oh and one more. I am getting little black things floating around in my vision on and off. Sometime they are dots and sometimes they are lines.
Tahiri
Also I make a lot more little mistakes. Like mislabeling, missing little details, forgetting little things and not being able to multitask. I used to be very good at all of these things. I never had a calender because I could remember everything. I used to be doing like a hundred different things at once and now I am lucky if I can do one.
Yes thanks to gabapentin the pain is mostly gone, but I can still feel my muscles twiching all of the time. Especially in the morning and a night. Sometime when I wake up at night or in the morning I feel like the whole room is shaking like the bed I am on and everything. And sometimes I am shaking. or feel like it. Also I sometime will feel like I am throbbing, but without the pain does that make sense.
Most of the pain is gone unless I forget to take neurontin then it comes back. Yes I have these on my timeline, but are they things to get worried about.
Oh and one more. I am getting little black things floating around in my vision on and off. Sometime they are dots and sometimes they are lines.
Tahiri
Just picked this one up, again. Great tip, except when you're annoyed with the other person! A lot of my conversations in the legal dept are filled with suppressed anger from my side, any attempt to move my hands around may result in my slapping the other party. Often happens with some of my doctors too. Telling them after they are rolling around on the floor crying that I was just looking for the right word may not...how ironic..I can't think of the right word....work? My hands are best kept firmly digging my nails into my palms while I attempt to appear calm and collected. But for other situations it is a good technique, and explains why foreigners gesture so much! I did the same living in countries where I didn't speak the language. Maybe we all have an inbuilt sign language backup system?
Thanks for the tips! Word recall is my most frustrating and embarrasing problems that I'm dealing with. If you have anything else having to do with word recall --please post them. I'm all ears!
Deb
Deb
Thanks! for that. I wonder if that is the reason we all gesture frnatically when the word won't come. I don't think it is just frustration. When I am frustrated about other things I don't gesture that way. I think I just swear...
There is lots of research to support the use of "movement" in facilitating word production, word recall, increasing fluency etc. So it make sense that when typing word retrieval is better and more fluent. There was a study that indicating just moving your hands or tapping can help you remember a word.
Melodic intonation therapy, motor learning theory etc. The brain has so many areas responsible for the different aspects of speech... language, articualtion, word recall, etc.
A cognitive evaluation by a speech therapist can be helpfully for baseline function and recommendations to help with cognitive deficits.
rebeccah aka "speechgeek"
Melodic intonation therapy, motor learning theory etc. The brain has so many areas responsible for the different aspects of speech... language, articualtion, word recall, etc.
A cognitive evaluation by a speech therapist can be helpfully for baseline function and recommendations to help with cognitive deficits.
rebeccah aka "speechgeek"
It's 1:00 AM and since I slept through the midday and early evening, I sit here awake reading and playing guitar (headphones).
This search for words, memory loss, confusion that disables multitasking are probably my biggest and most worrisome symptoms. Since these are the things that I rely on at work, it has become a major problem and one that is difficult to explain to anyone that isn't familiar with these symptoms. Of course the dizziness ranks right up these, but that seems to come and go, but the word searching and memory loss seem ever present.
Just commenting, nothing really to add in the way of help.
This search for words, memory loss, confusion that disables multitasking are probably my biggest and most worrisome symptoms. Since these are the things that I rely on at work, it has become a major problem and one that is difficult to explain to anyone that isn't familiar with these symptoms. Of course the dizziness ranks right up these, but that seems to come and go, but the word searching and memory loss seem ever present.
Just commenting, nothing really to add in the way of help.
Me, too!
I don't have any great tips, but these days I read all my emails (especially work ones) several times before I hit post. Not only have my typing skills deteriorated (especially my left hand), but I am prone to put in completely wrong words. For example, in a work email this week, I wrote symptoms instead of systems. That one maybe could be chalked up to a Freudian slip, but plenty of these substitutions have no rhyme or reason, even farfetched. Plus I have to watch out for lots of the they're/their/there kinds of mistakes that I never used to make.
I also started doing this thing where I don't notice that I'm resting my hands on the keyboard with just a little too much pressure and all the sudden I've got a whole row of s's or d's.
Yesterday I nearly put an envelope in the mail into which I had forgotten to insert the check. Fortunately, I noticed the check on the desk (unsigned) and managed to pry the well-sealed envelope open enough to jam it in.
I never used to have to worry about this kind of stuff. Now I'm paranoid about what weird things I might be doing (or failing to do) and not even noticing.
sho (desperately wishing she could bend over in the garden for more than thirty seconds at a stretch without her legs collapsing--fortunately grass makes for a soft landing)
I don't have any great tips, but these days I read all my emails (especially work ones) several times before I hit post. Not only have my typing skills deteriorated (especially my left hand), but I am prone to put in completely wrong words. For example, in a work email this week, I wrote symptoms instead of systems. That one maybe could be chalked up to a Freudian slip, but plenty of these substitutions have no rhyme or reason, even farfetched. Plus I have to watch out for lots of the they're/their/there kinds of mistakes that I never used to make.
I also started doing this thing where I don't notice that I'm resting my hands on the keyboard with just a little too much pressure and all the sudden I've got a whole row of s's or d's.
Yesterday I nearly put an envelope in the mail into which I had forgotten to insert the check. Fortunately, I noticed the check on the desk (unsigned) and managed to pry the well-sealed envelope open enough to jam it in.
I never used to have to worry about this kind of stuff. Now I'm paranoid about what weird things I might be doing (or failing to do) and not even noticing.
sho (desperately wishing she could bend over in the garden for more than thirty seconds at a stretch without her legs collapsing--fortunately grass makes for a soft landing)
You brought up a subject that hits very close to home for me and many others in our forum. Your experiences and the responses from others above have been very helpful and informative for me as I can surely relate. I'm in the process right now of putting all these wonderful responses together so I can print it out and have my children read it. I hope it will help them understand why I am having a problems "finding a word" or why I have to have them repeat things they are telling me. For example, I tell my daughter to put something in the cabinet, but I can't find the word "cabinet" I can see the cabinet in my mind and know what I want to say, but the word just doesn't come out for several seconds. When this happens, the kids say "mom, use your words". Another thing is that they think I have a hearing problem because I have to have them repeat stuff even when they are sitting right next to me. At work I am having problems with multitasking and have to triple check any email that I send out because tons of words are misspelled and don't come up on spell check. I NEVER had these problems in the past - NEVER. This is for me the most frustrating part of whatever is going on with me right now, even more frustrating than trying to find a good medication for the pain.
So, my dear Tahiri, you are in good company with this here and thanks again for bringing this topic up. Maybe we can make it a health topic - or is there one already?
Julie
So, my dear Tahiri, you are in good company with this here and thanks again for bringing this topic up. Maybe we can make it a health topic - or is there one already?
Julie
I have similar word finding problems. I always put it down to my medication but don't know. It is annoying when you start talking like English isn't your first language and have to struggle to find the vocabulary for simple words. Sometimes when I get the wrong word it messes up the conversation big time, the other person completely misunderstanding my point. Currently involved in a lot of legal type battles and it is becoming a real issue. I find myself carrying lists of things I want to say so if I get stuck I can take a pause while I look at the list and also get the right word. Also if I do come out with the wrong thing or can't find the word I say so. Fortunately my Czech looks (my family have been in the UK 100 years, but we all still look Slavic) are a bonus here, maybe the other person thinks English is my second language. And I'm blonde, expectations are generally lower for blondes...
Jen is correct about the kind of cognitive problems that people with MS suffer. Just listening here on the forum, word recall, memory and keeping mutliple things straight are among the most common. I find that my auditory memory really *****. My whole family has noticed that I stumble, stutter and generally pause and look blank seraching for words. I can define the word I want, but I cannot find it to use. It's frustrating becasue I have always had a great vocabulary.
I do not have the problem to nearly the same extent when I type. Maybe because it is so much slower and I have time, but I really think, I'm accessing a different part of my brain.
An interesting thing I learned about multitasking. MSers were studied with regard to the fluidity and straightness of their gait. Those with cognitive problems performed okay when done in silence, but showed more tripping, difficulty walking in a straight line, and more ataxia when they were engaged in conversation. So multitasking does not only apply to cognitive tasks. It includes the coordination of other skills, like walking. Weird, eh?
Wendy - I do hope we see you with your own thread on the first page! Welcome to the forum!
Quix
I do not have the problem to nearly the same extent when I type. Maybe because it is so much slower and I have time, but I really think, I'm accessing a different part of my brain.
An interesting thing I learned about multitasking. MSers were studied with regard to the fluidity and straightness of their gait. Those with cognitive problems performed okay when done in silence, but showed more tripping, difficulty walking in a straight line, and more ataxia when they were engaged in conversation. So multitasking does not only apply to cognitive tasks. It includes the coordination of other skills, like walking. Weird, eh?
Wendy - I do hope we see you with your own thread on the first page! Welcome to the forum!
Quix
Hey, Wendy! Welcome to the forum! I recommend that you post your story in a separate forum - we'll be able to welcome you properly, and answer your questions.
My cognitive problems have come in many forms.
• Word-finding and word replacement - I'll have problems finding the word I want, or I'll use a word that isn't the right one (but it's in the same category, or starts with the same letter.)
• Listening comprehension - Often it takes me three tries to actually understand what I'm hearing. Sometimes it feels like my brain has understood, but my mouth hasn't caught up yet.
• Short-term memory loss - Frequently I'll totally lose an event. Sometimes it's something small, like pouring myself a glass of tea, then forgetting I've done it. Sometimes it's larger, like forgetting to pay a bill.
• Attention and concentration - I find it very hard to do more than one thing at a time, and frequently have trouble even focusing on one task.
I haven't ever thought the light switch would turn the water on, but I have had similar confusion moments, briefly thinking that this action or that one was what I needed to do to get a task done, when in fact it was something else entirely.
My cognitive problems have come in many forms.
• Word-finding and word replacement - I'll have problems finding the word I want, or I'll use a word that isn't the right one (but it's in the same category, or starts with the same letter.)
• Listening comprehension - Often it takes me three tries to actually understand what I'm hearing. Sometimes it feels like my brain has understood, but my mouth hasn't caught up yet.
• Short-term memory loss - Frequently I'll totally lose an event. Sometimes it's something small, like pouring myself a glass of tea, then forgetting I've done it. Sometimes it's larger, like forgetting to pay a bill.
• Attention and concentration - I find it very hard to do more than one thing at a time, and frequently have trouble even focusing on one task.
I haven't ever thought the light switch would turn the water on, but I have had similar confusion moments, briefly thinking that this action or that one was what I needed to do to get a task done, when in fact it was something else entirely.
I just got on this website.I have/feel many different problems.For a long time now i have been feeling so weak.Esp. in my legs. i get muscle twitches anywhere in my body every day. I feel like I' in a fog at times, it feels like there,s a bug crawling on me on my leg/ ankle. My memory is shot, i feel like i,m gonna pass out sometimes.My ankles and hands jerk sometimes.
My vision sometimes looks like it looks during sunset.I do off the wall things sometimes like think the light switch will turn the sink water on and much much more. Anyone else feel or have this?
My vision sometimes looks like it looks during sunset.I do off the wall things sometimes like think the light switch will turn the sink water on and much much more. Anyone else feel or have this?
Yeah maybe but its all over in my legs my neck, my arms, etc. If that is it it would really suck. No offense.
Tahiri
Tahiri
I have a little tremor in my neck that comes and goes, and makes my head bob up and down. I look a little like a bobblehead doll on the dash of a car. It's possible you have a tremor in your back muscles.
Oh and I rock or feel like I am rocking. My husband says that sometimes when I a sitting still I rock back and forth even though I think I am sitting perfecly still. Other times I feel like I am rocking, which I might be but I don't think I am does that make sense.
Tahiri
Tahiri
Tahiri, the problems you describe are quite common with MS. Word-finding, multi-tasking, attention, concentration, all these are affected with MS. Even now, when I'm in remission, I have problems.
The psychologist recommended Aricept for my cognitive impairment - she had been diagnosed with MS five years previously, and it helped her a lot. I'm in the process of getting a prescription for it myself.
I don't like speed, or anything like that. But it sure would be nice if I could just WAKE UP and pay attention to what's going on around me! I feel sometimes like I'm in a fog.
The psychologist recommended Aricept for my cognitive impairment - she had been diagnosed with MS five years previously, and it helped her a lot. I'm in the process of getting a prescription for it myself.
I don't like speed, or anything like that. But it sure would be nice if I could just WAKE UP and pay attention to what's going on around me! I feel sometimes like I'm in a fog.
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