scary moment

[bairdy]

hi folks
hope you are all well
i was out in the car with my wife this afternoon.
and as i turned a corner i competly forgot where i was or why or what i was doing!!!!!!!!
it totally freaked me out cos i had just said to my wife how did we get here what are we doing???
she got me to pull over till i got my bearings again.
it has happend a couple of times over the last year or so but never anyone with me.
after i sorted out my thoughts i just cried adn said wow that was scary!!!
as this ever happend to any of you?
regards bairdy

[HVAC]

Yes this happens to me. So I make sure when I am in the car I really tune in. It has happened to me out on a walk as well. Mostly it is when I am tired so I try not to drive when I am tired.

Alex

[bairdy]

hi mary
yes my wife has noticed so much over the last twelve months she says my short tern memory is shocking and has defo progressed.
and says i hve changed in many other ways too?
god bless her she is my rock !!!
regards bairdy

[twopack]

This is most likely a result of being overly busy, or tired, o stressed, or of the brain taking over a task it assumed you were planning by your first few moves (that's helpful sometimes and scary at other times) or was a simple failure of multi-tasking (a recognized risk for people with MS).

What input did you get from the wife?  Has she noticed other bobbles that you haven't been especially aware of?  Our spouse usually knows our normal better than any person or medical test.  My MS specialist 'consults' with my husband or daughter as he does his exams and observes my gait.  He knows that they know.

I doubt there is a need for big worry but it never hurts to keep the doc up to date on new developments or deficits.  If you happen to forget what the green/yellow/red laterns hanging across the road are all about...... THAT would be reason to hand over the keys and get some help urgently.

Mary

[Sumanadevii]

I will play the bad cop.  

Get your butt to a doctor.  You could be having mini strokes.

[huff1711]

I hate to admit it but I've found myself running red lights. It's a miracle nothings happened. Not sure if I see it as green from a distance, then it changes before I look at it again. Maybe I just don't even look period. It's only happened maybe 5 times, but I have to now pay extra attention to the lights all the way till I get past them.

[RedFlame]

What happened is a bit of dissociation that everyone has at some time or another.  People suddenly have no idea where they are and sometimes who they are.  People find themselves driving too far or not knowing where they are.  It is really scary when it happens.  
Automatic Pilot is the term I have used.  

Perhaps it happens more with MS I don't know.  

It happens to me when I am anxious or overwhelmed.  

Like lu said, don't read into this, remember it's a normal thing and perhaps you need to rest.

Red

It's OK

[jensequitur]

This happens to me quite often.  It's different from just forgetting why you came in a room.  It's a total drop of all information - why you're there, where you're going.  This has gotten better as I've recovered some cognitive ability, so don't despair!

[Eyesnlegs]

Lulu is right - Just to keep you feet on the ground too, we were out in the car last weekend and my husband went twice round a roundabout then pulled over as he forgot where he was too.

BTW I am the one with MS not him 0 he just had a senior moment! It happens to lots of people  I think it happens to those with neurological problems more often but it is only a matter of losing the recall button.

Pat x

[figuerpa]

Bairdy,

I have had this happen to me before, it is definatley a scary feeling for those who have never had it happen to them.

I had it happen to me one time, well more than once but here is an example lol, me and my son were driving and he asked me if we could go to this store and I said sure, mind you I drive this area all the time, and I got completely lost. I knew I was driving but had not clue where to go. My 10 year old son had to tell me how to get to the store and once there I got a cold drink and got my wits about me and we were on our way. It is  very scary.

With that said, I never really thought about it as a symptom. I just chalked it up to one of those moments. I do drive right past my exits and turns all the time, just did it this morning when I was going to get my ultrasound.

I know how you feel and if you feel it is something that needs to be checked out then by all means do so, but just know you aren't alone :) I am pretty sure this was brought up once before because I remember bringing up this same story lol so it had to be about this.

I do have my gps with me at all times now so that if I do get lost I can find my way out lmbo.

Take care,
Paula

[Lulu54]

Bairdy,
Don't read too much into this, yet.  This happens to everyone at some time or another.  We've kicked this around here quite a bit, too.

We're driving down the road and all of a sudden realize we don't know how we got there or even more troublesome, where the heck we are.  

If this becomes a regular problem then I would talk to the doctor about it but for now, please try to relax  and not make too much of this, ok?

Lulu

[COBOB]

I occasionally auto pilot past an exit on the highway and I usually do it while someone else is in the truck.  One night I did kind of loose track of where I was headed and ended up about 25 miles East of my house having missed a left turn.  Had to use GPS to figure out how to get home since the only thing around me was fields of Oil Sunflowers and dirt roads.   I was well on my way to Kansas.  Thats about it.

Come to think about it, navigating those UK roundabouts and the M5 while driving on the left in a car with the steering wheel on the right, confused the heck out of me a few months ago.  :-)

Bob