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Suddeen memory loss and spatial orientation
My sister went from beeing a fully functioning person to completely disabled in matter of months. Paranoid and crying all the time, not able to work with international money matters in a big bank.
She reports tightening around her thyroid, when out suddenly not knowing where she is at, night sweats drenching her T-shirt, earlier problems with her bowels seem to have faded.
She is a 36 yo white female. Background: we lost our Father under horrific circumstances last year (I took care of him as none of my other family members could), she stopped smoking at that time and moved after his death away from her boyfriend that she had known for almost 6 years- bad relationship.
My diagnosis has all along been severe stress which caused a possible psychosis, and has brought physical signs on.
She is seeing a psychiatrist, medicated, had tests (CT scans with and without contrast, general bloodwork, and bowel tests etc)run, all negative.
She thinks that she has cancer, but that they just haven't found it yet or an infection affecting her nerves.
I think that after seeing how our Father suffered she wasn't completely able to quit smoking, and because she did it while he was sick it put even more stress on her. Combined with leaving someone you have known for a long time( same as death?) it sent her over the edge.
Please advice if I am off base with my assesment. Any help is appreciated, Thank in advance.
She reports tightening around her thyroid, when out suddenly not knowing where she is at, night sweats drenching her T-shirt, earlier problems with her bowels seem to have faded.
She is a 36 yo white female. Background: we lost our Father under horrific circumstances last year (I took care of him as none of my other family members could), she stopped smoking at that time and moved after his death away from her boyfriend that she had known for almost 6 years- bad relationship.
My diagnosis has all along been severe stress which caused a possible psychosis, and has brought physical signs on.
She is seeing a psychiatrist, medicated, had tests (CT scans with and without contrast, general bloodwork, and bowel tests etc)run, all negative.
She thinks that she has cancer, but that they just haven't found it yet or an infection affecting her nerves.
I think that after seeing how our Father suffered she wasn't completely able to quit smoking, and because she did it while he was sick it put even more stress on her. Combined with leaving someone you have known for a long time( same as death?) it sent her over the edge.
Please advice if I am off base with my assesment. Any help is appreciated, Thank in advance.
A related discussion, spatial orientation was started.
I think you should seriously consider your sister may have been hit with an infectious disease. Ticks carry a large number of diseases that can cause problems which range from mild to fatal. Very few doctors, including those specializing in Infectious Diseases, are very knowledgeable of the dangers of these diseases, the effects they have and how to properly treat them. In fact, for these very reasons the treatment of tick transmitted diseases are still very crude and researchers have a long way to go in finding the best treatments.
There are a few tick transmitted diseases you should definitely have your sister evaluated for as soon as possible. One of these is Lyme Disease. Testing is extremely unreliable. There are over 100 strains of the disease and the tests are based primarily on the strains found in Lyme, CT. Unfortunately, this is not representative of the rest of the US but has basically be forced upon us. In addtion, the standard tests are very poor due to the fact the main labs doing the testing have been allowed to delete the most common bands which will show up on a Western Blot. This has been done due to the fact that certain groups have a financial interest in developing a vaccine (despite currently saying the disease is easy to diagnose and cure). These strains have been removed from the tests despite the fact only a tiny portion of the US population has ever been vaccinated. In those that were, about 1/3 developed the disease. Avoid the Elisa, it is as accurate as flipping a coin. The only lab I'd recommend is out of CA and it is called Igenex. This lab will test all 32 bands of the Western Blot where most labs only test for about 13.
One tick transmitted disease I think you should seriously consider your sister as possibly being exposed to is Babesia. It is notorious for causing night sweats - as well as potential heart problems. Many people report feeling like their body is "vibrating". Both Babesia and Lyme cause memory problems. The course of either illness may be slow building or sudden and severe.
You're sister may have never even seen a tick on her but that does not mean she could not have been bitten. Approximately less than 50% of those who have been bitten know there was a tick on them. Ticks numb their victims when they bite so you do not feel them on you. You can see less than half of your body and most of the time it is covered by clothing. Plus, if she was bitten by a deer tick it could have been almost impossible to see even if it was on exposed skin. They are often only the size of a pin head - very easy to miss. You do not need to be in the woods to pick up a tick. Simply walking across your own lawn or standing under a tree (squirrels and birds carry ticks - ticks hone in on CO2 and will drop out of the branches) is an exposure to ticks. Pets which go outdoors are prime carriers of ticks into homes.
Tick transmitted diseases can be very difficult to eliminate despite current and very inaccurate thinking that they are easily cured. Even if the disease causing pathogen has been destroyed the victim may still have damage caused by the initial infection.
I have late stage Lyme Disease. I was hit very hard by the disease very early and came very close to dying because no one would believe that I was so sick - esp from a tick bite in the south. My temperature was never high - in fact it is now almost always about 1 to 1.5 degrees below normal. My blood pressure was normally 118/79 but now runs around 100/60 so no eyebrows were raised there. I went into a doctors office severely fatigued, heavy pain in my neck, headaches, sweating and having woke up that morning with one side of my body numb, I was also disoriented...yet raised no eyebrows and none of these symptoms were recorded. I was given nothing and went home with little doubt I would die. I was fortunate that I had found a Lyme site and had begged for someone to help me find a knowledgeable doctor I that would have been my fate.
I would advise that you go to the www.lymenet.org as well as www.lymeinfo.net and read what you can find there to help your sister. Yes, she may be suffering from stress due to things that have happened in her environment but I honestly believe that the psychological blame many doctors place on their patients is how they take the easy way out when they themselves do not know the answer to the problem or have the time or desire to do the research to find it. I truly believe many of society's "mental" illnesses are actually physical in origin. Exhaust yourself looking for an acutal cause before you write her off to just being mentally ill. Memory loss is big key to infection.
Best wishes to you and your sister for a healthier future.
There are a few tick transmitted diseases you should definitely have your sister evaluated for as soon as possible. One of these is Lyme Disease. Testing is extremely unreliable. There are over 100 strains of the disease and the tests are based primarily on the strains found in Lyme, CT. Unfortunately, this is not representative of the rest of the US but has basically be forced upon us. In addtion, the standard tests are very poor due to the fact the main labs doing the testing have been allowed to delete the most common bands which will show up on a Western Blot. This has been done due to the fact that certain groups have a financial interest in developing a vaccine (despite currently saying the disease is easy to diagnose and cure). These strains have been removed from the tests despite the fact only a tiny portion of the US population has ever been vaccinated. In those that were, about 1/3 developed the disease. Avoid the Elisa, it is as accurate as flipping a coin. The only lab I'd recommend is out of CA and it is called Igenex. This lab will test all 32 bands of the Western Blot where most labs only test for about 13.
One tick transmitted disease I think you should seriously consider your sister as possibly being exposed to is Babesia. It is notorious for causing night sweats - as well as potential heart problems. Many people report feeling like their body is "vibrating". Both Babesia and Lyme cause memory problems. The course of either illness may be slow building or sudden and severe.
You're sister may have never even seen a tick on her but that does not mean she could not have been bitten. Approximately less than 50% of those who have been bitten know there was a tick on them. Ticks numb their victims when they bite so you do not feel them on you. You can see less than half of your body and most of the time it is covered by clothing. Plus, if she was bitten by a deer tick it could have been almost impossible to see even if it was on exposed skin. They are often only the size of a pin head - very easy to miss. You do not need to be in the woods to pick up a tick. Simply walking across your own lawn or standing under a tree (squirrels and birds carry ticks - ticks hone in on CO2 and will drop out of the branches) is an exposure to ticks. Pets which go outdoors are prime carriers of ticks into homes.
Tick transmitted diseases can be very difficult to eliminate despite current and very inaccurate thinking that they are easily cured. Even if the disease causing pathogen has been destroyed the victim may still have damage caused by the initial infection.
I have late stage Lyme Disease. I was hit very hard by the disease very early and came very close to dying because no one would believe that I was so sick - esp from a tick bite in the south. My temperature was never high - in fact it is now almost always about 1 to 1.5 degrees below normal. My blood pressure was normally 118/79 but now runs around 100/60 so no eyebrows were raised there. I went into a doctors office severely fatigued, heavy pain in my neck, headaches, sweating and having woke up that morning with one side of my body numb, I was also disoriented...yet raised no eyebrows and none of these symptoms were recorded. I was given nothing and went home with little doubt I would die. I was fortunate that I had found a Lyme site and had begged for someone to help me find a knowledgeable doctor I that would have been my fate.
I would advise that you go to the www.lymenet.org as well as www.lymeinfo.net and read what you can find there to help your sister. Yes, she may be suffering from stress due to things that have happened in her environment but I honestly believe that the psychological blame many doctors place on their patients is how they take the easy way out when they themselves do not know the answer to the problem or have the time or desire to do the research to find it. I truly believe many of society's "mental" illnesses are actually physical in origin. Exhaust yourself looking for an acutal cause before you write her off to just being mentally ill. Memory loss is big key to infection.
Best wishes to you and your sister for a healthier future.
Thank you for the advice, much appreciated. Sincerely Nolan
I am not a psychiatrist, but if all the other testing has been normal then her symptoms may be secondary to anxiety or stress. You should encourage her to continue working with her psychiatrist and make sure that her complaints have been evaluated thoroughly by her medical doctors. Good luck.
Sorry, I accidentally posted prematurely- note to self, don't press enter... Anyways, I too noticed dramatic effects on my memory. Once I started on an anti-depressant (Effexor) combined with therapy, and time off work, I really recovered a lot. It is difficult to admit you need help, and sometimes you need to try several different meds, and sometimes even different Therapists, before you get some relief. You never mentioned whether you sister had her thyroid investigated. It is amazing what type of symptoms thyroid disease can have- including psychosis in some people. Bless you for being so concerned for your sister- she is lucky to have you in her corner. I hope she finds a solution. soon.
I don't want to pretend to be a Physician, but perhaps your sister is depressed. I too lost my Mother last year under horrible circumstances. I also have a stressful job. I found myself crying all the time and having very negative thoughts. I felt life was not worth living. I was anxious all the time and fearful for my own and my families lives. Physical symptoms- bowel problems, pain, sleep disturbances, extreme fatigue, hypervigilance and loss of interest in things that normally we enjoy, even preoccupation with physical symptoms- all can be symptoms of depression- you don't need to be suicidal.
She did have her thyroid examed, along with all other systems all negative results. I took that as good news, but of course she looks different at it.
I just wanted to make sure that the symptoms of loss of spatial orientation and memory loss( short term) COULD be part of the stress and depression and not only be other neurological symptoms.
I have come upon something that might help her and hope to get her started while I am there and possibly take her back to a long vacation here, so she is around people.
I just wanted to make sure that the symptoms of loss of spatial orientation and memory loss( short term) COULD be part of the stress and depression and not only be other neurological symptoms.
I have come upon something that might help her and hope to get her started while I am there and possibly take her back to a long vacation here, so she is around people.
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