Lapses of attention and memory problems

[Navy Veteran]

Do any of you deal with this?
I have always had a great memory. I am a political junkie, sorry
This may just be a little problem, not the political part
When I am watching something I have to wait for it to be over before I can ask my wife a question or say something. When I can talk, a couple of minutes later, I literally can't remember what I wanted to say. I can't remember even when the show comes back on. It feels like it was just erased from my mind. I know it is just a little small thing, but it has now crept into my everyday life and in a way it is hurting me at work.
I am lucky because I am working for a company that its sole purpose is to help disabled Vets. I do not have to compete with anyone to get ahead. I am not in any danger of being fired because of my disability. Sorry, my posts tend to ramble on (another thing I never did).
Recently when I'm at work I am asked to do something. I start doing it and about 5 minutes later I have to ask what I was supposed to do.
I have also had people tell me that they see I don't completely focus on my work, most of the time. I have always been able to focus 100%. I am going into see my doctor in a couple of weeks. She is going to go over my neuro psychology test I took recently. The last two have found that these are getting worse. Have any of gone through this or are now? I am really worried.

 

[Dolores]

When I am watching something I have to wait for it to be over before I can ask my wife a question or say something. When I can talk, a couple of minutes later, I literally can't remember what I wanted to say. I can't remember even when the show comes back on. It feels like it was just erased from my mind... my posts tend to ramble on (another thing I never did).
Recently when I'm at work I am asked to do something. I start doing it and about 5 minutes later I have to ask what I was supposed to do.
I have also had people tell me that they see I don't completely focus on my work, most of the time. I have always been able to focus 100%.

Unfortunately for me, you have described the workings of my brain. My short term memory almost doesn't exist. I had my first seizure when I was 10 so I really don't remember how I was before. That was long before the internet so I thought my forgetting was just me. I couldn't even remember to ask my doctor about it. When I finally got Internet access and looked up epilepsy & memory I found some sites saying that they are definitely linked. I even found a study from England that said the various areas of the brain resulted in different types of memory loss. Lucky me - eegs have consistently shown epileptic activity in all areas of my brain even when my seizures are controlled.
I also believe my inability to focus is directly related to my lack of short term memory.

What I did discover was that the more I stressed about the problems, the worse they got. People who know me let me bumble on through (I have a hard time remembering words - the "its on the tip of my tongue" feeling) and I can get my point across even if not as eloquently as I would have wanted.

I also know that long term memories aren't necessarily lost however the linkage to them may be gone. What I have to do is put myself in situations where they can resurface, all the while not stressing about them.

I have a degree in theoretical mathematics and I stress the "theory" part. I didn't memorize theoretical proofs but rather rebuilt the proof every time I was asked about it. My classmates were amazed that I could do that while I was amazed that they could memorize the proofs.

And you may have noticed, I babble on. Because thinking of one thing leads to another and my brain doesn't have a set path it's going down - it just lives in the moment.

So to answer your question - yes, even those of us who have seizure control suffer from this.
Don't panic or stress, just figure out how to deal with it. Maybe stop comparing it to how you were and focus on how you are.

Sorry for all the babble.

 

[Navy Veteran]

I guess we both babble on. This is another thing that has occurred since my seizures began about 15 years ago.
I was an Air Traffic Controller. I always spoke clear, concise, and to the point. I did this on and off the job. I've noticed that instead of being clear and concise, I just "ramble" on because as you said, something keeps popping into my mind in which I start to veer off track.

 

[SlimBlue]

Sounds exactly like the main reason I quit my IT job at the end of last year.

I have memory brain damage due to encephalitis, but the meds definitely make it much worse

 

[George__]

Yes especially when I have my stints of hyper activity which came back with the recent dosage increase.

Heck I think I'm more normal after good amount of alcohol and cigarettes to be honest.

 

[SlimBlue]

I hate to post this- but I only ever post 100% truth on here- because it won't be good for a lot of people on here who are different from me and want to be able to drink, but booze actually reduces my seizure frequency

I'm not just randomly saying that, I'm the kind of OCD person that does monthly tests for these kind of things (it's the kind of thing I'd want to know).

We're all different though, and if you use this post as an excuse to get pissed, you're an addict and an idiot.

 

[valeriedl]

I have horrible memory problems.

I was 27 when I had my first seizure and I lost about 10 years of memory. There are a few things left of those 10 years but not much. I've come across pictures that I don't remember doing what the picture was taken of. My friends will tell me things that we did and I don't remember doing them at all. One of them asked me if I remembered the time when we stole a care and drove it to New York. I couldn't believe that we'd or that I'D done that until she started laughing and found out she was playing a joke on me.

I bet it took me close to 3 years to remember President Regan had died. Anytime something would come on TV about him I'd ask my husband when he died because I was so surprised. He would get so mad because he thought I was playing a joke on him. He told me that both of us watched his funeral on TV but I don't remember doing that at all. Now since it is sort of a joke I've finally remembered that he's died.

It seems the more I liked something or the funnier it was I seem to remember it. There was a job that I loved and I bet I could go back there and work with almost no problems. A few years a go my husband told me he thought he saw a UFO. Every time we see something in the sky I ask him if it's a UFO. He's so mad that I won't forget that.

I have trouble finding words. I was on the phone with the customer support people for my cable TV once and they asked where the TV was that I was having problems with. I kept thinking and thinking then finally said "It's in the room where we sleep at night". He asked me if I meant the bedroom and I told him yea, that's what room it is! The guy must have thought I was crazy. I know how to describe things but I can never think of what the actual word is.

I always laugh too that there is no such thing as a TV show repeat for me. Once they show it again I don't remember seeing it the first time. I hate it when they take those breaks in the winter and show repeats then show new episodes again. I can never remember where the story's left off.

I like to ramble on too but I'll stop for now. Let me know if you want me to keep going....

 

[SlimBlue]

Please do

We've said this before- but our conditions are sooo similar...

I only had a 3 year total blank, but most of my childhood as well was all scattered. I've got a lot of it back though- due to friends reminding me of the shared times we had. And helping me create different neuron pathways.

A lot of them may not be real memories returned, but the shared experiences they describe are enough to sort of give me those memories back..

I have trouble with words as well- I have to do the same and describe something instead of being able to remember the correct word for it..

 

[valeriedl]

Isn't there a game where you get a word and have to describe it to your team to get them to guess it? I bet we'd be good at that! I'll bet our team would win!

I'll keep rambling since you want me too....

I have to keep detailed notes everywhere about things that are going to happen or I'll forget what it is that's going to happen. You should see our calendar.

I also have a calendar in my purse that I keep as sort of a diary. I'll write down things that happened that day. Sometimes it helps me remember and other times it doesn't.

I was a vegetarian before I had my first seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy. I was put into a coma then. My parents kept me going as a vegetarian while I was in the hospital and after but they say since my memory is so bad that I probably wouldn't remember that I didn't eat meat and they could have gotten me back on it. I do eat meat now though, I started a few years ago.

My mom said that once when she came into the hospital I was so happy and excited. She asked why and I told her that I'd found out I had a tattoo! I don't know how many years I'd gotten it before I went into the hospital.

I had been dating a guy for about a year before I went into the hospital. I was with him when I had my very first seizure. He'd come visit me every day, tell me he loved me and give me a kiss good bye (I don't remember this now of course). One day I asked my grandma who this guy was. She told me that he was my boyfriend and I had no clue. My parents were worried that I was going to be upset when he broke up with me, I think he actually did it through them. It wasn't because I had epilepsy, I think, but I know there were several different reasons. I really couldn't have cared less because I didn't remember a thing about him.

My husband's always afraid that I'm going to come out of a seizure and not remember who he is. There have been times that I think he's someone else and call him by their name but once I'm completely out of the seizure I know who he is right away. He was really worried once because I knew who both of the cats were by name but didn't know his.

I read a lot. A good bit of times when a character is brought up a few chapters after he'd come into the book I don't remember who he is and I have to go back and figure it out. The book I'm reading now has probably 40 characters in it. It's over 500 pages long and a story about all the things that happened during World War II, very good book. My dad always reads the books before I do then we talk about them when I read them. He said he has to take notes sometime about the characters in the books, I think he did about this one, so imagine what I'm going through.

There's so much more but let's hear what some other's have to say about their wonderful memory.....

 

[Tez_20]

I guess we both babble on. This is another thing that has occurred since my seizures began about 15 years ago.
I was an Air Traffic Controller. I always spoke clear, concise, and to the point. I did this on and off the job. I've noticed that instead of being clear and concise, I just "ramble" on because as you said, something keeps popping into my mind in which I start to veer off track.

Hi Navy Veteran,
Sorry to hear your not doing to good but regarding babbling on it's down to your nervous system and issues can cause people to be nervous and gabble away I've been at it for years, then theres other times I go withdrawn but my mom asked about it years ago and the neuro said this is another issue which comes with them.
Regarding your main question it sounds to me like you maybe having partial seizures and the loss of memory comes combined also with seizures and how the cells of the brain are affected with the extent you have them

 

[Cint]

Do any of you deal with this?

When I can talk, a couple of minutes later, I literally can't remember what I wanted to say. I can't remember even when the show comes back on. It feels like it was just erased from my mind......
Recently when I'm at work I am asked to do something. I start doing it and about 5 minutes later I have to ask what I was supposed to do.
I have also had people tell me that they see I don't completely focus on my work, most of the time. I have always been able to focus 100%. I am going into see my doctor in a couple of weeks. She is going to go over my neuro psychology test I took recently. The last two have found that these are getting worse. Have any of gone through this or are now? I am really worried.

Unfortunately, memory problems and E, especially temporal lobe epilepsy go hand in hand. Those of us who have partial seizures have a difficult time with memory. Plus, the AEDs don't help the situation, either. It's good that you've been in to see a neuropsychologist and taken the test recently. Now she will be able to help you focus on the area you need help with. This will help you out, so don't worry too much. It is very common with E. Visit this website for more info on memory and epilepsy:

http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/impact/thinking-and-memory/thinking-memory-and-epilepsy

http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/impact/thinking-and-memory/types-memory-problems

Memory is commonly reported as a big area of concern for people with epilepsy. If you have epilepsy, your memory can be affected in several ways. In each case, the end result will be that you cannot recall an event or a piece of information when you need it.

 

[SlimBlue]

I really couldn't have cared less because I didn't remember a thing about him.

You know how many people would pay for that ability?

I should post some of these over in the 'Why it's best..' thread lol, but you get to eat bacon without feeling guilty now

When I was working I had *loads* of notebooks on my desk- each 1 for various sorts of info, and I'd be constantly flipping through them all day to get say, a particular linux command, or a username/password etc- things I used on a daily basis, just never remembered.

I actually appreciate the memory loss when it comes to books/tv/films- it's pretty good being able to re-experience my favourite media again and again, in fact that's probably 1 of the best things about my condition- as well as being able to completely forget the dire ones

(Haven't found any unknown tattoos yet though lol)

 

[valeriedl]

I have post-its up all over the wall above my desk with user names and passwords. I can never remember them. Half the time I end up having to have the web-site email them to me. I'm just glad that I remember the answer to the question that they ask to make sure it's really you asking for that information!

I always say to everyone that there's no such thing as a repeat tv show for me because I never remember watching it the first time.

Keep looking for that tattoo - you might have one!