Brain-
when the
Neurologist asked me some questions and I was at a
point blank, and was like what Ziggy was doing - going
through hand motions, signing, but she wanted me to
say it - and my mind was like this:
(_______________________)
Happened to me once during an EEG. The tech noticed some seizure activity and suddenly asked me "What's your name?" . My mind was (_______________) too. It took a full five minutes before i could say "Arvind". So yes , seizures and the epilepsy in itself can cause you to blank out ( may also be an absence seizure).
Ziggidypoo-
Very few tests are 100% specific ( diagnostic). Unfortunately , EEgs and scans are not very specific. If your scans come back normal , it is assumed that there is a pathology underlying your symptoms and you get treated anyway using a presumptive diagnosis based on your symptoms and clinical manifestations, hoping that further testing at a later date will reveal the problem.
Walksalot-
Happens to a lot of people( My dad's barely 60 and he forgets our phone number which has stayed the same for 10 years). But i don't think complete loss of specific words at a point of time is pathological , just maybe signs of memory loss. The important thing is , if, say , you don't remember right now what the word is for "kettle" , do you call it a thingy
all the time , and are you confused if someone says the word "kettle"? . What i mean is , try imagining yourself making tea. Can you visualise a kettle and know what to call it? or do you have trouble even visualising yourself with a kettle? . If you're able to recall words , names etc. later , then either
a) It's a minor age-related memory impairment
b) It's due to your epilepsy( if you're not old enough to have age related memory impairment i.e. <45-50yrs) , or
c) could be a pathology in your temporal lobe.
If you are
never able to recall simple words (
if you ALWAYS call the kettle a thingy) then it could be signs of damage to your temporal lobe and you may need an fMRI and other investigations.
I don't want any of you guys to freak out too much about "thingies". My grandpa didn't recall my name when i was a kid so he called me by the names of all his kids until he hit upon mine " Jai... Sriram....nandu.....Arvind!". It didn't seem to bother him much and he lived to the ripe old age of 84.RIP.
Here's a good one on a related subject:
A guy is invited over to his neighbor's house. As he sits down to chat at the coffee table , the neighbor says " Dear , can you get us some coffee?". Later on he says "Sweetheart, can you get some cookies?". Still later "Honey , how about a nightcap for the young man from next door?". The young neighbor is impressed at the profound love the man has for his wife . He asks " How have you guys managed to stay so close after all these years ?What's the secret to still call her dear and sweetheart after so many years?..." . The old man checks that his wife isn't listening and says " I forgot her name seven years ago."
