Memory and speech...

[cadsgj]

Does anyone else have problems with certain parts of memory and
speech? Me I have pretty bad short term memory but there are certain things that I do remember pretty well for a few weeks, maybe even months. As well, my speech with certain people that I really do not know, it seems to become a pretty hard time to remember words and at this point I have recently heard I sound semi-retarded - I know there is a more recent word taking place of retarded but I don't know it, or remember it.

Help here so I can share understanding with family and friends who think I fake it would be much appreciated. The good part of writing is I can leave it sit a bit, retread it and fix, but talking with others, well I don't get that.

 

[Cint]

I also have trouble finding words sometimes (aphasia) and remembering events that happened last week. This is part of temporal lobe epilepsy, unfortunately. You are not retarded. Nor am I. I have a mild cognitive impairment, due to E.

Share these websites with your family and friends to help them understand the brain and what goes on inside one's with E.

http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/brain
http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/memory_problems
http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/memory_treatment

And check this out to help yourself with memory problems:
http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/memory_techniques

Also, have you been to a neuropsychologist for cognitive rehab?

 

[N Sperlo]

I have a deficit in reading and listening comprehension. Its not too odd for my ADHD to take over and wisp me away, as well.

I often find the correct words to put something together, but that hasn't kept me from executive production and co-hosting a radio show. My verbal memory may fail me from time-to-time, but my visual memory is exceedingly sharp. I'm exceedingly sharp with my memory of numbers.

Not totally sure where my seizures start, but we believe it is the left frontal lobe.

Thanks for the links, Cint. Reading material!

 

[cadsgj]

Cint, thanks. I am not sure if I went to a neuropsychologist before or not. I know after my last brain surgery I went to someone at the hospital for a couple months to help me understandingly get back into this world and then to a speech pathologist for I believe 6 months. After the six months I was told that because of the way my brain works after the surgery, I will recover no further than I had at that point. Well I know for a fact they were incredibly wrong as I have come a long way since then. Anyhow, I will check out those links you sent later tonight or possibly tomorrow as the ABI Outreach meeting I went to earlier, they had WAY TOO MUCH of conversation with me and presently I do have a limited reading span... well most of the reading ability is gone when the brain gets too much work - brain gets tired.

 

[2ndchances]

Since my second surgery (done April 29, 2013), I'm having more difficulty with my memory. There are things that my husband wishes I'd forget, however I live by lists and reminders. My friend, who is an occupational therapist, and has been a blessing in my life, taking me to most of my medical appointments, has noticed something with my speech too, since my last surgery. She explained to the surgeon in my post-op visit that I have gaps/pauses in my speech. He asked if I was forgetting a word, and if that's why I'm pausing... and I explained that no, that's not it. I think I have difficulty staying focused, so during the gaps, I'm trying to redirect myself back. He was relieved, as he said that my lexical or word finding is on the left side of the brain, which he didn't touch. He felt that these issues were transient in nature, and would go away as I continued to recover.

I don't know if any of that makes sense. I know how you feel, though. I prefer writing too, and being able to edit what I've typed. :tup:

 

[Treu Rivers]

Hello,
My short term memory non existing. I forget everything recently said to me or read.
Ever since epilepsy.

 

[Cint]

I know after my last brain surgery I went to someone at the hospital for a couple months to help me understandingly get back into this world and then to a speech pathologist for I believe 6 months.

Was your surgery on the left or right side? Mine was the left temporal lobe. The damaged area is deep in the hippocampus, the area known for short-term memory.

After the six months I was told that because of the way my brain works after the surgery, I will recover no further than I had at that point. Well I know for a fact they were incredibly wrong as I have come a long way since then. Anyhow, I will check out those links you sent later tonight or possibly tomorrow as the ABI Outreach meeting I went to earlier, they had WAY TOO MUCH of conversation with me and presently I do have a limited reading span... well most of the reading ability is gone when the brain gets too much work - brain gets tired.

I went thru speech therapy with a pathologist. It did help somewhat in ways to help with memory and speech. Anyone who has been thru seizures/brain surgery and still has to take AEDs, will suffer from a tired brain and it does take extra time to understand. We have suffered from a mild TBI. Others (friends and family) need to take extra time to understand the limitations that we have with speech and memories.

 

[cadsgj]

Cint, I know in 2003 I had two surgeries in 6 weeks - boy did I learn to HATE being in the hospital here - one of the two was left temporal lobe and the other was (my Dad told me this last night) in towards where the spinal cord and brain connect. Me, in all honesty I can only go with that which my Dad (there 3 of my 6 weeks) told me as I remember very little, just a few main things really.

Curious... is tegretol/carbamazepine, clobazam, and/or vimpat considered anti-epileptic drugs?

 

[Cint]

Curious... is tegretol/carbamazepine, clobazam, and/or vimpat considered anti-epileptic drugs?

Tegretol & Carbamazepin are one in the same. Clobazam is also Onfi. Vimpat is Lacosamide. And yes, they are AEDs.

 

[valeriedl]

I have really bad short term and long term memory.

After some seizures I might forget things that I did hours to days before it.

After my very first seizure I lost almost 10 years of memory. There are still a few things left up there but not much. I had no clue who the guy was that I had been dating for 2 years when I had the first seizure. I had to ask a family member who the guy was that kept coming in the hospital to see me telling me he loved me and giving me kisses. Lets just say the relationship didn't last too long after I got out of the hospital.

Now after about 6 months things will start to fade away. I did freak my friend out pretty bad a few weeks ago after we went to a concert. When the show was over and we were leaving I started going towards the steeps to leave. She told me there was an escalator to go down, right beside the one we came up on. I didn't remember (and still don't) going up that escalator. She was scared to death that I'd had a seizure and she didn't know that I did (I'm almost positive I didn't have one though).

I have a ton of problems with words. It's pretty embarrassing talking to someone telling them that "The furry thing is in the room with me" (meaning the cat). Or "I need to put this in the hot thing to cook it" (meaning the oven).

I was on a customer support line once because I was having problems with the cable TV. They asked me where the TV was that I was having problems with. I tried and tried to think of the word but I finally said "The room I sleep in". The guy slowly asked me "you mean your bedroom?" That one was pretty funny. I think I was having word problems through out the entire conversation. I can only imagine what the guy had to say about me to all the other people he worked with - lol!