Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Please help: cognitive issues

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    Your Short Term Memory? funny read!

    Usually don't reply to threads anymore although my advice would be see your neuro!
    So I use to sell vehicles and one day I sold a lovely older couple a car. I live in Canada snow tires are a must, so they started talking tires. They just bought the car!
    So I go to the back service desk in a big dealership to get tire prices. While standing there waiting for other customers I forgot what I was waiting for?
    I looked at the clock and noticed it was noon..........So I just went out the back door to my car to go have lunch! I figured the dealership was so busy no one would miss me! It was a Friday I went to East side Marios to watch the PGA and have some food!
    An hour and a half later I went back to work only to find the couple so sweet still waiting for me at my desk????
    Kinda funny?
    Couple months later lost my Job when boss found out I had MS!
    How did they find out because of the insurance company and drug plan?
    Sold 250 cars a year top 1% salesman in Canada for a Leading auto manufacturer!

    Comment


      #17
      Originally posted by SNOOPY View Post
      Information about Cognitive Dysfunction:
      http://www.nationalmssociety.org/abo...ion/index.aspx
      Thanks again - this was a really good link. It spoke at the end of a file system or other way to deal with memory issues; that will be my next internet search when I have time.

      Not officially diagnosed due to non-MS-specific spots on MRIs, but the neurologists all agree it's MS.
      Frustrated. January 2019: finally saw an MS specialist worth seeing. Maybe we'll get to the bottom of this.
      EDSS of 5.5, sometimes 6.0

      Comment


        #18
        Originally posted by Grgo View Post
        An hour and a half later I went back to work only to find the couple so sweet still waiting for me at my desk????
        Kinda funny?
        Couple months later lost my Job when boss found out I had MS!
        How did they find out because of the insurance company and drug plan?
        Sold 250 cars a year top 1% salesman in Canada for a Leading auto manufacturer!

        Awww, the poor people! I would have felt beyond terrible and would have quit my job for fear that I might do it again!!

        Not officially diagnosed due to non-MS-specific spots on MRIs, but the neurologists all agree it's MS.
        Frustrated. January 2019: finally saw an MS specialist worth seeing. Maybe we'll get to the bottom of this.
        EDSS of 5.5, sometimes 6.0

        Comment


          #19
          I think that's illegal for the insurance company to disclose your health information!

          Comment


            #20
            Originally posted by jjs View Post
            Misslux - I like sudoku ... maybe I should buy a book and work a puzzle a day or something? I've been hearing a lot of suggestions to do 'luminosity' so I checked it out. While I did have 'fun' playing the games, I questioned whether it was actually helping or not so I did a little online research. I googled something like "do problem solving computer games really help" or something similar to that. I found a few articles that said they do NOT actually help. But the articles agreed that what DOES help are the problem solving games on paper. There's just something that is lost when it guts put on to a screen and becomes electronic. I am not sure all the ins and outs of that but I can say I appreciate the pen and paper games a lot more anyway and you can do them anywhere, any time.
            I also do a lot of physical puzzles like games by ThinkFun (Square by Square, Shape by Shape) and jigsaw puzzles. Not only does it work by brain but also my right hand (I have issues with it).

            Comment


              #21
              Originally posted by misslux View Post
              I also do a lot of physical puzzles like games by ThinkFun (Square by Square, Shape by Shape) and jigsaw puzzles. Not only does it work by brain but also my right hand (I have issues with it).
              After my last response i remembered i actually had sudoku sheets in a box in a closet. I got them out, put the box back, and then realized i had them in a box with other logic/brain building games so I just took the whole box out and now I can do a little each day. And then i saw this response and had to share ... the other games are black by block, shape by shape, square by square, brick by brick and river crossing I got all of these several years ago for my children but i played them too; we'd all sit down together and do our own. Some are super challenging.

              Not officially diagnosed due to non-MS-specific spots on MRIs, but the neurologists all agree it's MS.
              Frustrated. January 2019: finally saw an MS specialist worth seeing. Maybe we'll get to the bottom of this.
              EDSS of 5.5, sometimes 6.0

              Comment


                #22
                Originally posted by jjs View Post
                My most hated symptom BY FAR is cognitive issues. My short term memory is pathetic. It is very hard to make decisions and process information. It's like my brain is in slow motion. Problem solving is a real trial. Being in a crowd with lots of things going on around me is chaos to the extreme. Concentration is poor. Fighting frustration at myself for my slow brain. The list goes on and on.

                I used to be a fast typist. Really fast. Now I am so slow it's frustrating. It's like going from super high speed internet to dial up ... or worse. I can use that same analogy for my slow-motion brain too. Dial up speed.

                I also have issues with spelling. I used to be an "A Student" when it came to spelling. Now I mess up the simplest of words. I usually, eventually, catch the mistakes but it takes a while sometimes of staring at the word and thinking "now that's just not right" ... and sometimes it's so obviously wrong that I just have to laugh at myself.

                Example: I just spelled "speed" "sepped". At least it has the same letters. Often times half or all of the letters are not even supposed to be in the word I am trying to spell.

                HELP! Does anyone have suggestions on how to help with these issues? I have been making schedules to help keep me on track, but the problem is I often do not feel good enough to follow the schedule so it's all in vain anyway. I take lots of notes but forget where I put them. I rely on my cell phone calendar a lot. This is the only consistent thing that seems to help.

                Any other ideas? Will this get better??? I'll be very honest here, this symptom is very scary to me. I feel like I'm literally losing my mind.
                This may seem crazy, but my MS specialist prescribed aderall for me. I was having all the same issues. I could talk on the phone, type and email and talk to someone in my office all at the same time... they used to call me the multi-task queen. Everything started going, my spelling, my concentration. I started kicking people out of my office so i could concentrate. I told my MS specialist and not i take aderall when im working on a project or have a meeting, etc. I have to say I was skeptical, but it helped.

                Comment


                  #23
                  This all sounds sooo like me!! I used to be a great speller. When my daughter was in college she would always ask me how to spell something. Now I sometimes can't even remember how to spell my own name. Lots of times I keep a dictionary next to me when I am writing anything.

                  Word finding is so bad. I get so embarrassed when I go to a store and walk up to someone to ask where something is. Before I finish my sentence I can't find the word for what I was looking for!!

                  I went to the store one night and when I parked I couldn't figure out how to open my door!!!!! Just kept sitting there and trying to think how to do it. Finally just left and went drove home. On the way I was thinking...how am I going to get out when I get there? Then I though...well I have my phone so I can call one of the neighbors and get them to open the door for me. When I got there I just opened the door and got right on out by myself!! Talk about feeling stupid!!

                  I have done the neuro/psych testing twice. Both times they told me I was just depressed and didn't do my very best on the test. I won't do that again!!

                  My daughter in law is used to finishing my sentences for me. My son gets aggravated and says....ok mama just get it on out...which really ticks me off.

                  I do the mind games sometimes but at times I think I am too far gone for it to help in any way.

                  Comment


                    #24
                    One of the first things most MS patients experience when taking Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) is a lifting of "brain fog" and improvement in fatigue.

                    See the "Useful LDN Information" sticky on the Medications Forum.

                    Comment


                      #25
                      In a quest to fend off the fog, I am playing musical instruments- guitar and ukelele. I make up my own songs and have to remember the lyrics and fingerings.

                      Sad thing is, if I don´t play a song a lot, the words go into the ether- thank goodness for garage band.

                      Self-forgiveness goes a long way when you either forget a word, invent a word unintentionally, or use a completely unrelated word. I find myself mixing up the initial consonants of two sequential words and then go through a variety of combos before hitting the right words.

                      Remember- though MS my steal your performance, you will maintain your IQ- that´s a relief.

                      Of course, I made about 20 typos that had to be corrected while composing this- ahhhhh.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        I have been doing research this morning on cognitive issues related to MS. About half way through one of the articles I was reading I realized that I had read the same article a few weeks earlier. I found this humerus and ironic considering the article was about memory problems. So I thought I would get on this site and see what you guys had to say about cognitive issues. But alas I could not remember my password.
                        Yogi
                        "Those who agree with us may not be right, but we admire their astuteness."
                        -C.Hightower-

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Identity robbing cognitive dysfunction

                          Hi,
                          I also taught analytical and critical writing. You can imagine the frustration. While I taught and now when I need to be alert I use Ritalin. If your brain is tired the ritalin makes it so you can enjoy a play, a concert or a conversation.
                          "Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says:"Oh Crap, She's up!"

                          Currently on rituxan

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Originally posted by jjs View Post
                            HELP! Does anyone have suggestions on how to help with these issues?
                            I would suggest you request a cognitive function test. If you haven't had this before, it will give you a baseline for the future. Cognitive dysfunction is my major symptom and most distressing, too. This past year, things changed significantly and I almost lost my job because of it.

                            After having my cognitive function testing repeated (it had been about a year since the previous), it was determined I could no longer perform my job safely (I am a Medical Technologist). With the test results and my neurologist's report, I actually got on SSDI with the 1st application (rare in my state).

                            I use a GPS to go places. Today I drove to the local hardware store and then found myself at the grocery store instead. My misplaced or mispronounced words can be frustrating but sometimes they are downright hilarious. I've learned to laugh at these things, that they are going happen.

                            Good luck to you. Just know you are not alone with this.

                            Sue

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Cognitive issues

                              I'm really a fan of lists, and I have too many orphan post-it notes, but both my non-MS husband and I have taken to only 2 major ones: the daily list of realistic tasks for the day written by hand (somehow there's a connection there that helps,) and keeping the longer list in one and only one location. We are older than you, and some of our symptoms are just aging, but we try not to give ourselves any leeway. One of my favorite (not) symptoms of MS is my tendency to substitute words maybe starting with the same letter. My neurologist (very good) says that I do some slurring. It's not so bad that other people take much notice. I speak slowly anyway because I grew up in the South. Naps are important. I am concerned about your sensory problems in the kitchen. Let your family take on those tasks. Indeed, anytime someone volunteers to help me, I pretty much let them. It makes them feel good, too! And YES, slow down! Quality is better than quantity!! Stay safe and listen to some music

                              Comment


                                #30
                                The pace of society is also to blame....

                                Originally posted by 4boysmom View Post
                                I have found with me that I have to let go of my pride, sometimes slow others down when they are explaining things to me, and say, "I have MS. Please 'chunk' that phone number for me!" That is the worse, when they rattle it off at breakneck speed and I get none of it!

                                I find myself often repeating back to the person what I thought I heard, because I can get confused!
                                This is my first post on this site, hope I'm not showing my naïveté! That being said, I read the post above with a twinge of sadness and frustration at the pace of our world. Totally validating everything you said in your original post, but I think too the insane rate at which the art of communication in our society has accelerated in the past few years, is definitely a contributor. It's a rare conversation I have with a stranger on the phone or in person that I don't find myself saying to them, "Could you please slow down?" I'm sure that often they don't realize it and have never been told.

                                What was unintelligible speech-wise just a few short years ago, is now the norm. Sad! It's time for everyone to slow down, and clarity be valued, NOT speed of delivery.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X