Posted by Crotale on August 7, 2008, at 22:12:09
In reply to Re: ECT cognitive side FX, posted by bleauberry on August 4, 2008, at 21:17:39
Hi. Thank you very much for the details re: memory problems. I've been wanting to know more about what specific difficulties people have so that I know what to keep an eye out for. Having heard about some of the problems other people have had, I feel rather fortunate that I only seem to have gotten mild anomia. Especially since I seem to get bad side effects with a lot of medications.
I have been getting some side effects related to the anesthesia & sedatives, like feeling confused when I wake up, although I usually come out of that pretty fast. Last time I was groggy all day and into the next day; that's the first time that's happened. I think they might have increased or otherwise altered the anesthesia because it was the first time I tried the modified bifrontal (note to self: find out if there is a more specific term for this).
> Hey, I'll take that as a compliment. Cool. Thanks! Actually, weird, I do ok typing. In a conversation it is harder. Very often I just cannot find the word, or I am slow to talk and slow to think how to say it.
That's the same problem I've been having. With typing it's easier for me too, I think because I can take the time to find the word I'm looking for. Sometimes it just takes a few seconds, occasionally I just can't think of the word at all. I keep a journal, and lately I've been using a thesaurus (seriously!). My friends and family have been really understanding which is nice, but it's still kind of embarrassing. I talked to my therapist about it and he helped me with some ways of working around it, like stalling or substituting another word.
Speaking of substituting...another weird thing I've noticed is a few times, rather than just not being able to think of a word, I unintentionally substitute a different word than the one I meant to use. This is apparently another aspect of anomia.
I haven't noticed that I'm any worse with names, but then, I've always been bad at remembering those.
I may have asked this before, but how long has it been since you had ECT? I've been hoping this problem will go away with time as they sometimes do. You're in my thoughts and I hope things get better for you too.
Thanks again & all my best,
-Crotale
poster:Crotale
thread:842385
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20080706/msgs/844881.html