Memory Lapses
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I had an Ischaemic Stroke 6 years ago, followed by several TIA's between then and now. I have had problems with my memory ever since the first episode. At Xmas I had symptoms that my Doctor explained as a Sensory Stroke, but he didn't refer me to the Stroke Unit.
My lapses in memory happen frequently. I can be talking to people about something and lose the thread of what I wanted to say. I forget peoples names, which is very embarrassing. I find I always explain to people that I've had a stroke.
Has anyone heard of a Sensory Stroke? I hadn't! We googled it and discovered it affects the finer blood vessels in the brain. I'm on warfarin and recently my levels have been quite unstable. Hospital seems only to be interested )t's depression, or something else I don't know. The Doctors don't seem very interested (maybe I'm in that age group that they consider expendable now!
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RHGB pauline59158
Posted
Ask your GP to refer you to a rehab hospital (outpatient) to have this checked. I saw both neuro consultants and a psychiatrist after my stroke. Initially I was dismissed and I had to go to my GP and asked to be referred again, the initial referral was from the A&E hospital after I was discharged.
The psychiatrist was best, with the cognitive and memory tests and gave me a fair bit of paperwork to take away explaining the different types of memory. I like you used to lose track of a conversation if I went off on a tangent.
People tend to think of memory as a single type when it is not. You have hard wired old childhood memories which are pre stroke and you never forget. You have other hard wired memories like getting up for work in the morning. Where you come a cropper, is if you put something on the hob to cook/boil and the doorbell goes and you get chatting, the memory that fails is the one to remind you you have something burning away on the hob and it needs turned down/off.
pauline59158
Posted
Thanks for your reply, Apart from giving you lots of paper explaining the types of memory, did they actually give you any remedial exercises, or therapy?
I've had counselling, but that hasn't been successful, they're great at listening but poor at giving suggestions or advice.
I phoned the rehab service attached to the Stroke Unit, but couldn't get to speak to anyone from the Psychiatric side. My doctor referred me but they said I was no longer eligible, as my original stroke was six years ago!