Invisible Man strikes again...

[Mick1971]

I am so sick of loosing/forgetting things that I have started to make an excuse for myself! The invisible man that seems to take everything that I put down. From one day to the next even my pills are hard to find ! He steals my memories, my days infact I still think I am in January so where have my months gone? The only way people understand me is if I call my bi an 'invisible man' when will people learn? The fear!

[SAMBS]

I'm sure we can all empathise with so much of that Mick 1971, and its scary and frustrating.

I lose hours every day, but I would hate to lose weeks or months. Its got to a point with me very recently when I wake up, if I've even slept, wondering what day it is. Now either the digibox or computer tell me. I really do not want to have to write myself note for the following morning to tell me what the day is!

I do wonder though if we all spend too much time on the computer these days, not relaxing when we should be and tiring our brains. I'm sorry my answer won't help much if any, but to be an invisible man is not good..... xx

[aqua4]

Hi Mick1971, Same here, I had a ruptured aneurysm which was clipped 6 years ago. It's taken a long time to sort of come to terms with the cognitive and memory problems. I've also given up trying to make people understand, there's no point, they either 'don't get it' or don't want to. The only ones who truly understand are the people on here who have had similar problems. 3 things I use for memory everyday are Reminders, Routines, Repetition, then don't need to think as much. Still work in progress!

K

[Mick1971 in reply to aqua4]

Thank you, both of you for your replies. This is the problem, you cannot truly know the impact of bi unless you have had one, a paradox in itself! I try to tax my brain as much as I can but it now takes me hours to do what would have previously taken me minutes, but I have some hope for the future. For me now though the invisible man can take the blame .I loose anything I write, it could be I front of me but if I don't register it it may as well be miles away.

[Kirk5w7]

I think I may use the invisible man excuse, I try so hard to put things in the same place, then all it takes is a half second of distraction and everything's hiding again!!!!!!

My son says he loves to hear the resignation in my voice when I say "oh dear" if I spill or drop or lose something, really I'm thinking "oh sh@@"

Worst of all is when my husband puts something out of my reach, or in a place I'd never dream of looking, then goes to work!!!!!! The air gets so blue!!!! I'm sure they do it for amusement, not really its just thoughtlessness, if I can forget and lose things then it must be doubly hard for someone with normal brain function.

[sospan]

I lose things all the time, drinks I have made, knives when I am cooking the lists are endless.

There was also this invisible guy whom used to open the doors after I had got out of a car or the front door. For about a year after my injury, I would forget to close doors. Don't know why just did.

Time is the most bizarre, my wife asks me to do something and in typical bloke style I will say something like "give me 5 minutes" she will come back to me and ask me to do it again and I will sometimes snap back saying" I said I would do it in 5 minutes" then she points out that was well over an hour ago - doh!

There is this other person whom takes words out of sentences once I have typed or rearranges the words when I am not looking.

[Mick1971 in reply to sospan]

Sospan - exactly what I am talking about if I ever find this guy...lol its me

[Mick1971]

Kirk5w7. I'm sure that if our loved ones could understand us they would, how could they though! I would not wish this on anyone, Our neurosurgeons cannot understand even though they save our lives!

[Kirk5w7]

It makes us laugh sometimes, well a lot of the time really, I just get so frustrated, I was always so organised, not neat, always remembered everything for the family too, I just have to say don't rely on me anymore, take charge of your own lives, it's quite cathartic, being selfish, if it starts to get too much for me I can just forget about it and move on now, a plus point I suppose.

[zannyboy]

Hey Mick1971, I had a Traumatic Brain Injury back in 2007 and it really put my life then into FREEFALL. Everything other than my physical self has changed immensely however whilst I was in Rehab I was introduced to 2 things that have really really helped along the way. The 1st is the daily use of a FILOFAX which I literally write down and update with as much information as is necessary, Phone Calls, Topics, Times and Places to be somewhere, Who to see, what was said etc etc I also have made food preperation notes and store them in a cupboard in my kitchen. Not at all like the ME prior to 2007 but nonetheless necessary now. I am also a very active member of HEADWAY, the Brain Injury Association who have been and still are an amazing help and inspiration in my everyday life. Myself and other local members all meet up once a month at a local community centre and also have Social Events at Restaraunts, Days Out in a Mini Bus etc sponsored by a London Based firm of Solcitors.

I hope that this assists you as your codition is nothing to be ashamed of its just the NEW YOU and you need new strategies is all.

Zan

[iforget]

Oh Mick I know what its like... I have pretty much zero short term memory following my accident in 2006 and it does present some challenges. I have tried all sorts of things (the memory aids programme was a huge help) and many of them failed spectacularly. A sense of humour keeps us going...

One piece of advice I was told to try was when cooking to pick and carry a fork all the time until you have completed the task...that way if you walk away from the kitchen part way through the process you will notice you have a fork in your hand and this will act as a prompt to go back in the kitchen... all sounds perfectly reasonable right?

So I try to implement this and pretty soon we are completely out of forks. There are no forks in the kitchen...not one can be found... however there are forks in the living room, bathroom,bedroom, on bookshelves, in cupboards and there are three in my handbag...because I did walk away with a fork in my hand and when I noticed the fork I thought what the heck and I put it down wherever I happened to be at the time... This example was an Epic fail for me but this trick really does work for lots of people....and there are lots of things that you can try...and eventually you will find things that work for you...and in the meantime keep smiling...even if it has to be through gritted teeth

For the most part my frustration is short lived because I forget what I was looking for anyway and I am easily distracted by "ooh look shiny...."

[SHIMS]

We wrote a song called "Invisible" youtube.com/watch?v=7tpKSam...(Not working as expected?)

You may also relate to "Identity"

Who is this person inside of me?

He's got a hold of my identity

People say that I'm not the same, but I know that I'm not to blame

Who is that person he's got a hold of my Identity

Who is this person you know he's making such a fool out of me

I struggle with him every single day

And there's nothing I can do or say

I keep thinking about him all the time

You know he's always on my mind

Who is that person, he's got a hold of my identity

Who is this person he's taken over my memory

Now when the green light says that I should go

I hesitate and I go slow

people ask me why do I wait

why is that your always late

I don't know I can't explain

All I know is that I'm not insane

He's taking over and he won't let go

He reaches into my very soul

youtu.be/UgYnWR1gcUs?t=8s(Not working as expected?)