I was laughing this morning. I was standing in the shower, hair wet thinking to myself, 'Did I wash my hair, I don't remember? It is wet so maybe I did! Oh well won't hurt if I did it again.'
I often have moments like that, when I stand there having complete blanks, no recollection of what has just happened a moment before. Notice it particularly in the morning. Many times I ask myself 'did I wash my teeth, toothbrush is wet so I guess you did?' I think my brain needs much more time to wake up since the aneurysm Does anyone else have these moments?
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frequently! ironically that is the earliset memory i have since the accident, being in the tub and crying because i couldnt work out if it was wet because i had washed it or because i was going to wash it. I think that is a small moment of 'omg maybe i did do some damage to myself.' because up until then, and a lot of the time after that i was in denial.
I used to have them all the time, always doing things twice forgetting I'd just done it or never really sure what I'd just done! now mainly when really tired. Think I brushed my teeth twice last night & I went to bed with the light and lamp ON hehe! Mine came from only hitting my head off a floor!!
I'm very lucky and can now drive following my stroke. Only problem is, I constantly forget where I left my car. I have now started taking photos on my phone as a reminder.
A Tescos security guard gave me a very strange look when I showed him a photo and asked "where do you think this was taken?"
I do this too! I try & park in the same place at Tesco every time I go! I get confused if I have to park somewhere else! I also have to think hard about making cups of tea in the morning for me & my partner to get the right tea bags, sugar & milk in the right cups! Takes a while & I don't always get it right & have to start again!
I had a burst aneurysm too....last May...I do that all the time too......like I had put conditioner on my hair and forget to wash it off...it was only when it dried I tyhought...my hair is awfully greasy....lol.......I am glad I saw your comment this morning..its about time I started laughing again......I always put a brave face on...but this last fortnight has been awful...|I have just cried and cried....my whole life has changed..and I really dont know what the future holds....I feel totally useless and tired all the time...everything is such an effort...does any one else suffer from fatigue afer a brain haemoredge?
It will change. I remember the times when all I could do was cry. It is still early days in your recovery. My consultant told me to expect a period of 18mths to 2 years for most of the recovery to take place (for me). But your are right, the fatigue is very frustrating. Some weeks were harder than others, now it is down to days rather than weeks. Listen to your body - when tired rest if you can,it is all part of the healing process. Don't beat yourself up, you are recovering from a life threatening event. Don't afraid to feel the impact of the aneurysm - crying is good. It will get better Wishing you lots of humour on your journey, xx
Sandi, I keep going from trying to feel positive to a gibbering wreck. If you get tired make sure you rest. Its part of the recovery process. As are the tears.
When I came out of hospital I sat down and watched X-factor. A young woman sang Bridge over Troubled Water and I burst into tears. My 17 year old son. Looked at me with a worried expression and said "Oh! God! You're far worse than I thought. Back to laughter. Its all part and parcel.
Thanks for all your encouraging words......I feel good today...the sun is shining outside...and today I have energy! Yes I know I need to more patient.....I am my own worst enemy and push myself when I shouldn't....got to learn to pace myself.
One of my major increased expenses since my injury is shower and hair products because I can never remember if I washed my hair or not and so do it again...
I do try to have routines whereby I place the shampoo in one spot and then move it once I have applied it to my hair but before I rinse it off and it follows a pattern for the conditioner and then the shower gel...it is a bit strange to outsiders but when it works it works well...and other days it doesn't work because I am distracted or running low on brain power so don't even start the process...but at least I have super clean hair at the end of it and nobody died as a result.
what a great idea, i think it would be good i we could get lots of people to post their own strategies for remembering things, it would be very helpful to those who have not yet found ways
I have virtually no short term memory to speak of and attended memory clinic where I was given aids and gizmos and taught strategies. I am more than happy to share
Yes I find myself in a room wondering what the hell I am doing there, it happens daily. I blamed the head trauma for this until recently when I mentioned it to a friend who is in their early 50s who said it happens to him too. I now think that in my case it is probably 99% age catching up with me.
I had a fridge full of cheese and a cupboard full of beans but no milk and no soup for ages because i just forget to take the list or take the list and forget to look at it. So i bought the things i thought we used most...
I once called the police because my car had been stolen, i couldnt find it anywhere. It turned out i was in my OH's car i had come to town in because mine was getting something done in the garage. I then had to go search for his car because i couldnt remember where it was either. I didnt get much shopping done that day because i was so brain tired by the time i got home.
In my case it's worse than occasional forgetfulness, I often don't know what I'm doing in new and unfamiliar environments, my conduct is especially affected since I lack the innate ability to plan ahead and see to it that it gets done. So i'm constantly debating whether I should do this or that, I can't decide, something as simple as buying groceries is challenging, so many choices, bananas or apples, chicken or beef, I like both but for different reasons but can only buy one..and my favourite, what clothes to wear today..meh. But yeah I do often forget, I have to re-read paragraphs out of books, forgetting my wallet when I intend to buy something, quesitoning whether I've taken my meds already, forgetting the name of someone i've just met, etc.
I have never had any help except CBT but it was for depression. But i'm seeing a consultant this Saturday to finally deal with these problems. I was discharged and left to fend for myself, those were very dark days and have shaped who i am today. Now i've had 12 years of experience and I know how the brain injury has affected me I can begin to tackle these problems, things just don't get better on their own with brain injury and I just wish I had the forsight and insight to know better what I know now. And I wish Headway (if it existed in 2000) or any other brain injury association would've hassled me with letters/phonecalls when I was discharged out of the hospital because I nor my parents didn't know any better how brain injury affects you, my life might now be much easier. Not that it should be Headway's responsibility, in the end they're not the healthcare providers.
I've tried Lumosity before I subscribed years ago and it was very addictive and I did improve in some areas, but I think it's a bit deceptive because what we can only be sure about is that you can improve your game performance, whether it improves your cognition is questionnable. But in the very least Lumosity confirmed the areas of deficit like working memory, my scores in working memory were always below average and no amount of playing changed that. Some people's scores might improve, it all depends on how adaptable their brains are, for someone who's had a minor injury as an adult, they may be able to compensate very well, their circuits can reconnect themselves, my injury happened to an area that hadn't fully developed/circuits weren't formed when I was an adolescent so there's less flexibility in the circuitry.
Sorry just read your message. I have you read the book, which I am trying read page by page (that is my level at the moment) 'The Brain that Changes Itself' by Norman Doidge. I was written in 2007 and discusses 'neuroplasticity' and the adaptability of the human brain. Fascinating read if nothing else. You might enjoy some of the concepts about the brain although they are a bit challenging! Thought I would share it with you...
I loved this post as I struggle to remember such things myself. Showering takes an age because I'm probably rewashing hair & myself. I try to remember to open the bottles when I put them out ready to use & then close the cap when I've used that product. Doesn't always work but it's helped me occasionally.
I struggle to remember where we are date wise within the month, by the time I've retained the fact we're in March I don't seem to hold on to the date or the fact it's changing. This does result in me eating foods out of date (unless my husband checks in fridge), yesterday we discovered I'd been eating humous 2 weeks past use by date. I only noticed something wrong as mould had appeared in tub.
Sorry, only just read this message too. Oops! I still have a real trouble with numbers. Can now speak fluently again but if someone were to ask me what time does the train leave I can easily go through every o'clock on the clock before getting the right o'clock!!! I can't see the numbers in my head, they just fly in and out before I can seem them. I would be no good on the speaking clock that is for sure!
My wife suffered a SAH and had brain surgery to clip a double bleed in 2000 , she was lucky to get 6 months rehab ,this has left her with short term memory loss ,so we are a large consumer of post-its - yes we forget to wash even wearing the same cloths twice - I now cook and if I say it myself I am pretty good - we lost to many pans after she would be distracted by a knock at the door or a phone call anything ,keeping her active is a struggle as she has lost her spontaneity and drive , so making things an event helps the memory - we can't afford to many holidays abroad so camping helps, I get my wife to write out a list -clothes - food - camping equipment and importantly she chooses were we go - you must have a sense of humour and a lot of help.
That must be hard on you too. Have you thought of using mobile phone and set her some reminders with alarms. Although having said that I can never remember where I put the the mobile so I am constantly using the house phone to locate it!
I know I am always going on about the exercise referral scheme but that really help me when I lost my drive and gave up recovering after 10 mths. I am now, with another SAH survivor, about to undertake a 110 mile walk! Send me message if you want to find out more. Good luck x
Hi - have not heard about the exercise referral scheme would her GP or practice nurse help - when I worked I bought a PDA this was before iPad or iPhone - for me it was magic but for her the best thing was to write things down - we also found doing cross stitch a huge help also a nintendo DS.
It is a scheme that has been running by the NHS for over 10 years although nobody seems to know about it. You need to go the GP to get it prescribed. It gives you access to a Exercise Referral trainer 3 x a week (usually based at local gym) for 12 weeks totally free! This is different to rehab. Nordic Walking instructors are included in the scheme so is swimming. The trainer will design a scheme based on your health issues and it is personal to you. It significantly help me get oxygen through to the brain to improve my cognitive function and my well-being significantly improved. For me part of the healing and recovery involved someone listening to me, finding what I was find difficult and giving me the energy to carry on. I had a great Exercise Referral trainer so I was very lucky.
So many thanks this sounds perfect , and it gets her out and not dependant on me to be pushing all the time , She is seeing the Practice Nurse I don't understand why she wasn't referred ,So I will make an appointment with her Doctor just to be sure, again many thanks.
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Does anyone else have these moments?
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