This is Blog # 1 that has been submitted to differentbrains.org for publishing

The Doctor Asks, “How Are You Doing?”

You Answer, “About What?”

 

by Richard Holl

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We have all been out on the Interstate around 11:42 p.m. with the cruise control set on 72 mph. The highway is void of other traffic. The pavement is dry in your headlights. Plus there are no deer in your headlights.

 

In the blink of an eye, a fog descends over the Interstate. It’s a fog-like you have never seen before. Your headlights hardly penetrate the gloom. You let off the gas. Or did you? You apply the brakes. Or did you? You click on your four-way flashers. Or did you? Did you pull over to the shoulder? How far is it to your destination? How far is it back home? You hear yourself saying,

• “Wait a minute, where was I going?”

• “Where’s home?”

• “Where am I?”

• “Whose car is this?”

• “Am I all right?”

               

In reality; you are in bed, at the gym, in the shower, just getting out of the lake, or a thousand other typical places. However; your mental capacity has vanished completely, Tabula Rasa, or a clean slate. You have personal awareness, but don’t know who the President is. You know your name, but nothing of earlier today or yesterday. You are just you. You sense something isn’t right. It’s a kind of different you. Bewildered, confused, then bewildered and confused, then repeat. This describes Transient Global Amnesia (TGA) in the simplest terms we know. The repetitive format provides confirmation to the diagnosis and humor to the startling realization that something has gone wrong.

               

The average TGA lasts about 8 hours. Most of us are under 24 hours. Mine personally was 27 hours. That’s why it’s easier to use the foggy Interstate analogy. This whole mind-boggling event is so instantaneous that it’s just that mind-boggling. Usually, we are in our early 60’s and in rather decent health. Some of us had just had a sexual orgasm! Rather mind-blowing, you might agree?

               

Transient global amnesia is a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that can't be attributed to a more common neurological condition, such as epilepsy or stroke. During an episode of transient global amnesia, your recall of recent events simply vanishes, so you can't remember where you are or how you got there. In addition, you may not remember anything about what's happening in the here and now. Consequently, you may keep repeating the same questions because you don't remember the answers you've just been given. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/transient-global-amnesia/symptoms-causes/syc-20378531

               

What this does to your family is beyond measure or description. There’s fear and realization of a possible life-changing stroke. Or is this some kind of mental breakdown? Plus throw in a few other fears such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, never coming back, permanent damage, lost memories, and lack of recognition of family.

               

Yet at the same time, this has glimmers of being one of the funniest moments in your life. You are confused! You are unbelievable! You are a nut! They will cry and you won’t understand why. They may get frustrated at you and again you won’t know why. It shocked my brother-in-law that I was nuts, but he laughed anyway. The doctor will come into your room and ask, “How you are doing?” And you’ll answer, “About what?” Six years later, and friends still try to get me to give them a twenty that they say I owe them!

               

The fog will lift slower than it arrived, but it will clear like an abrupt awakening from a deep sleep. Your repetitious questions will decrease as your fog evaporates. You begin to ponder, as we call it. You won’t find any reference points. You may even giggle and say, “Really?” “REALLY?” This is a good description as “really” is part of the word family “reality.” Yours went away completely with no warning or luggage or preparation. And most, if not all, will come back with no fanfare or marching band.

               

This neurological enigma has several negative points:

• NO warning

• NO explanation

• NO preventative measures

• NO treatment plan

• NO cure

• NO scars

• NO physical damage, and

• NO measurable mental damage

               

You won’t be able to place your finger on it. You will find it very hard to describe. Others will laugh, giggle, and shake their heads at your feeble definition. There are no little green men. There was no secret governmental cover-up. There was no spectacular Hollywood opening scene to retell your tale. You were left utterly blank. Unbelievably shaken, but not hurt. Drastically changed, but you look and act quite normal. A rare, uneventful day in comparison to many of life’s other issues and fates. You just have a “New You” to get used to spending a lot of time with.

               

As the days pass, so do most if not all of your fears. TGA isn’t terminal. You regain most of your life’s memories. You and your family were shaken in an unbelievable manner. This is true. You didn’t have to escape those little green men and you didn’t have a black SUV with dark tinted windows parked up the street from your house. You had a TGA – a kind of unique mental re-boot.

               

The adjustments to your “New Me” will vary. Some aren’t so bad, and others can be more annoying to your family than you. I now eat anything, but my humming is quite bothersome. Now that you have read this far, you know you aren’t alone, and that you will be okay with some minor adjustments.

               

Our TGA community understands and has developed our website to provide you some ideas to try on your time schedule at no cost. Compared to that moment on the Interstate at 72 mph when the world as you knew it went blank, the rest of this day won’t be so bad after all.