TGA is Such an Enigma by Carol 2/13/19
My TGA has been difficult to talk about except to laugh and say I once had amnesia. It was September 20, 2016.
My confusion started the day before I had my Transient Global Amnesia. My husband and I went to our nearby city, Las Vegas, for the day to shop. We went for a late lunch in a nice restaurant. A child of about 2 years old was at the next table. All I remember is the child was yelling. I walked out of the restaurant leaving my husband in total confusion. He walked out a few seconds later and I told him I was annoyed with the child and the mother. Normally, I would have been my polite self and asked for another table. My husband says I said about 10 words the rest of the day and I do not remember riding home or really anything about the day except the baby crying.
The next morning we were discussing a very dysfunctional family member. I felt totally stressed. Beyond stressed. I went into our office and looked at the calendar. I asked what day it was. Then I asked what month. Then I told my husband I had high blood pressure. I normally have very low blood pressure. My husband took my blood pressure and it was in stroke territory. My internist a week later said I must know my body very well that I knew I had high blood pressure. I don’t remember anything after that till around 7 pm the same day. Bill, my husband, said he called our doctor’s office. They said to take me to the emergency room. In the ER, they did all kinds of tests. Everything was fine, except the very high blood pressure and I was asking the same 3 or 4 questions every few seconds.
They thought it was a stroke. Finally, in the afternoon, a neurologist came in. He told my husband he had seen this before. It was TGA. I did not remember who the president was. I did not remember my aunt who raised me just died 6 months before. Apparently, I cried a lot over that revelation. I knew who my husband was. I knew all the statistics about myself. I went to the bathroom alone. I do not remember any of this.
About 7 pm, I looked at my husband and asked why I was in the hospital. He said I had something called Transient Global Amnesia. I asked if I had picked it up in Russia! I must have told him 20 times he needed to change my hair appointment that I would have the next day. I also called his niece about 30 times during the night. I don’t remember the phone calls. I do remember looking up TGA and becoming very frightened.
The next morning hospital staff came in at different times and asked me if I remembered them or anything from the day before. Nope! Nothing. They sent me home that day. I was exhausted for weeks. I could not remember things that had happened years before. I was afraid to be around people for fear it would happen again. I got some funny looks from friends. I received compassion from other friends. I got dumb questions from a few asking what is it like to have amnesia!
I visited my internist a week later. He had also seen a TGA. He said there will be things I will never remember. There will be other things I will have difficulty remembering. TGA is such an enigma that the medical field has not caught up. It is interesting how the medical society says you may have two TGA’s but rarely more. Two years ago, they said more than one is rare. I have been medically tested for memory loss twice. I passed with flying colors for my age and education. However, for me, I know I have lost the ability to remember as well as I use to. At times, I have a hard time pulling names out of my mouth. I have to write things down more. I have a hard time multi-tasking which was so normal for me before my episode. Some noises really test me. After my TGA I napped two to three hours a day for the first two years. The naps are not as often now but still are 3-4 times a week. I have eliminated people in my life I find exhausting. I have eliminated some things in my life I don’t care to do any longer. I am freer. I am happier. I don’t try to impress anyone except myself.
I believe my TGA was completely stress related. We had been caretakers of my mom and aunt for the 10 years prior to this. We had just relocated across the country. It was a super big challenge for me.