How is your memory?

[WandaW]

Hey all, I am having some problems with my short term memory and finding the words I need during the middle of a conversation. I have been doing some reading about Memory changes after OHS and was wondering if any of you have also experienced this. It is causing me alot of stress at work with keeping track of details.

 

[Penny]

I had some issues about 3 months ago with my memory. It was unsettling for I have never had any issues prior to my surgery. Doc said he felt it was focus/concentration more than actual brain function. Once I started to be more aware of this then it went away. Eating properly and vitamin levels play an important role in cognitive function. One of my clients I deal with is a neurologist and she swears you must feed your brain. She told me to google brain food diet and see what comes up...
I hope your issue is short lived like mine.. good luck

I do have to add to this post, parts of my memory are gone.. I had a girl who contacted me on facebook who I didn't know. I messaged her and asked her "do I know you" and she said yes remember me from from Terry's (my old job) and I told her nope. I said she must have started to work there after I left, she then told me I wrote out her pay cheque for 3 years.. I have no idea who this girl is.. weird how something like that can just be erased from your memory... does anyone else have this issue?

 

[LL_beanie]

Not great, but I seem to the have similar issues that you mentioned & others have discussed. I had my 2nd OHS in Aug. 2009, and it's been frustrating that - like you - my short term memory took a hit. (I was born with a congenital heart defect, had a mech valve implanted when I was 14, and swapped out for another one at 35.

I teach at a university, and a big sign something was wrong was I couldn't really understand what I myself had written before the surgery...it seemed cloudy to me. I am an English instructor, and my brain whirrrrrs like a computer processing to find the right word. A friend who is a neurolinguist said that after a trauma like surgery that it takes a while for the brain to adapt.

Meaning, after surgery, you brain will key into important things - breathing, feeding, sleeping, walking etc - then there's a need to remember who we are & what our history is. Basically, you brain needs to orient itself - this is my name, this is where I live. She said it's like a hierarchy, so the most necessary things come "online" first.

Then the other stuff comes later. It seems to happen to stroke patients too, if I understood her correctly.

I also tend to ramble when talking, like I can't figure out the point I want to make. One thing that's helped is asking friends to interrupt me when I sound incoherent, at least to pinpoint if it's times of day or when I"m tired or something else. And while I am grateful every day for the surgery, it's hard to struggle like this.

Sending good thoughts!

ps - this email took me about 5-10 mins to write. It would have taken 2 mins before.

 

[Cooker]

I had problems with my memory also but it resolved itself ... I can't remember how long it lasted:wink2:

 

[bdryer]

Cooker....thats funny!

 

[jake]

Well here I am 7 months post op and just my luck, I have to re-certify for some industry certifications. My tests come at me every 5 years and here is what I found.

As I study for these tests, I am finding that information that I knew from the time I tool the last set of tests I still know very well. Stuff I have learned in the last couple years I am struggling to recall. I have always struggled a little bit with memory, however after OHS, it was noticeably worse.

The nice thing is that being bombarded with all the information in the two month period I have had to study to re-certify has been good therapy. I have also adopted some great mind "games" to sharpen my retention like word association.

I also like to kill some time (when I have time to kill) playing "brain age games." Check them out:

http://flashfabrica.com/f_learning/brain/e_brain.html

These are a ball if your home recovering from sergery! There are a lot of differant games to play to sharpen your brain and give you some feedback.


I used to play these from time to time over the last couple years. Immediately after OHS, I saw the decline most definitely in my average brain age. 7 months later, my brain age has returned to closer to what it was pre surgery, but I guess as I get older, it should be getting worse so technically, I guess its improving.


so in conclusion........ahhhhhh..............Now what were we talking about? Oh yea, loss of my train of thought, that’s a whole different story!

 

[WandaW]

Thank You soooo much, I spent 6 hours at work today off of the clock setting up a system that hopefully will be easier for my mind to grasp. Just hearing from you has made me feel like this is" do-able". I need to keep my job and I hate the powerless feeling I had on Friday with my boss. That blank mind is a scary thing .I was not expecting this problem to exist as I was heading into this OHS experience. Thanks again and hope we all have a great week.

 

[Julian]

I'm 4.5 days post op sitting in my cardiac chair in my hospital room. I haven't noticed too many memory issues. I can remember all the names of people at my work except 2, its frustrating that I can't remember those 2 names, weird. Of course 4.5 days I'm still on pain meds and probably still have some lingering withdrawals from surgical meds as well. I'm interested on seeing how things improve over the next few months. The struggle for me right is I'm feeling anxious and restless a lot. More of a mental game going on tired of going from bed to chair to short walk to bathroom back to bed and repeat. Yucky mental game, kind of depressing.

 

[DanielB]

Jake,

Great link to the 'brain games' - I'll use that as a guage, comparing a bunch of tests before and after my upcoming surgery in the fall. It will be interesting to see how they compare!

Dan

 

[dtread]

Yes, short term memory loss is quite common, particularly immediately following the surgery. Its commonly called "Pumphead", so do a search on that term and you'll find posts about it. Going on the heart lung bypass machine is not a very natural phenomena. Not sure exactly what it does to your brain but whatever it is its not good. One more reason to try to limit the number of times you have to go under the knife, if you can avoid it. The good news is that for most folks that experience memory loss its temporary.

 

[Newbie]

14 months postop. My memory took a hit early on. Couldn't remember names, things I was told, my wife would repeat the same thing several times. It has improved since but not yet 100%. I always relied on my memory to remember things but now am learning to take notes and keep reminders.

 

[Dappa]

Well i'm 9 or so weeks on now and my brain is "mush", My long term memory might still be there... but short term is....i'm glad i can remember how to use this laptop, my wife tells me things and i'll forget them soon as i walk out the door. Maybe it's the op or is it the Cou..mad..in.
Think it's time for some brain food
Dappa

 

[drivetopless]

I haven't noticed anything with my memory. BUT, I was worried about this and do some kind of brain exercise almost every day (sudoko, mah jong, etc). It seems to help.

 

[catwoman]

During my initial recovery period -- before I went back to work -- I had to provide my home address for something. Couldn't recall it, had to consult my driver's license.
When I went back to work, my small department was launching an online advertising product. My co-workers & I attended a presentation about it. It was gibberish to me. I could not grasp it. I told the presenter and apologized by saying that I had just returned to work (half days at first) after heart valve replacement. She said, "Oh, my cousin just had heart surgery, too. But hers was more serious than yours. She had bypass surgery." I didn't say a word -- I just let the comment slide.
I often had problems remembering people's names. When I did, I explained that I had had OHS and one of the side effects is short-term memory loss and I'm sorry, but would you please refresh my memory? Not a problem!!

 

[hook]

I am over a year post op, and my brain still feels like mush some times. Before surgery I could multi task like a champ, now I forget what I was doing mid stream. I often wonder if the heart lung machine or the anesthesia drugs take something from you.