Trouble putting thoughts into words

[Kim B]

Do pump head or post-op depression typically occur soon after surgery? I am almost 3 months out and physically OK but increasingly having problems thinking clearly and expressing my thoughts. I am having a very hard time just writing this post. I could write page after page of the things running through my head but I can't seem to concisely convey what I'm thinking or feeling. The mind numbing meds are a big part of the problem. Some of them I can and should discontinue.

I am just curious if anyone experienced a delayed onset of mental and emotional symptoms or is it more common immediately after surgery?

 

[kschul]

Kim,

I haven't personally experienced this but before I left the hospital a psychiatrist came in to see me and do a mini-eval and informed me how common these symptoms could be. Medication can be a big part of it besides the actually surgery. This is something you need to discuss with your doctor it is obviously interfering with your daily activities. Good luck to you.

Kris

 

[Lionheart]

Kim,
I think both minor mental confusion and depression follow heart surgery patients for a while after surgery. Hopefully it will clear with time, but perhaps you should check with your Doc, especially regarding the depression. Even after three months your body is still doing some healing and clearing itself of the trauma and drugs it was subjected to. It will get better!
Take care,
John

 

[MaryC]

Kim,
If you search 'pump head' you will find several threads on this subject. I had issues where I couldn't remember words or would say something totally different than I intended to say. Like you I was not sure if it was the medicines I was on or the whole pump head thing.

Chris

 

[lb151]

I am one year out and have to search for the right word on occasion. My friends and I are getting use to it and they can usually come up with the word before me.

 

[SMS]

About one week after my surgery, I was reading a book and couldn't make sense out of the words. I could read them but they just didn't make sense. It's hard to explain. Thank goodness it only happened once. It was very unnerving.

 

[sue943]

My depression didn't kick in for quite some time, way past three months.

 

[catwoman]

I am one year out and have to search for the right word on occasion. My friends and I are getting use to it and they can usually come up with the word before me.

I used it as a great excuse for not remembering a person's name. "Oh, I'm so sorry, but I've had open heart surgery and what with my heart being on the heart-lung machine, sometimes it causes blips in my memory. So forgive me, and please refresh my memory."

Worked wonders at the time. But now I'm 6 years post-op. Doesn't work as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ponygirlmom]

Do pump head or post-op depression typically occur soon after surgery?.... The mind numbing meds are a big part of the problem. Some of them I can and should discontinue.

There isn't any way to tell how your surgery has affected your mind if you are taking "mind-numbing meds." How can you know what is causing what?

I do know that depression can come many months after surgery. It doesn't have to happen right away.

 

[Kim B]

Thanks all for the great replies.

ponygirlmom, you're absolutely correct, there's no way to really know what's causing what. Now that I know surgery can cause depression to hit several months later, I think it is a combo of that along with finding out about some very tough things going on with my family and another person, and taking too much medication (though legal and doctor approved) to blunt my brain, now I'm complaining that I can't think straight.

It really doesn't matter what caused it, the treatment is the same. I'll be of no use to myself or anyone else if I don't reverse this mindset asap. Today I feel a bit better and seem to not have quite so much trouble with finding words and haven't cried. Also today I managed to refrain from researching terminal illnesses, checking out the county medical examiner's site to keep tabs on who died and why, reading the obituaries, pondering the meaning of life, and I'm tapering off a few of the non-essential meds. This surgery gave me a second chance at life and I intend to make the most of it!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

What Mind Altering Drugs are you taking?

It would seem obvious that is where you should start to look for answers (and hopefully a solution) to your issues.