Health; Mine

Well my brain is apparently fine. The CTScans, the MRI, EEG & MRA all came back clear. So I have something called Transient Global Amnesia (TGA). What they means is that they can find no known cause of what happened to me, though it fits a particular pattern: I knew who I was during the time it was happening, I could think and string thoughts together, I could NOT access any memory except for real long term stuff (i.e.: I knew our address, the landline phone number we got 11 years ago- though we gave it up a year and a half ago- and though I had Amberwind's cell phone number memorized and he has had it for five and a half years I could not remember it or my 2 year old cell number) and I was not recording new memories throughout most of an hour and a half time period. In fact, as I thought about it carefully, I realized that I remembered 6 incidents from that night adding up to about 3 minutes worth of memories. And then suddenly I began recording new memories again and could remember everything up until the point that i told Amberwind that I had a headache at the start of the TGA.

So what happens now. Well, it has no diagnostic significance for the future. It doesn't foreshadow a stroke or TGI, nor dementia nor Alzheimer's. It can happen again, without warning, but statistically it usually only happens once in a person's life time. Its also more common then most people know.! If it happens again, go to the hospital and treat it as if it's a stroke, until proven otherwise. And the triggers can be a migraine or sinus headache- my Neurologist considers them the same type of headache- sex or a great swing in barometric pressure. Certain drugs can cause this, but since I don't use them it won't be from that cause. The Mayo Clinic's website says that the worst side effect of TGA is the fear it will happen again, especially if that it might be triggered from the cause of the original incident. Well, being in our fifties, Amberwind and I aren't planning on giving up sex any time soon. (Sorry if that was TMI.)

So I live with it and go on with life, paranoid but unwilling to give up any part of normality. But every headache gets me a little bit worried. But with the support of my dear husband we will both survive this and the other traumas of life. This coming June is our 20th anniversary and we expect many more. Only this June we make it legal while back east visiting my folks in the greater NYC area. Now if only Christie will wise up we won't even need to drive into the city to make it happen.

Hope ya'll are doing well.