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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Epilepsy / November 2005Can't read
Hi Folks, I've had 3 seizures, two about 9 years ago and one about 4 months ago. The last one happened while weaning off of my meds (under the direction of my neurologist). I'm back on the meds, and all seems ok. I have something happen about once or twice a month, and it only last for a minute or so. I can't read !!! I can see the letters, not light headed, all is fine but I Can't read!! After a minute or so "poof" the letters now make words i can understand. This has been happining off and on for about ten years. Anyone else experience this or anything similar? Comments? Thanks, mike > Hi Folks, > I've had 3 seizures, two about 9 years ago and one about 4 months ago. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Thanks, > mike Until someone else comes along who might have more useful ideas, have you looked under either 'Absence Seizures' or possibly Petit Mal on sites I posted about a day ago on this group? Are you 'aware' during the can't read phase, above, or do you realize *after it's passed that you just hit a speed bump and had become stuck at that point where you were reading? (The only ideas I had were above, but this part might help others who have had similar experiences recognize if that was what they had dealt with.) But I have periods where I'm reading, usually with the radio on, and find after a while that I have stopped what I was doing (reading), and don't recall where on the page I was at, when I drifted off. G./ >> Hi Folks, >> I've had 3 seizures, two about 9 years ago and one about 4 months ago. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > I was doing (reading), and don't recall where on the page I was at, when I > drifted off. G./ I am 100% fully aware of my surroundings. I can here , speak, stand and scratch my head wondering why a cant read. I can recognize the letters , they just don't make any sense. mike > I am 100% fully aware of my surroundings. I can here , speak, stand and > scratch my head wondering why a cant read. I can recognize the letters , > they just don't make any sense. As I've never suffered with this problem, it's hard for me to say, but could I just offer another theory as to whether it could possibly be dyslexia, and completely seperate from your epilepsy altogether. All the best Sofie  SignaturePlease visit my deviantART page: http://sofen.deviantart.com/ Sofia <pinkmonster2000REMOVE@ALLCAPSyahoo.com> wrote: >> I am 100% fully aware of my surroundings. I can here , speak, stand >> and scratch my head wondering why a cant read. I can recognize the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > could I just offer another theory as to whether it could possibly be > dyslexia, and completely seperate from your epilepsy altogether. I think dyslexia is a wiring problem, not something that would appear for a minute and then disappear. It sounds to me more like a partial seizure. It's funny that you always hear about the speech centers, Broca's and Wernicke's areas, but you never hear much about a reading center. Anyone know if there is one, or if maybe it's dispersed around? The fact that you can lose your ability to read (and little else) due to a seizure or a stroke seems to suggest that it is located in a small area. Karl > I'm back on the meds, and all seems ok. I have something happen about > once or twice a month, and it only last for a minute or so. I can't [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Anyone else experience this or anything similar? Yes, I often get the same thing as a warning sign I'm about to have a seizure. I believe it is basically a partial seizure, where the reading center of your brain (wherever that is) gets scrambled. Sometimes I can read very slowly by looking at each word individually and thinking about what it means, but can't read "automatically" as usual. Karl > > I'm back on the meds, and all seems ok. I have something happen about > > once or twice a month, and it only last for a minute or so. I can't [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Karl Howdy! Mine doesn't have to do with reading but with speaking. Could be that you are having effects on "the reading center" (if there is such a thing) rather than on the "speech center." Basically it's the same thing except for the fact that in the case of reading it's "input" and in speech it's "output." SignatureDave ©¿© "Ego sum quis Ego sum quod ut est quicumque Ego sum" http://www.howdydave.com >> > I'm back on the meds, and all seems ok. I have something happen about >> > once or twice a month, and it only last for a minute or so. I can't [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >Basically it's the same thing except for the fact that in the case of >reading it's "input" and in speech it's "output." Ditto. My speech centre used to go AWOL and I could hear but not understand it. And I could try to speak but couldn't form the words in my mind. Speech and language are not the same, there are mainly two brain areas involved - Wernicke's (language formation/comprehension) and Broca's (speech formation/iteration). If you can speak but not read in silence fluently during these seizures then they're obviously both working OK and it must be the letter recognition which is at fault. IIRC if you can think the speech but only garbage (word salad) comes out then Broca's is at fault, and if you can't even form the words inside your mind then it's probably Wernicke' area. I don't have epilepsy any more but I still get scrambled speech at times when my mind is busy - either a hangover from the medication or a hard- wired error in the speech chain. I am also hypergraphic which means my posts are always far longer than they need to be. :-) SignatureMalcolm >>Howdy! >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >>Basically it's the same thing except for the fact that in the case of >>reading it's "input" and in speech it's "output." > Ditto. My speech centre used to go AWOL and I could hear but not > understand it. And I could try to speak but couldn't form the words in [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > wired error in the speech chain. I am also hypergraphic which means my > posts are always far longer than they need to be. :-) ;-) Likewise, sometimes... I'm glad to see this thread (not for the problems of those posting!), since I've wondered about what happens to me. Either getting stuck on a word, or a "spacy happening" (I remain conscious, but I don't know which happens first as the trigger), causes me to lose speech. I often go limp once the event develops, and often see what is in front of me as "patterns" as I come out of it - and I'm tired afterward. These events can happen a few times a day, or not for a few days, and they last for a few to many minutes. In addition, speech is often difficult without these events happening ("word salad" is a good description... ;-), with sometimes the inability to form the words in my mind. Speech becomes confused or impossible unless I vastly slow it to continue, using repeated words/phrases I've already managed to say as the "base". Some of this feels like extreme stuttering/cluttering (and then there is that annoying "Tourettes-like" stuff...). I also experience times of confusion, often related to the above... Comments? (Two neurologists have not been very helpful on this.) -- David Ruether ruether@verizon.net rpn1@cornell.edu http://www.ferrario.com/ruether > >>Howdy! > >> [quoted text clipped - 51 lines] > rpn1@cornell.edu > http://www.ferrario.com/ruether Howdy David! "...not been very helpful", eh? Are we talking about information exchange or epilepsy therapy? If "not very helpful" means that they are tight lipped and don't tell you anything: * Get another doctor, * Get information from another resource or * Research and investigate on your own. If you find information on your own... although there is no loss of precision due to information exchange (trying to put things in words), since you (I presume) are not a doctor, you must be aware that self diagnosis can be disasterous. In any case, the first thing * I * would do is to get the doctors involved in a dialog -- i.e.; TALK TO THEM!! Let them know what you think and what you want to know. If they choose not to accomodate you, find a doctor who will! SignatureDave ©¿© "Ego sum quis Ego sum quod ut est quicumque Ego sum" http://www.howdydave.com >> I'm glad to see this thread (not for the problems of those posting!), >> since I've wondered about what happens to me. Either getting stuck [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> -- >> David Ruether > Howdy David! > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > -- > Dave ©¿© Howdy Dave! ;-) Both neurologists examined me and offered tests (both quite different...) - and tried medications (one was successful for the "jitters-'n'-jerks", but none for the above). I have explored web info until I'm exhausted (and my file of URLs is enormous). To be fair to the neurologists, I cannot find anything that neatly fits what I experience (though there is a plausible possible cause that reached a head about two years ago - and if that is the cause, there is not a lot that can be done except waiting for possible improvement with time). Complicating talking to doctors (or anyone else) are the speech problems, memory problems, and the interactive problems associated with Asperger Syndrome (I would spend a couple of days before a doctor visit composing a multi-page paper to hand to the doctor - otherwise much of the once-in-three-months appointment would be wasted). Thanks for the comments. --DR >Both neurologists examined me and offered tests (both >quite different...) - and tried medications (one was [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >much of the once-in-three-months appointment would >be wasted). Try asking on alt.support.autism. It is a very supportive group for everyone on the spectrum, consisting mainly of adults (an autistic group often overlooked). You don't *have* to join in the discussions about the origins of hyper-universes or the over-kill punning, but it all keeps the brain alert and there is a large base of subscribers who should be able to help you. "Word salad" is actually a phrase which I have borrowed from descriptions of schizophrenia, but I used it because the words fit so well (not the diagnosis!). SignatureMalcolm [I've tried to "regularize" this combination of previous posts by making some changes and additions to previous posts here to better cover everything...] >> I've wondered about what happens to me. Either getting stuck >> on a word, or a "spacy happening" (I remain conscious, but I don't [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] >> >> Comments? > Try asking on alt.support.autism. It is a very supportive > group for everyone on the spectrum, consisting mainly of [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > descriptions of schizophrenia, but I used it because the > words fit so well (not the diagnosis!). Thanks. I'm very familiar with alt.support.autism (they include AS...), and I occasionally write there. (I also often enjoy the often VERY "far out" OT discussions that can occur there! ;-) I also check out alt.support.stuttering and alt.support.tourettes and sometimes learn things there, too. Maybe it is worth a try putting the above on a.s.a... Signature-- David Ruether > >> I'm glad to see this thread (not for the problems of those posting!), > >> since I've wondered about what happens to me. Either getting stuck [quoted text clipped - 69 lines] > > --DR Howdy David! You may want to consider making an arrangement with your doctor... Send him your notes a week or so before your scheduled visit in order to give him some time to think about/investigate your questions. I had a doctor who was much more comfortable doing things that way because he didn't think that patients should put too much trust 'off the cuff' answers from any doctor -- including himself! SignatureDave ©¿© "Ego sum quis Ego sum quod ut est quicumque Ego sum" http://www.howdydave.com >> Complicating talking to doctors (or anyone else) are the >> speech problems, memory problems, and the interactive [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> >> --DR > Howdy David! > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > he didn't think that patients should put too much trust 'off the cuff' > answers from any doctor -- including himself! Thanks - great idea! -- DR > Hi Folks, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks, > mike Doesn't that sound like Aphasia? It is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and has to do with processing language. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Aphasia_info.htm Anna > Hi Folks, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks, > mike I don't have much in the way of an explanation, but I sometimes have an identical experience. Normally I don't remember what happens during a seizure... Mine are usually complex partials where after a brief aura I go into auto-pilot, find a place to sit, then wait it out. Can't read, can't speak. But sometimes I stay in that aura mode, remembering everything. I guess this would be considered a mild partial seizure. If this happens when I'm trying to read, I can look at the words again and again, but they don't make sense, so I sit back, relax for a second or two, and then I'm good to go! When it comes to speech, I find myself talking slowing and slower to where I finally have to say "wait just a minute", then once I collect my thoughts I continue. Questions: -How would you describe the other 3 szrs you mention? - What does the doc say? (does s/he know about these "partials") Signaturechris k. >> Hi Folks, >> [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > - What does the doc say? (does s/he know about these "partials") The other three were full-blown grand mals I haven't ask the Doc about the reading thing yet. I do want to thank everyone for there responses, it helps knowing that there are other folks that "know" what your going through. mike Hi Mike, Have you had a CAT or MRI in the past couple years? I have something very similar to what you describe going on with my speach center as the result of a low grade glioma (tumor). I can hear people just fine and understand them but can't talk for a couple minutes and then just as fast I'm back to normal. Most likely its just some form of epilepsy since tumors are rare but you might want to get your brain imaged if you haven't already just to be safe. Good luck, Bill > Hi Mike, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Good luck, Bill Bill, Thanks for the input, but just prior to attempting to come off the meds (summer 2005) I had An MRI & EEG done............no probs. The seizures started about 9 years ago, the reading problem maybe a year before that. When the seizures started CAT , MRI, & EEG were done.(no probs) Thanks, mike
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