TEMPORARY AMNESIA CAUSES DRIVER

Sometimes the attack appears to be provoked after strenuous exercise or exertion (including sexual activity), very hot or cold weather, or a stress such as having surgery or other medical procedure, or even a severe bout of coughing.

Investigations such as a CT, MRI, and electroencephalogram (EEG) are normal.Although there may be patchy recall of events as the episode resolves, those minutes or hours of the patient's life remain a blank, never to be recalled or remembered it's this aspect that is often most frustrating and anxiety provoking for the patient, especially because he or she was not 'unconscious' and was often undertaking complex activities (ie, driving) during this time.Patients will often complain of a headache as the amnesia resolves.They are alert and other than some confusion and anxiety, retain their normal personality and character.The patient has no weakness, and is able to undertake most complex actions: drive a car, manipulate electronic equipment, dress themselves, use cutlery, and write. There is absolutely no evidence of a stroke.Although the patient may not recognize friends and possibly family members, the patient will not forget who he or she is.It is common for the patient to constantly and repeatedly asks questions that are mostly attempts to orient themselves, such as 'Where are we going today?', 'Who owns that car in the driveway?' 'Who is that person in the photo?', 'Where did I go yesterday?', ' Do I need to go to work?' The patient's confusion is the most striking aspect.It is important to emphasize the following characteristics: She takes him to the Emergency Room, and within 4 hours he slowly recovers his orientation and his memory, but he has absolutely no recall of his life from the time he went to bed the night before until about 11.30 am that morning in the hospital. All this seems to have occurred without any mishap or catastrophe. There is a fry pan on the stove, a dirty plate in the sink, and a half-full coffee pot.

Yet it is obvious to the daughter that her father has safely arisen from his bed, there is evidence that he has showered, and he is dressed appropriately and shaved. He begins to ask repeated questions about 'why.' and 'when.' and 'how.' Her father has no recollection of what has happened and can't even recall getting out of bed. An example is a daughter who leaves her elderly father at home in bed early in the morning and comes home at lunch to find her father walking around the house completely confused and disoriented. He anxiously checks his vehicle and his money and to his amazement, deduces that he has driven his taxi more than 100 miles in the last several hours, without any evidence of an accident, probably picking up other passengers as he has taken more than $320 in fares.Ī witness will typically describe that the person with transient global amnesia suddenly begins to act strangely and appears confused and disorientated.

TEMPORARY AMNESIA CAUSES DRIVER

Here's an example: a taxi driver remembers having breakfast, picking up a passenger outside a suburban train station at about 9 AM, and then next 'comes to' in his taxi, alone, at 4.30 PM on the other side of town. Global means that the loss of memory is severe and often total.īecause a transient global amnesia episode or 'attack' is defined by its severe amnesia, what happens during the attack can only be described by a witness, as the patient has no recollection of the event. Transient indicates that what happens is brief and, importantly, that the symptoms resolve completely. The term transient global amnesia describes what happens in an attack and was coined in the 1950s because no one could confidently explain the mechanism. However, transient global amnesia does not have the sinister implications of a transient ischemic attack, it is not the precursor to a stroke. It is often wrongly diagnosed as a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or 'mini' stroke. Transient global amnesia is a unique and relatively common neurologic event that is poorly understood and frequently misdiagnosed.

Temporary amnesia causes