Does GBS affect Memory

The doctors say no, but practicle experience says yes in most of us to one degree or another.

Tonya Correll

hi kinney,

ditto tonya. take care. be well.

gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

Yes, I’m seeing more and more people complain of memory and cognitive problems – the brain fog. You aren’t alone out there!

Yep the concentration comes back and I kinda forced it to come back with taking on more and more responsibilities around the house as I felt I could handle. Reading concentration was a problem. Also remembering what I had read. So I read a book of jokes. Once joke at a time. Reteaching my body to remember the jokes was a challenge. But I did have GBS Brain Fog! I would see things needed done but did not do them. Watering a wilting plant or empty pet food bowl or water dish. I would see it was empty but I would not think to fill it. I was lucky I had a caregiver that watched me struggle and took over all the household duties that I did not get done thru the day. I would day dream about what needed done and even think about how I would get dressed. I would fall asleep and wake up and not be dressed. I stayed in my pj’s all day. I wrote everything down on a note that had to be done. I used that method to help me keep on track. I tried to get one big project done a day and a bunch of tiny ones. Dishes, laundry, dust were big projects. But if I only did one load of laundry a day I could handle that, I would wash the dishes by doing just the cups and glasses at one time. Then later I would do all the plates. Later I would do all the silverware. I was getting things done this way and felt like I was getting somewhere and helping out around the house. Instead of doing all he windows I did one window a day. Cooking was a problem if I could not make it during 20 to 30 minutes. Fatigue was terrible. I was afraid to go sit down for fear I would fall asleep and a fire would start. Those tiny projects were about as much as I could handle but also contributed to my getting my strenght back and were improving my self worth daily. Set small goals they all add up!

Now I don’t need as many naps and my house is running smoother and even the yard work is getting done. I still need help but those are still those big projects that I wanted hubby to do before I got ill. Have a great Summer! Get out and smell the roses.. 🙂

Yes, my memory has changed as a result of GBS.

I used to have a fanastic memory, also used to teach math & English. Now I feel that I am always in some kind of a fog. Can’t remember what movie I watched last night or who was in it. Can’t remember how to spell a word, or sometimes even the name of it. My mother-in-law has severe short term memory loss & I always fear that I am going where she is.
My only gauge to see how normal I am is to compare myself to my husband who at 57 is two years older than me; says he can’t remember things at times either. But I don’t see it in him, I know it is my CIDP. But my long term memory is still very good, so I believe it is the CIDP, probably the fatigue I seem to have all of the time. Don’t let any neuros tell you that it is “all in your head.” No pun intended!
Pam

Anti-Mag IgM with CIDP presentation definitely has affected my memory and at times my ability to speak words correctly. Find it a frustratig aspect of the disease.

Oh my gosh, I thought it was just me! Blaming it on getting older (I’m 51), the “shock” of a life-changing illness, etc.. I am finding it difficult to remember things day-to-day…simple things. And when thinking about things that happened, say the previous week, seems like eons ago.

Anything to do about this?

HI all
you can add me to the list as well its nice to know it not my age (51)
NOW what was i writing about?
love to all
Allan

I had memory and cognitive problems for the first year after GBS. Then it started to improve. That might have been influenced by my cutting out sugars and starches for the last six months. I have more energy and am more clearheaded. My therapist said that I forget more than most people know. ( I usually read a book or two a week – Nonfiction – health or spirituality.) Thank goodness I am past that stage where I could not think of the word for an object.

GBS – October ’06
GBS Spring ’86

😡 YES KINNEY GBS DOES AFFECT MEMMORY BUT IV’E FOUND THAT WITH PRACTICE AND THE SUPPORT OF THOSE CLOSE TO YOU IT CAN BE OVERCOME

My experience is a bit different. My memory was hell right after, but the nurses told my wife that it was the chemicals used to keep my unconscious during most of my 6 weeks in ICU. They stated that they tended to pool in the fatty tissues and would take weeks to clear out. According to my wife the docs (neuro and psych) seemed to be preparing her for permanent damage and as a result a limited rehab facility. Nurses were right. The first few weeks were way foggy and I couldn’t determine day for night, and or where I was. They even asked me where the hospital was. I had no idea since I was unconscious during the transports to both hospitals. Once I cleared out, I seemed almost more focused and had very sharp memories. Like the brain had a 2 month vacation / rest. Although I had some very weird hallucinogenic memories that were quite complicated. Today, 3 years post onset, the nerve pain etc, and resulting poor sleep have been bothersome.

Good luck, and sorry for rambling about my experience.

Mike

I had no memory problems pre GBS and since then it’s been horrible. After 13+ years it has improved but not to where it was before. Of course, oh . . ., what was the question?? 😮

You are not alone as you can see all the comments in the short time you had posted. I had a severe GBS case last year and I really struggle with getting my brain abilities back. I too was told it is not from the GBS…the dr. thought maybe related to the time I was on the ventilator and yet others noted that the side effects of medications also contribute to this unwanted issue. My short term memory is shot…long time memories take a bit to piece together I thought it would improve once I went back to work to “force” it a bit. However, with just slight improvement. The big question is does it ever return to where it was? Then again, perhaps just another “blessing” we are mean to deal with from this point forward. I think my husband is glad that I don’t remember everything now. LOL! Good luck and stay positive!

Room 679
GBS God Bears Strength

I had awful memory problems when I was sick. I had the worst time even piecing sentences together, felt like I was drunk or something. Even now sometimes my brain feels as if it is off doing its own thing while I am trying to “remember” something or talk about it. Or the words are right there in front of me, I can see them in my minds eye, but for some reason the darn things wont pop out and I end up referring to stuff as thingies or whatever word I CAN remember without making myself look like a fool. Playing memory games has helped and it does seem to get better…but mine still comes and goes. Fortunately my family understands, but it makes me nervous thinking of helping hubby as a sales person for our business!

[QUOTE=Kinney]I was wondering if GBS affects people memory? I find it difficult to remember or think, concentration?[/QUOTE]
I was going to respond to this, but I forgot the question!

I’ve noticed memory loss.

When I mention this problem to my myriad of doctors, they all mention that it could be any one of the multiple medications that I’m taking.

I just wish I could remember the medications when they ask what I’m taking…:rolleyes:

Kinney,
I was DXed 11-07. I’m still on the same medications, my memory and speech have improved, My words were pronounced ok but it was the sound of my voice that was diffferent. My voice sounded like a young child instead of an adult. Now, 7 months later I sound like my old self and can almost think like my old self.
This syndrome really is a mystery!
take care
Shirley

I’m new to this, but i definitely have these episodes where all of my symptoms go from mild/moderate to severe, and the “fog” is the first thing to come and the last to go!

I act like im on drugs or something. I have a really hard time buying more than a couple things at the store, because i can’t remember/focus enough to do so. My husband has to buy the groceries because i can’t put 2 and 2 together enough to buy anything that makes sense (that, and i cant walk, talk, breath that long).

Simple tasks remind me of trying to solve a rubix cube, like adjusting the temp of the shower. I stand there staring at the knobs for a couple minutes trying to figure it out. And, I have a hard time getting my thoughts out. It reminds me of the expressive aphasia i see in my stroke patients.

Jamie,Where in Michigan are you located?? I am going to have a meeting this Summer, so if your close enough to Ann Arbor I would like to invite you. Jerimy

My nerve pain is horrid. It started out occuring rarely and only at night. Now, it happens almost every night and a couple times throughout the day. It feels like electricity shooting throughout my entire body, starting in my back. I thrash around in my bed and cry. The only thing that helps is the Vicodin i have prescribed for my back and neck pain. I take that and, if im lucky, i can get my husband to lay with his chest and belly against my back. I think it is the heat from his body, in combination with the psychological comfort. Then, all i can do is sleep it off. Maybe you can use a heating pad or patch? And massage helps me, too. Icy Hot made me a lot worse though.

My frustration has calmed lately, but my aunt, who has been a nurse for 40 years, told me about a coworker who had horrible fits of anger and frustration with her gbs. It was absolutely out of this persons character. Luckily, it went away with the rest of her symptoms (after 4 months) and she is back to her old self again – back to work and everything! Awesome!

(By the way, I’m a freak about Vicodin! I hate taking it! I’ve seen a lot of my patients addicted to it, and a lot of teenagers, too. So, if any of you are using pain meds, just be careful, okay? If they don’t work for you anymore, ask your doc for something different, rather than taking more and more of what already isn’t working. I take Ultram when im not pregnant and it is wonderful! It is an anti-inflammatory, rather than an opiate/narcotic. For anyone with pain, maybe you can ask for a referral to a pain clinic:)

Jerimy,
I’d love to come to a meeting! Ann Arbor is about 2 hours southeast of us. Let me know when it is, and if i can come, then i definitely will! The baby is due in July, though, so that is a bit of an issue. That, and for some reason, traveling is horrible. All of my symptoms go from mild/moderate to severe within 15 minutes of riding in a vehicle. It is torture! Anyone else?

Does GBS/CIDP cause memory loss? I think the technical answer is “splitting hairs”. While the disease itself may not, the effects of it does. I believe that all of us just want it recognized; that it is something to deal with regardless of how it gets there! Also, that it is very common, wherefore we’re not “crazy” but it feels like it at times 😮

Very often when medical science doesn’t have an answer for “why” or “what to do about it” they will dismiss it as “not valid”. Only as we, the “lucky number winners”, speak up and educate our doctors will this change. Remember, we make it just a little easier for the next “newbe” when we do!

I agree! If we speak up, even if it is a symptom that is currently not typical for GBS, then that information is documented in our charts. Hopefully, down the road, the docs will put 2 and 2 together and realize that there is more to this disease than they realize. Doctors learn by studying cases-that would be us! And if we don’t point out the “little things”, then they may never know. Look at the stuff that comes out in here! A lot of, wow-me-too’s.