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A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

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Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#31

Post by gerbilly »

cLeEOGPw wrote: post #28

All personal experiences aside, the conclusion is that cyst squeezed hypothalamus which resulted in malfunctioning. Or in short, "Malfunction of compressed brain tissue". What is the reason for that? Are neurons somehow discharged when they are pressed closer to each other? What's the physics/chemistry/biology behind this?

I'm not an expert but neurons aren't like wires, they send electrochemical signals.

You can squeeze a copper wire all you want, short of breaking it, and electrons will still flow.

But in neurons, it's actual ions that have to flow for the signal to travel along the axon (Ca and K)

Also, communication between neurons is via neurotransmitters, that diffuse in the synaptic gap between neurons, and most of these are relatively large molecules.

Restricted blood flow could contribute as well, since it would impair cellular respiration in the neurons as well.

Given this, if you squeeze a brain structure, it seems to make sense to me that signalling would be degraded.

Edit: A previous version of this comment stated that the ions used for signalling were Na and Ca, that was incorrect, the ions are Na and K.

Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#33

Post by iscrewyou »

rajeevk wrote: post #30
simcop2387 wrote: post #7

I actually had a similar incident with memory loss some years ago. It wasn't because of a tumor but from severe central sleep apnea, that as near as I've ever been able to figure out had been going on for about a decade and was taking a significant toll on my body and brain. The way he describes the memories coming back to him is much more eloquently put than I've ever been able to manage. I hadn't hit a point where…

I have been suffering from similar problem but not that extreme from last one and half year. I hope people here will provide some info that would be useful to me. Doctors are not helpful. My problem started when switched my job in April 2014. Before I was perfectly fine. The office space was not properly ventilated. Initially (from the very first day) I used to feel very drowsy in the office and fine outside. After f…

When you said it happened after you changed jobs and new office was not ventilated and you were feeling drowsy, I first thought maybe it was carbon monoxide poisoning. However, if it is still happening, I am not so sure anymore.

Source: Not a doctor. Just scared of carbon monoxide poisoning. You know, going to sleep and never waking up.

Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#34

Post by ericabiz »

rajeevk wrote: post #30
simcop2387 wrote: post #7

I actually had a similar incident with memory loss some years ago. It wasn't because of a tumor but from severe central sleep apnea, that as near as I've ever been able to figure out had been going on for about a decade and was taking a significant toll on my body and brain. The way he describes the memories coming back to him is much more eloquently put than I've ever been able to manage. I hadn't hit a point where…

I have been suffering from similar problem but not that extreme from last one and half year. I hope people here will provide some info that would be useful to me. Doctors are not helpful. My problem started when switched my job in April 2014. Before I was perfectly fine. The office space was not properly ventilated. Initially (from the very first day) I used to feel very drowsy in the office and fine outside. After f…

Get with a doctor who has experience dealing with autoimmune issues.

Anecdotally, I can say your issues are consistent with Celiac disease. Headaches/migraines, depression and "brain fog" are some of the most common symptoms. Your B12 and D deficiencies are also suggestive of malabsorption of nutrients in your digestive tract.

It isn't necessarily Celiac (I have a bias here since I was diagnosed with Celiac/gluten intolerance in 2009 with symptoms quite similar to yours), but I would get some tests from a doctor who can look at and rule out GI parasites, thyroid issues, Celiac, Crohn's/colitis (especially if you have GI issues like gas/bloating as well.)

Also, if you have been in an area with ticks, get checked for Lyme disease--the symptoms you describe are also indicative of Lyme, and the "bullseye" spot on your skin from the tick bite doesn't happen to all Lyme patients.

Good luck!

Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#35

Post by peter303 »

NPR had a related story about a stroke taking away part of the language processing center for a while. After the patient could express themselves again, they report a stillness in the mind during the loss period. Many, if not all of us, think by talking to ourselves in our minds. And this internal voice is something hard to turn off at will as any serious meditator knows.

Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#36

Post by rajeevk »

iscrewyou wrote: post #33
rajeevk wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been suffering from similar problem but not that extreme from last one and half year. I hope people here will provide some info that would be useful to me. Doctors are not helpful. My problem started when switched my job in April 2014. Before I was perfectly fine. The office space was not properly ventilated. Initially (from the very first day) I used to feel very drowsy in the office and fine outside. After f…

When you said it happened after you changed jobs and new office was not ventilated and you were feeling drowsy, I first thought maybe it was carbon monoxide poisoning. However, if it is still happening, I am not so sure anymore. Source: Not a doctor. Just scared of carbon monoxide poisoning. You know, going to sleep and never waking up.

I can rule out the co poisoning because I was the only one who got affected in that office. Others did not have such issues

Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#37

Post by azernik »

ionforce wrote: post #5

Such a fascinating article. 1) It makes the brain sound like a Kafka queue that kept growing but never had any consumers, until his tumor was removed. 2) It's interesting how there was a disconnect between his active consciousness and whatever other process was reindexing/reinterpreting his raw memory data. Sort of a nod to my napkin theory about the brain being a multi process machine. 3) The fact that the memories…

I think it's better (or just more intuitive, given my interests) to describe the brain as a distributed system than a single multi-proces processing Von Neumann type machine - there are components in different parts of the brain that do work independently and then send the results over the "network". Some network failures and node outages are... not dealt with gracefully.

Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#38

Post by BillPond »

improv32 wrote: post #16
aquadrop wrote: post #13

I think it's a complete script for an oscar-level movie and I would love to watch it.

Check out Memento, total mind-fuck of a film, it's about a man who has short-term memory loss like OP, and to keep the audience on the same page has him the scenes in the movie go in reverse order. Sounds weird but it works VERY well.

Isn't that statement pretty spolierly?

Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#39

Post by ivanb »

rajeevk wrote: post #30
simcop2387 wrote: post #7

I actually had a similar incident with memory loss some years ago. It wasn't because of a tumor but from severe central sleep apnea, that as near as I've ever been able to figure out had been going on for about a decade and was taking a significant toll on my body and brain. The way he describes the memories coming back to him is much more eloquently put than I've ever been able to manage. I hadn't hit a point where…

I have been suffering from similar problem but not that extreme from last one and half year. I hope people here will provide some info that would be useful to me. Doctors are not helpful. My problem started when switched my job in April 2014. Before I was perfectly fine. The office space was not properly ventilated. Initially (from the very first day) I used to feel very drowsy in the office and fine outside. After f…

If it is indeed not some weird infectious disease you can try https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylpiracetam It wakes brain up. Just don't overdo it. And exercise. Do some cardio. Blood flow is essential for brain.

Re: A tumor stole every memory I had – what happened when they came back

#40

Post by Yen »

BillPond wrote: post #38
improv32 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out Memento, total mind-fuck of a film, it's about a man who has short-term memory loss like OP, and to keep the audience on the same page has him the scenes in the movie go in reverse order. Sounds weird but it works VERY well.

Isn't that statement pretty spolierly?

The plot device, and the reason for it, are established within the first few minutes of the film.
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