Cognitive Problems..Any Suggestions?

[KumaB]

Hi everybody

 Anyone out there have any advice for dealing with cognitive problems associated with AN.  Heres my story....I am 1 year post- FSR for a 1.8 cm tumor.  Even before the treatment I began to have both "balance" problems and difficulty concentrating/focusing for school.  I put balance in quotes because I never fall over (in fact I can lift weights - run around etc.), but my head moves on its own unless I manually force it not to.  I also feel what everyone call 'wonky head' in this forum.  Its like i'm aware of all the muscles around my head and those which control my eyes.  What adds to it all is that, since I was a kid, my eyes are sort of messed up so my left eye is very dominant and the right is legally blind which makes me believe that this ocular compensation is compounding the problem.   Also my vision drifts and I have to conscoiusly correct for it which saps my energy.   Now one year after treatment these problems are worse. So......the balance problems are there because the tumor is messing up the nerve signal on one side, not because of the radiation treatment (since this all started prior to it) - but treatment may have exaserbated these problems.  I liked the idea that this was all in my head which is what my neuro told me, because that would me mean a little psychologic work would fix it, however that didn't pan out.  It did help a great deal to remove the axiety component which certainly aggrivates the symptoms but now I am in a good place mentally, looking at the situation realistically and trying to come up with the best solution and explore all options.  Also what helps is vest. rehap therapy which I credit to bringing me back to funcioning socially at nearly full capacity.  But what remains is the ablitily to focus, concentrate, problem solve, read, spell (as you can likely see), and remain on task without either getting extremely fatigued or just bugging out because things don't come to me like they used to.

Heres the best part.. I'm 25 - just finished my work for my master's degree (while haveing all these symptoms - the only way I got through it was because my advisor's son had an AN and he went easy on me) in medical physics and now I find myself unable to do complex math or read complex journal articles, solve problems, in serious college loan and credit card debt. and pretty sure I cannot handle the workload of the demanding though well-paying career I set out do.  How do you cope with going from being extremely smart to becoming ... lets say slightly below average. 

sorry about the length!
Any advice or similar experiences, or potential solutions would be greatly appreciated.

Justin

[lori78]

Hi Justin,
I am also back working on my masters in social work, w more cognitive difficulty than ever before, but as my dad says w my prior nerdy ADD tendencies, "Now you are just like the rest of us!," and plugging along ok. My program is letting me take things slower.. I notice that I take longer to process, have to mentally make myself listen to what others say, and write it all down messily (my AN is on the left and I'm a lefty, go figure!)  I also am only 29, and find it hard to relate being so young and open to this condition.  I think learning to adjust and accept the 'new you' is imperative.  People need to understand that we aren't exactly the same as we were... true friends come into play!!  Good luck!

[tony]

I saw your note - and there are things you CAN do
equally you may need to rethink what, and how, exactly
you plan to make your way in the world
So BALANCE -yes the harder the balance has to work
the more tired and overloaded you will feel
the body/brain is correcting but using gas up at twice the
normal rate in the process
You can start proper balance/rehab type exercises
these will be tiring at first - but it does get better
Basically any sport/gym/dance type activity that
challanges the balance will help
- but again early on it will seem exhausting.
If you are "balance" tired a simple sit down with eyes shut
for 10-20 mins often re-sets the mechanism
- dont sleep just sit - it works wonders
Second point - this involves busy type work situations
many people, many tasks, many noises
These are situations where many ANers are
at the most disadvantage
(and may fail because of it)
- basically you have to seek situations
where quiet, one 2 one, meetings are more common.
I advise you take a strategic view 5-10 yrs or so
and seek advice from folk who know the sector well
There is no point being miserable at work ?
Finally - yes the short term memory is affected by all of the above
I find I have to write things down more - to put less strain
on the now limited short term memory
So fast thinking/fast working may now be in the past
But the "Hard Drive" is still sound - its the processor
which is slow - its ALL still there !
People think I am more reflective - a better listener maybe ?
Sorry to sound like your dad !
Best Regards
Tony

[HeadCase2]

Hi Justin,
  I think every AN patient has experienced some of the symptoms you've described, to one degree or another.  Know that things do get better with time.  I'm about a year and a half out from surgery, and things are still improving, albeit at a slower pace than imediately after treatment.  Do the things you want to do.  At first they may seem different than when you did them in the past, or at least your perception while doing them seems different.  But as time passes you're mind will retrain itself.  And after a while any remaining little differences don't seem as important as they once might have.  Looking at your note, you're obviously an intelligent well written young man.  I'm sure you will do well.
Regards,
  Rob 

[Mary 117]

Hi Justin. I also posted something similiar. I'm about 2 1/2 yrs post surgery and I just went to the neurlogist to try and figure out these cognitive issues. For me, they seem to be getting worse.  It is very frustrating. I can't hang on to details and words seem to fade away just as I look for them. Arrgh. I am scheduled to see a therapist and have an evaluation next week, I'll post what I find out. Hang in there!

Mary

2cm AN, Middle Fosse, HEI, Dr Brackmann  05/24/05

[Gennysmom]

Hi Justin....two months after surgery my best friend gave me a Nintendo DS and the games "Brain Age" and "Big Brain University".  I played a lot of BBU and noticed that my ability to think clearly and remember things got a lot better faster than they were.  I still have days where I feel like a bumbling idiot, but the game really helped me.  I still use it to stay sharp.  It has worked better for me than anything else I have tried, but I think any puzzle/memory games would help.