Getting to Know Our Brains (Brain Fog) #2

 Right now, the brain is in a terrible foggy world. It is impossible at this point to try and store anything in the proper order.

This part is about 'STORAGE'.  We no doubt know all about that and how hard it is to try  storing things in our brain for any length of time, right?  Storage our Librarian has to do a lot of.  Store the books in the correct order, in the correct spot, on each shelf, day after day.  That is just one of the jobs of a Librarian.  Now what what if that storage area goes on strike!!  Relating this now to having Seizures and how should that area of our brain be affected, what would happen.  You can just imagine trying to find something you need quickly with no one there to help you.  It would be next to impossible.  What happens is not your fault, it is not a disease or something your partner can catch.  It has just happened, for whatever reason.

What does this Storage look like in the person with Epilepsy, from an out-siders view point?  It may look like the information given in the #1 section/attention, has gone in one ear and right out the other to some.  You had remembered something about your 'friend Joe' from that previous sentence. In the Attention section, he would of been right there in front of you. Now you may not be guaranteed to remember even that, if there are difficulties with the storage part now.  To some people it will appear as if the memory has completely gone.  To others looking on, it may appear as if you have suddenly become deaf.     

Believe me this is right, in fact doctors even wanted to set me up for surgery and when asked if the hearing aids after the fact would then help any, he told me probably nothing would....so why have the surgery, why have hearing aids.  It didn't take long until I figured though that what others saw from the outside and heard from the outside, was one big blur, or mixed up jumbled up lot of words.  A big 'No' to the surgery was given to them and also to the hearing aids (although my husband did buy me one but it broke) :(smile:)  What it really was, that deep fog my brain was in after someone said something to me along with the very short memory that came with it.  Every word they said made perfect sense while they were speaking, but the minute they stopped, I was lucky if I recalled one word.  That one word would be put in a sentence of 6 different subjects.  Kind of difficult for the person on the outside looking in right?

Slow and easy does it.  No longer try and multi-task, that just makes matters worse.  We can find ourselves different ways to recall things and put them in the proper order in our brain.  We don't want that Storage section of our brain to go on Strike any more!! 

Take care and keep smiling as it does get better

Big smiles to everyone out there in the Purple Power land.  The fog has lifted and slowly the short term came back.

Julie

Getting to Know Our Brain (Bain Fog) #1

This really meant something to me as at one point of my seizure history Brain Fog was all I knew.  On one hand it was nice as I was like an angel floating around on another planet and didn't know or could do anything.  On the other larger hand, all those years I missed out on and can not recall a thing.

Now that I am out of it, I dug deep within myself to try and figure what it was really like.  What had happened anyway.  I read all I could find and also had several solutions of my own of what happened. 

Each part of our brain is given different jobs to do and believe me none of these are easy.  If these are not done right or get confused in any way then that section just decides to 'go on strike' so to speak.  Lets pretend it is a librarian.

Three main areas they attend to are: Attention and encoding, Storage, and Retrieval.  I use to be a librarian in school and this is the best way to describe the jobs.  It now depends on what kind of Epilepsy you have and which section of the brain is affected. 

Attention - Let's start with this and we can go into the other two later.  One of the things is namely that most people with Epilepsy have is short attention span.  Give the section of the brain that looks after the attention and encoding epilepsy and it can greadly reduce the attention speed and rate of information processed.  Have you ever noticed that if you can only work at a slow steady pace things go just as well?  Maybe even better?  Speed it up a little, or start multi-tasking specially over an extended period of time and it can look like you are hard at work but at the end of the day, not much has been completed or accomplished.  One good saying here for you to hang on to is 'Slow and steady wins the race!'.  By doing this the brain will not get the chance to get 'spaced out/confused/fogged up' or anything else it could have in mind for you.  YEH!!

This past week was a great one for me.  No confusion, my library was in great working order and with no fog, it is really a great feeling!

Look for the next number to be about the Storage part....oh oh... what do you think this may be about?  Let me know if you have any ideas about it.  Remember you are the librarian, you also have Epilepsy and do you need Storage?

Hope this was a great week for all of us Purple Power people fighting Epilepsy together.

Purple Power goes out to all
Julie

Another Week Free

I hope it is like this for everyone despite the hot weather and strange watches we have been having.  YEH I can say another week seizure free has just gone by.

Listening  to music, and playing the piano has been a good relaxing form for me this week.  When I have free time I love to crochet, do picture puzzles, and when nice out go for walks or working in my 'happy place' my garden.   It has been full of  the grand kids too which of course there are many laughs there, how can you not. 
If you get bored, find yourself a hobby or do something you enjoy as it will not only keep you stress free but make your life full of smiles.  Hope everyone else had a great week too.  Another free week coming.

Keep smiling as that is the best medicine ever
Julie

Living Well With Epilepsy

Living well with Epilepsy should be one of our goals in life.  In fact our most important goal.  Just think if we were to be able to keep the seizures under control, having the minimal amount of side effects possible and to be able to life a full life with the ability to cope with your condition the best way possible. 

This is something I am sure all wish they could have.  Do you want to know the good news?  It is possible!!

We all know about the medications and other treatments available, but we must do our part as well.  Are you whispering in my ear...how do you expect me to do that?  Here is what I have done.

1.  Know what some of your important Triggers out that will cause a seizure should it be provoked.  Everyone has different ones.  Sometimes you only need one Trigger, others it may take several. 

2.  A good way to find your Seizure Trigger is to make yourself a seizure diary by keeping track of all of them.  This includes what they look like/or are they different than before, what were you doing that day/or even the day before, even down to what you have ate that day.  Anything that is different other than what you are use to having can be a big factor should you take this list with you on your next Doctors apt.

3.  Don't let the stigma attached to you having Epilepsy get in your way of living a normal lifestyle.  There are times when people throw stones your way and can get you upset thinking it was meant for you, when in fact they were aiming at something entirely different.

4.  Driving a vehicle and having that choice taken from you can be a delicate subject for some.  There are ways of transportation available to you, and hey....just think of the money you would save.  Everything has its good side.  Why risk your life as well as that of others.

5.  Epilepsy in the Workplace may look to be a real hassle and problem.  Be honest with your employer and co-workers and you will stand a better chance of earning respect from them.

These are just a few things one can do and have to think about.  Help yourself gain deeper insight into your seizures and triggers, share that information with your doctor, improve your treatment and long-term care, empower yourself with all the information you can.  All of this should help improve your seizure control.

Have a great evening
Keep Smiling
Julie