Shameless bid for sympathy: My hypos have caused severe memory loss....

[Lizzzie]

Has anyone had anything like this? I woke up in hospital with no idea how I’d got there; then I woke up there again the next day, and the next day, and the next because I’d forgotten. apparently I’d overdosed in error and have now forgotten about a years worth of my life, but am also having problems making new memories. The good news is it’s improving but I no longer have a job orlike myself very much, I get lost in public places, get confused trying to follow tv programmes, forget the conversation I had five minutes ago, have huge problems being normal with the kids (‘I told you off for that five minutes ago!’ ‘No you didn’t mummy. You must have told my brother off and now you’ve blaming me.’). am pretty frustrated.

The doctors said at first it couldn’t possibly be due to a hypo (I wrote that down at the time); apparently even people who try to commit suicide that way don’t usually lose their memory. But they’ve ruled everything else out and, it’s getting better, so they now reckon it’s the only possibility.....

 

[Northerner]

Hi Lizzzie, I'm very sorry to hear this I'm surprised that the doctors have said that severe hypos can't be responsible, I thought it was widely known that frequent/severe hypos can impair cognitive function due to the simple fact that the brain is essentially being starved of energy during a hypo - that's why we get the panic symptoms when we start to go low (unless you have lost hypo awareness). It sounds to me like you ought to be referred to a specialist to see if there is any treatment/process you can go through to improve your memory function (e.g. like those offered to people who have had strokes).

I hope that you see a good, if gradual recovery and return to full health soon {{{HUGS}}}

 

[robert@fm]

Good to see you back here after so many years, but sorry that it's for such a reason. Hope things go better for you.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

So sorry to hear this.

I think there is some research going on at Kings in London which is examining how the brain is affected by severe hypoglycaemia using MRI scans.

Hope you can get some support and advice to improve your situation - it sounds really difficult.

 

[SadhbhFiadh]

Hi, Lizzie. That sounds so frustrating, and I can understand your worry. I haven't any knowledge but here's a virtual hug for you, and I hope they come up with some answers and treatment strategies for you.
S.

 

[Davein]

Hi Lizzie
Obviously sounds like part of the brain that deals with memory is malfunctioning. Have you ever been offered a brain scan or undertaken one to find out if there is any sign of a problem. Did you suffer a head injury at some point?

 

[Shiv Gaffney]

Lizzie - have had some minor memory issues (after childbirth! so it was all fun and games!) and with no head injury, diabetes team (after a few admissions for hypos) referred me to neurologist who did all the usual tests and scans and after a thorough question and answer session was told that it was probably down to hypos but also other conditions (including under active thyroid and pernicious anemia). Not sure if you have any of the other conditions but worth checking. He told me that once the diabetes was under control the memory should recover and even though it took a while (and I was in no way as bad as you) I am glad to say it has resolved so there is light at the end of the tunnel🙂

 

[Lilian]

Sounds as if you have had a really nasty experience. It must be so awful for you. However it is good to hear that you are improving and hopefully you will improve more each day.

 

[mikeyB]

I agree with Notherner. You need to see a memory specialist to see if any treatment can help. In the meantime, don’t panic. Just leave notes for yourself everwhere, so that you can stay on track while you get better.

 

[Lizzzie]

Thank you for all the supportive replies about this and sorry for not finding them sooner!

To answer questions, the sensitive MRI shows ‘vague’ non specific changes. There’s no history or sign of head injury (or stroke, they looked for at one point). Interesting you mention thyroids Shiv, the GPs testing me for hypoT at the moment....

The specialist (I’m in Sheffield, luckily. They like neuro) says it’s a tiny, very specific bit of brain that’s struggling, which is to do with retrieval of a memory. ‘Familiarity/ unfamiliarity’ happens elsewhere, and that is fine. Lots of ‘I know we met but who are you?’..... I’m having extensive repeat memory tests at the moment, hoping to come back with good news......

 

[Lizzzie]

thankyou for this! There had to be someone. Did you know you’d had a bad hypo? How did yours manifest?

Had some thyroid bloods done recently - looked very hypoT to me, but apparently they repeat it before they can tell me anything......

Pleased to hear that yours has resolved though - that’s sooo encouraging!

 

[Shiv Gaffney]

Lizzie, after my daughter's birth I developed other autoimmune diseases including an under active thyroid and with new medication, the stress of being a single mum and the fact I wasn't exactly putting myself first at this time my diabetes went absolutely haywire for a period! I had quite a number of hypos that required hospitalisation and I did not remember some - night time hypos where I had been unconscious for a few hours (as a result I still hate going to bed below 7/8!). There were others where I ended up in hospital, didn't know how I got there, but could tell them what I was doing as the hypo hit but not what I was doing in the hours before... As I am kept under 6 month neuro review and have an MRI annually I often ask about these and have been told the longer the hypo lasts the more the memory is impaired; not sure about that but makes logical sense I suppose! It cleared up within a year and though I have short term memory issues now I put this down to that bloody old aging process!! Like diabetes can't be responsible for all of life's woes now can it...

 

[Lizzzie]

Thanks, Shiv, that’s interesting. We reckon I might’ve been hypo for ages....

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Hi @Lizzzie - sorry to hear about your hypo-induced memory loss, but glad that things are improving now 🙂

I saw this thread when you first posted and meant to reply, but ironically struggled to be able to say anything coherent about my own memory problems 😳

For me things are complcated by the fact that I have ME, which is a neuro-immune disease which causes cognitive dysfunction, aka brain fog, which is defined as "a) difficulty processing information: slowed thought, impaired concentration e.g. confusion, disorientation, cognitive overload, difficulty with making decisions, slowed speech, acquired or exertional dyslexia and b) short-term memory loss: e.g. difficulty remembering what one wanted to say, what one was saying, retrieving words, recalling information, poor working memory". So I am used to all the sorts of things which you have developed following your hypo, these are my normal - but with ME they fluctuate, so until a couple of years ago, I'd have good days when my brain felt clear and I could process quite complex information, and bad days when for a few seconds I couldn't remember my own name or recognise my partner.

But a couple of years ago I also had a really bad hypo - not as bad as yours because I didn't wake up in hospital, but apparently I went to bed mid-afternoon thinking (in my hypo-fuddled state) "I feel hypo but I'm really tired so I'll just have a little rest before I test my blood sugar" and ended up staying there for several hours, drifting in and out of consciousness. A few times I woke up in absolute panic and once or twice I even sat up, but I had no idea who or where I was or what the panic was for, so I just lay down and lost consciousness again. My partner came up several times and couldn't wake me up, but thought I was just tired so left me to sleep - thankfully he eventually realised something was wrong and then he finally did manage to wake me and get me to test my blood sugar, but I didn't know who he was and didn't understand what blood sugar testing was (I think once he got me up my liver must have kicked in and put out some glucose because at that point everything started to get a bit more familiar, and it wasn't the lowest hypo I've ever had - but like yours it had lasted for ages).

Since then my brain fog has got a lot worse, and I'm sure it's as a result of that hypo. Although the fog still fluctuates and some days are better than others, I no longer have the days when my brain is clear. A lot of the time I can't follow TV programmes I haven't seen or books I haven't read before so I watch a lot of old DVDs and read a lot of children's books. I've always written myself a lot of lists, but I've become increasingly reliant on noting down everything I need to remember - I have scraps of paper everywhere. I struggle to have conversations with people and to keep up with things like emails and letters.

So it's really good to hear that things are improving for you and that they have improved for @Shiv Gaffney too - hoping they will do for me eventually too! I suspect the fact that they haven't yet is partly because I already had the brain fog so it's likely to be slower for me, and partly because I'm really insulin-sensitive and have loads of hypos, and keeping on having them can't help. I'm on the list for a pump so hoping that will mean I can get my blood sugar more stable, and that if I do so my brain function might improve too ...

 

[Shiv Gaffney]

So sorry to hear Juliet. You are not the only one that has to do lists - I live/rely on them for absolutely everything - I work from home and even have a big whiteboard with my diary on it in the office- never mind the fact I have it on the PC in front of me! And as for the shopping with my list - unless my daughter comes with me I will come home without 1/2 things on the list. I put some of it down to the simple aging process🙂 I also do a lot of the usual activities to keep the memory working. Would be interested to hear how the pump goes for you as I am on a list for one too but my diabetic are not 100% in favour of me getting one for a lot of different reasons.

 

[HOBIE]

Power to you Lizzie !