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Complete, temporary, loss of memory 1 year post stroke

(11 Posts)
kittylester Tue 05-Jul-22 14:24:27

Some of you may recall that my brother had a stroke and bacterial endocarditis necessitating heart valve replacement over a year ago.

He is home and physically well but,mentally, he is finding things difficult.

He was prescribed citalopram a couple of weeks ago and one week ago had a day when his memory was completely gone. He couldn't remember having been in hospital, having physio, going to the gym, a regularly watched tv programme. This lasted for a day. He was back to normal the next day but now sleeps a lot.

He had a phone consultation with a remote gp today who said this was all normal post stroke.

Any one have any thoughts?

cornergran Tue 05-Jul-22 16:00:53

Memory fluctuations seem common post stroke kitty. Our friend certainly varies day to day, sometimes hour to hour. She is definitely adversely impacted by tiredness and also sleeps a lot. . It’s early days for your brother yet, the change to the home environment may have been a stressor. The Stroke Association are helpful with information and could perhaps put your mind at rest. Hope your brother’s memory becomes less erratic soon, it must be scary for him.

kittylester Tue 05-Jul-22 16:15:10

Thank you corner. It's scary for his wife, who scares me when she phones in a panic.grin

Blossoming Tue 05-Jul-22 18:04:41

It sounds like Transient Global Amnesia, hopefully a one off.

HowVeryDareYou Tue 05-Jul-22 19:06:21

I had a bilateral stroke a year ago - 5 clots over 3 areas of my brain. I'm about 90% recovered (it's the best I'm going to be, they say) - I'm driving, speech ok, etc. My memory isn't what it was, but I write everything down, daily (even mundane things), to help. I think having no memory for an entire day would alarm me. Could he have had a TIA? Incidentally, GPs aren't always the best people to have enough knowledge - The Stroke Association would be better.

Sapphire24 Wed 06-Jul-22 07:53:52

I'm several years post stroke and whilst I've made a fantastic recovery, my short term memory is still affected as well as other residual effects.
Had your brother been unusually mentally or physically active leading up to the memory loss? Even the smallest activity can be exhausting, hence the tiredness. Stroke fatigue is one of the most common effects of stroke. I suggest looking up neurofatigue it might give a better insight. Also Stroke Association and Headway are excellent places to get info and support from. Sending best wishes to you both.

BlueBelle Wed 06-Jul-22 07:57:01

Transient global amnesia is more common than many think but normally only happen once

kittylester Wed 06-Jul-22 08:01:57

Thank you for all the replies.

Our eldest son had a (different type of) stroke 15 years ago so I am aware of post stroke tiredness. My brother's has become extremely.

dogsmother Wed 06-Jul-22 08:08:26

The tiredness is normal, great people to chat with are the neuro physios who work with him. But I also think if you contact headway and/or the stroke association it would help.
There is no rushing any of this so it gets frustrating, lots of patience required.

kittylester Wed 06-Jul-22 08:14:29

kittylester

Thank you for all the replies.

Our eldest son had a (different type of) stroke 15 years ago so I am aware of post stroke tiredness. My brother's has become extremely.

Pesky phone. My brother's has become extreme!

dogsmother Wed 06-Jul-22 08:19:47

Apologies,completely misread that. My instinct now would be watch closely, still contact the both groups however.