Anyone ever forget certain words after surgery or am I just going nuts?

[Dog Lover]

I've noticed for the past few days that when i am talking to someone, I will forget a word. Like today when i was talking to my cousins who came over, I forgot the word "forclosure" I waited for about 10 seconds and then I remembered it. A few days ago i forgot the word nail polish. Just little things like that.

One of my daughters said that she watched the Discovery Channel and said that one show she watched says that this is common after a brain surgery. One of my cousins who is a nurse also told me just to relax and things will get better.

Still freaks me out though. Has anyone else delt with stuff like this? I think today may have been the worst day, but I have also been extremely tired today and pretty much napped all afternoon and a bit this morning, too.

Please, has anyone else delt with this? Should I call the dr. or is this just common during recovery (it's been 10 days .... Aug 21, 2008 .... since my surgery).

Cathy

[JulieE]

Hi Cathy,
I have followed your progress thru these channels and am happy you are past the surgery hump and on to recovery!  You are not going nuts, as I have searched on and found threads on trouble speaking and it is common among us brain surgery folk.  I personally found it frustrating to go from being a story teller to having a speech impediment/ trouble finding word.  I am 5 months out and it is improving daily, although I will never be a champion debater as in high school!  Tiredness makes the process harder, and I'm sure I didn't find the right words (being tired and all) but someone else on this list will!  Anyway you are not alone, but it gets better.
Jules

[sgerrard]

It is a common thing. In fact, there is a word for it, but I can't remember what it is. 

Steve

[MAlegant]

Loss of word at crucial moment, yep, check!  I've got it too, and it is a little scary, but I'm hoping it will pass. Hard enough to be middle-aged....

[lori67]

Well, there is a chance you are also going nuts (like the rest of us!), but I have the same problem with forgetting words.  It's enough to make you nuts if you weren't already!

I've noticed it is much worse when I'm tired.  It's gotten better, but it still gets very frustrating at times.  Especially when you're trying to yell at your kids and you can't remember what to yell - or better yet, when the wrong word pops out of your mouth and they look at you like you're crazy.

Lori

[Mickey]

Havn`t had any treatment yet and forget words now and then. Maybe the ageing process? Who knows! Mickey

[NL]

Hi Cathy,

For being ten days out from brain surgery - that sounds about right! And as everyone says, it will get better.

Within my first week or so home, that happened to me quite a bit. I remember talking to the neighbors a few doors down who I've known for over a year. We spoke for about twenty minutes, and I was having a hard time keeping up with the conversation - only because the entire time I was trying to recall the wife's name! It finally came to me after I walked away.

I'm happy to report that now (at 4 weeks out) I could even tell you their kid's and dog's names.

As I said to someone else, it's like your brain rearranging the furniture now that the AN is finally out.

Hope everything else with your recovery is going well,

Nancy

[leapyrtwins]

Cathy -

as others have said, forgetting certain words can be quite common.  I'm 15 months post op and I still do it on occasion.  I also still think one word, but say another    Either it's a side-effect of my surgery - or just old age 

Jan

[lori67]

Jan, in your case....it's probably old age!   

Sorry...that was just to easy.  I crack myself up!   

Lori

[MAlegant]

I wasn't good with names before surgery so this should be fun!

[leapyrtwins]

You crack me up, too, Lori 

Jan - getting older all the time 

[Tumbleweed]

Cathy, I had CK, not surgery, but I had the same problem for a couple weeks after treatment. I couldn't remember words and I also typed words with reversed order of letters (like a dyslexic person). A friend of mine who is a cancer survivor (not brain cancer, but  cancer of the anus) said it's a common temporary problem after getting chemotherapy, too; she said cancer patients call it chemo-brain. Don't worry about it; it should get better over time. Based on how articulate your post was and the lack of typos, you seem to be doing amazingly well considering how recent your surgery was.

Anyway, best washes. Waffles? Wascals... um, wishes. Yeah, that's it, best wishes... for continuum heeding... continued heckling... um, healing, yeah, that's ripe, uh, right, continued healing. Best wishes for continued healing.

Whew,
Tumbleweed

[Omaschwannoma]

I too remember this problem.  Please know it does get better, just slow down and let it slide if you happen to stumble on words. 

[Kaybo]

Unforunately I still get words mixed-up or "lost" - usually when I am very tired (or can't pronounce words right).  There are some words that I automatically reverse, but I think that is more a stroke symptom than AN.  It drives me crazy because I feel like an uneducated person - I ALWAYS mix up RIGHT and LEFT (you have to watch the way I am pointing if I am giving directions!) and the one that bothers me most is YESTERDAY and TOMORROW!  It will get better, though.

K

[NL]

Cathy - I was beginning to think I was past the word-switching phase, but yesterday I told someone I shop at Bird Bath & Beyond. 

(K - I've been doing the "yesterday/tomorrow" switch for years - and I thought it was just me!)

NL