mom2abcd Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Dh has seen this happen twice with his sister, who is only 30. She asked him a question and he was answering, but she turned to someone else and started a conversation. He told his dad, "I guess she didn't want to hear my answer." She said, "What?..." and totally didn't believe that she had asked him that question, etc. Their dad and our son also observed what my dh did and were concerned. Then there was a group discussing something and she broke off the conversation and started talking about something else. When they brought up the original conversation (this happened right away), she didn't remember it and got defensive again. Could it be a petit mal seizure? She was driving at the time of the second incident so she didn't lose consciousness or anything. Scary to think what could happen sometime, though, when driving. Has anyone seen something like this or do you know where we could go to get ideas? Also-- ideas appreciated on how to help her believe it happened. Different family members observed the two incidents and their dad will watch for it in the future, but dsil lives in another town and we don't all see each other too often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Well, having too much on her mind or too much going on at one time can cause that...but so can brain tumors. A Grand-mal seizure can happen in many different ways. I remember reading about a woman who would just "zone out" at meetings. When she started realizing that she had missed something, she got concerned and got an MRI. She had a brain tumor. If you are truly very concerned and this does not seem to just be her nature or this could not a be a product of too much stress, then I would encourage her to go have it checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 This does seem outside the realm of normal brain functioning. If you've seen this happen more than once I would want her to get checked by a neurologist. There is an odd memory loss going on. As far as convincing her, remember it is hard to believe something if you absolutely have 0 memory of it. Is she married and have children? Does she have a roommate? Other people that can notice this happening? Maybe her brother, your dh, needs to sit down with her with and ask her if she's noticed any other odd memory lapses. If so, maybe she can see that it's not an isolated incident and people aren't just teasing her. Jacqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 This is a short list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_disorder Not sure if you mean flight of ideas, clang associations, distraction or thought blocking. Or my favourite: loose associations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 when I was under too much STRESS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 This does seem outside the realm of normal brain functioning. If you've seen this happen more than once I would want her to get checked by a neurologist. There is an odd memory loss going on. As far as convincing her, remember it is hard to believe something if you absolutely have 0 memory of it. Is she married and have children? Does she have a roommate? Other people that can notice this happening? Maybe her brother, your dh, needs to sit down with her with and ask her if she's noticed any other odd memory lapses. If so, maybe she can see that it's not an isolated incident and people aren't just teasing her. Jacqui She's single and doesn't have a roommate. I could ask her very good friend who teaches with her if she's noticed it. The Wikipedia link doesn't sound like this particular case, but thanks. It could be stress-related. I hate to think that it could be a brain tumor, but I would certainly rather she catch this sooner than later. She's had melanoma in the past. (I guess not all brain tumors are cancerous, though, are they?) Thanks, everyone. If anyone else has seen something like this, I'd love to hear about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 When I was in college, I was under tremendous stress. My friends told me once that as I was talking to them in the classroom, I suddenly put my head down for a minute, then raised my head and continued my conversation mid-sentence. I couldn't figure out why they were looking at me strangely. But the professor convinced me to go to the dr. to get checked out. All neurological tests were negative but she did think that high levels of stress could very well cause it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I've done this, I figured it was mommy brain. When I have done this (or things like driving without even realizing how I got somewhere because it is not where I was headed to in the first place, or walking into a room completely forgetting why I went in there) it is usually because I am very stressed or have a lot on the go so my thoughts are scattered all over the place. So I might be talking to one person, or driving somewhere but my thoughts are on another task, person etc which makes me take action in that direction completely forgetting the first thing I was doing. Usually getting some sleep, and/or getting some help eliminating stressors helps stop that from happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quad Shot Academy Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I hate to think that it could be a brain tumor, but I would certainly rather she catch this sooner than later. She's had melanoma in the past. (I guess not all brain tumors are cancerous, though, are they?) Not to freak you out, but recently a friend of a friend lost her peripheral vision and went to the hospital. She was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. She had melanoma previously and even though she did not have a new skin lesion, it spread through her body and the first symptom she had was with her brain. She was only in her 30's, but died three months later. Melanoma is to be taken very seriously and I would have her immediately checked given her history. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Yes, melanoma is very serious and very scary. Even when it is removed, it can come back in other places. There is someone on this board who spoke of a friend who passed due to a melanoma that had spread silently to lymph nodes AFTER it had been removed. It was a tragic story. Please do ask your SIL to be checked. And, no, not every brain tumor is cancerous. I have a good friend who found his brain tumor when he was 29. They couldn't biopsy or operate due to location, so he spent a few years waiting to die, basically. When he didn't die and it didn't grow or spread, they declared it was just a tumor. However, even though it is not cancerous, if it were to grow larger, it could affect parts of his brain and cause any number of symptoms. It is something they always have to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Not to freak you out, but recently a friend of a friend lost her peripheral vision and went to the hospital. She was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. She had melanoma previously and even though she did not have a new skin lesion, it spread through her body and the first symptom she had was with her brain. She was only in her 30's, but died three months later. Melanoma is to be taken very seriously and I would have her immediately checked given her history. Sorry. Quad Shot Academy and Tree House Academy, thanks for that info. The behavior is SO out of the ordinary for dsil and I really think it's more than stress. I will see what I can do from afar. It's hard when she doesn't believe that those instances happened. She and her brothers goof around all the time, but if she thinks about it, she should know that she and dh also have very strong relationship and he wouldn't make something like this up just to tease her. Maybe dh can talk to her about it after some time has passed. I pray that it is nothing serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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