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Post by KSA on May 5, 2010 17:33:29 GMT -5
Yesterday I got to experiece one of the most fasinating tests. My Neuropsychologist who I go to for memory testing gave me the TAT test. I have to give you a little background on my doctor he is from Iran and until I met him I did not know much about the country each visit he talks to me not only about what is going on with me but also the current conflicts in his home country. He is very intelligent and has also written a interesting book called SWORD AND SEIZURE - Muhammad's Epilepsy & Creation of Islam. I have not read it but he has told me alot about it. He writes that that Muhammad suffered from complex partial seizures and that is why he saw the visions. I am getting a copy and hope to read it at some point. We have more of like friendship then a Dr./ patient relationship. He is always making me laugh he blogs about Iran also and runs into alot of crazy people that disagree with his views. His mother is still in Iran and sister also and lets just say he is not a fan of the country. I have learned not only about my curious brain but also about a culture that I never knew about till I met him.
So back to the TAT test you look at a variety of pictures of people and tell a story. He had me write mine. He would not tell me anything more about the test so of course the research librarian came out in me and I have googled everything I could find about the test. I asked him if he had taken it and he did tell me yes but ethically was not suppose to take it. He told me after I am all done with all my testing he will tell me his results LOL!. He did give me a little history of the test of course I was so inquestive about it I wanted to know everything but he was very short in his responses so he did not ruin the test for me.
I was given a Roschak Ink Blot test by a friend in college he was not suppose to give it to me it breaks a bunch of ethics but I begged. The TAT is similar but instead of ink blots you look at pictures of people. My ink blot test showed that I was rebelious! LOL yes that is me. I am so interested in what the TAT test will say about me. He jokes with me that I am a hard patient to read and that I am challenge LOL shocker there. Most of my docs say that! Has anyone else taken any tests similar to these please share if you have it is so intriging to me.
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Post by lizzylou on May 5, 2010 18:38:15 GMT -5
I've never heard of a dr like this. Can you explain more about him and what lead you to go to him?
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Post by KSA on May 6, 2010 9:32:00 GMT -5
He is a very good friend of my neurologist and came recommended because of my memory issues. A Neuropsychologists tests to determine the brain's capacity with respect to short and long term memory, abstract reasoning, attention, concentration, executive functioning, motor skills and other cognitive and psychological factors. By comparing the pattern of these results, against the patients pre-morbid capabilities, and correlating these results with the nature of the trauma suffered by the patient, neuropsychologists can, to a reasonable degree of certainty, opine that individuals without an acute diagnosis of brain injury, have permanent deficits as a result of brain trauma. Most of his patients are stroke and seizure patients, Dementia and Alzheimer patients too. He deals with trauma cases as well such as accident victims. I see him once a week for memory testing he does a variety of tests to see how I am doing with my aphasia. I forget my words alot and with time I have gotten better. In the summer of last year I was unable to speak correctly for a week. I had a severe stutter and lost the ability to form my words at all. I knew what I wanted to say but the words did not come out the way I thought them. Aphasia can happen to people with strokes, seizures and anyone with brain trauma. Mine was temporary however some people never regain their regular speech pattern. I have had many neurological issues this past year and that is why I see him and a neurologist. I have been told that a lot of this had to do with the amount of blood I lost due to endometriosis and now they found a spot on the back left part of my brain we are not sure yet what that is I am waiting on my MRI results. Let me post you his website so you can read more about him. www.neuropsychcenter.net/4.html
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Post by lizzylou on May 7, 2010 22:15:50 GMT -5
WOW! You sure don't have memory problems when it comes to spitting out all that information!
That's an amazing story, I never heard of aphasia. My grandpa died due to complication with a brain anurism a few years ago, so I know a little bit about brain stuff, but not much.
Do they think you will make a full recovery? Do they know what brought this on? What is it exactly?
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Post by KSA on May 12, 2010 18:42:39 GMT -5
Lizzy Lou most of that is cut and pasted I could never remember all that and my writing is not that professional either. I got my results today and he is saying I have signs of a disorder called Conversion Disorder. Which is a neurological disorder in which physical symptoms are unconsciously caused by a stressful or traumatic event. My body as went thru so much stress from surgery and being sick that I am a mess inside and out. Here is a run down of what the disorder is and all of this will be cut and pasted as it is easier do that then explain it. Conversion disorder is a condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis, or other nervous system (neurologic) symptoms that cannot be explained.
Causes Conversion disorder symptoms may occur because of emotional distress or psychological problems.
Symptoms usually begin suddenly after a stressful experience. People are more at risk for a conversion disorder if they also have a medical illness, dissociative disorder, or personality disorder.
Some doctors falsely believe that conversion disorder and similar disorders are not real conditions, and may tell patients that the problem is "all in your head." However, these conditions are real. They cause distress and cannot be turned on and off at will. Research on the mind-body connection may eventually increase understanding of these disorders.
Symptoms Symptoms of a conversion disorder include the loss of one or more bodily functions, such as:
Blindness Inability to speak Numbness Paralysis Diagnostic testing does not find any physical cause for the symptoms.
Exams and Tests Common signs of conversion disorder include:
A debilitating symptom that begins suddenly A history of a psychological problem that gets better after the symptom appears A lack of concern that usually occurs with a severe symptom Your doctor will do a physical examination, and possibly diagnostic tests, to rule out physical causes for the symptom.
Treatment Psychotherapy and stress management training may help reduce symptoms. The affected body part or physical function will need physical or occupational therapy until the symptoms disappear. For example, paralyzed limbs must be exercised to prevent muscle wasting.
Outlook (Prognosis) Symptoms usually last for days to weeks and may suddenly go away. Usually the symptom itself is not life threatening, but complications can be debilitating.
So this is the ANSWER so far to why I am the way I am. I see my doc on tuesday and we are going to discuss meds or something for stress. Not sure seeing that I have issues with medicine also. It is a very interesting diagnosis I never knew anything like this exsisted before. All of these years wondering and I get a answer if this is what is wrong with me its nice to KNOW! My neurologist still has to make the final call on weather or not he thinks this is the diagnosis so unless he disagrees with this doctor I think this is the problem. I will see him in a few weeks after the report is written up. Stress can do horrible things to your body and this last few years my body has been thru HELL!
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Post by lizzylou on May 12, 2010 19:55:12 GMT -5
everytime I read something i find myself saying the same thing..."WOW" I had no idea something like this was out there. I'm sure you feel about this how I felt about my Endo diagnosis. On one hand, it's awful to get that diagnosis, but on the other hand WAHOO!!! A diagnosis!!! Having a name to put with a face, so to speak, is always a relief, because once you know what it is, you can figure out how to treat it.
I hope that they can give you some relief.
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Post by KSA on May 13, 2010 10:17:51 GMT -5
I wish my husband would be a little more accepting of the diagnosis. He is not at all supporting it. He thinks the docs just can not figure it all out so they came up with this because they do not know. I get why he feels like this I a mean its not a exact explanation to why I am dealing with some of my issues but it is something. He has seen me go thru so much that is hard for him to just say oh its STRESS. When I have a episode he is there and to him he can not imagine blaming something like this on anything other than a true medical reason. Its so physical with me. Not being able to speak or words coming out that make no sense that he feels its more neurological that anything else but the docs can not figure it out. Conversion Disorder for me gives me a answer and I am ok with that but I see his point too.
Reading and listening to my doc it makes sense but I also wonder why all this time this has been going on no one ever mentioned it before. A inkblot test and a few memory tests and now all the sudden I have a answer to all of our questions. I think when we see my neurologist who is also a very good friend my husband may come around to the idea if Dr. B agrees with the diagnosis made by the other doc. If not its like I am back to square one again. Just like ENDO for years I was told oh you just have IBS or well your period is heavier then most women. It took so much to find out that NO it was not IBS and it was not a heavy period. I had for years a disease growing in my body that took over organs bowel, bladder uterus and then had to have a hysterectomy for my uterus to be removed. My husband does not want the same misdiagnosis with my brain.
It takes me back to a time when I was fighting to figure out what was wrong with me before I found out I had ENDO. Sometimes docs are wrong and then what as a patient you do not know any better and it ends up being too late for a lot of people when they do find out that something is wrong. It was for me with my endometriosis if I would of been listened to years ago I could maybe not made it to Stage 4. That is why I am so active in getting the word out about the disease no one should go as long as A LOT of us have.
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Post by Karen on May 13, 2010 20:42:38 GMT -5
Keri - a good friend of mine had post traumatic stress - she was in an abusive relationship when she was younger, and later on in life when she had some other big things going on, it triggered some very physical symptoms. After a few years of prodding, she finally sought the help of a trained therapist and it was only then that she was able to pinpoint the abuse as the trigger and reasoning for a lot of the symptoms she was having. She's going through some non-traditional treatment at the moment that involves some sort of music that helps you connect both sides of the brain. Sounds crazy, I know, but she's seeing improvement. My point is, you have some pretty big things going on in your life, and I think your doc may have a point. Also keep in mind that our medical system is flawed in that it can't detect everything and anything, so your husband may just have to live without some physical proof of what's going on. I hope that whatever the case, you'll only have recovery and hope in your future!
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Post by lizzylou on May 13, 2010 21:12:29 GMT -5
first, you are incredibly lucky that your husband is so supportive of your health problems, even if he's not so understanding of this diagnosis. My fiance is a great guy, but sometimes it's like he's irritated that once again, I've got this mind numbing pain from an ovarian cyst. And if I have a panic attack, he doesn't get why i can't just stop it. Like he's just as weary and worn out from these problems as I am, but he can choose to just ignore it sometimes.
It's so frustrating knowing something is wrong but having nobody listen to you. Best of luck with your neurologist! Definatly keep us updated.
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Post by KSA on May 15, 2010 10:49:00 GMT -5
Thanks Karen for that story about your friend. I was in a abusive marriage when I was younger and I still have to deal with him time to time because he is Jacob's dad so I suppose that could be my trigger as well. Along with all the medical issues and sugeries I have had. At this point I am willing to try anything. If it means going to a therapist I will. My MD actually has any patient with a chronic illness go see a therapist. Medical issues cause so much STRESS! It amazes me what the brain does when it is under so much pressure. I read in article that this particular disorder could have been a way the brain functioned in Cave Man times. A defense that over time humans no longer needed. I have to find that case study and post it. It was very interesting! I will keep you posted. Lizzylou my husband was not always supportive. He did not understand how serious things were until he saw me go into shock when I had a iron infusion last year. I almost died. It took that to wake him up. Before that he never went to doctors appointments and it was so hard for me to explain what the doctors were saying. It all changed that day tho. Since then he has been by my side and it has helped so much! I do not know how I did it alone before. I feel for you Lizzylou. Thats why this board is so great for support.
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Post by lizzylou on May 15, 2010 15:35:17 GMT -5
So I need to almost die for him to understand? hmm....no good!
I'm sorry you had to go through all that!
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Post by KSA on May 20, 2010 16:41:12 GMT -5
Lizzy Lou I hope NO ONE has to ever go thru all that to get support. He will wake up at somepoint give him time its hard for men to understand.
So my regular MD who has known me for 10 plus years is not buying the Conversion Disorder diagnosis. My iron levles are still down even after all this time so she thinks it could still be that and the possible Lupus. Ugggh why cant all the docs get on the same damn page with me!
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Post by lizzylou on May 20, 2010 17:44:08 GMT -5
"it's never lupus" Sorry....House quote.
Good luck! They thought my son had lupus, but they tested him, but he didn't carry the gene. It's a simple test, are they testing for it?
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Post by KSA on May 21, 2010 11:49:08 GMT -5
LOL HOUSE! Yes I have been thru lots of testing. ANA levles are high. So I am in a catergory of suspected Lupus but no firm diagnosis. That has been going on for almost a year now. Its not so simple tho. I see my rhemuatolgist in July and we are discussing what is next with that. I also show ALOT of the symptoms of Lupus almost all of them infact but no one wants to hand a 34 year old woman that diagnosis I guess. Who knows...
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Post by lizzylou on May 21, 2010 22:00:48 GMT -5
Why is that? I feel like almost everytime I go into the dr, I hand them every single piece of the puzzle they would need, but they can't manage to put them together correctly.
I'm finding on here that a lot of us don't have just endo, it's endo along with a whole laundry list of things.
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