I'm really sorry for the confusion! I had a seizure with led to the discovery of my AVM. They told me I had to do something before it bleed. It was too deep for surgery and too twisted for embolization. So I had stereotactic radiosurgery to obliterate it. It took 2 years and then it considered obliterated. It's still getting smaller as time goes on which is great! I hope that makes more sense :-) That why I feel bad complaining about anything when I read people's stories on here.
Funny that you are in the industry too. I work at a commercial printer and the deadlines and problems can really be trying!
Please tell me about your AVM if you don't mind...
It really does mean alot to know we are all not alone. I never had a seizure or a bleed, but had gamma, and have trouble with speech and memory and words now, a little before the surgery, worse now. I'm just relieved to know I'm not alone too.
Wow this is truly fascinating, and such a relief to know I am not alone! My avm was discovered about 16 months ago when it bled causing the right side of my body to go numb and sort of "tingly." I had an emergency embolization, followed by another embo about 2 months later. Since then I had a gamma knife treatment 11 months ago. Ever since about the 4 month post-gamma mark, I have been experiencing similar feelings to everyone here. Often when I am tired or too many thought's are going through my mind, I have difficulty getting my thoughts into words, or I may just get stuck on one word/name. It is such a relief to know that this is normal, as I have been too scared to mention it to my parents or dr. Thank you all for your reassuring words and for sharing your experiences!
No you are not alone and it does feel good to know that. Have you joined the Aphasia subgroup on here? That's a place for people that have the same problems we do. Here's the link...
I'm so glad you say this thread! I know it can be scary at first and it took me awhile to mention it anyone too. I have to say I feel better knowing other people know how this feels. I try to different things to help my brain (Words with Friends, Word Whomp, crossword puzzles) There's a group on here for Aphasia, which is what this is:
My avm/brain damage is in my basial gangiala_which is not related to speeech, But I am having problems with it too. It is very frustrating, but we are all doing well for what we have been through. Just coming to this site shows strength. Keeping you in my prayers! Melissa
So what do u do for your commercial printer? Are u a full on designer, or a manageress etc? Sometimes my days at work can be ok, sometime snot - i suppose that happens to everyone at some point ;) But it can be really stressful being aphasic.
I've had a bad problem with this exact thing. I had chalked it up to getting old or menopause but it seemed to me to be much worse than I would expect for someone who just turned 51. I don't know if my DAVF can be blamed or not...
Wow you have been through so much so early in life! It's inspiring how you've just pushed forward and made the best out of it. I'm just very sorry you had to go through so much.
I do prepress and customer service at my job. I've been in printing for over 10 years and I think I've had enough, LOL!
Hi- In late February, my dad had a brain hemorrhage in the Brocas area, causing him to experience expressive aphasia. The doctors found an AVM on the right side of his head, which they believe ultimately triggered the bleed. Right after the bleed occurred, he lost a significant amount of his speech. For the first 4 days, he wouldn't offer up any comments, but would only answer questions with few words. My dad was in the hospital for about 4 days until he was released. The doctor advised that as the swelling in the bleed area went down, he would be able to gain his speech back, but it could take up to a year or so. After only 2 weeks or so, it appeared as though 85% of his speech was back. Now, almost 2 months later, it is as though if you didn't know he had ever had a bleed, you would never sense anything was wrong with his speech. This I believe can be attributed to a combination of the following things:
1. He immediately signed up for speech therapy when he left the hospital and went 2 times a week for 6 weeks. He was always eager to do his homework as soon as he got home (which I believe further strengthened any progress from the appointment)
2. He went back to reading the newspaper as often as he did before his bleed (for him this means daily for an hour or so)
3. He was able to get back to work within 2 weeks and this forced him to be around a lot of people, giving him ample opportunity to practice talking.
4. He made getting good sleep a priority and began exercising again.
5. MOST IMPORTANTLY - was 200% determined to get over this hurdle. Kept his chin up and fought through all his down days.
My dad says that he still wishes to see more progress, and would liken his speech to 85-90% of what it used to be. He is the best judge of this, as his knows himself better than anyone, but in my opinion he is doing amazingly, and I thank the universe everyday that he is a true fighter and has worked through these problems.
He mentions having a hard time accessing certain words or phrases when put on the spot, just as you mention in your post. In the last few weeks he signed up for a website called "Lumosity.com". It is a brain game site that he feels has helped him work through some of his issues.
My advise to you is to keep fighting and keep practicing your speech in any way you can. Take advantage of any resources available to you. If you cannot afford to go to speech therapy, you can access a lot of great exercises online, or try that website I mentioned previously.
I wish you the best. As I tell my dad, Keep on keepin on, and keep your chin up along the way.
Thx, i was lucky enought to have a great family and now very happy with my wife and my home. Yeah i guess i just keep on plugging on!
Ive never done prepress work. Do u do much full on design work? And yeah ive been working for 10 years now and im fed of it now. Im trying to do some volunteer work if possible - i would LOVE to work outside one day, not a horrible dingy office for a while. Im thinking of going freelance but would be a massive risk.....customer service tho, especially someone with light aphasia - i couldnt do it. Simple as that. Recording telephone numbers is so difficult, do u have any problems with that?