What was this weird temporary recognition failure

November 2, 2009 11:07 AM

This morning I suffered from a disturbing failure of my recognition memory. I couldn't figure out what Dexter or Californication were even though I had watched both series from start to end. Even after asking my wife the names of the shows seemed completely unfamiliar though I could recall the general content.

I have had some trouble sleeping lately and am pretty tired. I am also on a calorie restriction diet with an aim to lose 1.8 lbs a week.

It recovered pretty quickly. I felt normal in about 15 minutes.

Anybody know what was going on?

posted by srboisvert to health & fitness (24 comments total)

It's a little hard to tell from your post, what exactly happened? Did your wife mention the shows and you couldn't recall what they were, or did you see commercials for them and got excited for two new shows to watch, told your wife about them and she became concerned?
posted by InsanePenguin at 11:10 AM on November 2

Yeah, I think I need a few more details too about the exact nature of what you forgot and what you didn't forget.

I have a feeling this is just a temporary lapse of the sort we all get time to time (you know, where you temporarily forget the name of something and it drives you crazy because it's on the tip of your freakin' tongue and GAH), but I'm not sure of the symptoms you're describing.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:17 AM on November 2

When I don't get enough sleep, I get very disoriented. When I'm hungry, I get very disoriented. You might just need to tone down your diet restrictions and make sure you get enough sleep-- see a doctor if your insomnia doesn't go away.
posted by oinopaponton at 11:19 AM on November 2

I am also on a calorie restriction diet with an aim to lose 1.8 lbs a week.

Have you reviewed this with a doctor? I ask this because there are some health issues for which memory/cognition issues, insomnia, and unexplained weight gain are symptoms (Cushing's Syndrome, for instance).
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:24 AM on November 2 [1 favorite has favorites]

You should strongly consider taking some kind of sleep-aid and eating a normal meal for the next few days.
posted by fake at 11:25 AM on November 2

Presque vu, maybe? It is supposed to increase as you get older--I run across it with regularity, although no great frequency (I have sometimes called it aphasia, although that's inaccurate, it's nowhere near that bad). I just take it as life's way of telling me to get off my butt and try out for Jeopardy! while I still have a chance of pulling it off.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:29 AM on November 2

These are the kind of things that happen from time to time......The other day I was talking to a stranger on the subway about my favorite club and proceeded to give a 15 minute description of the ambience, the music, the bouncers, and the people I've met....then when she asked me for the name i am like eeeehhhhhh ahhhhhhhh......umm i forgot......That doesnt mean that anything is wrong with me but more like these kind of things happen...dont fret it.....
posted by The1andonly at 11:39 AM on November 2

calorie restriction diet

It'd help if you elaborated on this; if you're not getting enough nutrition it can very easily interfere with your cognition. (I used to be unhealthily restrictive in my food intake; during that time it felt like 20 points had been lopped off my IQ.)

Same thing with sleep - even a small sleep deficit can lead to lapses in memory and concentration. Lack of sleep has led to some Jessica Simpson-level stupidity coming out of my mouth.

Make sure you're getting enough of both those two things, and this probably won't happen again for quite a while.
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:50 AM on November 2

Dietwise I'm still getting about 1600 net calories. It is nothing that severe. I am just cutting down on the junk mostly. I still eat pretty much the same meals I always have just no desserts and no potato chips (ok less (or fewer) potato chips)

I also get lots of exercise and yesterday I was a bit further under the 1600 goal than normal but not in a starvation or nutrition problem way..

What happened was that I was woke up and took a look at my favourite torrent site and completely blanked on those two series names even though I was reading them. I knew something was wrong and that I probably should recognize them but I just didn't. The problem may have been broader than just that but that was what I noticed.

Even after I asked my wife what the name of the show with the serial killer was and she said "Dexter" it still didn't ring a bell for me.

This felt pretty qualitatively different from other times when I have been exhausted and dopey and wasn't a tip of tongue event because I was staring right at the words and even once my wife told me it didn't click.

It cleared up within 15 minutes after I had some toast and pb with aj and I have been fine all day but I am still a little bit freaked out about it.
posted by srboisvert at 12:33 PM on November 2

Oh and it was immediately after waking up if that makes a difference.
posted by srboisvert at 12:35 PM on November 2

...So this is kind of a larger-scale version of the kind of thing where you look at the word "purple" or something and something strikes you about "wait, that CAN'T be how that word is spelled, is it?" and the longer you stare at it the more WRONG it looks, except you can't think of the "right" way to spell it, and then you snap out of it a little later?

Hmm. Still don't think this sounds too alarming -- early-morning disorientation -- but on the other hand, I'm usually all for "when in doubt, see your doctor". I'm not saying that because I think there's something wrong, but instead because it sounds like you are clearly alarmed by this, and a doctors' assurance that you're okay may be the thing that would help you calm down where we can't.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:37 PM on November 2

Oh and it was immediately after waking up if that makes a difference.

Calorie restricted diet.

Is it possible that you had very low blood sugar upon awakening from x hours of sleep with no food on an already restricted diet? Hypoglycemia can cause disorientation, memory issues and the like. Before you started on this diet, did you get blood panel work done? You really should not undertake any drastic diets and life style changes without getting a baseline of your blood work, so you can track your progress and spot problems.
posted by VikingSword at 12:49 PM on November 2 [2 favorites has favorites]

I've experienced this on a couple of occasions. My doctor told me it was due to a drop in blood pressure.
posted by Acacia at 12:59 PM on November 2

I have had this too after waking up. I think it was from taking Benadryl before I went to sleep. I totally freaked out because I couldn't remember where I was, I was awake and standing in my upstairs foyer. I had to walk around for a few minutes before it came back.

I wouldn't worry about it. It happens to all of us. But if you are really worried, go to the doctor and get it checked.
posted by chocolatetiara at 1:07 PM on November 2

You don't say how old you are.

I think you should have your cholesterol and c-reactive protein levels tested because you said this happened in the morning. And first thing I thought of was you might be susceptible to stroke.

It's probably just low blood sugar. But get your cholesterol checked, OK? And rule out if you are at risk for stroke.

And have you tried white noise to help you sleep? I just added 2 noisy fans to my bedroom and I have been sleeping like a baby. Wish I had thought of this years ago.
posted by cda at 1:15 PM on November 2

Talk to a doctor. Seriously.
posted by kathrineg at 1:29 PM on November 2

I reckon it's "jamais vu" which is the opposite of deja vu.
Learned about it at uni.

I've had it and it was nothing. It can be something. You could talk to your doctor next time you see him or her. But, personally, I didn't worry too much.

If it happend a lot, I would have though.

Best of luck.
posted by taff at 2:00 PM on November 2

Have you ever had a migraine headache? Cognitive lapses like that are common migraine symptoms.
posted by nicwolff at 2:29 PM on November 2

Problems with low blood sugar occur for about a month after dropping your sugar/simple carb intake. Your body has to adjust to using glycogen as opposed to glucose and this will make you sluggish at times. If it is a diet issue, it will resolve itself within a month, if you stay consistent. If it's not a diet issue then I'd see a mental health specialist right now. Obviously since there's no way of knowing you should see a mental health specialist.
posted by scrutiny at 2:37 PM on November 2

A similar thing happened to me a long time ago. When I was a kid I remember my mom frantically trying to remind me what a grape was. For about 10 minutes I couldn't for the life of me understand what the hell she was talking about.

I grew up to be a normal and healthy human being, so I personally don't think what happened to you is a big deal. I would chock it up to being tired/hungry.
posted by side effect at 4:29 PM on November 2

I understand that a person should not be terribly shook up by a situation like this...where you should have a great deal of concern is if you go out to your car and suddenly don't know how to drive...or you look at a television and don't know how to turn it on. THOSE are indicators that you may have Alzheimer's (forgetting how to do something that you have done for years). If you have another episode like the one you had---talk to the doctor. It is probably an isolated incidence and nothing to worry about.
posted by naplesyellow at 8:46 PM on November 2

It's a common thing to find you can't remember a name or something.

BUT - having an episode where you can't find words, and you're a little confused maybe, and your partner or observers think there's something a little off about you, etc - these can be signs of a TIA, transient ischemic attack, which is like a mini-stroke. My dad had one of these several years ago, an episode of about 10-15 minutes where he couldn't find words and just felt like something was seriously weird in his brain. No lingering effects afterward. Went to the doctor, they scanned his arteries and found one was almost totally blocked. They were able to do surgery to clear the blockage and probably prevented him having a real stroke.

If you feel like something was seriously weird, take that feeling seriously and get it checked out.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:12 PM on November 2

about transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:16 PM on November 2

I'd strongly, strongly echo those who suggest you need to have your doctor verify you didn't have a ministroke.

An extended family member had a stroke. They described it in similar terms to what you just described, except for them, they couldn't process numbers. They were working a register at the time, and suddenly, it just went a bit off. When they punched out, the timeclock required number entry in order for them to punch out properly, and they couldn't do it. It's only when they described things to their daughter that the daughter strongly pushed for them to go to the hospital, and there, the TIA was diagnosed.

It sounds as if that's a strong possibility for you. With the family member, the numbers existed, and they recognized the numbers existed, but their brain temporarily lost the ability to process them – even when the data was reintroduced, the brain wasn't processing it at the moment.. With you, it sounds like a similar thing happened, except with the data being not numbers, but the specific titles at play.

Seriously, man, TIAs are very much something you do not want to fuck around with. Get hie to a doctor not on the double, but on the triple. Now. This second, stop reading this sentence, step away from the computer, and go to your doctor.
posted by WCityMike at 8:20 PM on November 8