Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

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Caveman
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Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by Caveman »

It's been about 18 months since my introduction. I'm a 4/4 male, 58 years old. Aside from some confusion a couple of years ago that I attribute to a drug side effect my memory has been good.

This morning I put a pod in my coffee machine, put a mug in place and sat down in a chair in the next room to wait for a couple of minutes for it to brew. I got up and went to the kitchen to get my coffee and found the machine turned off and my mug gone. Baffled, I went back to my chair and found a hot cup of coffee sitting on the table next to my chair. Rather than a normal reaction of having some recollection and thinking "Oh yeah, I forgot that I had already picked it up.", I felt disoriented and was certain that I had not put it there. I felt as if a chunk of time had been plucked out of the universe. I don't recall ever feeling like this before. Has anyone else experienced this type of thing? Should I be concerned?
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roxanne
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by roxanne »

Hi Caveman: There have been many times when I'm driving and getting to my destination without knowing how I got there. I am not consciously driving, my subconscious does all the work. I believe every person has had experiences like this, when things that we do every day are automatic and do not require a great deal of thinking. Could it be that this was your experience this morning?

Another thought: Do you live alone, would anybody else prepare your cup of coffee and bring it to you while you were in your quiet peaceful place?
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Julie G
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by Julie G »

I felt as if a chunk of time had been plucked out of the universe. I don't recall ever feeling like this before. Has anyone else experienced this type of thing? Should I be concerned?
Disconcerting, my friend! I agree with roxanne. My guess is that you were on autopilot, your mind was likely preoccupied with more important things, and your body was probably acting subconsciously. Or, if this was early morning, could you have drifted off to sleep and have been sleepwalking? It's a real thing and many with this condition go through the motions of normal life, while asleep. My older brother used to suffer with this as a child. He would wake up in the middle of the night, pour a bowl of cereal (as if it were breakfast time) and begin watching TV- just static back in the day. That sort of reminds me of your experience. Just brainstorming... If it happens again, I probably would consult your physician just to be on the safe side.
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by NF52 »

Caveman wrote:I felt disoriented and was certain that I had not put it there. I felt as if a chunk of time had been plucked out of the universe. I don't recall ever feeling like this before. Has anyone else experienced this type of thing? Should I be concerned?
Happy December, Caveman!

The good news for you is that someone, somewhere, has almost certainly experienced something like this. The bad news is that you can't know what exactly you experienced without more context and information--and maybe checking with your doctor. So with NO medical qualifications, I'll suggest that what you experienced could be described as a "transient loss of consciousness" which deserves some medical sleuthing, rather than waiting to see if it happens again.

What struck me most was your statement that this has never happened to you before, and that it felt as if a chunk of time had been plucked out of the universe (what a great description!) Having worked with children and adults who had seizure disorders, this is something I have seen, especially in "absence" seizures in which the person may appear to be staring and has no convulsive movements. I was sitting next to a woman at a crowded conference once who appeared to bend down towards the floor, then stopped for about 30 seconds. She then sat back up, saw how I was looking at her and said "Oh, I had a seizure, didn't I? Damn, I haven't had one in 7 years." She had no memory of bending down, and the events right before and during the seizure were never coded in her memory (time plucked out of the universe.)

Under this possible scenario, you got up, grabbed the coffee and turned off the coffee maker, brought it back to the table all while perfectly conscious. Then something happened (one of the migraines you mentioned in a previous post? a brief disruption in blood flow to the brain? ) which triggered a brief alteration of consciousness. In a sudden loss of consciousness, immediate memories often don't get encoded to long term memory and are lost. (This also happens when people come out of anesthesia and later have no memory of having spoken with family or the doctor.) When you did regain awareness, which may have happened suddenly, you went back to the action you last planned: going to get the coffee.

So, my caveman buddy, I would gently ask that you tell your story to your doctor. Could be nothing more exciting than sleep-walking. But best to let someone above our pay grade determine that. Trust me that your doctor will be happier seeing you than the 5th influenza patient of the day!
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Caveman
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by Caveman »

roxanne wrote:Hi Caveman: There have been many times when I'm driving and getting to my destination without knowing how I got there. I am not consciously driving, my subconscious does all the work. I believe every person has had experiences like this, when things that we do every day are automatic and do not require a great deal of thinking. Could it be that this was your experience this morning?

Another thought: Do you live alone, would anybody else prepare your cup of coffee and bring it to you while you were in your quiet peaceful place?
Hi Roxanne,

I live with my wife and daughter but they were still in bed.

Like you, I also have had experiences over the years where my subconscious has taken care of things. This seemed different. The best way I can describe the difference is that when I have driven somewhere on subconscious autopilot I realized that I have zoned out but I don't feel as if I have been teleported.

Thanks
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Caveman
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by Caveman »

Julie G wrote: Disconcerting, my friend! I agree with roxanne. My guess is that you were on autopilot, your mind was likely preoccupied with more important things, and your body was probably acting subconsciously. Or, if this was early morning, could you have drifted off to sleep and have been sleepwalking? It's a real thing and many with this condition go through the motions of normal life, while asleep. My older brother used to suffer with this as a child. He would wake up in the middle of the night, pour a bowl of cereal (as if it were breakfast time) and begin watching TV- just static back in the day. That sort of reminds me of your experience. Just brainstorming... If it happens again, I probably would consult your physician just to be on the safe side.
Hi Julie,

The sleepwalking idea is interesting. I know that I sleepwalked at least once when I was 10 or 12. I will mention it to my doctor if it happens again.

Thanks
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Caveman
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by Caveman »

NF52 wrote:Happy December, Caveman!

The good news for you is that someone, somewhere, has almost certainly experienced something like this. The bad news is that you can't know what exactly you experienced without more context and information--and maybe checking with your doctor. So with NO medical qualifications, I'll suggest that what you experienced could be described as a "transient loss of consciousness" which deserves some medical sleuthing, rather than waiting to see if it happens again.

What struck me most was your statement that this has never happened to you before, and that it felt as if a chunk of time had been plucked out of the universe (what a great description!) Having worked with children and adults who had seizure disorders, this is something I have seen, especially in "absence" seizures in which the person may appear to be staring and has no convulsive movements. I was sitting next to a woman at a crowded conference once who appeared to bend down towards the floor, then stopped for about 30 seconds. She then sat back up, saw how I was looking at her and said "Oh, I had a seizure, didn't I? Damn, I haven't had one in 7 years." She had no memory of bending down, and the events right before and during the seizure were never coded in her memory (time plucked out of the universe.)

Under this possible scenario, you got up, grabbed the coffee and turned off the coffee maker, brought it back to the table all while perfectly conscious. Then something happened (one of the migraines you mentioned in a previous post? a brief disruption in blood flow to the brain? ) which triggered a brief alteration of consciousness. In a sudden loss of consciousness, immediate memories often don't get encoded to long term memory and are lost. (This also happens when people come out of anesthesia and later have no memory of having spoken with family or the doctor.) When you did regain awareness, which may have happened suddenly, you went back to the action you last planned: going to get the coffee.

So, my caveman buddy, I would gently ask that you tell your story to your doctor. Could be nothing more exciting than sleep-walking. But best to let someone above our pay grade determine that. Trust me that your doctor will be happier seeing you than the 5th influenza patient of the day!
Hi NF52,

When you mentioned that I said this has never happened before and "seizure" that got me thinking. I did have an incident Dec. 25th last year that did seem like it could have been a seizure. I was sitting in our living room with my wife and daughter. They say that I closed my eyes and opened and closed my mouth repeatedly for a few seconds, making a sort of popping noise. My daughter said loudly "Dad are you okay?" and I didn't respond. She repeated it and I opened my eyes and said "I'm fine.". I felt like I had just dozed off for a second but they both agreed that it was "really weird". I went to the emergency department and followed up with my family doctor and a cardiologist. I wore a Holter monitor for three days. Other than a leaky mitral valve which they didn't think was related to the incident they didn't find anything.

I recently got a referral to see a neurologist at the Toronto Memory Program. I will be seeing him in April, 2020.

Thanks
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NF52
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by NF52 »

Caveman wrote: ...I recently got a referral to see a neurologist at the Toronto Memory Program. I will be seeing him in April, 2020.

Thanks
It's amazing how often a particular question will spark a memory that helps to clarify what's happening. Glad to hear that you're going to be seen in a few months--and Toronto is one of my favorite cities, since I used to live across the "pond". And if it is house elves--you are all set for Christmas!
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Caveman
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by Caveman »

NF52 wrote:
Caveman wrote: ...I recently got a referral to see a neurologist at the Toronto Memory Program. I will be seeing him in April, 2020.

Thanks
It's amazing how often a particular question will spark a memory that helps to clarify what's happening. Glad to hear that you're going to be seen in a few months--and Toronto is one of my favorite cities, since I used to live across the "pond". And if it is house elves--you are all set for Christmas!
Yes. Getting input from all of you has helped. Thank you everyone for the supportive responses.
If I do have a house elf it is a very helpful one that brings me coffee. :D
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Helen
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Re: Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

Post by Helen »

I also routinely experience "autopilot" while driving from my country home to our near by city. Suddenly I realize I've stopped at an intersection a few miles back, checked for traffic and made a turn without a conscious memory of it, somewhat disconcerting to say the least. Lately, with many stressors on my mind, it happens more predictably, and I take cautionary measures to make a conscious effort to stay focused on the here and now, essentially staying grounded to the road, cars and road signs the closer I get into traffic. I was alerted to my propensity to dissociation while working with dissociative clients. I caulk it up to the brains natural ability to dissociate, some of us more, some less.
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