Confusion?

I used to have an extensive vocabulary but now in conversation I find myself searching for words to express what I am trying to say. Sometimes they’re simple words like door, table, etc, sometimes they are more complex. I know that they’re there I just can’t quite put my finger on them. They may pop into my head several hours later and as soon as it pops in my head it comes out of my mouth. I may not even be speaking with the same person. It’s like walking through fog.

This may have nothing to do with the topic, but for some reason my brain classifies it as the same thing, but when you see the color red and know it’s the color red, I call it yellow, and vice versa. I have to mentally remind myself that “no, this is not red, but yellow”. It’s something I’ve always had to do and have been able to make the adjustment automatically. But the last few years I don’t make the adjustment automatically anymore, in fact I very often forget entirely that it is needed. I’ve had to explain to my family that when I say yellow I probably mean red. They treat it as a joke “is this the real red or mom’s red”. They do not realize how much it bothers me.

I do not believe that it is from my meds, because it started long before I started taking them. I thought that it was early onset Alzheimer’s since my grandmother experienced the same problem. We all just assumed that it was Alzheimer’s that she was suffering from, repeatedly asking the same questions, asking what a table is called etc. But she was tested before her death and was told that the scan showed no evidence of Alzheimer’s.

I’m in my late thirties, and have not had a stroke. Anyone have any ideas as to what this might be?

I can relate to the part of your problem with not remembering the words and thinking of them later. The frustrating part is you know the word is there somewhere. I also stop half way through a sentence because I forget what I was saying.

I don't know about the last part. My Mom has that problem but unlike you, she had a stroke. When she says we are having elephant for dinner we show up anyway.

I wish I had some helpful information for you. You know we probably aggravate the problem trying to overcome it. That little tid-bit of information is of absolutely no value at all.

I was wondering if you had a stroke too, but then you said you hadn't. Sometimes people do have strokes and heart attacks without knowing it, so you still should get that checked out. Have you had any head injuries? There are other possibilities too. I would suggest making an appointment with a neurologist. They may be able to treat this before it gets worse.

You could have a brain tumor. My mother had what you descibed (it's called aphasia - http://www.aphasia.org/ ) How do you know you haven't had a stroke? A neurologist would do tests and figure out what you had, not just what you didn't have. I'd get to a doctor right away.

I discussed this with my husband again and asked him how frequently he (see thinking now and can't find the word) noticed this happening and when. He said he notices it most (odd stuff coming out of my mouth that does not fit with the conversation) when or after I have been interrupted.

I don't believe I have had a stroke because I was ill earlier this year and had every test under the sun. (Fever of 100 or higher for 6 months). They could not figure out what the problem was. So I hate the thought of going in with yet another mysterious complaint.

oh gosh, ((((AAAAA))). i do know what you mean. sure enough after i had my stroke, every once in awhile, i will have trouble finding the word i wanted to use in my head. it doesn't happen often. anyway, it can be hard to know where it's really coming from, the depression or the stroke. i sure do hate being a medical mystery, too. could be something to do with that illness that you had when you had a fever for 6 months.

I have the exact same thing happen to me all the time. I will be talking, knowing what I want to say but somehow one word changes, making absolutely no sense.
This will also happen when I am typing.
I also run into the problem where I cannot remember a word and it drives me nuts. If I can remember a similar word I will look it up in the thesaurus. If I can remember the first letter, I will repeat its sound and can sometimes come up with it.
I find it happens more often when I am really tired or having problems with my depression.

Thank you very much tsha, I use the thesaurus trick when I am writing as well!

It may very well be linked to the depression, I've never concidered that.

Thank you so much for sharing!

AAAAA
Have you talked to your doc about it? It could also be related to your meds.

I have mentioned it in passing, I have not made a big issue of it. I don't really like going to the doc, even though I've had him for years and trust him. I know that is contradictory but I go as little as possible and get out of there as soon as possible. I go when my Rx runs out.

He knows this so does not write me one for very long. If he's trying a new drug he'll write it for a month to make sure I come back, if it's something I've been on awhile, he'll write it for three months.

I have been difficult and refused to make an appointment. I was off all meds for over a year and the problem persisted, perhaps got worse. But that was a very bad time and the confusion and trying to find a word was really the least of my problems at that point.

Thank you so much for your input, and I'm sorry for the windy reply. I am trying to find if this is something serious and needs specific attention or if its just one of those things I have to deal with.

"I am trying to find if this is something serious and needs specific attention or if its just one of those things I have to deal with. "

I think you are going to need to talk to your doctor...

Is there any thing that is consistent with the occurrences? Time of day, level of depression, fatigue, wrok/home/school, etc.?

Tsha I believe this happens more in the afternoon, evening. I am not a great sleeper and that may contribute to the problem as well. My husband notices that it is when my thought process is interupted or if I'm say cooking dinner and one of the kids asks a question.

Tonight for example I meant to ask one of the kids to put the dogs out and I was looking for something while I asked and what I said was "put the cabinet in the drawer". My son just looked at me, maybe I was thinking of looking in the drawer next, but in my mind I said "put the dogs out". I'm like what? He said you just told me to put the cabinet in the drawer. I made a joke of it "put the cabinet in the drawer and you didn't get that I wanted you to put the dogs out.?"

It sounds like fatigue. After your son finishes putting the drawer in the cabinet ask him to do the dishes so you can get some rest.
Once when answering the telephone, rather than saying hi I rattled off some numbers. I got a really strange "huh?". It was at work, too.