Terri Edwards
I am interested in learning more about Aphasia. I am a 40 year old female and have been experiencing what I call "episodes" where I temporarily lose the ability to understand language and speak coherently. I have also experienced these symptoms while reading and writing. These "episodes" last anywhere from 10 seconds to 1 minute, although they are difficult for me to time accurately. I am slow to recover from these "episodes" in that it takes time for me to be able to communicate articulately and fully understand language without trying very hard. I can usually feel these "episodes" coming on in that one (or more) words will "stick" in my brain and while I may understand the word initially, I then lose it's meaning and can then not understand anything that is said to me for a certain period of time. If I try to speak during these episodes, it comes out as complete nonsense. As far as I know, I have not experienced a stroke, nor have I suffered any kind of brain injury. These "episodes" have been occurring for approximately two years and have progressively gotten more frequent. I have had an array of neurological testing, all of which has been "normal". I suffered a grand mal seizure approximately one month ago and am now taking Dilantin. The Dilantin has not diminished the number of "episodes" I have and in fact I seem to be experiencing them more often. I also have trouble with short term memory of events and find that at work I must write notes of all conversations or they are lost. Even after reviewing notes or other documentation, I have a hard time fully remembering the actual event. Do the above-described symptoms fit the description of aphasia? I would very much appreciate hearing back from anyone with information. Thank you.