More info about my brain issues . . .

I'm posting the CT scans of my brain that the Neuromedical Center took when a couple of doctors were trying to determine a reason why I was losing my ability to remember words.  They began checking me out initially about 5 or 6 years ago when I first began noticing a failure to remember words (or person's names).  Then I went back every couple years after that original visit and they took tests from me all over again each time.  And those memory problems of mine kept getting worse over and over through the years as they checked me out.  Phew!

But they also determined that I don't have Schizophrenia (that's a huge relief!).  It was determined that there is a problem in just a single area of my brain. That area is where words are generally stored and remembered so with that area in bad shape, that's why I have problems remembering words!  

So below are the CT scan pics taken on my last visit. It's easy to see that there are lots of large holes on one side compared to the rest of the brain -- and that's causing my inability to remember words.  But I certainly know what words are about as I always did when I see them on a paper or on my computer, or when I hear them when someone else says something about something or someone.  I just can't come up with those directly from my own brain! 

Anyway, check these out and see the big openings in just one side of my brain.  NOT good!  It's possible that it happened when I fell off of my husband's horse when I first rode him.  He's a sweet sweet boy.  And when we rode out away from the barn he was just great, but as soon as I turned around to go back to be barn he immediately  began to RACE back. And because I'm not nearly as strong as my husband, I couldn't get him slowed down!  And eventually I just fell right off.  And obviously, I fell onto my head.  I didn't really notice anything bad at the time once I got back up.  I could walk back to the barn and I was pretty much fine.  But I began noticing my memory problems within the year after that fall.  So it could well be the cause of this issue.  But hey, I guess it doesn't really matter WHY my brain is messed up, it just matters what the heck I can DO about it!

But as I noted in this blog yesterday, that Donepezil drug seems to be beginning to help me remember a few words that I had forgotten over the last few years, so THAT's a good thing.   

I hadn't begun taking them when the doctors gave them to me originally because those pills are generally used by folks with Schizophrenia so since they told me I did not have that I thought it probably wouldn't work, so I put it off for some months.  But even though I don't have Schizophrenia, it still seems to be helping my brain.  So let's hope that I'll soon be able to go on living normally for the rest of my life!  Wow! Sure glad that could be the case!  Anyway, here are those CT scan pics:

 

See that "hole" there on the right side at the bottom view?

And again there are openings there on that right side
but it's actually the left side of my head, but it shows on the right in these photos.

See?  Again - bigger openings on that side.

Still much wider openings on that right side in this x-ray photo.

See those way bigger holes over on the right edge?

Again, the right side of the photo has openings way larger than on the other side.

Still MORE openings on the right side . . .

Wow - look at that big hole there in that bottom view!

Hmm - at this point it doesn't look too different on each side.
That's because that issue is just in that ONE area.

But here it's getting back to that "hole" area.

And here it's back to the big openings on the right sides in these two photos.
(But that "RIP" on the left indicates RIGHT side,
and the "LSA" on the right indicates that's the LEFT side of the brain.)

Well, if anyone who sees this has something more to tell me than those doctors did, do let me know!