AVM survivor. My memory is damaged and gifted. My memory impairment began in infancy/early childhood. I could not recall numbers and certain details in preschool/elementary school.
To compensate, I wrote music and poetry which corresponded to my eventually-memorized textbooks. Such as a poem which began with the letter 'C' for California in geography. Despite my handicap, I was a straight A student thanks to music.
After my AVM resection, my memory changed in a unique way. My memories of immediate events have a 'skip' in them, like a fraction of a second missing. ( I lose my keys a lot!) My long-term memory performs even better, especially in regard to certain autobiographical information, personal experiences and music. A gift, a blessing and a curse! Does anyone else have interesting memory impairments and talents? Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi thegrassrootsgirl :) , Like any good test you need to have a benchmark to test against, I really do wish I had such a test before and after my AVM burst and was removed !, I am quite forgetful, but I'm sure I was before also. I'm just not sure how much so !. A lot of our members have changes in memory and this is something I've seen loads over the years here. I did a search for you which you can see the results and I hope this gives you what your looking for :) , I do know that some of the members here take notes (both voice notes and written ones) for reminders. Good luck and hope things work out well :) .
Hi there. My AVM (of the Cerebellum) is unruptured and untreated. I have (even if I say so myself) an excellent long-term memory. But over the last 5 or so years I have noticed increasing deficits in my short-term memory. I can't be sure how much of this is to do with my AVM or my age (I am 42). But I do understand what you mean about having fragments of memory missing. Quite often someone will ask me about something I did the day or week before and I have no recollection of it. I also misplace things (purse, phone, glasses, keys) frequently and can't remember where I might have put them. Its hugely frustrating. A lot of people on this site complain of such things though so I think it is really common.
I had my memory tested pre and post-op. I experienced some amnesia with my original AVM resection which my neurosurgeon informed me was due to swelling and it resolved with walking. The 'skip' in my memory residual to my AVM removal is unique. For example, if I were to draw a long straight line, there would be an interruption at a calculable junction, also visible in my handwriting. Weird right?!
Now I feel like I'm not the only one! Keys, glasses, phone, me too! Yet, I remember certain events with remarkable detail, the weather, verbatim conversations, pauses and breaths included, thousands of songs, everything that I have ever eaten. If only I could forget my ex!;-)
Wow! Take care and hang in there. A “new normal” is sometimes hard to deal with for folks here. Remembering that it “could always be worse” isn’t always comforting, but learning to enjoy yourself and the time you have can be rewarding.
Thanks for writing! dick kirkland, great point, it could be SO much worse! I am really lucky.:-)
Most people have no idea that anything is 'wrong' with me. The changes to my memory post-neurosurgery are a very small price to pay for being alive. I will be forever curious about everything-to-do with memory, forever trying to improve. I have been encouraged to volunteer my strange memory as a case study which would make me really happy especially if my deficits can be used to help somebody else. Maybe doctors can add up all of the AVM survivors 'missing' to make a complete?!