Black outs...short term memory loss

[feelgood1987]

Hi Doc! I'm 22 Male. During 1st n 2nd weeks of May'09, I was a victim of repeated hitting on the head(when am asleep) by my roommate who has lot of psycho qualities. The guy sits on my belly area facing my head and pushes his knee forcibly enough in to my ribs, directly above my heart and applies lot of pressure until I scream with heavy pain and shock. He puts the knee at that pressure and with his left hand, he presses hard on my throat until I suffocate and cough and scream(he doesn't completely block respiration though). then with his right fist, he keeps hitting me on the head for about 3-5 mins until I go unconscious.  This conscious, unconscious cycles repeat for 4-5 times in every episode. In a span of 4-5 days, 7-8 episodes have passed like this. it's unbelievable for me how I'm unaware of his hittings, though I see his face and urge him not to do it when he's doing it.I just wake up the next time and feel a little confused, dizzy and half-minded type when I wake up. I could recall the incident only after 4-5 weeks, during which I lived in a different city away from him and his tortures. There were very different changes in my behavior.
first 10 days--5-6 hrs per day head aches. 10 days to 1 month-- NO head-aches but some confusion, short term memory loss and 10 episodes a day in which I shout or talk to people not realizing with my conscious mind that I had been doing that(15-20 secs each)  Sometimes I walk alone and keep walking even if the destination arrived(can I call these black-outs ?).2nd month--no symptoms except a li'l short term memory loss .since last month---occipetal head aches for 10-15 days and short term memory loss.On 7th aug I had an MRI of Brain with Gd contrast and everything is shown normal except for a mild sphenoid sinusitis. The EEG is also normal. I researched on google about these symptoms and found the following as very close to my condition Cerebral hypoxia and Brain fog (mostly during the first month). Please help me

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of your symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

In general, following head injury that involves episodes of loss of consciousness, headaches and confusion can occur. This is termed post-concussive syndrome. A normal MRI of the brain and EEG are reassuring, and most often symptoms resolve over weeks to months. If there is continued concern for mental slowness or thinking troubles, neuropsychological evaluation  (standardized tests administered by a trained neuropsychologist of cognition, reaction speed, attention, memory etc) to quantify the extent and nature of the thinking troubles can sometimes be helpful.

It sounds like you were involved in a very traumatic experience, and if there is anxiety depression and stress related to an assault, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms can contribute to the cognitive dysfunction and mood symptoms and headaches.

Continued follow-up with your physicians is recommended, and psychological counseling after this stressful ordeal might benefit you as well.

Thank you for using the forum I hope you find this information useful good luck.

[feelgood1987]

Thanks very much Doc for ur helpful advice. I'm pretty much already following what you advised. My Neurologist wanted a psychiatrist's opinion before she can start me on any medication. The pain seems to me as neuro-psychological and am happy to already have got the treatment started
ThanQ