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Loss of ability to recognize faces
Ok so im a 26 year old male and about a week/ 2 weeks before christmas i got sick just flu like stuff nuthing odd on the first day second day was worse so i called in to work and that day i noticed that i couldnt tell who ppl were by looking them in the face if they talked i knew who they were by their voice. Im not having problems seeing i can see fine i can read i can write but couldnt recognize anyone friends coworders family i didnt want to say anything to anyone cause about the time i say anything things stop so i waited and i waited near around christmas eve i started noticing that "some" ppl i could recognize by some i mean like 5 ppl, 3 family 1 friend and 1 customer from where i work. on christmas day i could recognize about half of my family there was about 65 or so family there. after that i started figuring out that i could recognize ppl by their hair styles. also from time to time it feels like i get pressure in my head near the temples and across the front between them and from time to time i get light headed and feel like im going to fall. the day this started i also had a pain in my upper jaw when i would move it around or open it wide today both sides now hurt when i do that.
the week after christmas i started trying to get a doc to see me i say try because it took about 7 tries before i found one that would talk with me everyone else i tried to go see just told me that no one there could help me and i would need to find someone else that would went there and they took a ct scan and called me back said there was nothing on it no oddities. they set me up an appointment with a neuroligest but thats not till the end of march does anyone have any idea what this could or might be?
the other day i told some of my family and my aunt said that the family had a history of mini seizurs but no one else in the family said anything so not sure she had a few of them some time back and when ppl talk to her sometimes she doesnt know what they are saying she can hear them but its like they are talking in another language
the week after christmas i started trying to get a doc to see me i say try because it took about 7 tries before i found one that would talk with me everyone else i tried to go see just told me that no one there could help me and i would need to find someone else that would went there and they took a ct scan and called me back said there was nothing on it no oddities. they set me up an appointment with a neuroligest but thats not till the end of march does anyone have any idea what this could or might be?
the other day i told some of my family and my aunt said that the family had a history of mini seizurs but no one else in the family said anything so not sure she had a few of them some time back and when ppl talk to her sometimes she doesnt know what they are saying she can hear them but its like they are talking in another language
Hi Keebster,
I'm glad you finally got your neuro report back and it does confirm what I thought in the beginning, face blindness. Altho I am sad you have this condition, I am relieved at what the doc said in the letter, he has some good treatment suggestions in there.
Since he has given his report now, I need to back up and correct something I said in this thread. While stroke can cause your condition, which I said somewhere in the middle of all this, turns out I do not think it figured into causing yours, because you had a clear MRI at the outset, which a stroke would have shown up on the MRI, plus the letter from your neuro did not bring that up, either. So, even tho you are having heart arrthymias (with the bottom BP number over 100), apparently stroke or brain damage did not cause your facial recognition difficulties. But when you go in and see your neurologist, which they asked you to set up an appointment with him, plez do mention to him your various BP numbers.
As for your question about whether the sleep meds your old doc gave you may have caused your BP changes, no, I don't think so, because you had possible heart trouble before that. You stated in your very first original post (before you got those meds) that you had pressure in your head and at your temples, plus jaw pain, which prompted another poster Funqueta to suggest you get your heart checked out, so I think you may have been having a heart problem before you took the first sleep meds. In any case, Ambien does not affect the heart, but Restoril can cause a fast heartbeat, and both can give you a headache. But as far as I know, there is nothing in the literature about blood pressure with either of those drugs. Rather I think the slight lowering of your BP numbers are probably from the BP medicine your new doc gave you.
You asked sometime ago if your thyroid could cause a change in blood pressure, and yes, it can, and your new doctor found your thyroid readings were off. You said you were going back in to get your blood tested again, so I hope you will find out more as a result of that visit, about any possible relationship between your thyroid readings and the spikes in your blood pressure, which your new doc was worried about.
So, I guess this may be the end of this episode of your face blindness saga, Keebster, as far as finding out what it is you have. It sounds like your neurologist has all the bases covered concerning treatment for the matter. Your heart arrhythmias and high blood pressure are another matter, tho, and could be if you begin posting over in the "heart" forums on this website, you will get some interesting posters over there involved in your situation with your heart, while your new doc works on that. It's been real, Keeb, and I'm SO glad you finally got the right people to listen to you and help you. Hang in, I do believe you'll make it now. Thanks always for sharing.
GG
I'm glad you finally got your neuro report back and it does confirm what I thought in the beginning, face blindness. Altho I am sad you have this condition, I am relieved at what the doc said in the letter, he has some good treatment suggestions in there.
Since he has given his report now, I need to back up and correct something I said in this thread. While stroke can cause your condition, which I said somewhere in the middle of all this, turns out I do not think it figured into causing yours, because you had a clear MRI at the outset, which a stroke would have shown up on the MRI, plus the letter from your neuro did not bring that up, either. So, even tho you are having heart arrthymias (with the bottom BP number over 100), apparently stroke or brain damage did not cause your facial recognition difficulties. But when you go in and see your neurologist, which they asked you to set up an appointment with him, plez do mention to him your various BP numbers.
As for your question about whether the sleep meds your old doc gave you may have caused your BP changes, no, I don't think so, because you had possible heart trouble before that. You stated in your very first original post (before you got those meds) that you had pressure in your head and at your temples, plus jaw pain, which prompted another poster Funqueta to suggest you get your heart checked out, so I think you may have been having a heart problem before you took the first sleep meds. In any case, Ambien does not affect the heart, but Restoril can cause a fast heartbeat, and both can give you a headache. But as far as I know, there is nothing in the literature about blood pressure with either of those drugs. Rather I think the slight lowering of your BP numbers are probably from the BP medicine your new doc gave you.
You asked sometime ago if your thyroid could cause a change in blood pressure, and yes, it can, and your new doctor found your thyroid readings were off. You said you were going back in to get your blood tested again, so I hope you will find out more as a result of that visit, about any possible relationship between your thyroid readings and the spikes in your blood pressure, which your new doc was worried about.
So, I guess this may be the end of this episode of your face blindness saga, Keebster, as far as finding out what it is you have. It sounds like your neurologist has all the bases covered concerning treatment for the matter. Your heart arrhythmias and high blood pressure are another matter, tho, and could be if you begin posting over in the "heart" forums on this website, you will get some interesting posters over there involved in your situation with your heart, while your new doc works on that. It's been real, Keeb, and I'm SO glad you finally got the right people to listen to you and help you. Hang in, I do believe you'll make it now. Thanks always for sharing.
GG
Ok this is a letter from the neuro docs in okc
"To summarize, the findings did confirm the primary diagnosis of prosopagnosia, or difficulty with facial recognition. The neuropsychologist had several other recommendations, including a brief trial of cognitive neuro-rehabilitation using a teletherapy system, and that appropriate counseling and treatment of identified depression and anxiety symptoms also would be of benefit. I strounly recommend that you make an appointment to be seen again by Dr. Buttross for further counseling and help.
"To summarize, the findings did confirm the primary diagnosis of prosopagnosia, or difficulty with facial recognition. The neuropsychologist had several other recommendations, including a brief trial of cognitive neuro-rehabilitation using a teletherapy system, and that appropriate counseling and treatment of identified depression and anxiety symptoms also would be of benefit. I strounly recommend that you make an appointment to be seen again by Dr. Buttross for further counseling and help.
it started to level off just a few days ago i tried not to take the bp pills unless i really needed them cause when i would go off of the spike the bp would just drop to about 128/65
what i was wonderin is if those spikes could of been from all the sleepin pills my old doc was giving me cause it was just a few days after i was takin the last pills that i noticed the spikes was tapering down and then a few days after i noticed that the spikes was really small compaired to what they was the last few readings for my bp was like 154/89 143/85 134/75 and then had a small spike it was 155/95
what i was wonderin is if those spikes could of been from all the sleepin pills my old doc was giving me cause it was just a few days after i was takin the last pills that i noticed the spikes was tapering down and then a few days after i noticed that the spikes was really small compaired to what they was the last few readings for my bp was like 154/89 143/85 134/75 and then had a small spike it was 155/95
Well hello Keebster!
So glad you posted back. I was worried about your heart. I'm glad they found out about the Vitamin D thing and perhaps the thyroid being a little off. I hope the BP medicine and sleep stuff is helping the pressure in your head and your mood in general.
Wow, that neuro report thing is awful, the way it's been delayed. Maybe you could set up an appointment to SEE the neuro who did the tests, and when you see him, ask HIM where are your reports, since the front desk folks have apparently lost the thread on that. I mean, COULD be they would let you talk by phone to the doc, if you simply asked for that and did not mention the test (otherwise they might talk you out of talking to the doc), but usually you have to have an appointment to talk to those guys, they're so busy. But he might be able to call you back. Look up that phone number in the phone book if you can't find the card.
I'm wondering if you had your relative take your blood pressure recently and how it's looking. Maybe she could take it a couple times a week for a little while, plus since she's a nurse, she's about your only lifeline these days. And I hope your work situation is improving, with your face blindness and all. I feel for you, all these health issues and you're so young.
I'm glad you're at least getting sleep on the weekends. I hope that is helping you some. Well, keep us posted from time to time, we're interested in your condition with the vision, and also concerned about your blood pressure stuff.
GG
So glad you posted back. I was worried about your heart. I'm glad they found out about the Vitamin D thing and perhaps the thyroid being a little off. I hope the BP medicine and sleep stuff is helping the pressure in your head and your mood in general.
Wow, that neuro report thing is awful, the way it's been delayed. Maybe you could set up an appointment to SEE the neuro who did the tests, and when you see him, ask HIM where are your reports, since the front desk folks have apparently lost the thread on that. I mean, COULD be they would let you talk by phone to the doc, if you simply asked for that and did not mention the test (otherwise they might talk you out of talking to the doc), but usually you have to have an appointment to talk to those guys, they're so busy. But he might be able to call you back. Look up that phone number in the phone book if you can't find the card.
I'm wondering if you had your relative take your blood pressure recently and how it's looking. Maybe she could take it a couple times a week for a little while, plus since she's a nurse, she's about your only lifeline these days. And I hope your work situation is improving, with your face blindness and all. I feel for you, all these health issues and you're so young.
I'm glad you're at least getting sleep on the weekends. I hope that is helping you some. Well, keep us posted from time to time, we're interested in your condition with the vision, and also concerned about your blood pressure stuff.
GG
im also tryin to find the number to that place that took that nero eval so i can call and see if they have or have not finished with my tests and sent the results back to my nero doc
cause i keep calling every week to the nero docs place and they keep telling me the results arnt in
cause i keep calling every week to the nero docs place and they keep telling me the results arnt in
sorry yeah got some bp medicine only spos to take half when i have one of those episodes and yeah these sleepin pills work but cant take them if i got work the next day
and the results from the blood test showed i was a little low on vit D and my thyroid was a little off they wanted me to get some vitamine d pills and to come back after a month to test my blood again
and the results from the blood test showed i was a little low on vit D and my thyroid was a little off they wanted me to get some vitamine d pills and to come back after a month to test my blood again
Keebster,
Are you still out there? It's been five days since your last post, but you did say you got some BP medicine and sleep meds, so perhaps you are finally getting some rest, after so long with those problems. I wanted to bump this up to the beginning of the forum, in case you couldn't locate your thread, becuz it was all the way back about five pages. I am still worried, especially about your latest problem a week ago with the pressure you were feeling in your head. Also wanting to hear about your blood test results.
GG
Are you still out there? It's been five days since your last post, but you did say you got some BP medicine and sleep meds, so perhaps you are finally getting some rest, after so long with those problems. I wanted to bump this up to the beginning of the forum, in case you couldn't locate your thread, becuz it was all the way back about five pages. I am still worried, especially about your latest problem a week ago with the pressure you were feeling in your head. Also wanting to hear about your blood test results.
GG
Jenna,
Good of you to jump in and try to help Keebster. But hon, stroke is one of the causes of face blindness, which you stroke out from high blood pressure, among other things. You can go to Harvard's website www.faceblind.org and it'll confirm what I'm saying about causes.
Keebster,
I am SO glad that doc you saw gave you some meds for your BP and your sleep, and I'm especially glad she is worried about the strange spikes in your BP, which, as I said before, can indicate a problem with the heart itself, or as she said a glandular imbalance. Either way, I'm just so proud of you for finding someone who will listen to you finally and knows their stuff. I'll sleep better tonite and I hope you will too!
GG
Good of you to jump in and try to help Keebster. But hon, stroke is one of the causes of face blindness, which you stroke out from high blood pressure, among other things. You can go to Harvard's website www.faceblind.org and it'll confirm what I'm saying about causes.
Keebster,
I am SO glad that doc you saw gave you some meds for your BP and your sleep, and I'm especially glad she is worried about the strange spikes in your BP, which, as I said before, can indicate a problem with the heart itself, or as she said a glandular imbalance. Either way, I'm just so proud of you for finding someone who will listen to you finally and knows their stuff. I'll sleep better tonite and I hope you will too!
GG
i went to a diagnostition "think i its spelled like that" talked with them they want to get a better record of my bp but she also was worried about it spiking like that she gave me a low dose of bp medicine and even with that she only wants me to take have of the pill every day shes thinking its a thyroid problem since its just spiking crazy numbers then droping back to close to normal she did i think a full blood work up got like 3 vials of blood from me and wants me to come back in in a few weeks but wants me to check my blood regularly also she gave me some sleeping pills and i really think they are working but i think i might only take half of a sleeping pill took a full one and i was kinda useless till like noon took a half of one last night and got up at about 6 or 7ish so alot better
although your BP is higher than ideal, there is a reason you are not on BP meds. Although ggreg has a point about hypertension, there is no way that a BP that low is causing visual disturbances. Careful with taking advice about medicine off of people that have not been specifically educated in it. Ask any doctor, nurse or medical professional...you need to track a person's blood pressure before getting to excited, bc the effects of putting them on medication and bottoming their pressure out are far more devastating. Please find a doctor you can trust and ask them questions
Thank you so much Keeb. You sound like you are being more serious about pursuing your blood pressure situation. You DO have hypertension, your numbers are waaay off, and those spikes even higher suggest a heart problem. At the very least, that doc should have at least tried Atenolol or any of a number of blood pressure reducing medications, so to heck with him. I am so glad you've involved your aunt in this, and that you will be visiting another doctor in a nearby town. Thank you for listening to me, especially with the latest discomfort you are having with pressure in your head now. God speed and may you finally get the help you so desperately need.
got a appointment with a diagnation from a few towns over she wont be there today but im going to have them get my bp and see if they will do a blood work
ok this is stupid i just got back from Bruce made me feel like an idiot my bp 133/99 he didnt blink when he saw that said that not high at all he didnt even look bothered when i told him about 164/104 he said it wasnt anything to worry about when i told him what my aunt "the nurse" said he comes back with well im the only one that has went to medical school and i know better then anyone else
im calling my aunt to ask her who i should go talk to then im going to have someone drive me to where ever that is if i can get an appointment today
im calling my aunt to ask her who i should go talk to then im going to have someone drive me to where ever that is if i can get an appointment today
im going in to see him in lke 15min and if i have to after work il have someone drive me to a different hospital
but about the bp its never been like this i mean my head feels like its about a start bleeding out of my nose and ears its just so much it has never ever been like this and it just started yesterday early in the morning like about 8 and it just got more and more pressure as the day went on only reason i went to the pharmacy to check at lunch like i did this is very very abnormal
dropping the caffine has in no way helped the sleeping problem
and the evlavil or how ever you spell is was causeing major constipation had to stop taking it i told "bruces nurses" they called me back told me to try the second stuff that didnt do anything at all for a few days and told me if that doesnt work "in the words they used"
If that doesnt work we dont know what else we can do for you..
and the evlavil or how ever you spell is was causeing major constipation had to stop taking it i told "bruces nurses" they called me back told me to try the second stuff that didnt do anything at all for a few days and told me if that doesnt work "in the words they used"
If that doesnt work we dont know what else we can do for you..
Hey Keebster,
You know, back towards the beginning of these posts, another poster said it might be cardiology-related, and I dittoed that and encouraged you to at the very least get a physical where they check your heartrate, blood pressure, etc., etc. At long last, you told us your BP numbers, and ever since then, I've pushed and pushed you to look at THAT as the reason for your vision blindness and other symptoms. So, you're on the right track to stay on top of this crazy blood pressure thing by going back to see the doc at lunch.
But what I do not understand is the really off-handed treatment you're getting at this clinic you've been going to. Taking your blood pressure should have been the very first thing they did when you told them you couldn't see faces, they should have done a normal physical checkup on your basic signs. When I said to go to the ER, I meant at the real hospital in your community. You're walking around and can't see right, can't sleep right, supposed health care people telling you to come back when the doc is in.... this is all SO scaring the daylights out of me.
Look, if you go back at lunch today to the clinic and the doc ain't there, tell whomever is down there that your vision is goofed up and you've got hypertension, and you need HELP. BP numbers like you got can cause untold damage, and may in fact be the reason why you can't see faces! What more does this clinic need to prompt them to get you straight? If they act like it ain't no big thing, seriously consider asking either your mother or your aunt to go with you to the REAL hospital in your area and get this thing straight today, PLEZ.
By the way, you did not comment this time on your sleep situation. I'm wondering if dropping the caffeine helped you sleep better.
GG
You know, back towards the beginning of these posts, another poster said it might be cardiology-related, and I dittoed that and encouraged you to at the very least get a physical where they check your heartrate, blood pressure, etc., etc. At long last, you told us your BP numbers, and ever since then, I've pushed and pushed you to look at THAT as the reason for your vision blindness and other symptoms. So, you're on the right track to stay on top of this crazy blood pressure thing by going back to see the doc at lunch.
But what I do not understand is the really off-handed treatment you're getting at this clinic you've been going to. Taking your blood pressure should have been the very first thing they did when you told them you couldn't see faces, they should have done a normal physical checkup on your basic signs. When I said to go to the ER, I meant at the real hospital in your community. You're walking around and can't see right, can't sleep right, supposed health care people telling you to come back when the doc is in.... this is all SO scaring the daylights out of me.
Look, if you go back at lunch today to the clinic and the doc ain't there, tell whomever is down there that your vision is goofed up and you've got hypertension, and you need HELP. BP numbers like you got can cause untold damage, and may in fact be the reason why you can't see faces! What more does this clinic need to prompt them to get you straight? If they act like it ain't no big thing, seriously consider asking either your mother or your aunt to go with you to the REAL hospital in your area and get this thing straight today, PLEZ.
By the way, you did not comment this time on your sleep situation. I'm wondering if dropping the caffeine helped you sleep better.
GG
ok well so i kept checking it off and on went to my aunts shes a nurse it was 160ish/104
went strait to the er it was 154/101 they told me to come back in when the doc is in.. so im going to try to get in in a few hours maybe around lunch to see a doc
went strait to the er it was 154/101 they told me to come back in when the doc is in.. so im going to try to get in in a few hours maybe around lunch to see a doc
ok bought a blood pressure wrist thingy
just did a test about 5 min after i got home it was 146/75 bp and 81 beats
il do another after a few hours and see what it says
just did a test about 5 min after i got home it was 146/75 bp and 81 beats
il do another after a few hours and see what it says
oh hey also can um think its called hyperthyrodism can that affect bp?
only askin cause from googleing some of the symptoms iv noticed for the past few weeks that pops up alot
only askin cause from googleing some of the symptoms iv noticed for the past few weeks that pops up alot
oh the nurse also said when those machines try more then once i should cancel it and start again said the can get really high wrong numbers when they try more then once
ok so just went to the pharmacy to the auto bp checking machine and it had to do it three times then showed a bp of 182/102 and 98 beats
went strait to the er had them check me out said it was 164/74 bp with 128 beats
they told me i needed to track it see if it changes and get an appointment with bruce
went strait to the er had them check me out said it was 164/74 bp with 128 beats
they told me i needed to track it see if it changes and get an appointment with bruce
Keeb,
Thanks so much for writing back. I've been worried over you. The caffeine drinks can definitely keep you wide awake at night, so thank goodness you're cutting those out. And I understand what you say, that the hallucinations were from the drug, but gee whiz, lots of people take those drugs and don't have visual disturbances... this is because you had them from lack of sleep. To tell docs you had them, this points to how bad your lack of sleep has been and possibly also points to not enough blood getting to your brain or some other neurological problem in your head.
If you stop the caffeine drinks and within three days your blood pressure is still too high (anything over 120/80 is abnormal), I'm telling you, you've got to get some help with that specific symptom. Already you are in Stage One of hypertension, and if it goes into Stage Two, you will be in serious trouble. Your top number 150s-160s is very bad, but your bottom number 98 is even worse, and that's the one docs look at and start worrying about. See, I'm thinking it's your BP that is signaling a problem with your blood flow circulation or even heart, and it may actually be the reason why your vision has been goofed up! The mini seizures your aunt referred to may have been little strokes, which is where the blood vessels will bleed out in the head, causing all sorts of terrible damage to a person.
I'm just trying to emphasize the importance of this new thing you've found out about, your very high blood pressure. While stopping caffeine might help this a little, and while you may finally get to sleep a little better, I do not think either will change that BP reading in any substantial way. Of course I hope you do get some lower numbers on that, but you really do need to speak to someone who understands hypertension and how to treat it, hopefully they will give you some medicine to get it down quickly to where it's supposed to be. I mean, what if that was the reason how come you have inability to recognize faces! You don't want to lose your vision over something as simple as BP control.
Consider doing a post over in the "heart disease" forum of this website, entitle it with the highest set of BP numbers, the 168/98, and also put visual problems, and see what kind of responses you get over there. They'll know more about hypertension. But keep us posted as to any new developments with you here.
GG
Thanks so much for writing back. I've been worried over you. The caffeine drinks can definitely keep you wide awake at night, so thank goodness you're cutting those out. And I understand what you say, that the hallucinations were from the drug, but gee whiz, lots of people take those drugs and don't have visual disturbances... this is because you had them from lack of sleep. To tell docs you had them, this points to how bad your lack of sleep has been and possibly also points to not enough blood getting to your brain or some other neurological problem in your head.
If you stop the caffeine drinks and within three days your blood pressure is still too high (anything over 120/80 is abnormal), I'm telling you, you've got to get some help with that specific symptom. Already you are in Stage One of hypertension, and if it goes into Stage Two, you will be in serious trouble. Your top number 150s-160s is very bad, but your bottom number 98 is even worse, and that's the one docs look at and start worrying about. See, I'm thinking it's your BP that is signaling a problem with your blood flow circulation or even heart, and it may actually be the reason why your vision has been goofed up! The mini seizures your aunt referred to may have been little strokes, which is where the blood vessels will bleed out in the head, causing all sorts of terrible damage to a person.
I'm just trying to emphasize the importance of this new thing you've found out about, your very high blood pressure. While stopping caffeine might help this a little, and while you may finally get to sleep a little better, I do not think either will change that BP reading in any substantial way. Of course I hope you do get some lower numbers on that, but you really do need to speak to someone who understands hypertension and how to treat it, hopefully they will give you some medicine to get it down quickly to where it's supposed to be. I mean, what if that was the reason how come you have inability to recognize faces! You don't want to lose your vision over something as simple as BP control.
Consider doing a post over in the "heart disease" forum of this website, entitle it with the highest set of BP numbers, the 168/98, and also put visual problems, and see what kind of responses you get over there. They'll know more about hypertension. But keep us posted as to any new developments with you here.
GG
hey sorry had no net for a few days ah the hallucinating was just from the ambian cr
and i went up and talked with them they said to lay off the pop and caffine for about a week then come back
i normally drink like 6 or 8 cans of mountian dew from lunch to evening
so i dropped drinkin pop and tea just drinking joice, milk, and water going to try that for a few days then go back and see what it is then
and i went up and talked with them they said to lay off the pop and caffine for about a week then come back
i normally drink like 6 or 8 cans of mountian dew from lunch to evening
so i dropped drinkin pop and tea just drinking joice, milk, and water going to try that for a few days then go back and see what it is then
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