My sister is 58 y/o. Approx. 6 to 7 years ago she had a ...

Dear Customer (name blocked for privacy),

A couple questions may help us give you a better idea of what may be going on with your sister:

(1) Has she ever had a heart valve replacement? Where does the "clicking" sound like it's coming from?

(2) What medications is she taking now....prescription and over-the-counter?

(3) Has she had any episodes of CHF exacerbations since discontinuing her meds? Why did she stop taking them?

(4) Any other significant medical history?

Please try to get as much info to the above questions; they could help pin-point what may be going on? Thanks. AnnlynnRN

No heart valve replacement. She does have false teeth. She does not take any medications now at all just takes calcium supplement. No reported CHF exacerbations. She stopped taking her meds because she said she felt good and didn't think she needed them any longer. . No real significant history. Thanks The amnesia episodes are quite troubling

Dear Customer (name blocked for privacy),

Sorry, but I just need one more clarification:

When you say she is having bouts of short term amnesia, is she forgetting little individual things such as what she had for breakfast, or perhaps some details of a telephone conversation, etc... or is she having short bouts of complete and total loss of recollection to a given period of time? Also, how does she respond when you alert her to these episodes? Thanks....AnnlynnRN

As she reports the episodes, they are complete: for instance, she was helping her Church at Christmas with outside activities. She drove to a different location in someone else's car, got out, and started walking. Beginning at that point, she said she did not recognize anyone, did not know where she was, did not know who she was, knew nothing, was not particularly afraid, just blank, just kept wandering around for what seemed to her an hour or so. Finally, her husband, came from somewhere behind her and placed his hands on her arms and said hey where you going - she snapped back. She told me, 'and, that's not the only time that has happened.' Thank you. Linda

Dear Customer (name blocked for privacy),

There are several types of amnesia; each with different causes. Below is a list of different types of amnesia from a website explaining these types of amnesia and a link to the website to give you further information. The goal here for your sister is to determine the cause of her amnesia, and treat it accordingly. Review the list below to see if any of these types of amnesia reflect your sisters symptoms, and she will need to be seen by her physician for a confirmation of diagnosis, and treatment if available. Her physician may refer her to a neurologist.

Retrograde Amnesia.
Retrograde amnesia is the type of amnesia most people think of when they hear the term. People with retrograde amnesia find it hard to remember things that occurred prior to an incident in which they incurred damage to the head. Sometimes people never remember the seconds leading up to the incident.

Wernike-Korsakoff's Psychosis.
Wernike-Korsakoff's psychosis is memory loss caused by extended alcohol abuse. This tends to be a progressive disorder and is usually accompanied by neurological problems, such as uncoordinated movements and loss of feeling in the fingers and toes.

Traumatic Amnesia.
Traumatic amnesia is caused by brain damage from a hard blow to the head, such as in a car accident. It can lead to anything from a brief loss of consciousness to coma.

Infantile/Childhood Amnesia.
Infantile/childhood amnesia refers to a person's inability to recall events from early childhood. Some say this type of amnesia could be linked to language development or the fact that some areas of the brain linked to memory were not fully mature.

Hysterical (Fugue) Amnesia.
Hysterical (fugue) amnesia is usually triggered by a traumatic event that the person's mind is unable to properly handle. Usually, the memory slowly or suddenly returns a few days later, although memory of the trauma itself may remain incomplete.
http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-007.shtml

Other factors that can cause this type of behavior that is not mentioned above is aging, side effects from medications such as benzodiazepines, alcohol abuse, and seizure....petit mal seizure. Seizures are caused by an abnormal electrical discharges in the brain. Usually, a petit mal seizure involves only a brief, sudden lapse of conscious activity. Each seizure lasts only seconds or minutes, but hundreds may occur each day. During a petit mal seizure, small jerks sometimes occur involving the facial muscles or hands. A person who experiences a petit mal seizure can usually resume normal activities immediately after the seizure ends. The way you describe how she "snaps out" of these episodes could be indicative of petit mal seizures. I can personally relate to this as I am epileptic and I experience a brief period of petit mal seizure just prior to have a full grand mal seizure where there is total loss of consciousness and convulsions. Some people can experience petit mal seizures without having a grand mal with convulsions.

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One personal clarification before I accept, and, I do thank you so much for your time and effort. Could this also be an early sign of alzheimer's or demntia? Thankyou.