June 11, 2010

my brain aches....

Just had phase two of my cognitive testing for a study being done here in Ottawa - it involved one testing session, a second two weeks later, and a third in three years. It's supposed to evaluate cognitive changes in MS over time.
In some ways it was reassuring - I can still add most numbers, can think of new ways to combine sets, can tap the space bar at a certain rate. I failed utterly at the "reorganize the discs on the pegs" task and realize I need more time in kindergarten and soon before my abilities to grasp spacial solutions leave me entirely.
Remembering words, numbers, story elements - tasking! I had to close my eyes and block out all other stimulation to focus.  Wonder if I could do this during meetings at work?
Of course, got home and my blood sugar was a mere 2.8, which might have accounted for some of my fogginess.
It's difficult tracing the effects of different chronic diseases, and also I am wondering about the effects of medications and the causation of various troubles in my body. Where does one disease begin or end?  Where do the medication side effects become enough to discontinue them? What causes what?
I am so confused, and it's not just from the testing....


Curious about how you'd do?  Try going to this test site -there's a quick little test you can do that gives you a bit of an idea about some of what I did. http://www.neurology.ufl.edu/memory/cognitivetest.shtml

2 comments:

Have Myelin? said...

I'm going to go find out how much my brain hurts, then I'm going to pack the holes with cotton balls. =)

Have Myelin? said...

P.S. I must have failed the test because I can't get past the "start the test" button. Something to do with the screen resolution. I think....