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Author Topic: Speling ererz  (Read 13803 times)

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Offline Iggy

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Speling ererz
« on: August 21, 2007, 02:26:23 pm »
Not entirely certain where to post this, but I'm thinking this is a (possible) mental health issue with mental health including non emotional issues as well.

I have always been a slightly sloppy speller, and with the advent of spell check on everything from websites to browser functions - I think I might have gotten even lazier.

However I have noticed something in the last year and it seems to be even more pronounced in the last couple of months:  increasingly misspelling even simple words that I have not mispelt since I was in elementary school.  Also sometimes not even recognizing that words are misspelled at all (used to be always able to recognized that something wasn't spelt right even if I didn't know the correct spelling.

No meds at the moment so it isn't any side effects.  I stress that I do not rule out simply getting older, and already accounted for the lazier (with spell check features in websites  as I mentioned above) possibilities, but am starting to get concerned that it just appears to be happening with more frequency - like I'm losing some language skills or something.

On a related note, my typing skills have sort have taken a tad downwards turn - nothing significant but my speed has definitely slowed down and I'm making more typos (I used to be fairly good at typing without looking at the keyboard....starting to have to look again)

Any feedback or relevant experience would be welcome. 
I am also not above labeling myself hypochondriac over this either. Just starting to wonder if it is possibly more than meets the eye as to what I'm noticing.

Offline DanielMark

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2007, 09:46:37 am »
Hi Iggy,

I hate to mention this in a way as I don't want to alarm you needlessly, but before I began on meds I was progressively losing some abilities:

Fine motor skills (my ex Ken tells me he could see that happening over a period of months in my handwriting), speech (people asked me if I was drinking at times, which I wasn't) and even walking, to the point where I would fall sometimes. There was something obviously wrong to everybody else, but my cognition was so impaired that it didn’t register.

I later learned these things were happening as the result of the virus eating at the white matter in my brain and spine.

My best suggestion to you would be to get a check up to make sure this isn’t the onset of something that could become more destructive over time. Hopefully it’s nothing that serious but you might want to know for sure.

Daniel
MEDS: REYATAZ & KIVEXA (SINCE AUG 2008)

MAY 2000 LAB RESULTS: CD4 678
VL STILL UNDETECTABLE

DIAGNOSED IN 1988

Offline Iggy

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2007, 05:16:24 pm »
Daniel,

Thank you very much for your thoughts and own experience.  I think I kind of want to get myself a little scared to be honest as I've been noticing it for a while and have just been procrastinating about doing anything.

Two other related things came to my attention just today - looking at some old posts I realized that I have written about my hearing loss getting progressively worse lately and if this is all related to some chowdown in my head by the virus than that may be connected...and more scary - I didn't even remember posting the hearing thing at first and I consider myself having a damn fine memory (probably because the nuns in school instilled in us that we had to always remember all our sins)

Definitely not paranoia yet or hysterical, and I sure do hope that like my thinning hair and widening mid section that this is all just part of getting older, but I don't think I should play around with ignoring it anymore and going to make some future arrangements to get it checked out.

Thanks.


Offline DanielMark

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2007, 05:45:49 pm »
I hope it is just the aging thing Iggy, but I'm glad you're going to have it looked into. It's wise to find out if there might be something more serious going on than just that.

Daniel
MEDS: REYATAZ & KIVEXA (SINCE AUG 2008)

MAY 2000 LAB RESULTS: CD4 678
VL STILL UNDETECTABLE

DIAGNOSED IN 1988

Offline frenchpat

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  • Love your friends, don't eat them.
Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #4 on: August 23, 2007, 07:41:08 pm »
Interesting...

I have experienced a very subtle change in my typing skills and spelling, both in French and English. I have sort of become slightly dyslexic but always catch myself doing it, and this is something that never happened before I became hiv+. Then again, I am going on 47 so it could be age as well... but I always had good spelling and seldom resorted to spell checkers. (I prefer a nice fat dictionnary).

Since I've been facing the onset of a few side effects I've wondered if this might not be another sign that this virus is gnawing at my nerve cells as well as at my immune system. But the whole experience of becoming positive has provoked so many changes in me, mostly on a psychological level, that I could also attribute these small spelling mistakes to the fact that I am much more relaxed nowadays and care less about the small stuff. I used to be quite anal (yes, I know...) about little things and still jump when I read a newspaper article full of spelling errors...

So now I am curious: is there a way to measure what is going on and detect if such cognitive behaviour alterations are due to physiological damage?

Sorry I can not be more helpful Iggy,

Pat
People have the power - Patti Smith

Offline Iggy

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2007, 09:56:47 pm »
Thank you again Daniel, as well as you Pat.

It is amazing that after I posted this thread how much I realize that others have already written about this and I've just not even noticed previously.  I guess it says a lot about being blind to anything that doesn't directly effect oneself.

I'm hoping it is age, or possible something that can be controlled, but regardless I will stop procrastinating and have it checked out.  Both of you have provided me enough reason to not pretend it doesn't exist - what "it" is though is still up in the air. 

Until that time that I get checked an a medical prognosis though I'm not gonna stress as there is nothing I can do right now about it and it may not be more than just some nurse looking at me and asking "what do you expect, you're getting old....now go your geritol and leave me alone"  That would be comforting indeed!

Offline xyahka

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2007, 10:09:57 pm »
mmm.... as usual, this is something i didn't know.

How can i know if this is happening to me? (i mean which tests should i request to my ID Dr).

Does it affect you at any time or is it related to your CD4?

I had taken for granted that my high CD4 meant i was safe. I have also noticed troubles typing everytime i am  on PC (not only in English but in Spanish too). Same like others i have been good typer all my life and last week i found out i have lost few of my typing skills in my right hand (difficult and uncomfortable to use all my fingers to type) which is strange since i type every day on pc. Off course i cannot say i am not paranoic... so that could be a part of it. Just wanting to know more about this...

Juan Carlos
13/03/07 1er diagnóstico /Peso: 79kg
19/04/07 CD4: 494 /CViral: ?? /Peso: 80kg
19/07/07 CD4: 659 /CViral: ?? /Peso: 79.5kg
06/03/08 CD4: 573 (después de meses muy deprimido) /CViral: ?? /Peso: 79kg
17/09/08 CD4: ?? /CViral: ?? /Peso: 84Kg
06/02/09 CD4: ?? /CViral: ?? /Peso: 85Kg /HCV: Neg /HBV: Neg.
07/03/09 CD4: ?? /CViral: ?? /Peso: 87Kg / Gym 3días/semana y Natación 2días/semana.
12/05/09 CD4: 470 /Cviral: ?? /Peso: 87Kg.
08/07/09 CD4: ? /CViral: ? /Peso: 77Kg.
09/12/09 CD4: 510 /CViral: ? /Peso: 78kg. No medicinas aún
10/01/10 CD4: ? /CViral: ? /Peso: 76Kg.
15/05/10 CD4: 320 /CViral: ? /Peso: 76Kg.
01/02/11 CD4: 291 /CViral: ? /Peso: 78kg.
05/05/11 CD4: 366 /CViral: ? /Peso: 78kg.
27/07/11 CD4: 255 /CViral: 138000 /Peso: 78kg.

Disfrutando y aceptando una nueva vida...

Offline frenchpat

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  • Love your friends, don't eat them.
Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2007, 03:20:20 am »
I had taken for granted that my high CD4 meant i was safe.

Juan Carlos,

from this http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/1667_12739.shtml and other sources it seems safe to assume that things are more complicated than that... unfortunately. High CD4 count appears to be a better thing than a low count but at the same time is no guarantee. The human body is such a wonderful, highly complex living system. ;D

As for how to evaluate the cause of our diminishing skills, I don't know who to turn to as of now. Guess I will start with my GP though she will probably tell me that it happens to everyone with age, not just to us pozzies...

any info is welcome

Pat

People have the power - Patti Smith

Offline md

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #8 on: August 27, 2007, 04:15:09 am »
As for how to evaluate the cause of our diminishing skills, I don't know who to turn to as of now. Guess I will start with my GP though she will probably tell me that it happens to everyone with age, not just to us pozzies...

any info is welcome

Pat

If you are concerned about this you should try to get a referral to a good neuropsychologist.


Offline chm02

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    • id est
Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #9 on: August 30, 2007, 02:10:01 am »
Iggy- You said you weren't on any drugs, but I wanted to share that my (usually impeccable) spelling skills took a hit after I started Effexor (venlafaxine) about 3 years ago - so I can relate to the feeling. It was quite noticeable to me.  Getting older, being on psych meds and now hiv meds, I know there's plenty of reasons why cognitive abilities might falter here and there. So, I've made a conscious effort to exercise my brain with puzzles and reading and learning and trying to be as conscious as possible as I go through the day.
It sounds trite - but no matter what the cause might be, the negative effects can be mitigated by exercising the noodle.  ;)

Offline Iggy

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #10 on: August 30, 2007, 09:42:16 am »
So, I've made a conscious effort to exercise my brain with puzzles and reading and learning and trying to be as conscious as possible as I go through the day.
It sounds trite - but no matter what the cause might be, the negative effects can be mitigated by exercising the noodle.  ;)

It doesn't sound trite in the least. Frankly I realize that regardless of any specific medical issue going on in my head - I HAVE gotten lazy about basic skills such as spelling and such.

As a lark I picked up a copy of Salem's Lot following teh Vampire discussion in the Living section and it dawned on me today that it has been months since I read a book.

I think with the likihood that HIV does effect the brain it is more important than ever that we fully exercise it as you say.


Offline pozguy75

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2007, 01:02:43 pm »
Just to add my two cents here...I have to admit that not only have I been experiencing spelling issues, but also memory weirdness....I will be right in the middle of, this post, (for example) and I will completely forget what I was doing and why I was there...

This little bugger can really play havoc with the nervous system. We only measure the amount of virus in the blood, we don't yet see the extensive damage it does to the nervous system...something to ponder but also a bit scary if you ask me...
Dx 2005
ATRIPLA

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #12 on: September 04, 2007, 01:15:10 pm »
I have experienced a very subtle change in my typing skills and spelling, both in French and English. I have sort of become slightly dyslexic but always catch myself doing it, and this is something that never happened before I became hiv+. Then again, I am going on 47 so it could be age as well... but I always had good spelling and seldom resorted to spell checkers. (I prefer a nice fat dictionnary).

I've had all of this too... though sometimes I figure my desk positioning isn't great.  I'm about to buy a new desk, but for the past few years my desk has consisted of a piece of plywood balanced on a file cabinet.  Horribly unfashionable, plus I rest my elbows too much on my desk chair arm rests which doesn't make for the correct typing posture.

My typing skills are not what they used to be, and I've been typing since the age of 12 (my mother was a typing teacher...)  Anyway, I'm not about to constantly proofread my posts on an internet forum.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline xyahka

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  • Dance together!! aha!! aha!! I like it!!
Re: Speling ererz
« Reply #13 on: September 04, 2007, 01:32:47 pm »
Just to add my two cents here...I have to admit that not only have I been experiencing spelling issues, but also memory weirdness....I will be right in the middle of, this post, (for example) and I will completely forget what I was doing and why I was there...

This little bugger can really play havoc with the nervous system. We only measure the amount of virus in the blood, we don't yet see the extensive damage it does to the nervous system...something to ponder but also a bit scary if you ask me...

Hi, i wonder, how can we know it is the virus affecting our memory or the meds or the stress?? Just wondering. I have also had that... but i though i was just stressed... for exemple i spent weekend at my sister place (another city 15 far from my city) and yesterday at midnight when i wanted to go home.... i just realised i had left the keys forgotten somewhere i didn't know.... :( i had to call my sister and travel to her place .... in the morning i found my keys in there.

Another thing is that while i am at work i always forget my pens or pencils.... and i never find them again until couple of hours later. It is really annoying.

Juan Carlos
13/03/07 1er diagnóstico /Peso: 79kg
19/04/07 CD4: 494 /CViral: ?? /Peso: 80kg
19/07/07 CD4: 659 /CViral: ?? /Peso: 79.5kg
06/03/08 CD4: 573 (después de meses muy deprimido) /CViral: ?? /Peso: 79kg
17/09/08 CD4: ?? /CViral: ?? /Peso: 84Kg
06/02/09 CD4: ?? /CViral: ?? /Peso: 85Kg /HCV: Neg /HBV: Neg.
07/03/09 CD4: ?? /CViral: ?? /Peso: 87Kg / Gym 3días/semana y Natación 2días/semana.
12/05/09 CD4: 470 /Cviral: ?? /Peso: 87Kg.
08/07/09 CD4: ? /CViral: ? /Peso: 77Kg.
09/12/09 CD4: 510 /CViral: ? /Peso: 78kg. No medicinas aún
10/01/10 CD4: ? /CViral: ? /Peso: 76Kg.
15/05/10 CD4: 320 /CViral: ? /Peso: 76Kg.
01/02/11 CD4: 291 /CViral: ? /Peso: 78kg.
05/05/11 CD4: 366 /CViral: ? /Peso: 78kg.
27/07/11 CD4: 255 /CViral: 138000 /Peso: 78kg.

Disfrutando y aceptando una nueva vida...

 


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