Today, Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) issued a statement regarding Trump’s controversial comments, saying they could not recall whether or not those things were said.
Playing internet doctor is something I normally don’t recommend, but this comment fell right into my wheelhouse. If you find that you are quickly forgetting meetings, dates, moments, and that 24 hours later you struggle to have a clear memory of important events, I would urge you to speak to a clinician.
Memory loss, especially short-term memory loss as demonstrated by Sen. Cotton and Sen. Perdue, is something a lot of us who have had brain trauma (TBI) get used to dealing with in our daily life. We struggle to remember moments that happened a few hours before, but in a couple of days, it is much clearer. This conversion of short term to long term memory isn’t uncommon, and there are methods you can use to help cope with these issues.
If you aren’t someone with TBI, though, and you find you are quickly forgetting items, please go through the FAST checklist:
Use FAST to remember and recognize the following signs and symptoms of stroke:
- F: Face drooping. Ask the person to smile, and see if one side is drooping. One side of the face may also be numb, and the smile may appear uneven.
- A: Arm weakness. Ask the person to raise both arms. Is there weakness or numbness on one side? One arm drifting downward is a sign of one-sided arm weakness.
- S: Speech difficulty. People having a stroke may slur their speech or have trouble speaking at all. Speech may be incomprehensible. Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence and look for any speech abnormality.
- T: Time to call 9-1-1! If a person shows any of the symptoms above, even if the symptoms went away, call 9-1-1 and get the person to a hospital immediately.
This can help save your life, and if the event is occurring to someone you love, it can help save their life.
I understand these meetings are brutal; but if you are feeling as though you encounter ANY of these signs, as much as I politically disagree with you, I urge you to call the hospital and be seen, immediately.
If continued short-term memory loss happens, and it is not a sign of a stroke, it could be the medication you are taking which can hinder conversion — true in some cases of taking too much SSRI (anti-depressants) — and your doctor can also help.
If none of these items are true, and you are a healthy, adult male not taking too high of a dosage of drugs or suffering from forms of stroke, and you have no prior traumatic brain injury, then you are most likely just a lying jerk. At this moment in time, we do not have a prescription or treatment for that condition, outside of having you booted from office in an election.