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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Episodes Of Global Transient Amnesia?

I have had my third episode of global transient amnesia. The first one was in 2009, the second one in 2010. All 3 times I have had a migraine headache. 1st time, onset was 4 days later; 2nd time was 2 days later. I had a migraine on Tue that carried over to Wed, onset was yesterday. I have read that 3 times is very rare. It may be linked to a severe auto accident I had in Aug/08 when I broke my neck and had a severe concussion, which I still have amnesia from. I don t remember the accident at all. This is all very unsettling for me.
Mon, 22 Jun 2015
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  User's Response
Hello!

Thank you for asking on HCM!

I read your question carefully and understand your concern.

I would like to explain that global transient amnesia is commonly related to emotional stress. Migraine attacks have been associated to this disorder, and some researchers suggest that it is a “migraine-like” phenomenon.

Its recurrence goes up to 40% of cases and there is no limit of times for that.

This is a benign condition and the persons regains the memory slowly after the episode.

In contrast with this the memory loss after a head concussion (like in your case) is something different, where the brain has not been able to memorize some moments of the trauma, because a temporary dysfunction ( and you may never remember what happened, because the memories do not exist in your brain).

But sometimes transient global amnesia attacks can not be distinguished by seizures.
So I recommend you to consult with the neurologist and perform an EEG. If the EEG is normal, there is nothing to worry about.

Hope to have been helpful!

Greetings! Dr. Aida

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What Causes Episodes Of Global Transient Amnesia?

Hello! Thank you for asking on HCM! I read your question carefully and understand your concern. I would like to explain that global transient amnesia is commonly related to emotional stress. Migraine attacks have been associated to this disorder, and some researchers suggest that it is a “migraine-like” phenomenon. Its recurrence goes up to 40% of cases and there is no limit of times for that. This is a benign condition and the persons regains the memory slowly after the episode. In contrast with this the memory loss after a head concussion (like in your case) is something different, where the brain has not been able to memorize some moments of the trauma, because a temporary dysfunction ( and you may never remember what happened, because the memories do not exist in your brain). But sometimes transient global amnesia attacks can not be distinguished by seizures. So I recommend you to consult with the neurologist and perform an EEG. If the EEG is normal, there is nothing to worry about. Hope to have been helpful! Greetings! Dr. Aida