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When my husband is having a bad period ((diabetes/PTSD/insomnia, NOT dementia the doctors say) he often asks me to find something for him, saying that he often "can't see" something that is right in front of him. I look, and sure enough, there is his blood test meter or whatever on the table, directly in front, where a plate would be. I touch it,and then he can see it!

I was at a support group and another member said "There's a name for that" but I couldn't get it. Does anyone know the term? Or terms for similar little glitches?

(Vent: We were interrupted by a man who kept interrupting everyone, repeating the same loud advice, monopolizing the group. And the leader urged him to keep coming back! Duh.)

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I assume you mean a technical term ;) because brain fart is what comes to my mind but I doubt that is what you mean.

I will do a google search and see if I can come up with a term. I am putting off housework so this gives me a very good reason not to do it now!!

Funny vent! Well, maybe not for you. Hopefully the next time the gentlemen comes back he will be better behaved. Can you bring a dear dear friend who owes you a favor who would be willing to sit by him and ask for his adivce individually. I have found those types of people LOVE that. It sounds like this man is not in the group to receive adivce but rather to give his opinion so....Sorta kidding sorta not.


Off to google
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Welp, a quick search yielded the term "change blindness" but not sure if that is what you are looking for. That is when something big is changed in a familiar room and not noticed. My husband has this, I believe. I have changed the curtains in our family room and changed the furniture around and he will not notice unless I point it out to him.
Other than that I found a Facebook page called " Don't You Hate it When You cannot Find Things That are Right in Front of You" but it was just for fun and had silly pictures tht really did not have much to do with that topic. Strange. I am not on Facebook so I do not understand it very well.

Gotta run. Will look more later if you do not get an answer.
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OK looked some more and I found 'I attentive blindness' but that is more like one is so involved in a task that they do not see something pass by them.not having much luck other than that. Sorry.

Hope I didn't sound flippant earlier. I am sure this is very frustrating for your husband. Hope someone can help you!
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My father is the same. It drives me crazy. He's bedridden and can't find his small flashlight or his sun glasses, etc... He insists he checked everywhere and then does the blame game. Someone took it. Or someone is trying to drive him crazy. And it's right there on the bed. I always make sure to show him my empty hands before I start looking on his bed.

FYI.... I seem to have this problem, too. I will be looking for something (keys, checkbook, etc...) and become frantic because I can't find it. When I reach panic mode, I find it - right there in plain sight. I have come to realize that I either am not really SEEING what I'm looking for... or my mind says "keys" but my eyes is looking for Something Else. Total misconnection between my brain neurons which controls thoughts (keys) and visual (sees the objects my eyes send to the brain.) ... sorry, never heard the term.
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I found Post Trauma Vision Syndrome. Here's a link: . One thing they highlighted with this was an inability to recognize objects with their vision alone. Not sure if this is what you're seeking but I'll keep looking.
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Change blindness and attentive blindness. I like both of those terms. my husband suffers from both. He won't give me his schedule of appointments and constantly misses them. Prescription sit patiently waiting at the drug store.. I have no idea what medications he takes as he won't list them. Sometimes he takes them and sometimes he can't remember whether he took them or not. I brought him a med box but he wont fill it. he takes a grocery bag to his Dr with a couple of dozen bottles to every appointment. very frustrating but he insists a neurologist told him he does not have dementia. he is a very intelligent man and uses multiple mood altering drugs all prescribed and known to all Drs and pharmacists. I would not worry too much Flora at least he is asking for help not blaming you for hiding stuff
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Also agnosia from Wikipedia: Agnosia

Agnosia is the inability to recognize certain objects, persons or sounds, yet there are many more specific diagnoses of agnosia. Agnosia is typically caused by damage to the brain (most commonly in the occipital or parietal lobes) or from a neurological disorder. Treatments vary depending on the location and cause of the damage. Recovery is possible depending on the severity of the disorder and the severity of the damage to the brain.[1] Some examples of specific types of Agnosia include: Associative visual agnosia, Astereognosis, Auditory agnosia, Auditory verbal agnosia, Prosopagnosia, Simultanagnosia, Topographical disorientation, Visual agnosia etc.
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Bless you all! I just got home and am very tired. Will read and answer tomorrow.

I think the woman's point was that this glitch (whatever it's called) may or may not b a symptom of some possible big problem (such as dememtia).
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BINGO!

I emailed him some quotes about Visual Agnosia and here is his reply about Simultanagnosia:

"And I guess simultanagnosia more or less fits with my problem of not seeing something while looking straight at it. Again, intermittent, annoying but ... well, annoying extremely but generally very short term (a few minutes at most, then I can process what I'm seeing)."

He says that is why he likes those "Crime Scene" games on the internet, because it is practice picking things out.

I'll look at more sites from y'all's links. THANK YOU!
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Stay alert to stroke and TIAs, too - you don't always get the face drooping and muscle weakness with these. If in doubt, check it out. x
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Countrymouse, thanks. He got checked for TIAs -- found no sign of them -- around Easter, after an unexplained fainting spell. But he does say the 'look but not see' thing started a few months ago. (Also he had a head/neck injury around Christmas of 2012.) The VA gives him lots of scans and tests.
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Thanks again to everyone! I am still following up on all the leads, and he has an appointment on Thursday with his new Primary doctor -- who is also a veteran and seems familiar with PTSD stuff.

As for TIA, he was checked for that around Easter, after an unexplained fainting spell, and no sign found. The VA is very generous with scans and tests. But that is about the time the visual agnosia started....
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