Hi Pogo, I did have this happen alot to me, but I'm pretty solitary nowdays, and I avoid crowds/meetings with lots of talking going on because it's too overwhelming. I was never in a coma, just suddenly could not read/write/process words at work/took me out of my job, and I had to make my own "brain rehab"....i had a history of depression, so that was blamed...like I was making it up...yeah sure..ppfftt to them!!

For years I could not use a computer, no books, my eyes/brain would get severe pain in @3 minutes..I'd have to lie down....I was depressed then....insert eyeroll!!??!! Getting thru any conversation w/o jumping from one thing to another was rare. I eventually, slowly, taught myself computer skills...took a year of simple brain games daily. What helped me with conversations, was "phone book therapy"....not kidding.......I called toll free #s from the yellow pages, businesses, I asked simple questions about their services as anyone would needing info....the back and forth talking on the phone, little by little helped me focus....it was hard and more than a few times I hung up crying/upset/flustered....but I kept at it and I guess re-trained my brain or made new pathways. I still have fatigue and limits but I improved....I use a tablet now because it is easier! Hugs

That does still happen to me but my Neurotherapist worked on encoding strategies and I organized my thinking to the point that my memory is much better and I don't have chatter in my head anymore. Nor do I go thru unrelated topics to remember the name of a street or person. That is fixable I promise-I've done it. I still do it, but less severly and not nearly as often.