Transient global amnesia post-coital

The term post-coital means “after intercourse”, i.e. it refers to events that occur immediately after intercourse. Individual cases of post-coital amnesia are known in the literature. Due to the strong arousal during an orgasm, short-term memory can be temporarily suspended.

The medical history and physical examination usually show no abnormalities in these patients. A sectional imaging of the brain (usually computer tomography) should be performed to exclude stroke and cerebral hemorrhage. The condition improves spontaneously after up to 24 hours.

Therapy

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a sudden onset of a memory disorder that lasts for a maximum of 24 hours. There is no specific treatment or therapy. One has to wait until the memory disorder stops again.

This process cannot be accelerated by medication. In order to exclude a serious cause for the memory disorder, a computer tomography of the skull must be performed. Since a stroke or cerebral hemorrhage is a medical emergency, the patient is usually admitted to hospital.

There these causes of the memory disorder can be quickly ruled out. Until the memory returns, the patient is then often monitored as an inpatient. Symptomatically, medication can be administered.

If the patient complains of headaches, for example, these can be alleviated with painkillers. In principle, a patient with TGA can of course also be treated on an outpatient basis. However, it is important that the patient is not alone, but is well looked after by a trusted caregiver.

Duration of a transient global amnesia

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a temporary memory disorder that begins suddenly and ends spontaneously. By definition, it lasts between 1 and 24 hours. On average, the disorder lasts between 6 and 8 hours.

After that, the memory returns. For the time of the TGA, the patient has a memory gap. After the TGA, older memory contents can be accessed again without problems, and the ability to remember new events is not restricted. The patient has no memory of the time of the TGA.