• jackpot@lemmy.mlOP
      13·
      1 year ago

      lol ive been breathing in the fumes of a broken wire extender for three years and ive gone from extremely intelligent to unable to hold a coherent thought to losing literacy and being unable to spell ‘yes’. it’s been about 10 months since i got rid of it and i feel like ive improved but plateaued far below where i once was

      edit: the fumes were masked by my huge desktop pc, i thought it was just electrical hot air as it only occured when my pc was on (pc was hooked to the extender).

      • treadful@lemmy.zipEnglish
        14·
        1 year ago

        ive been breathing in the fumes of a broken wire extender […] the fumes were masked by my huge desktop pc, i thought it was just electrical hot air as it only occured when my pc was on (pc was hooked to the extender).

        Unless you’ve been around a (bad) garbage incinerator or burn pit inhaling burning plastic, I don’t think this is your problem. Like, some melted plastic isn’t going to do much except stink and maybe give you a headache.

        The kind of cognitive decline you describe sounds super fucking bad and I’d consult a doctor as soon as you can get an appointment. For all you know you’ve had a stroke and it’s just been left untreated.

        • jackpot@lemmy.mlOP
          1·
          1 year ago

          i mean im 17 and the wooziness would always go away for rhw most part when i left thw room for an hour ot wo

          • treadful@lemmy.zipEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            I mean, there’s a chance it’s something environmental (e.g. carbon monoxide). If you really think that is the case, go stay somewhere else while you consult with a doctor.

          • Today@lemm.ee
            11·
            1 year ago

            Do you have insurance? Cognitive therapists and speech therapists work with people who struggle after stroke, head injury, etc. It might be worth seeing if your doc will refer you for an eval or maybe talking to a neurologist. There’s a group called BIND (brain injury network) that may be able to help you find free/cheap resources. They have a website with faqs and contact info.

          • over_clox@lemmy.world
            4·
            1 year ago

            If you have enough evidence, you could likely be declared disabled by your primary health care provider and get a disability check.

            I’m no expert though, do your own research.

            • jackpot@lemmy.mlOP
              3·
              1 year ago

              i mean, im not clinically removed but im 100% stunted in other areas. recall comes to mind, it was difficulg articulating basic sentences as id forget words and i forget family members names. it’s getting better over time but i still feel groggy

              • over_clox@lemmy.world
                1·
                1 year ago

                Damn bro, sorry to hear that.

                I’m still pretty good at spelling and grammar and such things, but I was diagnosed with motor control brain damage when I was either 16 or 17…

                I’m soon to be 41 years old, and the doctors that diagnosed me done died 💀

                I don’t even know how to get my own medical records ☹️

                • jackpot@lemmy.mlOP
                  1·
                  1 year ago

                  I don’t even know how to get my own medical records ☹️

                  you could make a post here for help on this

  • pain_is_life_is_pain@sh.itjust.works
    12·
    1 year ago

    Tl;dr: I highly doubt that’s the source of your problems.

    Oof, man I’m sorry for your experience and I’m sorry the quality of replies you’re getting is so… Shit.

    How do you know you’ve been inhaling this for so long?

    Burning plastic can be bad, in addition to the chemicals “Remotelove” noted, there’s a whole bunch of potential organic compounds created in the burning process. Exactly which ones depends on the type of plastic, temperature and how much oxygen is available. At complete combustion you’d basically just get CO2 and O2, but at less than optimal conditions you can get a variety of products (think ash). I’d be mostly worried about any carcinogenic products though, since a significant amount would be PAH’s (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon).

    Now, for something you ingest to have a long term effect on your brain, it must (generally) somehow be able to get into your brain and your brain is pretty well protected by the blood-brain-barrier. Hypothetically a non-polar product from the burning plastic could cross over into the brain and mess shit up, but the chances of that are slim. And you’d also need to inhale enough of the smoke, for there to be an effect.

    Listen, I’m not saying definitely not, but I’d be very surprised if that was the case here. I highly doubt that you have been breathing in thick, black smoke, so the amount of “brain damaging” molecules you’ve been breathing in is probably pretty low. Mutagenic or carcinogenic, sure possibly, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that either. I imagine you’ve inhaled way less than if you were smoking a cigarette daily.

    I suggest you try to think of other causes, a lot of things can play a part in “feeling more dumber er”, like depression, lack of sleep, stress, unhealthy eating, lack of physical exercise etc.

    • jackpot@lemmy.mlOP
      1·
      1 year ago

      sorry for the late reply but im 100% sure the cable caused me to be dumber, one whiff of it feels so unnerving. it smells like an electronic odor and it’s totally disorientating. i was submrrged in that for three years unknowingly cause it was masked by my desktpp (i thoight my desktpp causrd it). any thoughts? if theres any info i can provide i will, i still have the cable i can send you the exact copy and if theres any test i can run or report i could do i will

      • pain_is_life_is_pain@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        1 year ago

        A burnt cable smells nasty and a strong whiff of it can be overwhelming, sure. There’s not much I can do for you without physical access to the cord, unfortunately. And even then there’s not much I could do, without you getting a physical check-up with blood work.

        My advice is to as soon as possible make an appointment with your doctor and explain your symptoms and time-frame, bring the cord along and ask for advice. The doctor will probably want to do blood work first of all and maybe brain scans etc to rule out medical issues.

        I saw you’re quite young and I know going to a doctor can be both scary and expensive, but from the symptoms you have described I urge you to get professional advice and help.

        Good luck friend, I hope you feel better soon!

  • 𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑖@lemm.ee
    11·
    1 year ago

    Sounds like brain fog. Speaking as a fellow sufferer of anxiety (health anxiety included), I know how it is see something that seems wrong with you and try to pin a cause onto it. Are you being social? Keeping up with sleep, food, exercise? I know those are overstated but it sounds like you’re having some brain fog. The more you focus in on the fog the more it may seem pronounced, as brain fog is highly influenced by stress. I’ve suffered from some myself and have felt kind of tuned out for a while. A large part of it for me has been from the shock of different life changes and the endless stress of work and relationships. The fog in that situation doesn’t get a chance to subside because the body is trying to get through sustained stress with little damage.

    It could also be from imbalances of vitamins like vitamin d or iron. Just to be clear, I highly doubt it was from the burning cable. It’s definitely not good for you, but people smoke cigarettes and breathe road fumes for decades without losing the mental capacity you’re describing here. Funky stuff happens when we look back on our past selves too, I feel like it’s hard to make a fair comparison to yourself at any prior point when you factor in a lot of things that happen in-between. I don’t doubt what you’ve been experiencing though. Sounds crappy. I hope you give yourself a chance to consider all of the possibilities and be easier on yourself for not functioning at 100% right now – it doesn’t mean it’s forever or that it means something big, it could just be your capacity right now.

  • jackpot@lemmy.mlOP
    5·
    1 year ago

    thanks for all of the comments guys this is massively helpful, some wire extender short circuited and ive been breathing that shit in along wuth its plastic fumes for years. it’s not talked much avout onlind but ive seen the terms ‘electronic odor’ and ‘electric fire’ thrown arouund. it was an ikea cheap thing and theyve refused to respond to my emails

    • Shikadi@beehaw.org
      2·
      1 year ago

      Depends on the plastic, but if you’re using an extension cord or power strip that smells like burning plastic, that’s also a fire hazard. I know I wouldn’t be continuing to use it

  • teft@startrek.website
    4·
    1 year ago

    Brain cancer is one of the assumptive conditions (a condition which they assume is service connected just by having been in certain locations) for military burn pit exposure. So I’m going to go with yeah it’s bad for your brain.

  • remotelove@lemmy.world
    3·
    1 year ago

    Byproducts of burning PET (soda bottle plastic): hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide, dioxins, furans and heavy metals

    No, you can’t go all Dread Pirate Roberts and slowly build up an immunity to those over several years. Try as you might to impress that lady friend, it won’t work.