What's it like to have a gap in the memory reel of your life?
Our own Katie Couric experienced this scary circumstance recently when she hopped offstage at the Aspen Ideas Festival and realized she had no recollection of the panels she'd just participated in — nor did she remember the year, the current president, or that she'd just had a new granddaughter. After a frightening few hours in which she was rushed to a hospital and checked for a stroke, she was diagnosed with transient global amnesia (TGA).
This condition involves a "sudden, temporary loss of the ability to form new memories," according to board-certified neurologist and bestselling author David Perlmutter, MD, FACN, an internationally recognized expert on brain health. After Katie's experience, we called Dr. Perlmutter for an in-depth explanation of TGA, and while he told us all about how it manifests, he also explained that experts still aren't exactly sure what triggers this strange phenomenon.
Luckily, Katie's completely fine now — and you can read her personal account of the day she'll never remember right here. But since she shared her story, we've heard from so many of you about your own experiences with TGA. The many emails we've received prove that this condition isn't as rare as you might guess, and we're sharing a few of these tales below to offer more insight into what it's like when it happens.
"I was sitting in my condo, eating a bowl of cereal, and the next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed. According to neighbors, I was roaming the hallway in my nightgown, telling them something was terribly wrong and panicking. Fast forward to them calling an ambulance. The cops came and checked my drawers for illegal narcotics. I live in Alexandria, VA, and I guess this is allowed and part of their protocol.
I don't remember the ambulance ride, ER tests (and I had every one in the book), or stroke protocol. I was asking the same questions over and over again. I have never been more relieved in my life than when the neurologist told me that everything was okay, and that I had suffered TGA. Of course, I had not heard of that.
From about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m that day in August 2024 (shortly after turning 70!), I remember nothing. I was kept overnight for observation and released the next day. It took me a couple of days to get back to myself. Probably the most terrifying experience in my life. I have heard from doctors that they don't know the real cause, but a theory is that it's related to the cause of migraines. Here I am, two years later, with not even an inkling of a recurrence. My memory seems fine, and I hope and pray that 'one and done' is my experience." - Catha Pavloff
"This happened to me two years ago upon finding my otherwise healthy husband collapsed in the kitchen at 5 a.m. I spent eight hours in a state of TGA, which included me calling 911, riding in an ambulance, and waiting in the ER as he was examined. My first cogent memory was at 1 p.m., still in the ER, and noticing I had an IV in my arm. My husband told me he’d already been released and that I was now the patient! They all thought I was having a stroke, so I was admitted for CT scans and more tests. By the next morning, we were both 100 percent fine. It was the craziest ride — like we each had a near-death experience about the other one." - Jennifer Weiss Wolf
"In November 2017, I was out running an errand. I recall deciding to make a U-turn and head home, and I clearly remember seeing a restaurant not far from that U-turn — but I don't recall driving, seeing stop signs, or crossing major streets, though I did cross some. I do vaguely remember entering the gate in our back carport, but I'm told that I didn't recognize our housekeeper. I stopped the car in an unusual place and apparently asked where I was. Thinking that I was having a stroke, my wife called the paramedics.
I recall seeing the paramedics in my living room, but I never understood where I was going. Next, I recall entering the MRI room for a brain scan, but I slept through it. I was in the emergency room at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, and I began having a conversation with the attending doctor. It had been about five hours since I was admitted. My wife started to tell me what had happened, but I had no clear recollection — and still don’t! — as to what happened during the time I was 'not here.'
Because I was 74 at the time, I was kept overnight for observation; I had a normal EEG the next day and my cognition was normal, so I was discharged. I was given the diagnosis of transient global amnesia. I was subsequently told that a TGA usually only occurs once, although I met someone who'd had it twice!" - Bernie Lewinsky, MD
"I’m a widow, and I was preparing for my husband’s bench dedication with his family, which was giving me anxiety. It was three years after his death, and I'd just started dating someone new, a gentleman named Bill. Four mornings before the dedication, I was with Bill when, out of the blue, I started crying and asking for my husband, not remembering that he'd passed away. I was quickly rushed to the hospital for a full examination, and I didn't remember the president, what year it was, or who my family members were.
The hospital was very strict, as Covid was still around, so when my family arrived, they were not allowed to enter the hospital and were told that Bill was with me. They had no idea who that person was. I'd planned on telling them that I'd started dating him later that month, when we were to have a family reunion.
That evening, I remember my son going through the calendar with me, trying to help me remember the day and year. He also didn't know I had a gentleman friend, and it was very uncomfortable seeing them have dinner together with me. I was fine later that evening, but I wasn't allowed to drive for two days.
It was very embarrassing, and I did not intend for my son and my brothers to meet Bill this way. We are still together five years later, and the family joke is 'Who the f*** is Bill?!' — which, I’m told, is what they said to the hospital on the phone at the door when they couldn't get in to see me. It was the scariest day of my life, but I'm fine today and have had no recurrence." - Lee Henry
"My husband had four incidents of transient global amnesia over a year's time, until we determined that the cause was the statin drugs (Simvastatin) he was prescribed. As soon as he stopped taking it, the episodes stopped, too.
At the time, 15 years ago, a neurologist wanted to label my husband as having mild cognitive impairment and prescribe an Alzheimer's medication. Today, he treats his cholesterol with Ezetimibe, which works differently and doesn't cross the blood/brain barrier, and he's perfectly healthy and clear-thinking. Soon after our nightmare experience, the FDA included a warning about general memory loss, forgetfulness, amnesia, and confusion when taking statins. I have been on a soapbox ever since that period to educate others about this rare side effect of a drug that is so widely prescribed." - Sherry Hansen
"I'm an otolaryngologist (ENT), but despite being a physician, I'd never heard of transient global amnesia except as a possible alibi in the movies. At age 60 and in excellent health, I was working out at home, watching a movie and looking at a list of exercises (calisthenics and light weights) on my laptop. The first indication of something being amiss was that the movie had ended and I didn’t recall watching it, nor did I know where I was on my exercise list. Every time I turned away from the computer and then glanced back, it looked like the list had changed. I took a screenshot of two 'different' views (or so I thought), then quickly toggled between them and realized they were the same. I had no recollection of how much time I'd lost — I’m guessing 30 to 60 minutes of complete amnesia.
I then got ready for work and had breakfast with my family, fully aware of my surroundings but without memories of recent events. I tried to test myself by recalling the name of a guest speaker for a medical conference I hosted a year prior, and I couldn’t remember. I was perplexed but not alarmed, and I didn’t feel I needed to share this with my wife, who's also a physician. She didn’t notice anything wrong with me at the time.
I took my daughter to school and had no difficulty driving. I went to work and did not have any issues with conversation or performance. Over the next few hours, memories gradually returned, from more remote to more recent. I called a neurologist and had MRI of my brain and vessels several days later — everything was normal. Ten years later, I have not had any additional episodes and my cognition is fine (just don’t ask my wife)." - KCM reader
"I woke up one day last October and realized that I couldn't remember a single thing that had happened the previous day from about 9 a.m to 5 p.m. I was scared I'd had a stroke, so I went to the hospital. I knew the date and who was president (which every clinician who saw me asked). They kept me overnight, did a million tests, and found nothing wrong.
They diagnosed me with something similar to transient global amnesia but said it wasn't exactly that since I had been storing information. With TGA, your memory just isn't recording. Over time, snippets of the day returned to me. For example, my nephew mentioned his favorite bakery, and I remembered that he and I had gone there on a walk that day. Nonetheless, it was scary and weird, and I've been perfectly fine ever since." - Diane Pascal
"I’m a 75-year-old, relatively healthy man who was diagnosed with TGA in April 2026. I had the same symptoms as Katie, and the amnesia subsided fairly quickly. All tests were normal, so it was diagnosed as TGA and was never supposed to occur again.
One month later, I had another episode. Again, the MRI and a 30-minute EEG were normal; the diagnosis was TGA again. My son fed all this information into his AI buddy, Claude, who recommended a 24-hour EEG, which my doctors resisted but finally admitted was warranted. The 24-hour EEG showed abnormal electrical discharges in my right hippocampus during the deep sleep cycle, indicating a type of epileptic disorder.
My diagnosis was changed to transient epileptic amnesia, and I was immediately started on Keppra. I have now been on this medication for five weeks and have had no further amnesia events. I definitely recommend a 24-hour EEG, which is a non-invasive test. Better to eliminate that worry before having another event and losing a few million brain cells you will never get back." - Paul Vanbortel
"One Saturday, I had breakfast and planned to take a walk with my sister. I was suddenly asking her odd questions and not sure where I was. She took me to the hospital, where I was monitored and had CT scans and an MRI. They said there were no signs of a stroke, but they kept me overnight.
On Sunday morning, the neurology team informed me that they saw something on the MRI, unrelated to the TGA, and I had an angiogram on Monday. They discovered an aneurysm — it was small, but still needed to be monitored. For me, the TGA incident may have been a lifesaver. Three years after the discovery of the aneurysm (and annual CT scans), I had to undergo a procedure to 'coil' the aneurysm as it had grown to an odd shape that could have caused it to burst." - Dorothy McCarthy
"I had TGA when our dog died. I went to the ER, and they administered stroke protocol tests. I lost my memory — even of my dog dying — for an entire day, and those hours never came back. But everything went back to normal shortly after. I think the experience was scariest for my husband, who had to tell me repeatedly that our dog died every time I asked where he was. Subsequently, I cried as if it were the first time I was hearing the news. Your brain protects you by shutting down. Very odd experience." - Andrea Shelton
"My husband had TGA in Iceland. I was shooting a film there, and he brought our kids for a spring break visit. The next day, while my daughter and I were experiencing the Icelandic ponies, our son was with my husband at the famous natural spring baths. Apparently, the combination of jet lag and alternating between hot saunas and cold plunges can trigger TGA. Let this be a warning to folks who are fresh off the plane not to shock their systems with a hot/cold awakening upon arrival!" - Julie Lynn
"A good friend of mine had TGA. She repeatedly went to the DMV for car registration until they called 911. She did recover." - Janet Vining Mitchell
"My wife suffered through a combination of despair (lots of crying) and amnesia for seven months before we finally found the cause.
We saw a well-known neurologist who diagnosed her with TGA simply because they had no other diagnosis to make. They had no idea what was causing her despair and definitely no clue how to diagnose or treat her amnesia. After seven months of this, we stopped going the traditional medicine route and switched over to functional medicine. The doctor did a different type of blood test than traditional MDs would, testing for stress; dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a hormone produced by the adrenal glands; and C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation. Her results: cortisol levels were very high, while DHEA was so low it didn't even measure on the chart.
The doctor gave her two supplements to counter the negative findings of the blood test: Ashwagandha and DHEA. In two days, her negative symptoms disappeared, meaning no more despair and no more amnesia. It has been three years since she has been taking the two supplements." - Ross Glatzer
"I'd never heard of TGA until we were dedicating a beautiful silk flower arrangement to the church in honor of my aunt’s 100th birthday. I'd prepared a speech, and we planned a birthday cake and juice after church. However, I started asking questions like where the cake came from and who decorated the room. (I had decorated and bought the cake.)
These questions made a friend seek help from a retired nurse at church. They asked me questions, but I couldn’t answer any of them, so they drove me home and talked to my husband. He put me in the car and took me to the ER. They took me right away and did a CT scan, lots of blood work, and hooked me up to some fluids. It was around 5 p.m. when I began to feel like myself again.
I had no recollection of getting ready or driving to church. I watched my speech on YouTube, but I didn’t remember saying it. I was in many pictures from the party, but I didn’t remember being there. I also didn’t remember the CT scan or walking into the hospital. They ruled out a stroke (my father died from one), a transient ischemic attack, and tumors. After all the worrisome tests were benign, the ER doctor told us about TGA. I never regained the lost day! I did end up with an abnormal EKG, so we are still doing tests." - Dotti Davis
The stories in this post are personal experiences and are not intended as medical advice. Always consult a doctor yourself if you've experienced any form of memory loss.
