• jackpot@lemmy.mlOP
      0·
      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).

          • Today@lemm.ee
            1·
            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.

      • treadful@lemmy.zipEnglish
        0·
        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
          11·
          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.

  • pain_is_life_is_pain@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    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!