At what point does memory loss go from being normal to needing testing?

[bookfiend]

I just found the cheddar cheese in the cracker bin. I think it has been there for three days. How does someone know the difference between regular aging/hormonal memory loss and the start of something serious?

 

I have to set the timer on the microwave oven, or I forget I have toast in the oven. Toast! Toast takes like what 2 minutes?! Words now get stuck between having a thought and expressing it. Communication comes to a full stop mid-sentence as I search for a normal word. When I share these experiences with friends, they all say - Oh, I do that all the time. How does someone know this needs help? It feels scary.

Edited May 9, 2011 by bookfiend
clarification

[J-rap]

...

Edited September 9, 2023 by J-rap

[sassenach]

Are you under a lot of stress? It sounds normal for moderate to high stress times. Any new meds? Dh had a med that put him in a fog that sounds similar. If the answer to both questions is no, then I would probably head into the doctor. It still may be normal stuff, but if it is scaring you, you should get checked out.

[JudoMom]

Sounds like you are just a busy woman, really! Since my husband's stroke, I don't remember anything anymore. My kids probably think I'm losing it sometimes, but it's just because I'm so focused on helping my husband now. I think it's just part of our brain's coping mechanism, to do what it HAS to do, and other things get pushed to the side.

 

:iagree:

 

I've heard it said that it's normal to forget where you left the keys, but it's not normal to forget what keys are for.

[Daisy]

Agreeing with a pp, it might just be stress. However, if it is scaring you, then it is worth getting it checked out.

[melissel]

I wonder this myself. I strongly suspect I have undiagnosed ADHD, personally, and I think that's a part of it. But I think the busyness and lack of sleep play a huge part too.

 

A few months ago I couldn't remember the details of DH's and my first "date"--I could remember part of it, but not how we came to be at the bar we were at, etc. :confused: It was a little frightening! Once he reminded me it all came flooding back, of course, but that's a big thing to not remember.

 

I take 5-HTP, zinc, a focus-oriented supplement, and several other supplements (B, fish oil, etc.), and I notice a big difference when I'm taking them correctly and carefully. Unfortunately, I often forget to take them :lol: Maybe you could try the nutrition/sleep/supplements thing for awhile and see if you feel clearer?

[sewingmama]

Do you have any other physical symptoms or is that the only one? A few months ago I started sufferring from the same type of memory loss you describe - however I also had an array of other serious symptoms - vision issues, pins and needles, balance problems. I was checked for a brain tumour and MS. So far nothing has turned up. Most of my symptoms have subsided but the memory loss comes and goes - mostly when I am stressed or am really tired.

 

When I was having medical tests my memory loss was the thing least concerning to my doctors. In fact if I had gone in with that symptom alone I don't think they would have bothered to test further.

 

Honestly if you find yourself wandering the streets and not knowing how to get home or where you are or how you got there - then I think it is time to get help. Forgetting the cheese in the cracker bin is most likely the result of having a thousand things on your mind at once and so when you put it away you weren't actually focused on where you put it and so it didn't imprint in your brain. That's what I tell myself anyway as I struggle to remember my kids' names for the 50th time that day :001_huh:

[Maverick_Mom]

If you're approaching menopause, that could explain it. I've heard several women talk about the "brain fog" related to the change, and I'm thinking that might be my problem. ;)

[dirty ethel rackham]

This is how I get when either I am under more stress than my body can handle (I have adrenal problems) or my thyroid meds are too low, or it is near the winter solstice and my Seasonal Affective Disorder is at its worst. I found the cereal in the fridge, which was a clue that the milk was not where it was supposed to be. Lately, I have been having difficulties with names - people I have known for years - and I can't remember their names when I go to introduce them. We joke that I have DND - Deficient Noun Disease.

[Shellydon]

How often does this type of stuff happen? Once day, 5 times, 10 times? When you forget a word, how to do find it? Do you have to substitute another word, or will it come to you if you give it time?

[bookfiend]

Are you under a lot of stress? It sounds normal for moderate to high stress times. Any new meds? Dh had a med that put him in a fog that sounds similar. If the answer to both questions is no, then I would probably head into the doctor. It still may be normal stuff, but if it is scaring you, you should get checked out.

 

Regular life with ups and downs and bumpy spots but nothing new that is particularly stressful. I do take a low dose of thyroid, but have had that for over a year now.

 

Do you have any other physical symptoms or is that the only one? A few months ago I started sufferring from the same type of memory loss you describe - however I also had an array of other serious symptoms - vision issues, pins and needles, balance problems. I was checked for a brain tumour and MS. So far nothing has turned up. Most of my symptoms have subsided but the memory loss comes and goes - mostly when I am stressed or am really tired.

 

When I was having medical tests my memory loss was the thing least concerning to my doctors. In fact if I had gone in with that symptom alone I don't think they would have bothered to test further.

 

Honestly if you find yourself wandering the streets and not knowing how to get home or where you are or how you got there - then I think it is time to get help. Forgetting the cheese in the cracker bin is most likely the result of having a thousand things on your mind at once and so when you put it away you weren't actually focused on where you put it and so it didn't imprint in your brain. That's what I tell myself anyway as I struggle to remember my kids' names for the 50th time that day :001_huh:

 

I have lots of annoying things that I've just put down to hormones. Wake up at three in the morning for a few hours about 3x a week. Exhausted at 3:00 in the afternoon and often need a little nap. Last week I woke up nauseous and cold sweats - it was like a hormone dump. I'm 48.

 

Lately I do have numbness in my left arm and all the way down my pinky, but I've had this once before. Very embarassing, after seeing several specialists and having a brain and neck MRI - turns out we needed a new matress. So I must be sleeping hinky again.

 

 

This is how I get when either I am under more stress than my body can handle (I have adrenal problems) or my thyroid meds are too low, or it is near the winter solstice and my Seasonal Affective Disorder is at its worst. I found the cereal in the fridge, which was a clue that the milk was not where it was supposed to be. Lately, I have been having difficulties with names - people I have known for years - and I can't remember their names when I go to introduce them. We joke that I have DND - Deficient Noun Disease.

 

This absolutely happens to me with the names. I am horrified, or I try to think of someones name and just blank. These are people who are close and dear. DND = :lol:

 

How often does this type of stuff happen? Once day, 5 times, 10 times? When you forget a word, how to do find it? Do you have to substitute another word, or will it come to you if you give it time?

 

Once or twice a day. If I stop long enough the word dredges itself out of my brain, otherwise I just look for a different way to say what I mean. I can be a specific word or a whole concept. For instance, DH will ask me where something is located, and I can see the picture, but get stuck.

 

Thanks for commiserating ladies. I don't want to let something serious go by, but I also don't want to know - KWIM? Who would I even begin to talk with about it?

Edited May 10, 2011 by bookfiend

[sewingmama]

Who would I even begin to talk with about it?

 

Just your regular doctor to start out - he will refer you to the correct specialists if he thinks you need further testing - or at least that's how it happens here in Aus.

[Momling]

Do other people notice it? If not, it's really just not a big deal.

 

I had a similar panic a few years ago -- did I have a brain tumor? early onset dementia? alzheimers? Turns out... no. And, it's not an issue any longer. A friend of mine had the same problem. Or non-problem.

[Peela]

I have the same issue- especially around names. I am notorious for burning things- I need a timer for sure. But I have always been like that in the kitchen.

I can go from one room to the next to do something and by the time I get there, forget what it was I went there for.

I have learned to write everything down- names, to do lists, reminders to do even the most trivial things.

Dh is far worse than me- his coping mechanism is to do everything now- when he is thinking of it. So I can be in mid conversation with him and something I said triggered a memory of something he needs to do and he will literally get up and do it while I am talking. Very annoying, but I have become more sympathetic as I get older!

 

I wonder if it information overload, due to the sheer amount of information we absorb nowadays. I don't know- it does seem age related. I have also wondered if the amount of electromagnetic radiation we swim in nowadays, especially those of us who spend a few hours a day glued to screens, affects our short term memory.

I was worried about it for a while but it doesn't seem to be getting worse- in fact, since I stopped homeschooling, it might be a bit better because I am more relaxed and have more time.

 

It does seem to be common- whether its normal or not, I am not sure.

[love2read]

I'm wondering if my similar problem isn't somehow related to the amount of time spent on the computer. I rarely read things from beginning to end, quickly surf topics without thinking deeply, and a----I forgot what I was going to say, something about information in short term memory not always making it to long term memory. Yeah, that was it.

[Mejane]

 

I've heard it said that it's normal to forget where you left the keys, but it's not normal to forget what keys are for.

 

Yes. This is what we used to say when I worked with patients who had Alzheimer's disease.

[Dmichellekp]

O.M.G! I love you!!! I just confessed to my husband I was scared I was losing my mind just 2 days ago! I have always had memory issues, and worked around it. Ive been accused of being "blond" but lately it been really bad. I have left raw chicken on top of the dryer (I have a freezer in my laundry room) for hours cause I forgot to put it away, I have almost started a house fire cause I forgot I was boiling an egg (thank God someone was home sleeping and smelled it.....yes I left the house for the day). I have forgotten to eat. I use to be very articulate and now when I talk to someone, I forget vocabulary I want to use. I often have to ask someone "did I already tell you this, or was I just thinking of it?" I think about something so much (so I dont forget it) that I actually dont know if I have said it out loud or not!! I forget things my kids have told me, I cant even order someone a coffee cause I cant remember what they told me to order.

I have been diagnosed as having ADHD, but haven't followed through with treatment. I was scard to be honest with you. I'm scared of taking drugs, I'm scared that it was a misdiagnosis, but I'm now at a point I want to reconsider that. I need help, and I'm so happy to hear I'm not alone!

[asta]

This is going to sound strange...

 

Check your chair. The one you normally sit at the computer / school table for, I mean.

 

Barring cardiac issues, a numb arm will usually come from a nerve pinch in your lower back, which is normally hit when you sleep (as you know), but also when you sit.

 

Simply getting up throughout the day for gentle stretches can help with a pinch, and, by extension, help your nervous system "flow" (for lack of a better layman's explanation).

 

One of the reasons anti-convulsants cause brain fog is because they mess with the chemicals of the nervous system (same concept is applying here). Think in terms of chi and Chinese medicine (Peela could explain this better). If your chi isn't flowing through your body, your brain gets foggy.

 

Oh - and menopause sucks - I hear you. If you completely lose something, check the freezer - it is the number one place people inadvertently put things.

 

 

asta

 

(kinda sorta pulling this explanation out of my butt)

[Mom0012]

I haven't read the other replies, but if it feels scary, then it's time to get it checked out. I have had these types of memory issues when I was having thyroid trouble. My thyroid was just slightly out of the norm and I left my keys in the car and let the battery die 8 times in 2 months. I hadn't done anything like that even once in the prior 10 years. As soon as I started thyroid meds, I got my brain back again.

 

Lisa

[Peela]

Yes- I agree with asta regarding blocked energy- and also....toxins. We end up pretty toxic by our 40s if we dont do something about it- years of suboptimal diets, swimming in a sea of chemicals from pesticides in our foods to artificial stuff in our food to poisons in our air. I am sure this all affects the blood and the brain. So many people complain of brain fog and it clears up when they change their diet, heal from a disease, do a cleanse- that sort of thing.