Does anyone else have memory problems? Serious advice needed. UPDATE-SAW THE DOC

[Aimeedyan]

I have always struggled with memory... I will walk from one room to another and forget what I'm doing, during commercials on TV I forget what I'm watching, if I don't have it written down nothing gets done, I get in the car and have no idea where I'm headed, my husband will repeat things a million times to me, etc etc. It's frustrating to me, and esp my DH. It really didn't become as apparant to me until we married and someone else was with me all the time.

At work, I have to carry a notepad with me to write down things I tell people I'll do, what I'm going to do, things to get done, etc etc. And yes, I often lose the notepad but others always bring it back to me =)

At home, we write on Post-It things I need to do/have planned to do. I'm a perpetual list maker, and from the outside I look organized, but it's really just the only way I can survive.

My problem? I'm taking a required language course at school. I'm DROWNING becuase I can NOT remember the vocab and such. I do great at homework, understand the concepts, participate in class, but hand me a quiz and I stare at it blankly. I have continued to become more and more frustrated each day over my diminishing grade because of it... this morning was our midterm. I can't even add up the hours I studied for it. I have even stopped working right now JUST to spend every day working on it constantly. I just got my grade back - and I bawled for an hour.

I am so desperate... I don't have another time to take this course, and really, I'm not sure what it would accomplish by dropping it since I am giving 150% right now and can't do much more! I'm discouraged and depressed, and seriously rethinking my career path...

Does anyone know ANYTHING that I can do to improve my memory? Natural herbs, special classes, do people teach techniques in memory retention? ANYTHING, please! I am at my wits end... and can't stop crying to boot! I have always succeeded at things... this is so depressing.

THANKS

 

[MHopkins2]

Aimeedyan, I'm afraid I don't have any good advice for you, but I'm sorry to hear you're struggling! I remember your thread from a couple weeks ago about this same class and another quiz you were studying for.

 

[cynsaun]

Have you thought of seeing your doctor? Maybe he/she could do some tests, and you may be diagnosed with Adult ADD. There is a medication that you could take that might help tremendously.

Good luck!

 

[Serena]

Oh man, I'm sorry. I know that's hard to deal with. My memory used to be wonderful, and sometimes it still is. But the last couple years, I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached, and some days I doubt it's attached. I really hate it, it drives me crazy.

I don't have any advice, but I'd sure like to hear some helpful responses.

 

[Otto's Doll]

Aimeedyan,
I have a good friend who was going through this, and she went for a physical because she and her dh were so worried about it. Her doctor thinks it is being caused by some medication she was taking. Please call your doctor and make an appointment. There may be something that can be done.
God bless you,

 

[Aimeedyan]

I guess I didn't even think to call my doc... I have alot of medical issues right now, so maybe it's all linked together... should I just call my family doc? I see a million doctors =) What do I tell them when making an appt?

It gives me some hope to hear that others have similar issues... and that maybe a doctor can help...

Thanks again... I appreciate the kind words so far.

 

[FroggyinArk]

you might try finding some support groups online or info sites on memory loss,, i found out after my wreck that i will suffer from something called post concussive disorder forever, and may at any point lose any or all memory, or i may at any poont rememer some of what i have lost after wards( i dont remember anything after the impact for over 3 days) several times i havent been able to remember where we parked, where i was or why i was there,, i even just today went into bathroom and rebandaged my eye, which is sposed to only happen once a day at least twice. dw came in and asked why i was redoing it again after just did it a few hours ago, she thought i was having trouble,, i just did nt remember it.. they say there are meds i could take, but its less than 50 50 they would work for me,, but it may be they work great in your case. please ask your primary care dr about it, i bet he has better sugestions God bless ya

 

[C.Ann]

My adult daughter (in her early 30's) is JUST like you! It's amazing she has never "msiplaced" my granddaughter.. Can't remember things - always losing things (important stuff too - like money, driver's license, ATM cards, etc.) and I am 100% sure she suffers from adult attention deficit disorder, but I can't get her to talk to her doctor about it..

Why?

Because she keeps "forgetting"....

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

Hope the doctor can help you.. It's terribly frustrating for my DD and everyone around her..

 

[Mishetta]

I have the same problem. Actually, I'll even be talking about something & suddenly I lose my train of thought & can't remember why I started a particular story! Anyway, I have thought about seeing my regular MD or my son's neurologist. I have spoken (casually) to my son's neurologist about this once before & she also thinks that I'm ADD (could be where my DS gets it from! )

Anyway, before I forget what I was writing about...good luck to you!

 

[LauraR]

Wow, I can really relate. I almost lost my sunglasses twice today. Luckily other people pointed them out. For awhile I have been thinking I might have early onset Alzheimers (which is a scary thought), but more recently I've been hearing things about Adult ADD, and I seem to fit the bill. It IS very frustrating. I dropped out of law school when I had my two boys, and I never went back because I just didn't feel like my brain was working well enough handle the workload anymore. Some days I feel clear headed and like I could take on the world, but most days I feel like I'm in a fog. Like you, I rely heavily on lists because when I wake up in the morning it's like I have amnesia (which sometimes lasts all day!) If you figure out something that helps, please let me know! Good luck!

 

[poohandwendy]

Great advice so far, but I just wanted to mention another thing to consider...stress and clinical depression. Both can wreak havoc on short term memory. I definitely think talking to your doctor is in order.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Y'all are so wonderful... I never even considered ADD until it was mentioned here, and sure enough, I fit ALL the criteria for it! I met with my prof this morning and let him know where things stood, and i saw my family doctor this afternoon. She put me on something to start with to see if I see changes - said that I would in a matter of 1-2 days.

I am feeling alot more confident now knowing there could be a REASON why I struggle with these things, and that I'm not just a failure =)

THANKS AGAIN

 

[Gaspode]

Hiya

I missed this thread first time around but having just read it now I just wanted to say I'm so glad you have made progress with your dr and send lots of Good Luck your way for the situation to improve quickly!!


Gaspode

 

[siouxi31]

My memory loss isn't as severe as yours so I turned to the local health food store for a supplement. I use Adult Active which gets the neurotransmitters in the brain working. It helps for better recall like during those conversations when you're trying to select the best word but just can't seem to find it.

 

[cynsaun]

I'm so happy that you saw your doctor! Good luck to you with the meds!

 

[Lanshark]

I work with dyslexic kids, teaching them to read. Many are ADD and almost every child I've dealt with who is ADD has at least one parent who recognized it in themselves while searching for answers for their child.

I've heard it explained many ways but the best was by a mom who said it was like someone kept turning off the lights for a brief moment. I don't know if this was an original thought or she got it from someone else but it seemed so accurate.