Use this board to talk about your experiences with memory loss (if you can remember) -- commonly referred to as "senior moments" or "menopausal brain fog."  Feel free to ask any questions you may have regarding memory problems.

I want you all to know how much it has helped me to read your posts on forgetfulness and memory losses.  I have been concerned about the "rolling black outs" as I like to call them, but I realize that I am not alone.  It has been hard for me because I take care of an elderly parent who we suspect has Altheimers and of course I have worried that I may have this too, but not I see it is just part of the menopausal nightmare.  I too, write myself more notes now a days and make numerous lists.  This helps, but I sometimes am embarrassed when I do silly things.  I mostly forget names of people I haven't seen for a while or names of celebrities.  The name eventually comes to me, but it sometimes takes awhile.  Today we went out to lunch and when we left I picked up the empty chip basket instead of my to-go box and almost walked out of the restaurant.  My husband just laughs.  Do any of you find that your memory loss is worse at different times of the month (if you still have a cycle)?

Cali

Hi Cali, I know what you mean there. I used to worry a bit that something may be wrong with me, but reading all the experinces on Power Surge makes me realise it is just a 'stage'!!Yes, I think it does vary during the monthly cycle, probably worse in the pre-menstrual phase for me, I shall take more note and see if this is so

Hi Cali,I too am 41 and have had a hard time with my family understanding my brain lapses.  I too need to have a physician take it seriously but they just keep telling me I'm not menopausal.  Well duh I still have periods I didnt need a test to tell me Im not menopausal.  And since Ive been having these symptoms for a few years now my hubbie thinks its just the age 40 hitting me and getting old.  I have been taking ginko but that doesnt seem to help with the automatic pilot type of memory loss I experience.  Stuff like spelling words correctly, cleaning my house, driving to town, playing my piano, planning and organizing, etc.  You know, stuff we do everyday that we've done for years and years very successfully.  I have not found anything to date that helps.  I try writing reminders but I forget that I wrote the reminders (I was always good at that stuff) and don't run across them until too late or it doesnt even occur to me to write reminders any more...its like that thought process is just breaking down.  I blame it on many years of extremely poor sleep due to perimenopause; its been 8 years now since I've had a full night's sleep and the most recent 3 or so I haven't slept more than 3 hours at a time without waking up for periods of time.  That alone has to mess up our brain!  I read the replies to your post and most of them seem to be really sweet ladies.  I was hoping progesterone was gonna help restore brain function for me but alas it has been 6 months and Im still getting worse.  We dont have any alzheimers in our family and so far all my blood work has come back that Im healthy and fine.  Go figure.  I will usually have more memory problems on the days that I experience higher levels of stress; don't know if that info is helpful to you or not?  I routinely stretch myself in learning new things to keep my brain nimble.  But it doesnt seem to help with the everyday automatic things that I now forget.  Alas, this is just a stage.  But I tease my husband by saying, hey it wont be long and I'll have new friends everyday (cuz I remember their names)!  HAH!

Hi Dawn,     We could definitely be friends because I find I'm pretty good at changing people's names.  This morning I said to my younger daughter I want to introduce you to Chad.  I walked over with her and promptly said "Hi Mark, I want to introduce you to my daughter Pam."   Of course, on the way home, she was confused and proceeded to ask me is his name Chad or Mark.   His name is Chad.   Aren't friends nice, even the new ones, they will respond to the wrong name for us?   It's only our family members  who notice we have no idea who we are talking to.    ~Helen

Hi everyone, I too suffer with saying all the wrong things, and my words coming out all wrong before I have my brain in gear, I have found its much worse when I'm doing boring things on auto pilot like housework etc but if I'm doing something really interesting that really wakes up my creative side I dont forget anything at all! come on ladies I think that we are all far more intelligent than we realise and doing housework is automatic isn't it? We all need to do things we've always wanted to try but always put off because of bringing up families etc. I bet then we wouldn' forget half as much what do you think? luv Jenniffer.

Just wanted to run an idea past everyone.   Is it possible that those of us who had really great memories find the memory lapses more frustrating than they probably are to others?   I apologized to Chad for introducing him as Mark and he said 'oh you did, I didn't even notice'.   He said well Mark is a good name too, but I said well next time I might use a different name with my memory.  He is in his late 30s so if it was no big deal to him guess it may be more common than we realize and not nearly as impolite as it feels to those of us who never used to make such goofs.  My husband has never had a good memory; he could walk in a room and wonder what he was doing at 18 yrs old when I met him.  He does enjoy watching me struggle with my memory after all these years unless of course he is relying on me to remember something important for him.  LOL    The good news is that I do see these memory goofs less often than I did the last couple of years so maybe it will pass.  I'm hoping!           ~Helen

Helen, I think calling people by the wrong name is probably pretty upsetting and offensive to most people, even if they won't admit it.   Our names are very important to most of us.   As for myself, I really appreciate it when someone corrects me after I have screwed up his/her name, so I won't do it again (hopefully)... better to do that, I think, than for someone to say nothing, then hold a grudge about it forever.  :(  Personally, I think Chad did notice that you called him Mark by mistake.  :wink:

When I think of brain fog, it has nothing to do with forgetfulness.  I've talked to my drs. about how I feel and I'm sure to make them understand that I don't refer to brain fog as walking into a room and forgetting what I came for....to me, brain fog is a feeling of "not having enough sleep" or "being hung over by one too many Margaritas from the night before" or "slugginess in the mind."  That's what I've experienced.....does anyone else feel this way?  Surely I'm not all alone out here?????  Would love to hear what you've experienced that's similar to mine.

Vicki, I feel that way very often. The feeling hungover is a nuisance for me, because I feel it physically. The "mind sluggishness" is especially difficult because I've always been creative and inquisitive, and have always enjoyed discussing all sorts of things. But now I don't seem able to even get up the energy to try to learn something new or start a new project.  This worries me, I'm only 42 and have alot left to do with my life.

I also have the other memory problems, too;  forgetting names, words, etc.

Did someone say this will pass?

(Edited by ohnonowwhat at 3:10 am on Dec. 31, 2002)

Hey there. Man I really lost it good recently, HELP! I am 44, my husband & I cleaned a bunch of my silver jewelry and bkz I do not wear it frequently I put it in a different jewelry box; put it away & literally FORGOT about it. The other day I was looking for a ring and I couldn't find it. I started to look for other things and I couldn't find them either. Oh no, someone has gotten into our home and stolen my jewelry. I went to the extent of reporting it to the State Police & informed them of someone who might have taken it (a teenager who's Mom used to date my hubby). The Police were going to visit her house to inquire around. Well, my husband while moving things bkz we were getting our carpet replaced accidentally found my jewelry box with everything in it! NOW I really felt like I was losing my mind. I do not remember putting the jewelry into the box nor where I put it. My mind is absolutely blank. I just got married to this man this past August. I know he acts like he understands but I wonder if he thinks I've totally lost it. Any help, or suggestions would be welcome. Thanx. Susan

Hi susan  had to laugh when i read your post called my daughter who's 19 and said read that she said that's you. other day i lost something just could not understand where it could be and said to partner someone's been in and he said and they didn't take anything else. anyway found what it was some time later my memory is that bad that can not even remember what it was that i had lost. so your not alone there are other ladys out there just like you have to say that do not really know what to do about it or if there's anything you can take to help is it just a sign that we are getting older i'm 41.

Take carePauline

Hey Pauline, thanx for your response! It certainly does feel good to know that I am not alone here. Of course, I just didn't think it could be so.... bad. Geez. I make notes to myself all the time, but then I always forget something That's meno. for you. I usually just laugh off stuff so I don't get so hard on myself. Or if I forget something my spouse said to me, I just ask him to repeat it. It's just part of meno and there is nothing we can do to help it, but just learn to cope with it. Take care. Susan, lost in Michigan, atleast I think so.... ha. ha

I was always upset about being forgetful until my DH did something that outshone any of my meno moments - he dropped me off at WalMart, went home, couldn't find me, called the POLICE and reported me missing!!! Then he remembered what he did and called the police back, I told him it made me feel I wasn't the only one with memory loss, bless his heart!  Lynn   :biggrin:

Good morning everyone.

      Well Lynnz your husband sure has brought a whole new meaning to "forgetfulness". LOL  It sure does get frustrating however comical it may appear after the fact.  Hope your husband can see the humor in all of this because if we don't laugh about this memory thingy we'll all be in big trouble.

Blessings to you both.

Sounds like everybody else here is struggling with fuzzy-headed-brain-fog-memory-problems too.  In my personal life, hubby has watched me struggle for several years now with all manner of hormone-related issues, and is pretty understanding when I'm having brain fade.  But I don't know what to do about work!  I'm with the same company that I've been working for for almost 20 years, but I've recently assumed a new position.  It's like having a completely new job, and I am just overwhelmed.  I find myself losing my train of thought in the middle of presentations, and it's just humiliating.  I know part of it is stress-induced, but mostly it's perimeno brain fade.  

I've got the same boss that I've had for over 10 years, and we are friendly.  He has never known me to be a flake before, and I think he's wondering what's wrong with me.    

How do you all handle this situation at work?  Have any of you ever gone to your boss and told them that you're having menopause-related memory problems?  I mean, how do you **say** something like that?  

Hey Mango, I hope this helps. I understand the lapse of your thoughts as you are trying to be professional and put on a presentation. I too was a Dir. of Gov't Affairs for a CATV co. for 17 yrs. And, towards the end I 'd be at Gov't mtg. and my thoughts would go totally blank which made me unaffectual in getting my issue across. Not professial and I felt like a ditz. Totally out of character. I unfortunately, had a new boss (he'd been there for only 4 mos) so he didn't know me. He didn't understand and I ended up losing my job eventually, the reason he said was "It just isn't working out", hello??? like that's a good reason to give someone who has been a dedicated employee for the past 17 yrs. To me he was an a**h***! If I had had the same boss like you, I would delicately try to talk to him and explain the situation, maybe you should suggest ( I would) that he create  a different position for me where I wouldn't have these "tough" times. Hek you've served your time, it seems to me if he valued you at all he would create some position for you to keep you employed. On the other hand, if you don't say anything and just continue on the way you are, you may end up like I did, unemployed. But, I would definietely make the effort to make him understand. Let me ask you this; if he's married how old is he, and is it possible that his wife is or was meno? He may be familiar with it all already.  Let me know .

I have since then moved, remarried & I now live in Mi. And, yes the unfamiliarity of the place has me wacked out, such as your new position does you. Bkz it's new & unfamiliar. I haven't pressed myself to get out there and get to know the area like I should. Anyway, I feel for you my friend. You are NOT alone. Let me know what you decide to do.

Hi Mystic,Thank you for your reply.  What a bad time that must have been for you;  I can totally relate to what you must have been feeling.  You know, the memory difficulties are bad enough alone, without us having to worry about job security.  

I want you to know that I worked up my nerve & sat down with my boss yesterday afternoon to talk about this.   I kept it short, and did not get into a lot of detail.  I started by reminding him that I had made passing comments on several occasions in the past, saying that I didn't feel like I was handling stress as well as I once had.  I told him that I had had a series of tests done last month, and that the results showed a couple of things out of whack (I had a month-long series of saliva hormone tests done, that measured progesterone, estriol, estradiol, testosterone & DHEA).  I told him that the feeling that something wasn't right wasn't my imagination after all.  In general terms, I told him that it was partially a hormone imbalance, and that my DHEA levels were very low.  He was pretty interested and asked what DHEA was.  I explained that this was all new to me, but the way it was explained to me is that if a person has low DHEA, she could have low stamina, memory problems, inability to tolerate stress, lack of energy and motivation, short attention span, and difficulty concentrating. He says, "Huh... maybe I should have mine checked too, I'm having trouble with all those things... my attention span is terrible and I can't seem to concentrate".  He wanted to know if men have DHEA too (yes).  I said it was somewhat like having a low thyroid condition -- his wife is hypothyroid -- and he got that "Aha!" look of understanding on his face.  I told him that my doctor had given me a prescription to try and correct it, but that this was not an exact science, and we'd probably have to dink around with dosages and medication mixes before we got it right, and that it could take a while.  In the meantime, I said that if I came to him and said "you need to back off on my workload", that he needed to listen to me and do it.  He said OK, and we moved on to business stuff.  

Like I said, he's been my boss for a long time, and stood by me when my husband went through a long serious illness  (he's fine now).  During that time, he (my boss) moved me to a less visible position, and was a source of calm and reason during a very frightening and stressful time.  There was one occasion when I literally broke down and wept in his office (I *never* cry at work and I was mortified).  He closed the office door and said, "You don't need to be here today.  People only have so much mental energy alloted to them, and I think you are on overload.  I want you to leave for the day, and go do something for yourself.  Go to the park, walk around the mall, drive to the coast... I don't care.  But I don't want to see you here for the rest of the day.  Your work will wait, and I will explain away your absence".  Pretty remarkable for a boss.  So I know he will protect me any way he can.  It's just that I expect more from myself, and it embarasses me to no end to be this way.

Thanks for lending me your courage to speak up.  At least I don't feel like I'm trying to hide my problem from him any more.

Mango

Mango...Congratulatiions on your courage and it sounds as though every thing turned as well as it ever could have.  I wouldn't be surprised if now that your concerns are out in the open they'll probably abate somewhat.  Less anxiety always makes things better.

Very happy all went so well for you and hooray for an understanding male boss.

Blessings and be well.

Wow, what a story Mango. I"m so glad everything turned out so well for you! Just take a deep breath now and relax about it!   What a great boss ! Menopause is such a difficult time, isn't it? I never would have dreamed it would be so difficult to go through. I always thought I could handle it without a hitch ! Boy, was I uninformed !Suzie

Suzie,Likewise on the feeling of being uninformed.  I had **NO IDEA** what hit me.  I'm 45 now; in retrospect, I think I started down this road when I was about 37, with moodiness that topped any PMS that I had ever experienced, and a low-grade, recurring 'blue mood'.  

I was angry for some time that nobody had ever prepared me for what was coming, like it was some sort of closely guarded "womens' secret".  Not unlike getting your period for the first time without ever having been told to expect it.  I've had more conversations with women in their mid-30's that are baffled and afraid of what's happening to them.  I'm fortunate that I have a handful of friends that are also going through this, and we talk to each other about it. Somehow it helps to know that you're not the only one.  I can't bear the thought of my baby sister (she's still in her 20's) facing this uninformed and afraid, and I talk with her openly about it so she will know what's up when it's her turn.  Our Mom says she never had any difficulty... but trust me, she did; she was he** on wheels for a several years.  It was a very trying time for the whole family,.  Thankfully, she has regained her sanity again!  I think she was in some weird sort of denial!  Or maybe she just didn't connect the dots.  

I know what you mean. Why has this all been such a big secret??? I think probably that is part of the reason the dr.s aren't up to date on what' s happening either. Women must have somehow pretended it wasn't going on.My Mom also saId she didn't have much of a problem. I can remember her wearing mini skirts in her 40's and dying her graying brunette hair red! Ha ha! I guess she felt pretty good at first!She later had a hysterectomy so didn't realize when her periods stopped so she could confirm she was going through menopause.

Suzie

Hi,

My general meno symptoms are much improved as to be no big deal but the memory and focus problem persists somewhat.  It was really horrible before the progesterone was added though.   It almost leads me to believe I have attention deficit when I look at the symptoms associated with it.

I noticed during my hormonal times years ago that antihistamine really helped this....wondering about the role of allergies that get worse with hormonal change.   I would take it for sinus headache and notice focus got better and also the depression.

I don't like the drugs for attention deficit like Ritalin and the like...so many side effects.   So I have not bothered to get a diagnosis from the medical establishment but feel strongly that my attention and focus is not what other people have around me that seems so easy for them.    Even when I got to the chats here at Power Surge, reading the screen for an hour, it seems my eyes jump around and I get mentally tired.

I am looking for natural alternatives to drugs.  OPC (pycnogenol and grapeseed)  seems to help some as I am trying it now.    There is also Enada NADH (coenzyme)   I am considering for chronic fatigue which helps with memory and alertness.   Then I have found something called Vaxa Attend (a supplement for the brain)  when I was doing searches.

If anyone has been helped with Enada or Vaxa Attend for memory and focus let me know.    Or OPC which is quite gentle and no side effects so far (which is a powerful antoxidant so it would make sense it helps allergies.)   I can tell it is helping the nasal congestion dramatically.

I am needing to learn computer skills and it is frustrating to only be able to focus for an hour on the exercises I am doing and  get mentally tired.

I don't think memory loss is just meno but some underlying condition that hormonal change makes worse.    I am thinking allergies that actually swell the brain and prevent the neurotransmitters from being as effective or toxic things in the body we are exposed to that reach the brain and cross the blood brain barrier.

Also who has been diagnosed with attention deficit?  I remember one post and of course can't remember where it is..

I really don't think now that for me anyway that it is a matter of just balancing hormones since I have done pretty well with that and that has not taken care of it totally.  

Also since I still have tinnitus I am still reacting to things in the environment or foods which are irritants to the brain.

Just my thoughts....any ideas...?  

(Edited by NancyV at 9:11 am on Jan. 31, 2003)

Hi Nancyv,Do you drink coffee? I notice that coffee gives me amazing memory and focus! The trouble is I can't really drink much of it because of my anxiety and blood pressure. If I could,I'd drink it all day long like my mother. Bless her heart. She's 75 and still drinks a pot before breakfast.

Suzie

Suzie,

I can't drink coffee because it causes me anxiety too.  I do drink decaf.

I do think the OPC does help with focus and there is always the Enada to try when I get through with my experiment with OPC.

This is phantom period time when focus gets worse like it did with my real periods.    All I did was look out at the full moon and realize that is when I had my periods....now I know what is going on.

My body felt out of sync yesterday and was more unmotivated....at least knowing this is a hormonal shift helps.

I went to the heatlh food store for a nutty Rice Dream bar this week as that satisfied the sugar cravings and did not make me feel bad today.

We are in Florida on a business relocation right now...it is so warm and nice....to the beach in a few minutes...  !  

Lucky you Nancyv !  I'd absolutely LOVE to be at the beach right about now!! I'm sure you'll feel much better after some sun and swimming! I know what you mean about the phantom periods. I think that's what i"ve been going thru over the last week. I've been very on edge. Good luck with the OPC and enjoy that warm sun!!

Suzie

Nancy & Suzi, pardon me but may I ask you both if you are on estrogen or HRTs? Suzi, you remind me of myself.. back then, I am 44 and I was on Premarin .645 mgs. and I was experiencing many anxiety attacks & I could NOT tolerate caffiene of any kind either. I was also told I had high blood pressure & was put on Toprol (blood pressure medication). Well, this went on for four (4) yrs. Then, one day I met a friend who introduced me to progesterone cream & I went to a natural food store/herbal store & I talked to the ladies there & they all approved of me getting off the HRT & starting on the progesterone cream immediately. I did, and guess what.... I am now off my blood pressure meds. and I can drink coffee & caffienated drinks with no anxiety at ALL. And..... I feel absolutely terrific. So, you might consider what you are putting into your bodies. like I did the HRT> IT actually made me feel worse and major side effects. Talk to me. Tell me what you are taking and such, I'd love to help you, like my friend did me. I was like you Suzi, but today I am not. And guess what, my name is Susan too! ) Inner peace to you both.

Susan,Thank-you for writing! I'd LOVE to get off these blood pressure meds !!!!! I 'm not on any hormones whatsoever- just winging it on my own. My doc won't presribe them 'cause of my B/P. I actually did try the natural progesterone cream last year and it did help me alot while I was taking it- but then I had to go off it for 13 days during my periods. The time I went off it was absolute hell for me. ! I had such severe panic attacks!   I finally went off from it and my periods stopped. Not sure if I dare to try it again.Suzie

Hey Suzi, glad to hear from you. I am glad you are not on HRTs bkz they do raise your blood pressure. Progesterone cream decreases it, so yes, you should go back on it. I order it from *** and they usually have it on sale, ex: 2 for 1 or buy 2 and get one free. But, it would be good for you so get on it again. Once you are on it for a while you could gradually go off your blood pressure like I did. It took me about 5 months. And, I feel great, no more anxiety at all. You see, blood pressure problems makes you anxious anyway, and by having it you mentally think about it all the time or atleast when you have to take the pill for it, and it stays with you, so you get anxious. I swear I do not feel any since being off that old blood pressure med. I meant to ask you, how old are you? Just curious. I'd love to help you out, bkz anxiety is HELL to live with. My email is mysticforest7@hotmail.com, if you want ot email me directly. Take care sweetie, you are not alone. Susan

Mystic,

Yes, I am on progesterone cream and it made more difference than anything else for hormonal problems.   I felt calmer the next day I first tried it and it was amazing to me. Then I added very tiny amounts of the compounded estrogen when I got heart palps and dizzy and that went away.

Things are better than they were the years of PMS where I got so weak and dizzy I couldn't even take a bath the first day of my periods...just out of it and depressed as well.

The things that work best for me are natural....whether foods, vitamins or hormones.    Still the body seems to go through those cycles even without periods but still not as bad as the original stuff I used to go through.    

(Oh I was just in Florida and we had to return home...Dr. Lee who wrote What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause is lecturing very close this weekend to where we were staying....wish I could have been there to hear his latest.    If you go to a lecture you see how genuine he is in helping women and women just love him and try to keep him there longer with questions.)

Take care....

Nancy, yes, progesterone made me feel like my old self again, thank god for it! Where do you get your compound estrogen? Just curious.

Nancy, I know you know this, but others may not... Dr John Lee has been Dearest's guest in a Power Surge Guest Chat.  Even though he resisted for a long time, saying that he "didn't do online", he did finally come and talk to us.

The transcript, and hundreds of others, is available in the Power Surge Transcript Library

Has anyone read this book?--------------------------------------------------------------------------Menopause and the Mind: The Complete Guide to Coping With Cognitive Effects of Perimenopause and Menopause, Including Memory Loss, Foggy Thinking, and Verbal Slipsby Claire L. Warga Ph.D.

*WH*

I havent read this book but I'd sure would like to.  Is there an ISBN number?  Dont know if we can get this book in England.  My brain feels like pea soup right now. I feel like I'm getting old before my time.  I feel like 80 (whatever 80 feels like) lol  and I dont want to find out that soon! but you know what I mean.

Gez

Search for the book on the web, especially at apopular book website to find out  more.  I haven't donea site search for it here either.  ( I guess someone willpost if they find it on this site. )

I definitely *do* know what you mean about feeling oldbefore one's time.  

"Of all the things I've lost, it's my mind that I miss the most."

Gez

Take a look at Amazon you will find the book on that site. You can order it from there, i have had books of there and its a good site.

Take carePauline

brain fog....absentmindedness...I think I qualify.  The other day I went to the grocery store.  Got numerous bags of groceries.  Loaded them into the van.  Drove home.  Pulled in the garage.  Went in the house.  Left groceries in the van.  Didn't remember I even had them in the van until an hour later.  I thought, ok, I'm now an official member of the "one brick short of a load", "the light's on but nobody's home", "one french fry short of a happy meal" club.  

Thanks Pauline and WH, I'll take a look.

((((((hugs))))))

Gez

Hi again there ladies!  It's been so long since I checked our postings!  You know...I just forgot!  LOL!  Anyway, I've been doing the progesterone for over a year now but my memory still continues to degrade.  I'm 42 and hoping menopause is gonna be very soon.  I've been having perimeno symptoms for a little over 10 years.  I appreciated the posting on DHEA; am thinking about getting my hormones/saliva retested with this in mind.  Have any of you had any good results from DHEA cream and how much did you use?I've researched so much on hormones in the past several years that I wrote my own little pamphlet for my friends and gave a little informal seminar for them too.  It is really helpful to have feedback from ladies experiencing similar conditions!  Thanks for being there with your stories.  I got a real good laugh and could relate to the "craziness" of them!

"Brain FOg"????? OMG!! More like Brain Fall-Out!! Long story short..........had a meeting this morning. A meeting I initiated. A meeting I made sure EVERYONE was here for. A meeting that was REQUIRED. And I forgot what I was suppose to be meeting about. I was so humiliated.....I made up an excuse and explained that I needed some more information before I could start, and asked everyone to be patient with me. They believed me, but as soon as I got back to my desk.....I REMEMBERED!! I ran in and LIED! I told them the info I was waiting for was in my voice mail, and we could proceed.:mad: I swear....if I'm not anxious and panicy, I'm something else!! I really think I'm nuts.

Leanne, You covered your butt, quite well, in this memory lapse. Quick Thinking? See the dendrites aren't dead yet. Oh the joys of aging!!!:o That feeling of losing your mind seems to be a common symptom. Also, hypochondria seems prevalent. Fun, huh!!

I just wanna say i am soooooo thankful i found this site and know that other people are/have gone through the same things......a few weeks ago i was afraid to talk to anybody because i was saying words wrong,kept forgetting what i was talking about,etc.I acted like i was too sick to talk because i didn't want anyone to think i was crazy(which i honestly thought i was) by the way,have any of you ever done anything like get groceries and put all the freezer food in the cupboards and all the canned food in the refrig.?or am i the only one?

My lack of memory is truly frightening!! I cannOt remember what I did yesterday! EVERYTHING requires thought!! I came back to work today after just 3 days off, and you would have thought I had been gone a year!! I swear, sometimes I think I have Alhzheimers, or some other serious medical condition. I'm not sure where to post! Am I forgetful?? Losing my mind?? A hypochondriac???? YES YES YES!

I remember hearing that if you forgot where you put your keys, that's not Alzheimers. However, if you can't remember what the car keys are for, then you may have a problem. Shoot, I've been losing those keys since high school. Anxiety can certainly affect focus, as well. Plus, I've had some major brainfog, where I've felt brain dead.

What about your brain feeling tired - like it has worked really hard - even though its first thing in the morning? Does anyone have that problem? I know that may be a symptom of "depression" - but I don't have any other depression symptoms. I would love to know what I can do to fix this problem - it is driving me crazy at work. Natural hormones have so far helped everything but that.

Having been in and out of the "brain fog" and "memory troubles" for some time this is what I have noticed: stress unravels me. If I am under less stress my mind works better. As some of you may know I improved enough to return to work (part-time and mostly home-based). I have been having many stressfull events occuring in my life since then. On particularly intense days I notice that my memory and ability to concentrate get worse. Still no where near as bad as the days where I had to write notes on a pad of paper to remember why I went from one room to another. Time heals, many things heal us.

On a pratical note what I think helps is to notice that (at least temporarily) our skills and abilities have changed and to adapt our habits and techniques to accomodate our current reality. Say carry note pads, write checklists, use planners and journals to cope with the memory loss. Break tasks down and ENLIST HELP to cope with the mental confusion. Do what I say, not what I did. Ha Ha.

One day last week I went to pick up some fast food for my daughter who wasn't feeling well - she wanted a cheeseburger special and a Sprite. I drove up and yelled into the microphone, "A cheeseburger special and a Fright, please!!" Honestly....

LOL Jollie! Well, don't feel badly, I called a customer this morning, and once he got on the phone, I forgot why I called him.

I laugh about my tired brain to the people who understand - but I have a huge urge to cry when I am really trying to get something done and I feel like I am half asleep. Some days I wish I could just hide - it is so embarrassing and the young people I work with don't really understand what has happened to me. But I really love my job if only my brain and body would cooperate! What is a girl to do????