Short Term Memory loss

[dudley]

Hi,

I have been DX with SLC in Jan. I am having problems with my short term memory. It's not like where I put my keys.

I don't remeber if I took my med's. I did by a pill box for them. Know I can see if I took them or not - if I remeber. I watch TV and relize that I have no clue what is going on because I forgot 10 min's.

A go to a store and forget why I went there and find out later I was suppose to be at the bank.

People will say something in a discusssion and I would make a comment and they tell me I am nuts - that I was the souce of the info. I was news to me. Starting to see a nerologist. He is going to run a lot of test.

Is this common with SLC? Do the meds do this to you?

Thanks

Hark

[Christine UK]

sounds like me !!!! i have sticky blood which causes my short term mem to be dreadful,my long term is good...have u been checked for sticky blood.

[childrenrtreasures]

Hello! I posted here earlier or at least I tried; I'm not sure if I just never successfully posted or if it was removed (it was rather lengthy and somewhat silly :P ).

Anyway, I did want to comment since this is a real frustration for me. I have five children and there have been times where my forgetfulness created a dangerous situation. Usually it's limited to overflowing the bathtub or sink frequently, burning meals and boiling water out of the teapot etc... but it happens so often. I call my daughter into the room and then forget why. I stop in the middle of telling a story because I can't remember why I was telling it (not to mention I probably had already told it several times to the same person). Last weekend I was talking to my husband (David) and I referred to his mom as David's mom (he was sitting right in front of me and I forgot who I was talking to; I do this on the phone frequently).

It's when I forget which side of the road I should be driving on and when I forget how to use my sewing machine (I sew frequently) that I begin to get concerned.

I've had so many (healthy) people try to relate, as in: "oh I hate when that happens" or "I've done that before" but do they do it EVERYDAY?!? People have tried to excuse it as well: "you just have a lot to think about". That's a poor excuse since it's not normal to forget important things or daily tasks regularly.

I don't like that I can't be depended on and I'm not reliable. I do write things down on sticky notes and stick them to the computer desk but that doesn't help me to remember that I forgot to turn the lights off in the van (again) and the battery is probably dead (again). My husband did actually remedy that one by putting a sign up on the entryway door.

I am not on any medication (maybe I should be!!!!!! :rolleyes: ) and I don't have a dx so I'm not sure what causes it. I'm seeing a neurologist as well in a few weeks. I'm hoping to get some answers since my MRI is abnormal as well but that may not be what's causing my symptoms at all.

Love and Prayers, Kelly

[sharonamon]

Hi there all

I have this problem also..............I can no longer run my own bath without there beign someone else in the house, infact my partner says hed rather do it for me than have all the mess to clear up afterwards!!!!!

I'm only having to take three different meds at the moment and I have difficulty remembering one, I have to try figure out what day I started to take the packet and count the empty slots to see if I need to take one or not, this doesnt always help especially if I have missed one the day before and the packet is out of sinc :blink:

I mentioned the other day about forgetting my chicken curry recipe, the one I have made from memory for about 20yrs and dont have in a book..........My partner has also picked me up a few times when people ask me how old my son is I keep saying he's 11 when he was 12 in January and up until the last month or so never had a problem remembering that!!!

One of the dangerous things I've been doing is straining things from the pan into a colander and not remembering to do it over the sink, all the boiling water pours out over the work top.....Ive also exploded a tin of condensed milk I was making into toffee in a pan of boiling water because I let it run dry, my god the kitchen still looks a mess from it...................As for boiling stuff dry too I'm always doing it :wacko:

I've missed soooooo many hospital and doctors appointments and meetings with the school because I will check my diary in the morning to see if I have any, then half an hour later have forgotten whether there was any or not, look again, try to commit to memory then BAM forget to go to it :erm:

Oh and just how many times do I lock myself out of the house, It's not even funny it happens so much.

I also forget what I am saying to people mid sentence..........And have no recollection of the storyline of a book I have read the previous week

As for spellings :hehe: even the most basic of words I'm having difficulty with, I have to reread everything about 4 times to check word endings etc and when I am doing a letter my partner has to read over it before I send it incase spellcheck has missed words!!!!

Infact, I think I should copy and save this post for my next Lupus appointment to show Dr hughes the memory probs I am having, as I always forget to mention it wahhhhhhhh....................

AH just one more very annoyign thing, when I was last at the lupus clinic, a female doc asked me if I suffered with bad headaches, I told her yes but until I had read back my diary hadn't realised quite how frequent they were, she then asked me how frequently I was getting them and I couldnt for the life of me tell her ..I was just completely blank looking at my partner to try help me out..In the end all I could say to her was she would have to look through the diary and work it out for herself................GRHHHHH

ok gonan save this now before I forget too


Best wishes

Phoebe :flowers:

[Tanya2]

Oh boy does this thread sound familiar. My memory problems are getting much worse lately. I have have poor recall but the other day I forgot my husbands occupation! I was talking to my Rheumy if you can believe it! I was so embarrassed. I forget all kinds of things lately. I have forgotten what side of the road I should drive on before. I would never admit that but I pulled over and watched the other cars for a minute to figure it out. Scary huh. I forgot Father's Day and only remembered when my hubby said it was the next day. I solved the med thing I bought a container with morning, midday and evening med slots and I fill it once a week. I keep it on the counter and I usually can keep better track that way.

Well, gotta run
Tanya

[Ronnessa]

:D

Hello,

I feel like the absent minded professor! My family get tickled when I'm talking to them and just stop. I had forgotten what I was saying or even that I was speaking.
I used to think they were making it up, when they would tell me I was speaking and just stopped. I don't get angry with them for laughing. I laugh at my self!
I truley feel that if we don't laugh at our selves we would go NUTSSSSs. I know I would. My doctors usually call to remind me of appt. but I will still forget from time to time. What really stinks is I can't win an argument anymore. I don't even try if it is something that requires my memory. My kids love that!! I have also found that I repeat my self. I can't remember if I have said something or not so I just say it again. :blink:

There are other things to but these are the most frequent.

Stay rested & well
Ronnessa :blink:

[tangles]

yep, this is familiar.
Came out of the drs on Monday and had to ask the receptionist to go back in and ask him if I needed another appointment!
I hate forgetting what the point is to what I'm saying and in arguments I can never back my point up with something that happened in the past, because though I remember the gist of it, I can't remember exactly what it was! Telling someone that you don't remember WHAT, but you do know it was something annoying doesn't hold much ground.

People ask me if they can visit on certain days, well how should I know??? I just tell them to ring first!

My family don't worry too much. It's annoying, but hey, lots of things bug me lately...just a (poor) excuse to hide away in my own world I reckon. :(

jayniex

[Bunny76]

I just did a search on memory loss to see if anyone else had this complaint. Last night I couldn't remember my dog's name... and I am quite obsessed with my dogs, so it's very unusual for me to forget one's name. It was actually quite frightening. And it makes me very sad... I don't want to lose my memory. Shortly after that incident with my pup, I had another episode where I couldn't remember a conversation I just had on the phone, or why we had hung up. The person called back a little later, and I felt so awkward because I wasn't sure what was said, or what was going on. It's just a very scary feeling, like I'm literally losing my mind. I'm not on any medications...still waiting on an official diagnosis. I am worried that this will get worse and affect my ability to be a nurse. I tend to worry a lot and have a lot of health-related anxiety... this isn't helping matters!! This stupid thing, whatever I have, really bothers me. :(

[pearljamfan]

I too have been having memory loss and sometimes things that I have been doing for years seem new to me. I noticed it long before I was diagnosed which was in August 2005. When I get in my car to go somewhere, I have to stop and think, D is for drive and that makes the car go forward and R is for reverse and that means backwards. I feel like a complete idiot. Or I will be driving somewhere and when I get there realize that I dont really remember the drive. Its really scary sometimes.

I have forgotten how to answer the phone. One time it was just ringing away and I picked it up and was saying Hello and my daughter started laughing and took the phone and hit the answer button. I just couldnt remember what to do. My coworkers have been telling me that I have memory button in my rear-end. I will get up to do something and completely forget what it was but as soon as I sit down, then I remember. They get a big kick out of it but I dont think its too funny.

[S-J]

Hi there,
As you can see you are not alone.
I have often forgotten what I am trying to say in mid sentence and I am famous for ringing up my hubby from god knows where when I was supposed to be somewhere else.....
I used to suffer badly from seizures, often lasting hours on and off, and this is when it was at it's worst.
Since being on methotrexate injections things have been better.
Take care,

Sally

[AnnieMarie]

Since this seems to be a frequent problem with a lot of us, I wonder if everyone would not mind posting their ages . The range would be interesting.

My short term memory is definitely effected more then the long term.

I had to buy the pill box too, as well as what side of the road do I belong on? I begin a story and forget what I am saying or what the point was. One of the most irritating things I can't seem to stop is having the words come out of my mouth backwords, being this happens in public it can be quite embarrassing to say the least. I have overflowed the sink several times and now will not move until the bath or sink is full and stopped. I need to do this because I get distracted easily.

My family just thinks I am ditzy.All kidding aside my brain simply just does not feel right, that is the only way that I can explain it.

By the way I sometimes even forget how old I am, which is 48.


Annie

[Bunny76]

I'll be 29 in a few days. I haven't had any more memory problems since that day... I hope something was just "off" that day. That was a very unpleasant symptom!!

[pearljamfan]

I am 35 now but I had noticed it about 2 years before my Lupus was diagnosed. Its just getting worse.

[S-J]

I am 44...dx at 35 after a stroke.
MRI scan has shown a number of scars due to the fits caused by SLE...this has stopped now.
I have not slurred my speech for over three years now but have had to increase all my medications to cope with other flareing bits and bobs!!

Take care all.

Sally (UK)

[AnM]

Hey all,

There actually was i think a recent thread on this not long ago. This is a common thread- that i remember long term. :lol:
But, i have a lot of issues w/ this and always having new 1's.

Not to long ago i had an apptmt. and I was driving there, doing fine, everything ok, i actually knew where i was going, i was getting there on time, and everything. So, i get there, and, i'm getting ready to go in- had a couple min. then went to go look at what Suite it was in again- and i WENT to the WRONG PLACE. I Went to the place i had an apptmt. w/ 2 days after that one. :wacko:

I had looked at the address before i left and the place and everything. It just left my mind.

I Also get a lot of times space out of time- where i lose time- so my short term memory time loss. :rolleyes: I don't realize how long i've been somewhere, how long i've been talking, how long i've been silent, etc. you get my drift.

I forget how to get places- places i know. I usually only know to do things b/c i have a feature in my cell phone- a calendar i can put reminders or apptmts. or b-days, etc. and set to a specific time for an alarm to go off, and i can change the alram time. Notes/sticky pads Don't work for me, i don't see them, or i'll forget. I see them then forget, over n over.
I actually, have some of my meds. set on alarm in my phone. I tried the case before, and got confused whether i took it or not. & one of my meds. i have written my own calendar- small- on note down under the pill bottle, so each time i take it, i 'X' off the date/day right when i do. I do for that one b/c i'm on a continuous changing dose for a while.

Anyways, so, hubby has gotten used to repeating things to me a zillion times over n over w/ in 5 min. and having to explain them to me.

I forget to eat sometimes- well, to be honest, more than sometimes :nono: (but, hubby does make sure I eat dinner :love: and I do eat something for my meds. of course) and I forget I have to go to the bathroom, ( not good huh- & How DO you do THAT One- people ALWAYS ask me that- I HAVE NO CLUE- a complete LOST Mind) but, I do make it there- just a while later, I realize I really gotta go, and remember I had to go before. :wacko: SOMEthing MUST be wrong.- w/ me i/we can tell it's not just normal short term memory loss symptom from Lupus- the way it happen w/ me- how my hubby and fam. watched me. & there is

I also have seizures/tremors. I get slurred speech, can't talk,

Well, i thinnk i've probably have gone on. & i've mentioned a lot of things probably in previous posts.

Oh, yea- forgot to mention- :lol: I'm 25.
Take care,
Alicia :coffee:

[flowergarden]

OK, I'm 51, so it must be normal senility ;) .

My brain is so off that sometimes I think I'm just going crazy. Not only do I forget so much, but I've had problems recognizing ordinary things. I drove past a medical building the other day, not seeing it. I've missed stop signs and detour signs. I don't remember doing things. I can look at my calendar just before I go to an appointment and still not remember what time I need to be there. I hear gibberish when people talk (I couldn't understand post-op instructions the other day). One of the most scary times was when someone's face morphed right in front of me into someone I didn't recognize.

This doesn't happen to this extent to most lupies, however many have "brain fog". So do many people with Sjogren's. :wacko:

I wish you luck as you figure out how to deal with this. It takes patience with yourself and a lot of organization. :flowers:

[lullrich76]

I am 29, not yet diagnosed, but I also have brain fog. Lately, I feel like I am getting nothing done at work. I can't concentrate, can't remember what I need to do. My whole day I sit there trying to figure out what I need to get done and then the day is over. I am forgetting to pay bills. I just feel like I can't think straight. Not too long ago, I was cooking a roast and I had one of those thermometers in it that beeps when the meat is done. I forgot to use a hotpad and just grabbed the thermometer with my hand and burned myself good. I will be talking to someone and forget what I was saying or forget before I even start. Right now it is just little things for me, but it bothers me when I don't remember.

Lisa

[AnnieMarie]

Hark, I am so glad you started this post.

I just posted on this yesterday but after what happened today I thought this would really give everyone reading it a good laugh.

Today on the way to work I stopped at Burger King to get a diet soda. The one near where I work is never really busy on account the help is usually slow. I asked the lady for a diet soda, pulled up to the window, payed and waited.

Now, after about 5 minutes the lady comes back out the window and asks me if there is anything else I wanted. I gave her a puzzeled look :huh: then looked down in my cup holder and realized she had already handed me the soda, must have been with the change. I simply lost track of time and forgot she had given it to me :wacko:.In all that time no one had come-up behind me,

I apologised to her and moved on. What else could I do??Explain to her that I am loopie or is that loupie lol

Well just a little humor here to add to this post.

Annie

[sparks]

:wave: :wave: Hi

I suffer with the same problems like dont know where i am or what i am doing
sometimes because of memory loss :rolleyes: like peeling potatoes putting
the peelings in the saucepan and throwing the potatoes away :lol:
and going into a store and forgeting what i went in there for,
i have had a mri scan a couple of months ago and it showed the lupus has caused
changes in activity in the brain, sticky blood, clotting,






:love: from linda

dx lupus sle,ra,etc

[BayBreeze]

I am 36 and have experienced memory problems and "brain fog" on and off since i was 20. That is about the age i started having joint and other medical problems. There were times I got in my car, drove off, and either forgot where i was going or ended up somewhere and having no clue why i was there or sometimes even how i got there; completely forgetting what i was talking about in mid sentence; not knowing what month it was; forgetting if i took my meds(I think i ought to invest in a pill box as well) ; suddenly having no clue how to do something that i do on a daily basis; even forgetting how old i am and having to count in my head from the year i was born (totalllly embarrassing)

[Lily]

Hi BayBreeze,

I was reading some of your other posts and wondered if your rheumy has ever sent you to a Neurologist to assess some of your symptoms? I think it would be a really good idea with some of the things you've mentioned and esp. with the tingling and numbness in your arm and this There were times I got in my car, drove off, and either forgot where i was going or ended up somewhere and having no clue why i was there or sometimes even how i got there;

Do you get bad headaches or any seizure activity?

Each of us have different levels of problems related to brain/nervous system etc. and it can take some working out. Its just that you have mentioned some things that I could identify with. My diagnosis after Lupus and Sjogrens was one of Central Nervous System Vasculitis after many tests and many bizarre and some seemingly not so serious symptoms. Some of which I used to laugh off, some which were impossible to ignore as they literally brought me to my knees. These would come and go and at first I thought they were nothing much, however after a while they indeed proved they were something to be concerned about and have investigated.

Here's some more information.
http://www.cnsv.net/everyone/index.html

love
Lily

[Scottie]

My biggest cause of brainfog was my thyroid going wrong and thyroid meds have helped. :blink:

I'm 53 and now have at least 4 reasons for brain fog bar senility, which may well come my way! :o

I'm menopausal, have Lupus, Sjogren's and Hashimotp's thyroiditis and forums for all the above cite brainfog as a symptom. :cry:

Preparing work does undoubtedly take me longer than it ised to and I'm forever mislaying things. Twas a hundred times worse before I got the right thyroid meds though......................um .........................I already said that.................mmmmmmmmmm..(the memory of a goldfish!) :hehe:

[kinnikinnik]

:doh:

short-term memory loss comes up a lot in my household. except for a bout of hypothyroidism in high school (before synthroid), i had nearly photographic memory. however, over the years it's gone quite down hill, especially over the past 4-5 years.

sadly, i'm only 33 -- but my 50-something...uh...she was born in 1948 (i remember that much)...year old mother usually has better memory than me.

up until 4-5 years ago, i never lost my keys or locked them in somewhere -- now it's a regular occurrence.

i try to schedule all my appointments on times i can remember easiest -- otherwise i'm lost -- and even then i often mess them up. i write them in my appointment book -- lose the book -- find it later -- and find out i missed something again.

i go from one room in the house to get something from another room, but often times i forget what it was that i needed/wanted -- and then i'm walking around or sitting there racking my brain trying to remember.

sometimes i've actually laid down a taken a nap in order to try to remember something -- and don't laugh -- it sometimes actually works.

i go driving to someplace and forget where the heck i was going -- and then i'm driving around or parked at the curb begging my brain to tell me where it was that i'm supposed to be going.

sometimes i forget which way is left or which way is right -- i mean it takes me a bit to remember it.

or often while in the grocery store, i lose my way around -- super wal-marts are the worst -- absolutely overwhelming -- and then i can't find my car in the parking lot when i come back out.

often i forget what i was saying mid-paragraph or even mid-sentence or i repeat myself over again -- it happens enough to be embarrassing.

i try to joke about it -- say i'm like winnie the pooh and my head's stuffed with fluff -- but scary thing is, is it usually feels like it really is stuffed with fluff. actually, it really feels like i'm trying to think through some kind of thick mush in my head -- and i feel dizzy and disoriented a lot -- like everything's just a bit off kilter from what it should be.

i am so glad that my children are 9 and 12 now, because if they were little, and i was like this, i don't think i'd be able to take care of them properly. and thank god, thank you so much god, that they are usually so understanding and even helpful. otherwise, i'd be scared, because i really wouldn't know what to do.

thanx so much for letting me share my adventures with memory loss -- and for not thinking i'm just plain nuts! and thanx for sharing all of yours too -- i never realized that others had so much same problems -- so i never mentioned it to my doctors before. i think maybe i better now -- provided i can remember, that is.

:wiggle: :goodvibes: :hello:

[leisurep]

I am so in agreement! I wish I had a dollar for every time my children said- mom- I told you that ten minutes ago! I am finding that I am having a much harder time as I continue to roll along with this! I am CEO of a company, and it is really starting to interfere with my work! If anyone knows of anything that will help with short term memory, focus, and even speaking in logical sentences at times (which I find extremely difficult at times), your input would be appreciated!!!!!

Thanks!
Pam

[Shera384]

I'm 48, & I have terrible brain fog sometimes. :rolleyes:
I forget a lot of things, important stuff I have to write down immediatley or it's gone, I also have a pill box & a good hubby who reminds me to take my meds, & a couple of fantastic grown-up kids, who never say, "you've told us that mum", they just giggle at me :lol:
Whenever I type an answer to a post I always, always have to check it, I'm a good speller, or I was :rolleyes:
I have a post-it notes program on the computer too, & a telephone that I just have to look for a name & it dials the numbers for me :lol:
The only trouble is, my mum has just been dx with dementia, at least we can laugh & share this together, We've decided to get a luxury flat together, & told the rest of the family, just to check on us once a week, to make sure we haven't starved to death :lol:

[cat99]

I am 48 and I suffer with memory loss.
In fact, when I am at work they make a joke of it because I am always forgetting something mid sentence, either a name or perhaps an object.
I have found that by laughing about the problem I can cope with it without letting it upset me too much.
My family also laugh with me about it and try not to make it too big an issue.
:doh:
I think that Lupus should be called Loopy as it's a better description.
:rolleyes:

[BayBreeze]

Hi Lily,

I actually have not mentioned these memory problems to my current Rheumy (long story but i tell him a few things here and there as i have had so many experiences with doctors in the past making me feel as everything is all in my head)

But i never really thought to bring this up either. I have never gone to a neurologist, although years ago i was referred to one by an eye doctor (actual an opthoneurologist) However due to no insurance and deep in debt i never went. Back then i would get waves of completely losing my eyesight....many times it would sound like a migraine aura but without the headaches. But i also would see spots, blindspots and even to the point where everythign went black except for a tiny spot directly in front of me. This has happened on and off over the years...the eye doctor checked all he could and found my vision to be good, so he told me i should see the neuro eye doctor.

As for seizures, i really dont know if ive ever had them. I do know ive been woken from sleep with jerking legs; also have woken up on the floor or facing the opposite direction and a few times my mattress was even hanging off the side of the bed. I would wake up and think...what the heckkkkkk and shrugged it off as maybe bad dreams.

One other thing i have wondered about...before i started on prednisone, plaquenil and elavil, i used to wake up suddenly during the night at first thinking my heart was racing out of control. But then i would feel my pulse and it would seem normal so i dont think it was a racing heartbeat. It would feel sort of like the inside of my body was shaking or quivering rapidly, sometthing was definitely vibrating but when it's 3 or 4 am it happens and i end falling back asleep. So i have wondered briefly at times if i had some kind of seizure. Since this hasnt happened to me (that i remember anyway) since ive been seeing this particular rheumy and started on all these meds i never brought it up...perhaps i should though..


Thanks for bringing this possiblity to my attention...i think will bring it up at my next appointment!

Thanks also for that link... I looked at some things but will go back to look over everything thoroughly!

[Lily]

Hi BayBreeze,

If these things are still happening to you then its worth further investigation.

I've never had a seizure in my sleep and wouldnt know if I'd had one anyway ;) but some here report them.

The problem you describe with your eyes I'm wondering if you have been checked for anti-cardiolipin antibodies and the Lupus anticoagulant. It can have some similar symptoms and a history of migraines, miscarriages, thrombosis etc. although some never get the miscarriage history or move on to the thrombosis stage.
Worth checking to see if your doc has done those tests. It's called Anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) and is very treatable once diagnosed. Sometimes associated with Lupus or can be present on its own.

Good luck and Elaine sorry to divert your thread ;) :P just thought it was worth mentioning here to try and make some distinction between what we call lupus brain fog and 'general lupiness' and some more serious manifestations of it that require more aggressive therapy.

love
Lily

[pamsline]

I just had to answer this post. I'm 43. I was dx'ed almost 2 years ago with lupus(2 skin biopsies). My memory has gotten horrible. I can't even concentrate long enough to get this post written. :wacko: You wouldn't believe how long it actually takes me to type a sentence. I attempt to answer posts now and then and just stop have no idea what I'm trying to say. So I just log out. I've had headaches for about a year and 1/2 now that are located on the left side top of my head. Other than Vicodin, the only thing that has had any impact on them is a short burst of prednisone. I have tried 8-10 different migraine meds but had no success.
Love, Pam