Concerns about Memory Loss

[Ood Sigma]

I'm beginning to get a bit concerned about my memory. I've always been a bit forgetful, sort of absent-minded, but it seems to me it's gotten worse over the last few months.

My symptoms are generally of forgetting things that I have to do. For example, I may forget to pay a bill by the appropriate date. I sometimes forget to take my medication either in the morning or afternoon. Even more disturbing is forgetting things that I was recently reminded of. For example, if someone calls and asks me to send someone else an e-mail, I'll intend to write it as soon as I get off the phone, but I'll forget to do it completely, even if I hang up a few minutes or even seconds later. Heck, I've been intending to call to set up an oil change for my car for the past 2 weeks and I can never remember.

I don't forget people, places, or events. I don't forget to go to work, or what day it is, or how to get somewhere. I remember past events in my life as clearly as one can expect to with the passing of time.

My grandmother had Alzheimer's Disease quite some time ago. It started out fairly minor but by the end (probably 5-7 years) she couldn't remember her husband, children, etc. I do not want to end up like that, but it's probably the thing I worry about the most. I'm concerned that I'm showing signs of it, even though I'm only 34. Of course, my fear of that happening may be causing me to magnify these incidents and blow them up out of proportion.

What is a reasonable course of action for me to take concerning this? Am I displaying a normal amount of forgetfulness? Should I take vitamins or substances that are supposed to help with memory (like ginseng)? Should I see a doctor? If so, what kind? While my wife can get irritated with me when I forget to do something, she hasn't indicated that she thinks I'm truly losing my memory, but I know she would support whatever I decide to do about it.

 

[SicOne]

Do you drink a lot of pop? Especially diet pop?

I had heard that pop, diet in particular, was believed to have some connection to short-term memory loss and general scatterbrained feelings. I didn't give that much thought until I went (short-lived) on the Strength for Life diet last year, the first time since Army basic training back in the mid-80s that I went without pop, sugar, all that good stuff, for three-and-a-half weeks.

After a week of drinking nothing but water, no pop at all, no sugars, I began to feel mentally more "with it", more alert, less tired, significantly less scatterbrained. By the three week mark, I felt sharp as a tack.

People can point to studies that show pop has that effect upon you and to studies that show no linkage between soda and mental difficulties, but I know what I felt.

As I type this out, I have a big McDonald's fountain Diet Coke on my right hand side, and a big chocolaty cake doughnut on my left. I can barely muster enough mental energy to type this out at the moment. Draw your own conclusions.

Hope this helps.

This has been a public service announcement from SicOne.

 

[Ood Sigma]

Do you drink a lot of pop? Especially diet pop?

I used to drink a lot of diet soda, yes. However over the last 2 months or so I've had maybe 2 or 3 cans of it, total (as opposed to 2-3 cans a day before that). So if anything, I've gotten better about that recently.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I heard the same things about diet soda, particularly ones with aspartame (marketed as Nutrasweet.) Stuff gave me headaches and made me feel lousy in general. Got off of the diet drinks completely and I very rarely have regular soda, either.

 

[wissaboo]

someone I know went to a seminar on memory, specifically memory as we get older. According to them the reason we are unable to remember stuff is because we don't think it's memorable. We don't make a mental note to ourselves to remember it. For example I lose my car in the parking lot when shopping virtually all of the time, but when I make an effort to make a mental note of where I parked I'm usually fine.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I was gonna say something, but i forgot.

 

[Colonel Green]

Jeez man, how many times are you going to post this exact same thread?!

 

[FordSVT]

It's called "getting older". Your memory issues are no different than mine or anyone else I know. Forgetting to pay a bill is a lot different than going to the store twice in one day to buy milk or forgetting the name of your mother.

I'm about the same age as the OP and I forget something at least two or three times a day. I misplace my keys or wallet several times a week. Just the other day I forgot to put the laundry in the washing machine even though my wife told me twice that morning before she went to work. I got sidetracked doing something outside and didn't remember until she came home. The instant I looked at her I remembered what I had forgotten to do.

 

[Sky]

Are you under a lot of stress? When I'm busy and life is stressful, I forget things all the time.

 

[Ood Sigma]

Jeez man, how many times are you going to post this exact same thread?!

Are you under a lot of stress? When I'm busy and life is stressful, I forget things all the time.

I suppose I am under a bit more stress than usual lately. It's probably not helping!

 

[ancientone51]

Since I am one of the senior members of this board and my 91+ year old mom has Alzheimer's it is a subject I've been a bit concerned about as well.

Best reassurance I've read says that you shouldn't worry if you can't find your keys, you worry about having no idea what they are and how to use them when you find them.

 

[Maestro]

Are you getting sufficient sleep? And is it good, deep, restful sleep? Quantity of quality sleep makes a big difference.

What do you do to exercise your mental muscle? Sudoku? Cross-word Puzzles? Card games?

How much do you read and what quality of reading do you engage in?

 

[Ood Sigma]

Are you getting sufficient sleep? And is it good, deep, restful sleep? Quantity of quality sleep makes a big difference.

I could be getting more. Typically on weeknights I'm in bed by 11:30-12:00 and then get up at 6:30. So, 6.5-7 hours. Maybe an extra hour or two on weekends. It's usually deep and restful, as I rarely wake up in the middle of the night in the summer (in the winter I usually get drymouth so sleep is worse then).

What do you do to exercise your mental muscle? Sudoku? Cross-word Puzzles? Card games?

Well, I'm a programmer by trade so every day is a mental exercise. I also do quite a bit of sudoku and I like to play Flash puzzle games in my spare time.

How much do you read and what quality of reading do you engage in?

I'm an avid reader, heck, the reason I came to this board is because of the Trek Literature forum. I've got 4 wall-to-ceiling bookshelves full of books, of which I've read probably 75% of them. I used to read 4-6 books a month although I've cut back to 2-3 on average.

I've always been a bit absent-minded, usually because I'm thinking hard about one specific idea and I don't pay attention to anything else. But it concerns me when I can't remember something over a long period of time.

 

[Candlelight]

Well, I'm a programmer by trade so every day is a mental exercise. I also do quite a bit of sudoku and I like to play Flash puzzle games in my spare time.

I think I've found your problem - your brain is full.

 

[Ood Sigma]

Well, I'm a programmer by trade so every day is a mental exercise. I also do quite a bit of sudoku and I like to play Flash puzzle games in my spare time.

I think I've found your problem - your brain is full.

Any advice on how to empty it? I can't stand to watch reality television - I feel myself getting dumber every time I accidentally catch a snippet of it.

Seriously, though, you may be on to something - maybe I need to find a different way to decompress when I have the opportunity.

 

[Saga]

Well, I'm a programmer by trade so every day is a mental exercise. I also do quite a bit of sudoku and I like to play Flash puzzle games in my spare time.

I think I've found your problem - your brain is full.

Any advice on how to empty it?

my advice to you is to start drinking heavily.

 

[propita]

I can never remember things but trivia and song lyrics. I think you have the same problem--

Your ROM is full and your RAM is corrupted.

 

[FordSVT]

Well, I'm a programmer by trade so every day is a mental exercise. I also do quite a bit of sudoku and I like to play Flash puzzle games in my spare time.

I think I've found your problem - your brain is full.

Any advice on how to empty it? I can't stand to watch reality television - I feel myself getting dumber every time I accidentally catch a snippet of it.

Seriously, though, you may be on to something - maybe I need to find a different way to decompress when I have the opportunity.

I'd do something physical if I were you. Take up exercising or start taking long walks, or go buy a kayak or a bicycle. Or stretch the left side of your brain and take up a creative hobby like painting or writing or woodworking. You can't sit there writing code and doing math all day and expect to decompress by doing more math.

 

[Sky]

I'd do something physical if I were you. Take up exercising or start taking long walks, or go buy a kayak or a bicycle. Or stretch the left side of your brain and take up a creative hobby like painting or writing or woodworking. You can't sit there writing code and doing math all day and expect to decompress by doing more math.

I think this is good advice. I do iaido and I when I practice, everything else leaves my mind. And then when I come home after a couple of hours of training, I'm definitely more mentally relaxed.

 

[Ood Sigma]

I'd do something physical if I were you. Take up exercising or start taking long walks, or go buy a kayak or a bicycle. Or stretch the left side of your brain and take up a creative hobby like painting or writing or woodworking. You can't sit there writing code and doing math all day and expect to decompress by doing more math.

Good thoughts. It is true that I'm not huge on physical activity. Although this summer I have been playing basketball with my co-workers, once a week. But in general the other six days I don't do a whole lot physically. Heck, I sit in a chair all day and then I come home and sit on the couch.

I'm also extremely left-brain weak. Making art holds no interest for me (and I'm no good at it any way). I tried writing once, and even though I consider myself to have an excellent grasp of the English language, both in grammar and vocabulary, I have all the creativity of a pumpkin. Reading is a good interest of mine, but I think you were suggesting something more creative. I'll have to consider that, trying to think of something that is enjoyable and that I'm decent at.