Forgetfulness... Am I Normal? Does Anyone Else Have This?

I'm 55 and forget things all the time. I, too, was wondering if my short term memory is gone. I blame it on age, lack of sleep, and lots of stress. Try to get more sleep, worry less, and destress. See if that helps. Wishing you the best.

Nope, you're not alone. I noticed that I began having problems coming up with the right words I need, as I was finishing up my college degree. I chalked it up to having to memorize so much stuff in school that there was no more room in my brain. I assumed it would get better as time went by but it really didn't. Then later I started taking an antidepressant, and then switched to another antidepressant, and my short term memory began to vanish. I have heard that short term memory loss can be a side effect of those type of drugs. I've been off the antidepressant for...close to two years now I think, and it hasn't gotten any better, so I don't know for certain if the two are related or if it's just coincidence that they happened at the same time. I sometimes wonder if I have adult ADD. I have been considering looking into drugs, or vitamins and supplements, or SOMETHING that I can take to help my brain function improve. Haha, I remember before I had these problems, getting impatient with coworkers and the like who seemed to not be able to remember the simplest things. Guess it's karma for me!

This could be stress related. When we are stressed our minds race and we forget basic things. As far as things like your keys and purse are concerned, start becoming very displined ALWAYS put them in the same place when you get home. Twice a day stop and take a look around your neighborhood and look for changes. The house up for sale, a new decoration in a neighbors yard etc. Also really look at the kids and co-workers at your day care, Tommy wore a red shirt and had a bump on the head, Susie scrapped her knee riding her bike, my co-worker got a haircut and her nails done, etc.
I would also seek out a diffierent doctor. If this has been going on for a few years something is wrong. Doctors will sometimes poo-poo a concern of ours and act like it's no big deal. You also saw a neurologist, what tests did he run? Did he do an MRI? This could be something organic and serious. Brain tumor comes to mind, I don't want to scare you but this is serious. Early onset Alzheimer's , a form of a neoro- musclular condition such as ALS , or MS or Huntington's Chorea. You need answers. You are a young woman and should not have these memory issues. If they get worse you could place yourself or your kids in danger. What if you went to the Mall one day with the kids and forgot them? Or, went to the grocery store and forgot how to get home and couldn't remember your phone number? One more thought, did you have any head injury that caused you to be unconscious? This could be scar tissue on the brain.
Find a doctor who will take you seriously and order tests, there has to be an answer.
I know I sound like I am trying to scare you or that I am over-reacting. I am not trying to scare you but to get you to take action.

HI Melissa
Welcome to the world of mom's - the worlds multitaskers.... and many who are so busy "doing" the tasks of the day- they miss life.
Couple things you can immediately use and you'll know in about a month if it's nutritional-- get a good omega 3 and take 1000 units vit D twice a day- am pm.
Your baby depletes your stores of omega 3 and it takes over 3 years to replenish even with supplementation- important for brain health- why your baby took it. Vit D- those of us in this region only get it from the sun from April to October so we're usually depleted or low normal. Most of my friends who actually went thru the trouble to test before they supplemented were surprised- again important for things to work in our body.
So on to the daily living part--- it's as though even though you do what needs addressing- you're likely not living in the present. Life is SO busy- you miss even the small things of life focusing on the task at hand. It's very normal.
I have taken up mediation studies in my little free time, yoga and more and spend time consciously stopping to take breaths and reminding myself to be present at what I'm doing at that instant- enjoy it fully- look around- take in the surroundings.........amazingly it simplifies things and my memory even though I still have many times I feel like you do.. has improved even at 50 yo- ha.

Breathe- and this too will pass...

About me:50 yo perfusionist, wellness coach also doing an online weight loss challenge for $ winnings, mom with 9 yo fraternal twin girls.

B. J

Call your pharmacist and ask about any side effects of the medications regarding your issues. (Pharmacists are not utilized well and they know so much!) There are many medications that can do that to you. If you didn't have that problem all your life, that could be it. Your doctor shouldn't have ended the quest to find the problem. Ask him for a great referral to a doctor wh o can help you figure it out. Did you have any relatives who had the same problem before they were seniors? Don't be ashamed: be your best friend and go searching for the problem and the solution. You're too young for this.

I think we give a little part of our brain to each of our children ... i had to stop after one because I don't have any left.

Stress and chaos is probably your only issue - but don't discount that your medication levels may need to change. As we get older our body's chemistry changes and what used to work doesn't anymore.

You may also be suffering from some vitamin deficiencies because you probably don't have time to sit down and eat great well balanced meals. I found out I was short on Vitamin D and a supplement has helped. Sleep deprivation will do it too .. i mean come on, who really gets 10 hours of sleep???

If you're not normal then there are a lot of us abnormal moms out there - if you are still in doubt though - try a different doctor.

I had a stroke 6 years ago. My memory is shot. I went to an 8 weeks life style class and all I got out of it was I don't need to remember much, just were I wrote it down. The more meds I take the worse it is. It could be your meds. Any antidepressant I have been on has made me slow to react and less to care. Take a good look at your meds and see the side effects are. My friends they say at least you have an excuse to forget, I just forget. We call it mommy brain. When so much is going on we don't pay attention and get distracted so the information doesn't go in. It also sounds like you aren't paying attention to what is around you. When you have to remember so much for your kids, diaper bag, change of clothes, have they eaten the right thing and amount. It distracts you and don't notice what is going on around you. Good luck.

I've had this problem, too, and the embarrassment. Know that you're not alone. It's like I got a new brain once I had my children. I think that part of my memory problem was sleep related. Sleep is a key component of our memory retention. It "fixes" events/ideas/things to our memory for us to recall later. Otherwise these memories can evaporate if there is nothing to fix them there. Consider looking into your sleep. And as others have mentioned, it certainly wouldn't hurt to talk with another doc or your own doc about your medications.

((((Hugs)))) - Your post made me chuckle : ) Not laughing at you. But how with the birth of each of my children they took a large number of my brain cells and ran off with them. I used to be so on top of things. Not so much anymore. I take it with a grain of salt. Kids, work, managing the home, being a wife, trying to have a sex life when you are dirt dog tired, trying to have a social life, play dates, remembering appointments, etc . . . it's not the easiest thing to do.

I am aware that I forget things. If someone new I meet tells me their name; Well HA!!! No chance of recalling it once I see them again - ZERO lol. Simple things. I am convinced it comes with the territory. I just try to manage as best I can : )

I would definitely go see a doctor and I would tell him that others have noticed. It could be a number of things. I've struggled on and off with forgetfulness over the years. I have hypothyroidism and am now being treated. I'm much sharper mentally, but it used to affect me at work too. It certainly could be your medications. I would also call a pharmacist and ask them to go over your medications with you and side effects. Tell them what you're experiencing. They can tell you a lot about a medication that even your dr. might not know.
Good luck! I know how frustrating this can be! My kids would make fun of me all the time!

I am the same way! no meds here though, I chalk it up to mommy brain and being too stressed. When I get the most stressed is when I start forgetting even more like paying an important bill or school function etc.

I agree with the others who suggested looking into your medication more. I was taking a migraine prevention medication and my memory and comprehension abilities took a nose dive. After months of feeling my mental abilities going down hill, I finally ended up in tears one night, frustrated because I was no longer my sharp, intelligent self. My husband decided to look up the side effects of all of my medications and discovered that memory loss and decreased mental function was a side effect of my migraine meds. I asked around on one of the online forums that I belong to and found out that several other migraine suffers had stopped taking my medication because of the same side effects I was experiencing. One of my friends said that the medication made her feel like she "had lost 50 IQ points."

My psychiatrist explained to me that whenever you take a medication that alters your brain chemistry, such as migraine meds or anti-depressants, you risk altering other functions in the brain, such as memory and comprehension. If it is your medication that is causing this, it may be possible for you to switch to a different type of meds that won't have the same effect on you. Oh, and my doctor also told me that increasing the does of a medication can increase the side effects, so you may have been taking these meds for years, but a more recent increase in dose could make it seem like something new, when in fact, it's simply gotten worse and therefore more noticeable.

I have been dealing with forgetfulness for years. Glad I'm not the only one with little ones. It's embarrassing and I get mad at myself when I do it, it's so frustrating too. I forget my Dr. appts all the time, days and times I work, important incidents that happened at work and so many other things. You said you have three chronic conditions, is one of them hypothyroidism? I have had it for the last 14 years now, and that is one of the many symptoms. I get my blood and TSH level checked every 6 months and I'm always right where they want me. The part that worries me the most is, when I'm older, how will I recognize the warning signs of dementia or althimerzs. My husband keeps telling me to keep my mind active by reading, puzzles and word searches, and try not to watch too much tv, that ones not easy for me but I try my best not to have the tv on much during the day anyway.

I too am forgetful and I think it is because I have no business multitasking, my husband has brought to my attention that I do not take the time to become aware of my surroundings, that I am always rushing through the day. He will ask me to slow down when I am out and about with our girls.
You are not alone on this I too have had embarassing moments at my job due to my forgetfullness. To help with this I am going to continue to write information down and become aware of what is going around me.

Melissa, I think 1.) that you should be re-evaluated again and stress to the neurologist that you have problems with short-term memory and noticing things and with the neurologist taking the medications into account. 2.) my husband is terribly forgetful in the way that you are describing -- this happened after a very severe illness and being in a medically-induced coma for three weeks -- has there been any traumatic illness in your life? 3.) in my experience, severe stress causes those symptoms in me. I notice nothing and forget everything. 4.) I know it's hard, but you shouldn't be embarrassed. My husband simply tells everyone -- don't expect me not to forget because I will -- most people don't believe him, but he doesn't stress so much about it.

You have what I call "intellectual overload". Think of your brain like a computer disc - there's all this information being saved to the disc but it's not being processed and put away properly. Are you getting enough sleep? While we sleep our brain reprocesses the day's information and basically "de-frags" the hard drive. It throws out the stuff you don't need (where you parked your car in the grocery store parking lot) and files the information you'll need another day (the name of your kid's teacher, the new restaurant that just opened up around the corner, your mom's diagnosis, etc.) . If you're not getting the sleep you need your brain doesn't have a chance to process the information properly and it's in there somewhere but not filed in the correct "drawer / file cabinet".

My kids are 11 and 14 and I've said since the beginning that it's not the afterbirth that comes out after the baby is born - it's part of our brains. ;o)

It does get better - I promise. But you need to rest and get enough sleep - and proper nutrition too!

I have this too and sometimes when the answer seems the most obvious, I can't think of it. And also, I have trouble coming up with words I want to say sometimes. I am definitely not the same person (memory wise) I was before I had my son. I attribute it to giving birth, lack of sleep for more than a year and counting, staying at home (I don't think I exercise my brain as well as I used to while working), and stress of caring for my son. I just hope it improves and when I mess up, I try not to give myself to hard of a time. Good luck :)

1. I would first recommend a chat with your pharmacist and ask about any possible long term side effects of the 3 meds that you do take. Just b/c you haven't changed the dose, doesn't mean much. There are many other contra-indications that your Pharm could explain. It is possible to become toxic on many drugs over years of use.

2. I am also very familiar with the Neurologist exam, and it is easy to pass their short term memory test IMHO b/c you are sitting there in an office without half a dozen kids running around and screaming their need for attention.

3. Have you had your head bonked in any way the last few years? Standing up too fast, hitting a branch/pole?

4. Are you getting a full nights rest and actually sleeping enough? Do you have any sleep issues that could be robbing you of much needed rest, like sleep apnea, that you are not aware of?

5. Did you have any traumatic experiences in your childhood that continue to haunt you and make you more distracted or a little disconnected with what's going on around you? Many people disassociate in snippits throughout the day, sometimes it's just a little daydream escape during a coffee break, sometimes it is full on mental check out where their memories of the moment are non-existent. There could be stressful things in your environment that cause you to shut down.

One more question, in your example about not remembering the comforting of a child.....do you not remember it at all? Or do you just not remember it at that exact moment someone else notices?? But then you do right away recall what happened? Or you recall awhile later???

We live in such a fast paced society and we are bombarded constantly everywhere we go. I'm pissed that I can't even fill up my car with gas anymore in peace and quiet - I'm yaked at by the stupid TV's on the gas pumps now. It used to be a few minutes of peace just filling up the car and now that free space has been ruined. UGH to the stupid advertising agency who came up with that lame idea.

And do you have a chance to get out and get some exercise and fresh air to clear your mind on a daily basis?