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Originally Posted by x_BabyG_x
Hey guys, I'm BP2 and I just wanted to ask how common memory difficulties are with this disorder.
My memory doesn't necessarily just fail me when I have a racey mind when manic for example, but even when I'm stable. It interferes with daily life (even more so when I started quetiapine (seroquel)) and I try to make the best of what I have to deal with, but it seems stress triggers it even more.
Examples are forgetting where I am going on a car journey, memory blanks where I can't remember names, dates, the year we are in. I lose my car keys almost every time I get out of the car (before I have left the car!!). I know that forgetfulness is part and part with normal brains, but I'm not on about little glitches I'm talking about something that affects me 24/7 and is making my life extremely difficult. I have post it notes everywhere, especially at work, I have to make a list every morning of thins to do or else I will wonder around aimlessly not knowing that I had planned for the day. The majority of conversations it have with people I forget, and I have to explain myself to people when they get offended when I have no idea what we have talked about for the past hour. It's not that I don't listen, I'm a great listener, it's just like my brain can't seem to retain information.
Are you guys the same or is it something that I'm going to have to take up seriously with my doctor?
Megan x
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It was the severe memory issues that I started having that led up to my psychologist suggesting I get a full neuropsychological evaluation. I locked myself out of my car 6 times in 3 months, lost my keys twice in that same period, forgot entire conversations, forgot directions of work from my boss, the whole gamut. I was in a car accident in 2010 that resulted in PTSD, but I was also pretty physically injured, including a bad concussion. I was terrified that my memory problems were because of some permanent brain injury now rearing its head and that I would never make it into grad school, and my life as I knew it was over, and etc. etc. etc.
So I went and got a full neuropsych eval done. It turns out that cognitively, I am 100% fine, tested average or above average on all tests of memory, intelligence, executive functioning, and attention. At the same time, this is also how I found out I have BP I. They attributed my memory problems to stress triggering my PTSD and BP symptoms. So like you, stress is my Achilles' heel.
So even though I found out unexpectedly that I have BP, it was VERY reassuring to know that cognitively, there's nothing wrong physically with my memory. I'm not "brain damaged," it's not permanent, I'm not some "shell of my former self." It's just stress getting in the way. I have no idea if Seroquel is making your memory worse, maybe a little research into journal articles on it?
If you really want to find out for sure about your memory though, it might be an option to get a neuropsychological eval. It was covered by my insurance just fine, and I really believe it's one of the best decisions I've ever made for my mental and emotional health. It's good to know for sure, because then you can deal with it appropriately. It relieved a significant amount of stress just hearing how well my cognitive test results were!
Now for the never ending task of reducing stress...