[Beholden]

Not sure if this is the best place to post my question but here goes:

My Dx is depression. My medication Pevexa works great. But for some reason, over the past 3-4 months I've been forgetting things so much.

I've forgotten 4 doctor appointments - something I have never done before!

Yesterday when I went downstairs to switch the clean cloths to the dryer, it confussed me as to which way to turn it, clockwise or counter clockwise????

What the heck is going on with me? I have an appt Tuesday with my family doctor for my yearly physical/renewal of meds, general consult. So I'll ask him what he thinks. My thyroid results were within normal range 3 months ago.

I have my P doc appt Thursday, so will discuss this. I've had to reschedule this appt. twice, so this will be my 3rd appt and will cost me 2 "no show" charges of $50.00 each. Plus my co-pay. But I totally forgot them.

When I visited my regular doc the first part of Oct he asked if I had gotten the results of my mammogram. I couldn't remember. Then I got to wondering and I couldn't even remember going to it. So I called that office, and I was a no show there!!!!!

I'm getting a little scared as to what is happening here.

[lynn P.]

Sorry you're concerned and I agree you should speak with your doctor about this ((Beholden)). Has your memory declined since the start of the medication? Is there any family history of dementia or Alzheimer's? In the meantime it would be good to take some Omega 3 and get a good book on nutrition/ brain functioning. There's brain exercises online and doing things like Suduko is good. Switching things up like trying to write with your opposite hand or any task with your opposite hand is good. Writing backwards also exercises your brain. Learning something new - musical instrument or language also builds new brain connections.

Meditation also clears the mind and helps us handle stress better. On PBS they have shows on Brain Plasticity and I recommend getting one of those books. I hope you find the reason and solution to feel better.

[yellowted]

ermm what was i going to say............................................oh yes thats it, i get very forgetful when i have lots to remember or do, or when i get stressed. simple things that are usually routine get forgotten, everything from turning off the TV before going upstairs to bed, putting on my top before putting my bra on to forgetting where i anm going or why! one day when i was still able to drive i intended to drive to work to pick something up and then return home but drove to the roundabout where i usually turn off into the road where work was , continued right round the roundabout and continued to drive back home, i got almost home when i realised i had not picked up the stuff at work so had to go the 4 miles back again! yep forgetting stuff is so frustrating, the number of times i go into the kitchen and forget why is unbelievable.
i tend to leave myself postit notes around the house saying things like turn off he lights, have you got your keys etc i also have a calandar by my bed so i can see what i have to do when i wake up. i keep a note pad by the bed too so if i wake up during the night or can't get to sleep because of things going around in my head i can write them down and go to sleep in full confidence that i wont have forgotten it in the morning. or at least i will be reminded of it in the morning! i set reminders on my phone for an hour or two before appointments to give me time to get to them if i have forgotten them. i even have resorted to writing things on my arm so i can transfer them to the calander when i get ready for bed!

[LucyG]

I would look up the side-effects of your med and see if memory problems are listed.

I know some meds like Topamax affect memory to such an extent that people have been reported to forget their own name.

[shan2873]

Originally Posted by Beholden

Not sure if this is the best place to post my question but here goes:

My Dx is depression. My medication Pevexa works great. But for some reason, over the past 3-4 months I've been forgetting things so much.

I've forgotten 4 doctor appointments - something I have never done before!

Yesterday when I went downstairs to switch the clean cloths to the dryer, it confussed me as to which way to turn it, clockwise or counter clockwise????

What the heck is going on with me? I have an appt Tuesday with my family doctor for my yearly physical/renewal of meds, general consult. So I'll ask him what he thinks. My thyroid results were within normal range 3 months ago.

I have my P doc appt Thursday, so will discuss this. I've had to reschedule this appt. twice, so this will be my 3rd appt and will cost me 2 "no show" charges of $50.00 each. Plus my co-pay. But I totally forgot them.

When I visited my regular doc the first part of Oct he asked if I had gotten the results of my mammogram. I couldn't remember. Then I got to wondering and I couldn't even remember going to it. So I called that office, and I was a no show there!!!!!

I'm getting a little scared as to what is happening here.

Most docs are after money so don't loose your heart

[seeker1950]

Yeah, well, I'm kind of concerned since I did this: met a coworker in a busy parking lot to go for a 5 hour drive. When I returned, in the dark, my car was running...had been running the entire time! I had lost my car/home keys a week before. Couldn't find them for anything. So I got a replacement pair out of the junk drawer in my kitchen. I was exasperated that I had left my car running for all that time, but, thankfully, it hadn't been stolen. When we returned from our 5 hour trip, the lights were on and there it was running with the AC running full blast. I was perplexed as I drove home. Then, when I went into my house, unlocked the house to let myself in, and went to put my keys into the pocket of my purse...where I always put them...there were BOTH sets of keys in my hand....the ones I had lost PLUS the replacement keys. I have NO idea how this happened! Am I worried about forgetfullness!?? Yes!

I was going to ask a question but...I forgot what I was going to write my memory is horrible now with the dx and rx...I have to write everything down i dont think you are alone in this...

[eskielover]

1/2 hour late for church this morning because I couldn't find my checkbook which had my drivers license in it.....ran up & down the stairs 4 times until I finally found where I had really laid it.

I am forever running back into the house because I can't find something I needed & always end up late for everywhere I go because of something I have misplaced & realize I need & don't have & don't even know where it is.

The worst part of misplacing things is that it's a huge trigger for the trauma I went through with the home care person when my mother was dying of cancer....there were constantly things that came up missing right after I had them or my mother did....from the wedding ring on my mother's finger to her check book I was working on while sitting on the floor when I got distracted to the notes I made on all the strange things that had been going to the missing pill she gave my mother that ended up being an OD on her morphine.....sure glad I didn't bother looking for that one more pill.

I have also lost brand new prescription sun glasses I had just bought which I ended up finding 6 months later in the refrigerator....in the box of shots I had bought that day for our dogs......the box of shots had one of those perforated lids that opened up, ate my sunglasses......then sat there digesting them for the whole 6 montls staying cool in the refrig.

I have been absent minded forever & could never remember things. My Calif pdoc before I left there had started me taking the Omega 3 EPA for my depression (which worked wonders for me for depression).....the awesome side effect was that I got involved with the library book club after first leaving my husband & moving 2100 miles away......but I could read & remember what I read & I could even carry on an intelligent conversation & remember what I was wanting to say. I know that part of that was that my mind was free from all the anger & fighting it had been doing for 33 years......a free & clear mind really helps.....but heaven knows how many stresses with the IRS & now with the foreclosure on the house I'm in with him in Ca......& finally the divorce.....my head gets so full & exhausted feeling & when I can't sleep if makes remembering things even worse.

I have one of those day timer calendars that I also put the finance papers in from several years ago so I can keep track of my spending on a daily basis on top of my mothly budgeting......or I would forget what I spent & where & couldn't figure out why my account was negative.

My grandmother had alzheimers....but I know that I am nothing like she was even at my age, there were signs.....I know that my mother must have had a stroke when she had the blood clots in her legs & that is what had made her fall that one night.....because it was right after that, when she could no longer figure out how to make change for $100 & she had worked in a bank for years....& she blamed me for confusing her when I tried to help her figure it out......& my mare had just had her baby foal....& my mother couldn't remember what a baby horse was called in the sunday paper game section......I knew it wasn't her old age not her chronic illness that her onclogist suggested.....that wouldn't have come on so suddenly over one weekend like it had. Ah, the mind is a complicated thing.

[Umbral_Seraph]

My memory is pretty bad too. What's odd though is that it's really my short term; the long term is fairly good, but only if doesn't leave my short term. The most bizarre thing that's happened to me memory wise is forgetting everything that I talking about literally in mid sentence.

[seeker1950]

Originally Posted by Umbral_Seraph

My memory is pretty bad too. What's odd though is that it's really my short term; the long term is fairly good, but only if doesn't leave my short term. The most bizarre thing that's happened to me memory wise is forgetting everything that I talking about literally in mid sentence.

When I'm in conversations, if I don't blurt out the thought immediately, even if it's nothing to do with the subject discussed...I forget it...even though it seemed really important. Most of my friends are like this too, so we tolerate each other pretty well!

[Leed]

Lucy, I'm glad you mentioned Topamax as being one of the culprits as I've been on that for years, and my memory sucks! I cannot remember anything that someone told me yesterday -- or perhaps earlier in the day! I've been worried about Alzheimers, really!! I'm always looking for where I left something in the house -- I cannot ever remember where I put it. I forget what day it is all the time. I never know the date. It's really unnerving!

I can't ever remember words I want to say -- I'm always searching for the "appropriate" word to use. ARRRGGGHHH I get so frustrated!

[eskielover]

There is another thread going on here now that's talking about topomax.....& made a comment that Dr's call it DOPAMAX.....because of the stupids it leaves you with.....all in all, I think I'm glad they never tried that on my migraines even if it would work.....who would think that the high dose of Fentynal that I'm on doesn't have any side effects & I have been more alery & aware than I was for a long time.

[Moodmuse]

It's nickname is stupamax

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Leed]

I'm not on that high of a dose either == only 400mg per day, and I feel like an idiot. I like that nickname -- Stupamax. LOL

[LucyG]

Leed, you might want to see about having a neuropysch evaluation done to determine the degree of your memory problems.

A neurologist did mine, and it consisted of having me read some stuff, answer questions about it, ask me various questions like the names of various objects, naming as many of a certain thing within a specified period of time and the like. The neurologist also took a through medical history, and based on some issues I was having recommended I be evaluated for lupus and something else--never was as my neuro didn't bother reading the report......

When I was on meds, I developed a sort of dyslexia of sorts with words and letters. When I was typing, I'd have to sound out words that contained the letters 'b' and 'p'--I'd go 'bbbbbbbut, b' and type it. Now that I'm off meds, it's pretty much gone away.

There are some supplements that are supposed to help memory, one of them being the mineral lithium as lithium orotate or lithium asparate, not the drug lithium carbonate. My naturopath put me on it on it about 6 weeks ago, and I've really noticed how much sharper I am [back to where I used to be when I was younger before taking dumb-downing meds] the last few weeks. Here's an article about the use of lithium in protecting the brain:

http://www.biotechpharmacal.com/2012...nderstand=true

Besides the lithium, I also started taking the essential fatty acid phosphatidylserine that is used to build brain cell membranes. Between the lithium and that, my memory is 10 times what it was 2 months ago. Here's a quick article on it:

http://www.naturalnews.com/016646_Ph...lzheimers.html

Should you actually have Alzheimers [and I sincerely HOPE you don't], a very easy treatment that is proving very effective is eating coconut oil. If you go to youtube and search it, there's at least one video showing the progress of an Alzheimers patient in being able to draw a clock after eating coconut oil for a certain period of time. While it was still off, it was 100 times better than before the coconut oil. The reason it helps is because it's a medium chain triglyceride molecule needed by the brain to function.

Speaking of that, the alternative health community believes Alzheimers is a disease of LOW cholesterol as your brain absolutely has to have enough cholesterol to function as it's made up of cholesterol. I heard alternative cancer researcher Leonard Coldwell on Coast-to-Coast AM saying how LOW cholesterol is the real danger, not high.

[eskielover]

.....I have low colestrol.......but I use coconut oil to cook with. My grandmother had alzheimers.

I was wondering what kind of work up neurologists to do determine dementia/alzheimers. My stbxh was so bad at ignoring serious things like the IRS, & then just lately the his housepayments (I left 5 years ago)......but the letter that my pdoc (& his) wrote to the IRS getting the waiver of the penalties mentioned that he had told my husband before that to go get a workup from a neurologist because he didn't think that the problems he was having were all his ADD. He was never good at communicating even when he was working at a firmware engineer (same career I was in).......But now he can't even comprehend the things that I write....he either completely doesn't respond or he responds to a very tiny portion of the issue. Of course, looking back throughout those 33 years of marriage...his passive aggressive personality was an issue also......so it's really hard to tell exactly what's going on with him....but definitely know that his cognative abilities are only with things that have become a routine that he has done over & over. Not sure what meds he's on any longer. Think he's still going to my same pdoc that we were going to when I left him 5 years ago......can't read it too well over 2100 miles...but definitely know there's something not right with his brain to the point that I have actually been thinking about calling APS & having them check out if he's really capable without having a conservator at least for his finances.