Extremely concerned about my short term memory loss

[piedwarbler]

Hi Pip

I am no expert either but the signs you describe don't sound at all like the things my mum (who has vascular dementia) has been doing. It started off with her not being able to remember the right word for things, quite straightforward things like shoes for example. She'd say where are my... my... and could not think of hte right word.

It does sound a bit like OCD to me and worth exploring I think.

It is totally natural to worry. When my mum got a breast tumour I had a pain in my breast and had to go for a mammogram to set my mind at rest!

Good luck x

[Adaliani]

Hi Pip,

I was wondering if you've got any further with diagnosing the reasons for your forgetfulness? I'm the same age as you, have similar problems, and have a strong family history of the disease.

However, I have had an extremely stressful personal and professional life over the past few years, and wonder if that is the more likely cause. Those close to me say that my consciousness of this 'memory loss' is more likely down to the fact that I am quite an intellectual person and thus aware of my cognitive capacity, so any changes seem MASSIVE to me!

I'd be interested to know how you're getting on now

Thanks, Rachel

[Vonny]

Please note this is a fairly old thread and Pip hasn't logged on since 1st April

[rafter1]

Pip, might you be dyslexic. This is when you receive information in the wrong side of your brain and you need to transfer it to the other side to utilise the information. This means that dyslexic people can get up to 6 times more tired than other people when dealing with the information. Short term memory loss is a major problem with dyslexic people, and the fact that you were trying to put the cartridge in the wrong way around is another sign of dyslexia.

[jenniferpa]

Can I point out to anyone thinking of responding to this thread, the thread is quite old (started in 2010) so posters situations may well have changed.

[rand1988]

I keep having quite bad short term memory loss and it's scaring me and starting to worry me.

I am very hesitant to go and see a GP because to me doctor's are not very good and generally just fob people off and because of my age they would probably not be very interested in my problems.

I'm 28 years old, Dementia has never been in my family until possible recently, My Nan died last month, She was in her 70's, They think she might have had a form of Dementia although they were not too sure because she had other problems too.

If it was a form in Dementia that ran in the family as my Nan had it in her 70's what is the chance of me developing it in my 20's?

I just forget things instantly, If i wash my hands sometimes i forget straight away, If i wash a cup out i can forget within 5 seconds.

I forget to buy things i want from the shop, Sometimes i buy a dinner from the shop to eat in the evening and i end up eating something else.

Earlier on today i turned my living room light on around 3.30pm and i think i turned it off within 15-20 minutes, I went to the shop around 3.50pm and i still can't remember whether i turned the light off or not, I can't even remember if it was on when i got back from the shop, I'm sure i turned it off then turned it back on around 5.30pm although i can't remember whether it was on all along, I'm thinking i might have turned it off around the time i went to the shop and then left it off for around 2 hours but i just can't remember anything about it like when i turned if off or if i did and when i turned it back on.

My memory is just going blank all the time.

Also seeing a thread on this forum about someone having dementia aged just 24 makes me even more worried, I know it is very rare for someone in their 20's to get or develop dementia but obviously it is not impossible at all.

I only take a couple of different medications, I take inhalers and i also take Citalopram (Anti-Depressant) I have been taking that for around 7 years and my memory has only been getting worse over the past few months.

I take the Anti-Depressant for mild anxiety which i don't get much these days and for panic disorder again i don't suffer too much these days but i really do not know whether Anti-Depressants are capable of causing memmory problems or not.

I just don't know what is causing this but it does seem to be getting worse, I am very aware of my lapses, I don't live with anyone so it's hard to know how bad my problems are as there isn't anyone who could notice my problems due to me living alone.

I do hope more than anything in the world that it's not any form of dementia but i'm actually starting to think that it could be dementia, If i got dementia at my age i don't know what i would do because i don't think i could handle that at all, I can understand it if i was a lot older because as i understand it the majority of people who develop it are a lot lot older than 28.

My thinking ability is sometimes rubbish but i don't know if that is related?

For instance today i was installing an ink cartridge in my printer and i looked at the diagram to see which way the cartridge had to go and i turned it the opposite way and i was trying to force it in and it wouldn't go in so i looked at the diagram again and noticed that i had infact been trying to put it in the wrong way so i then managed to sort it out after that.

I just hope you can give me some opinions and whether there is any hints that i might be developing dementia and whether what i am describing sounds like it could be dementia.

Hi there! What your describing seems to be due to lack of concentration / being distracted rather than dementia. The most likely cause is due to your recent bereavement and may also be due to your depression which may interfere with attention/concentration. I would suggest you see your GP and he/she may assess you formally and perhaps increase your SSRI (citalopram).

[jenniferpa]

rand198 it is thoughtful of you to be concerned about Pip. However Pip hasn't logged on since 2010. As I said before: the thread is quite old (started in 2010) so posters situations may well have changed. In light of this, I am now closing it.