Really worried about my memory.

Bastet2015

Registered User
Feb 19, 2016
5
0
Hello all,


Thank you for reading this. I am a 30 year old male, 31 next month. I have always had a bad memory, but in recent years it is getting worse and worse.


When I was in my early 20s, my memory as terrible. To give you an example, on one occasion I was on a train with a friend and tried to tell her the same bit of news three times, forgetting each time that we had already discussed it. On another occasion at work I walked with a colleague to another building to fetch something. When we arrived, I asked my colleague wasn't getting the thing we'd gone there for and she replied that it was me that wanted to pick something up from there, but I had completely forgotten what I wanted or why I had gone there. This happened a lot.


I did not think a lot of it at the time because I drank alcohol (not to excess) and that is a red flag for memory problems.


I then moved to university and my alcohol consumption understandably went through the roof. Students will be students! I was 24 at the start of my degree and drank almost every day to the point of being quite drunk. My memory actually did not get any worse. It probably got better in fact.


At 27 I started my Masters and knuckled down. I hardly drank at all for that year, but my memory remained bad. I stayed on to do a PhD and my memory has become worse and worse since. I got nine months in and had to take eighteen months off for wrist surgeries for Flexor Carpi Radialis Tendinopathy and post-op procedures to resolve keloid scarring and nerve damage, so I am 30 going on 31, but still a first year PhD student. I recently resumed my PhD last month.


However, the past 2-3 years my memory has began to get progressively worse and worse. Today it is the worst it ever has been. I am constantly forgetting things, making up conversations that never happened, misplacing things and as a result I am fighting with my family a lot.


I will jest to my mother that she is going senile if she says something that doesn't tally up with what I remember happening, but increasingly it is me who is the one forgetting. I am having more and more confrontations with my family and friends as they all now uniformly agree that it is me forgetting things and getting confused. They are getting sick of having to repeat themselves to me and they are losing their patience and tempers with me. More people are noticing my memory problems and it's really scaring me as I am only 30. I can forget things that happened within five minutes. I can say 'I need x at the shops' and, two minutes later, forget everything and not remember until two days later when it pings into my head.


I was in Matalan the other day looking for 17.5" regular fit shirts. I picked up a slim fit shirt and talked about it with my mother (yes, yes, shopping with the mother - how embarrassing at my age!) because I am temporarily back with my parents whilst I try and get back into university life. We discussed the shirt and decided to look for another shirt in a regular fit of the same style. I put the shirt down, turned to my mother to say a few sentences, turned back, saw the shirt, picked it up and said 'oh look, here's a 17.5" neck shirt'. Literally, within a minute. I kid you not, I had completely forgotten that we had decided against that shirt literally seconds before. My mother looked at me as if to say 'are you for real?'


This sort of thing is happening multiple times a day now. I signed up to these forums and, within five minutes, had forgotten my password and took 3 attempts to log in. That's how short my memory can be at times. Strangely, my memory of events which happened a very long time ago is very clear. I can recall things which happened a long while ago in amazing detail.


I did not drink any alcohol for nine months leading up to Christmas 2015. I had a few drinks within the units allowed for men over Xmas and New Year and then stopped again. I used to smoke socially (<50 cigarettes in total I guesstimate) aged 16-17 but have not smoked for thirteen+ years.


I have a number of conditions and take a variety of drugs. I will mention them all because I do not know if any of the drugs, even if I have stopped taking them now, may have implications for memory:


I have had quite bad skin and other allergies and Allergic Rhinitis for most of my adult life. I took Cetirizine Hydrochloride for many years and it did work. It eventually stopped having an effect and I swapped to Loratadine which never worked. I was swapped to 180mg of Fexofenadine and have used it for many years now without any symptoms. When the local pharmacies recently tried to force me back onto Loratadine to save money I had to refuse. It is fantastic to be able to smell cut grass without a single symptom and I don't want to go back to suffering every day, regardless of season. I use Cetraben Emollient for my skin and Aveeno for my face.


As a teenager I took Oxytetracycline for acne for many years. More recently (2013 (28)) I tried Minocycline and Lymecycline. I had to stop these when a correlation was made between taking them and my 'ALT' levels (I think it was those, from Liver Function Tests) going through the roof. I used tonnes of creams and topical lotions. I gave up and to this day still have oily skin and raised bumps all across my forehead.


I inured my back in 2004 (19) after an accident at work. It has never been the same since. I took Ibuprofen then Naproxen for it, as well as Codeine on occasion. These doubled up for a wrist problem which was muscular. I became allergic to anti-inflammatory drugs in 2010 and depended on Codeine during flare ups of agony and immobility perhaps twice per year until recently, when the back pain became almost constant - I swapped to 60mg Dihydrocodeine up to four times per day with up to four lots of 1000mg Paracetamol per day to combat my wrist and back problems, though I no longer take either as it is no longer effective due to a resistance I built up.


Also in 2004, I developed Epididymitis in my left testicle only. I have had a flare up every year since. Initially, I had 3-4 flare ups per year. These days I get 1-2 but the pain is worse now than it used to be. When it flares up I get anywhere from 1-2 weeks of antibiotics and drink acidic fruit drinks like cranberry or pink grapefruit. It usually clears up but more recently it is more persistent. Initially, there were bacterial growths in my urine. In recent years all urine samples are clear, but the GP tells me the bacteria can hide deep in the urinary tract and not show in samples. Other GPs have told me Epididymitis is viral, so I don't know why they always give me antibiotics. I have just finished a two week course of 400mg Trimethoprim and acidic drinks and I am still in agony. Past ultrasounds confirmed inflammation in line with chronic Epididymitis. They said I would need to have a camera down my urethra to investigate further (2010 (25)). As it wasn't life threatening I never contacted them back as I was too scared. I have also taken antibiotics now and then for chest infections. I am usually given Clarithromycin, Amoxicillin, Flucloxacillin or 1-2 others I forgot the name of. I am intolerant of Metronidazole and Ciprofloxacin (hives, diarrhoea, itchiness).


I suffer with depression since 2005 (20). I took Fluoxetine for many months but found that the insides of my teeth itched every day (nerves maybe?) so had to stop as it was literally torture. The itching went away after ceasing Fluoxetine. I do not recall the dose but it was high. I never went on anti-depressants again because I felt better and stayed off them until 2008. I then tried Citalopram which I took until about 2012. My mood was fantastic on Citalopram but it gave me Coughlan's syndrome. I do not recall the dose but it was high. When I could no longer bear Coughlan's syndrome, I asked to swap to another pill and tried Sertraline. I took 150mg of Sertraline from 2013 to early 2015. Sertraline was ineffective and gave me Restless Leg Syndrome every single night without fail at 11:30pm until 4am. Eventually, I was so exhausted that I slowly weaned myself off it with my doctors permission and refused further anti-depressants because of my bad history. My depression returned in January 2016 due to problems with the university and I took one 15mg Mirtazapine tablet and had a serious adverse reaction - I think it reacted with my Pregabalin. I then waited a few days and tried 75mg of Venlafaxine per day for 8-9 days. I noticed almost immediately that my appetite vanished and, instead of going to the toilet 10 times per day (I'm not diabetic though), I would go twice and instead of getting up twice during the night for the loo, I would not get up at all. The doctor took me off it due to the urinary retention. My GP felt that I was quite insensitive to these new fangled anti-depressants and said that Trazadone was a much older and less frequently used anti-depressant so I decided to trust his judgement. I have been taking 50mg of Trazadone for just over a fortnight now and thankfully haven't had any adverse reactions. I don't feel much better, but I know that these things take months sometimes. I'm just thankful I can take something without any negative reactions.


I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and stress in 2007 (22) with Irritable Bowel Syndrome caused by excess adrenaline during distress. I was prescribed Propranalol for this and it worked. It began to make to wheezy so the GP at the time took me off it. I tried Amitriptyline for a while, had no benefit from it and stopped it. Nothing else was really tried other than anti-depressants. I have developed mild Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Mebeverine and similar drugs as well as Buscopan all failed to relieve the IBS. When I had isolated periods of insomnia I was given 7 days worth of Zopiclone or Temazepam which kicked my sleeping pattern back into action. I never had more than 7 days per period of insomnia (two to three weeks of no sleeping, followed by having to ask for sleeping pills for one week, followed by sleeping normally again)


In 2009 (24) I developed 'Repetitive Strain Injury' supposedly, which was finally, after much trouble, diagnosed as bilateral Flexor Carpi Radialis Tendinopathy with ganglions (in 2014 (26)) which I took Ibuprofen/Naproxen for until late 2010 when I became allergic to that family and swapped to Codeine, then Dihydrocodeine. I had an adverse reaction to Tramadol. I had tendon release surgery in March 2015 (took five years to even get investigations, in two words: medical negligence). My issue was not resolved and I developed a hypertrophic scar which had numerous steroid injections. When the scar settled, I was still in agony and it was found that I had damage to the superficial palmar branch of the median nerve of the left wrist, and continuing tendon problems with the right wrist. I was given Pregabalin for the neuropathic pain in December and slowly increased it from 100mg initially to the maximum 600mg per day. I have some success with Pregabalin and noticed that as a side effect it improved my anxiety too, which it is apparently known to do. I was given Nefopam for the right wrist but had an immediate adverse reaction. I was given Capsaicin cream to use which grants some small benefit. I hardly use it and I currently do not have anything to pain medicate the right wrist with.


I developed chronic diarrhoea a few years ago that got worse and worse. I tried going lactose free on my doctors suggestion, but it didn't help and I was just told it was 'just IBS' and to deal with it. After 2-3 years I put my foot down and they did some tests. I was deficient in Folic Acid so have taken 5mg per day since 2014 and my levels have been fine since. I eventually had the SeHCAT test and it came back positive for Bile Salt Malabsorption. I have taken 12g of Colestyramine every other day since January 2015 (29) when I was diagnosed. It took months to find a dose that worked to stop the diarrhoea. I follow the rule for taking all other pills one hour before or six hours after Colestyramine. At the same time as this, about a year ago (29) I started to have a lot of 'sickie burps' and as time went on it got worse. I was beginning to wake up with acid in my mouth and, at one stage, jerked myself awake choking on some acid. I was given 20mg per day of Omeprazole which I still take. I have not had Acid Reflux since beginning Omeprazole.


I was constantly tired all the time despite sleeping well so had my vitamins checked in about March 2015 (30) and it came back that I was dangerously low in vitamin D3. Consultants were and still are divided as to whether it was the Bile Salt Malabsorption itself causing the deficiency or the Colestyramine literally absorbing everything into it and stopping my body from getting hold of it. I started taking 800 units of Fultium D3 per day and increased the vitamin rich foods in my diet. I already ate a lot of D3 rich foods, but made more of an effort to take them in. I just had a blood test to check my levels two weeks ago and my D3 levels are still below adequate. Everything else (they literally did everything; kidney function, thyroid, markers), was perfect including Folic Acid which I still take 5mg per day of. I was told to take an over the counter supplement in addition to the D3 and agreed to eat a fortified cereal every morning with oily fish each lunchtime. I will have another check in six months.


I occasionally use Fusidic acid (Fucidin cream) for blisters which randomly form up my nostrils at least twice per year. Untreated, they do not go away. With Fucidin, they go away after 2-3 days.


Due to the tiredness and other symptoms, I went to Rheumatology last week where they checked the recent blood test, my history and my referral details. They did a full examination and interrogation of my symptoms. They said that without a shadow of a doubt I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and referred me to a specialist CFS unit in a nearby town. That would explain some of my other medical problems I guess.


I recently came across an article that said a study had found that 80%+ of IBS sufferers have vitamin D3 deficiency. Since taking Fultium D3, even though my levels are still just below adequate, I have not had any IBS symptoms at all which rings true with the study.


I read another recent article (sorry I am a student and often end up browsing all sorts of different journals) which linked Proton Pump Inhibitors, which Omeprazole is, to Dementia. It scared the heck out of me because I was already worried about my increasingly bad memory.


Just to reiterate that beast of a wall of text, my current meds are:
* 2 x 300mg Pregabalin (morning and night) daily.
* 800 units Fultium D3 daily.
* 5mg Folic Acid daily.
* 180mg Fexofenadine daily.
* 12g Colestyramine every 2 days at about 12 noon.
* 20mg Omeprazole at around 7pm, well after Colestyramine.
* 75mg Trazadone.
* Capsaicin cream now and then.


Do any of these medications (I realise there are a lot, sorry) cause permanent memory damage? Is it possible I have dementia? What are the chances that Omeprazole is affecting my memory? Could any of my medical conditions affect my memory to the extent described at the top?


I am quite concerned about it all now.


Apologies for the wall of text and thank you for your time.
 
Last edited:

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
Welcome to TP. Let me just say that we are not medically trained here. We are carers or people with dementia, and I'd advise you to take your concerns to your GP. You are awfully young for a dementia diagnosis though, and while I don't dispute your memory problems, they could be caused by stress, anxiety or a vitamin deficiency. Get yourself checked over, then you'll know more.
 

Bastet2015

Registered User
Feb 19, 2016
5
0
Hi Beate.

Hi Beate.

Well I knew this was primarily for sufferers and carers, but I thought this board might be appropriate for general advice. It said '[m]emory concerns and seeking a diagnosis' at the top so figured I could ask :(.

I do want to talk about my problem with my GP, but I feel guilty because normally appointments should be 10 minutes and this issue might take longer, make the GP late and cause other people to have to wait.

I have an appointment with a psychiatrist coming up next week, to discuss managing my depression and anxiety since most pills failed to help, and to discuss some rather bizarre addictions I have, so maybe they would be better to talk to?

I will try my GP though if you think it would be best. I just hoped maybe someone would spot something and yell 'this pill xxx can cause memory issues'.

You said: 'they could be caused by stress, anxiety or a vitamin deficiency'. I definitely don't have a vitamin deficiency, other than D3. It was dangerously low in March 2015 and as of 2 weeks ago it is just below adequate and that's with 800u Fultium D3 and D3 rich foods daily :-/. The stress and anxiety I concede. I have been experiencing a lot of that in recent weeks, though my memory is still bad even when not stressed or anxious. There's no apparently pattern.
 

AlsoConfused

Registered User
Sep 17, 2010
1,952
0
GPs will increase the length of the consultation when it's clearly necessary.

Someone who was a member of TP a while ago very much appreciated his GP giving him an hour's time instead of fobbing him off with the short consultation he'd expected.
 

Selinacroft

Registered User
Oct 10, 2015
936
0
Hi Baste 2015
Welcome to TP . I also think a visit to your GP would be the best place to start. Even if there is nothing really to worry about it is clearly causing you great concern at the moment.
Try and sumarise your concerns in an initial ten minute appointment and if needed I am sure the GP will ask to see you again. You may get a referral to a memory clinic but I imagine your GP will do a very quick basic test with you to see if a referral is necessary at this stage.
You are clearly trying to take in a lot of info studying for PHD so perhaps you are forgetting the trivia due to overload and stress?
A lot of people are rubbish at remembering passwords and numbers etc without writing them down, and hormones can definitely play havoc with memory.
Ring your local surgery tomorrow and make an appointment.
 

Bastet2015

Registered User
Feb 19, 2016
5
0
GPs will increase the length of the consultation when it's clearly necessary.

Someone who was a member of TP a while ago very much appreciated his GP giving him an hour's time instead of fobbing him off with the short consultation he'd expected.

Hey, I will ask about booking a longer consultation tomorrow when I pop in. It needs addressing, it's getting ridiculous now.
 

CollegeGirl

Registered User
Jan 19, 2011
9,525
0
North East England
Hello and welcome. I'm sorry you're so worried, and understand how debilitating such anxiety can be.

I wonder whether it might be worth you printing off your first post here, which is very detailed, and sending it to your GP for him/her to read before your appointment?

This would save a lot of time at the actual appointment, and free up the time to try to find a solution and hopefully allay your fears.

With best wishes.
 
Last edited:

Bastet2015

Registered User
Feb 19, 2016
5
0
Hello and welcome.

I wonder whether it might be worth you printing off your first post here, which is very detailed, and sending it to your GP for him/her to read before your appointment?

This would save a lot of time at the actual appointment, and free up the time to try to find a solution and hopefully allay your fears.

With best wishes.

Hi CollegeGirl,

Thank you, this is a fantastic idea and I had completely missed that. I will do that. I'll print it now, drop it off tomorrow and book an appointment for the week after maybe. Thanks!
 

Bertie11

Registered User
Feb 28, 2016
3
0
Are the medicines interacting?

I'm no expert but you say you're taking about 8 medications. You could ask your gp if some are interacting to cause or worsen memory problems (they may not know, but it may be helpful to prepare a sort of timeline to identify times when your memory got worse and when your medications changed) Also I found sometimes I could tolerate medicines that had previously caused problems. Good luck