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So frustrated! I can't remember ANYTHING!

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Posted 7/23/2010 11:44 AM (GMT -8)
I feel like I'm going crazy.....just was over in the Lupus forum and saw an interesting thread. Thought it was new. Turns out it's an old thread and I posted on it but I don't remember anything about it! And it's an important topic...about getting steroid shots in your spine. My rheumy wants to do that but my LLMD says no, thank goodness!

Then this morning found out that I had inadvertently put one of my night pills in the morning slots in my pill box. That wouldn't be so bad except I put them in the night slots too! So all week (until today) I've been taking a double dose!

I truly think I'm losing my mind.....! And I've been on IV Rocephin for 5 weeks now!

Does anyone relate??
Posted 7/23/2010 12:13 PM (GMT -8)
I can definitely relate. I do the same things too. It gets very frustrating indeed. I have to set reminders on my phone so that I don't take too much medication. I set reminders for everything. I have to go over things two or three times to be sure I have it right. I guess I've just gotten used to it now.
Posted 7/23/2010 12:17 PM (GMT -8)
Hi CajunGrl,

I know, I've been trying to deal with it for quite a while but now it seems to be getting worse. I guess I'm going to have to ask my husband to check my meds before I take them or something....?

JoAnn
Posted 7/23/2010 12:19 PM (GMT -8)
I am so sorry for the troubles you are having with your memory, nasalady! I have made it to the point where now I can't remember where I put the notes that I had carefully written to remind myself of this or that.
Sure hope your doubling up on those meds didn't cause any problems for you!!
Posted 7/23/2010 12:27 PM (GMT -8)
Thanks Traveler....doubling up on the medication probably explains why my blood pressure was so low when the visiting nurse was here a couple of days ago, LOL! It was a blood pressure med that I overdosed on....

Last night I was typing up my reminder list for today, and I couldn't remember what I needed to remind myself to do!! I gave up and went to bed.....I still can't remember what the particular task was. sad
Posted 7/23/2010 12:32 PM (GMT -8)
Oh wow Nasalady!!! It's a good thing your blood pressure didn't drop too low!!!!
I go through the same kind of a thing!! It is sooooo incredibly frustrating!!! Makes me feel like I might need a babysitter!!!
Sometimes by retracing my steps - literally - helps me to pick back up the train of thought - just often enough that I keep trying it!!!
Posted 7/23/2010 1:21 PM (GMT -8)
Thank goodness for my phone and Post-It notes! My desk area is plastered in yellow. My short term memory gets so bad that I've become completely neurotic about leaving the house. I check the stove to make sure it's off, but 30 seconds later, I can't remember if I checked it or not. I've been forced to write as much as possible down. I have both Lyme and insomnia to blame for my poor memory.
Posted 7/23/2010 3:40 PM (GMT -8)
IH8Ticks, I have the same thing - sticky notes everywhere (I buy the huge packages of sticky notes at Costco, LOL), and even though I do something, I can't remember I've done it as soon as I've finished. And yes, I agree - the insomnia is a factor in this memory thing.

Someone once said to me that "[their] memory is only as good as the paper it's written on" - this is sooo applicable to us, isn't it?

Nasalady, sorry you are so frustrated. I've been really frustrated by the declining state of my memory/mental faculties too...especially since I used to have an almost eidetic/photographic memory for some kinds of things....that's all gone now, and I doubt it'll come back. I've had to grieve the loss of the ability to do things certain ways and have had to re-learn how to do some things because I used to be able to remember things so much better than I can anymore. My Husband has been very patient with my outbursts...but I finally had to go see a counselor to get me through the whole thing...it has helped to some extent, though I don't think I'll be able to relax the vigilance against the outbursts... Exercise seems to help, though, and I've been recently able to begin taking short walks again (yay!). I guess this is a long way to say that I hear ya, experience similar things, and am just offering support :)

Take care,
Posted 7/23/2010 3:59 PM (GMT -8)
I never had a very good memory to begin with, but now it's terrible. At the height of my memory problems a couple of years ago, I'd do things like start to walk out of the grocery store without paying. I'd just be walking out the door with an entire shopping cart filled with groceries completely oblivious to what I was doing. It was embarrassing. Probably the worst thing for me is that when I first got sick, I had just returned to school to get a degree. I barely survived the semester, and I had to drop out. I haven't been able to return, and I'm not even sure that I ever will. I can't read a book or anything, much less take a class. I can barely manage learning new things for my job. My brain is a mess.
Posted 7/23/2010 4:20 PM (GMT -8)
Oh wow, you all sound so much like me! IH8ticks, I'm sorry that you're going through this! I too have walked out of stores without paying....and as far as school goes, I used to be the teacher! I taught college level math, but I sure can't do it anymore! During my very last class, last fall, I was hanging on by my fingernails; I could barely do arithmetic in my head at that point. cry

For example, all week I've been trying to make a step-by-step list of the meds I take in one single day with the times I should take them and whether or not I should take them with food....sounds pretty simple, huh? Well, I'm currently on my third draft, and I'm STILL not sure it's correct! sad

I just went through neuropsychiatric testing and the doctor did find "mild" cognitive issues and memory loss....well, if this is mild I sure don't want to see moderate or severe!! :(

Thanks for your support everyone! I'm so so sorry that you all are dealing with these issues too....but it does help to know that you understand and that you are working to find workarounds for your memory and cognitive issues.

Razzle, that's great that you are able to take walks again!

(((((((hugs))))))))) to all!
JoAnn
Posted 7/23/2010 9:27 PM (GMT -8)
Fortunately for me, my doctor writes everything down for me to take home. I'm on a pulsing schedule of antibiotics, and I would never be able to keep it straight without the chart he gives me. Every Sunday, I use his notes and organize my pills into pill dispensers. Back when I had both memory loss and anxiety, I was constantly getting confused about which medications I had taken. I was very worried about giving myself an overdose.

Exercise helps me too, although at this point, I find the effect to be temporary, probably because I can't sleep. I certainly encourage everyone to exercise as much as they can.
Posted 7/24/2010 7:52 AM (GMT -8)
It just occurred to me that my current difficulties with memory, getting overly emotional and getting offended by things I shouldn't be offended by, etc., could actually be a herx??!

I just feel like such a God-awful MESS right now! I wish I could find a hole to crawl into and then pull it in after me.
Posted 7/24/2010 8:06 AM (GMT -8)
You & me nasalady!!! We could hide together!!! giggle!

Post -its rule!!! A long as you can find the one you need!!

I vote that we need to find an island somewhere where the temp is very moderate, plenty of fresh fruit on trees, big gardens for veggies (& people to tend them-Lymies can go out & help though), & just enough people to help us do the things Lymies need to do (like figure out pill schedules!)!!!!!! :) :) :)
Posted 7/24/2010 8:10 AM (GMT -8)
LOL! Traveler, when you find it, please send me the coordinates of your island! :)
Posted 7/24/2010 4:58 PM (GMT -8)
Big doses (~3g) of activated charcoal taken 3x daily on an empty stomach can absorb enough of the ammonia in the brain to alleviate some of the fog. Unfortunately activated charcoal cannot bind any of the other toxins that contribute to the fogginess, so it can only reduce it, not eradicate it. Great thing about it is how dirt cheap it is. 28 gram bottle is only $5.

Take care running it with any orals though since it can reduce the med absorption.
Posted 7/24/2010 5:12 PM (GMT -8)
Thanks Sulma; I'm taking "Toxin Absorbmax" which has activated charcoal and bentonite clay to absorb toxins, plus chlorella.....my LLND says these will help me detox. I take them away from foods and other meds.
Posted 3/23/2011 7:13 PM (GMT -8)

nasalady said...
It just occurred to me that my current difficulties with memory, getting overly emotional and getting offended by things I shouldn't be offended by, etc., could actually be a herx??!

I just feel like such a God-awful MESS right now! I wish I could find a hole to crawl into and then pull it in after me.

I'm a little late to the party but you absolutely nailed my mental condition. My judgement is so far out of whack I feel like George Costanza. I am also having near constant anxiety and don't like anxiety meds unless absolutely necessary. I never knew lyme could mess with the brain so much, it is quite aggravating.

I'm gonna look into some of the solutions mentioned in this thread.
Posted 3/24/2011 8:03 AM (GMT -8)
LOL LOL LOL!!! turn
OH my!!!! shocked
Talk about memory issues!! I thought this was a thread I had missed reading when it was new!!! Then I saw that I had actually posted - WOW! surprise!! smhair

hen... I noticed that I posted several times!!!! Gee, I thought I would have remembered something like that!

I'm so sorry to hear that you are experiencing the cognitive effects, Deasonfrost! It definitely is no fun!

Stock u p on sticky note!!! smilewinkgrin
Posted 3/24/2011 3:21 PM (GMT -8)

Taveler said...
Stock u p on sticky note!!!

This forum is full of good ideas. I actually thought of the post it's 2 days ago and have 3 pads with pens strategically placed around my apartment.
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