I don't know if I've said anything about this before but I feel like I'm falling in the rabbit hole and don't know what to do....
I am having periods where I can not recall anything that has gone on - for very long times. I have done this at least 4 times where I can not remember doing anything, like a couple weeks ago, I took my husband to have a procedure done at the hospital and I remember walking down to the room with him, I remember holding his hand but from the time he went back to the time we got home, I have no recollection of what happened. Another time, my mother took me to a dr's appt and I do not remember that AT ALL. This has happened several times plus I'm having trouble with thoughts, completing tasks, forgetting where I am going or stopping in the middle of a sentence - forgetting what I was saying or can't remember things that happened 5 minutes ago.
First is AD hereditary or genetic? (or are those two words the same?) My father has vascular dementia and has had several strokes. Does this increase my likelihood of having it?
I do have a neurologist appt next week, so I'm hoping they'll take my concerns seriously. I'm only 50 so I figure if something IS happening maybe they can start something to keep it from progressing quickly.
Am I right to be very concerned about this or am I just a normal 50 year old that can't remember sh*t?
- Thankfully, you have a lot of people on here who care about you - we all do :) Even if it's online, it's a support line. ,
- Being well intended, there's a lot of theories that we've all offered of what could be wrong. I'm not trying to downplay the symptoms, but like my mom used to do - she would look up one symptom on WebMD and she suddenly thought she had a fatal disease. None of us intend to do that.
- With that said, don't let what all of us have collectively offered scare you. We are all racking through our heads of what it 'could be'. Our intentions are the best. The point here is not to scare you fo what it 'could be' - our intent is to motivate you to continue your journey in engaging with your doctors.
- The most important thing, which you are already doing, is to see your doctor, be upfront about what you're feeling, let the docs run some tests that make sense, and take it a day at a time.
- Debbiedaz put it best: 'let the professionals figure it out'.
- We're all here for you :)
Twenty years later, I started having quite the same symptoms with even worse brain fog, but my thyroid hormone levels were normal. At my sister's urging (she is an RN), I finally found a doctor who was willing to test me for pernicious anemia, which is also an autoimmune disease with symptoms that are nearly identical to hypothyroidism. (Autoimmune diseases tend to travel in herds, so if you have one, you may well develop others.) I now get monthly B-12 injections, which have helped tremendously, but I'm still not completely symptom-free, which I attribute to the stress of caring for my 87-year old disabled mom.
In addition to your neurological exam, you should also strongly consider an endocrinological workup, especially since you are at perimenopausal age. There are indeed many things that could cause the symptoms you describe, but hopefully it won't take long to arrive at a proper diagnosis.
PS - I was 40 when I was diagnosed with the Hashimoto's, and 60 when I was diagnosed with the pernicious anemia. My menopause symptoms started at 42 and lasted until I was 55.
Good luck! And let us know how things turn out.
my neurologist (who I see because I have a meningioma brain tumor) referred me for a full neuropsych exam. I’m the same age as you... work a very stressful full time job, take care of my dad, have two kids, etc.... and it turns out that stress was playing a part in my mental fog.
A full neuropsychological exam will measure you against others of the same age, and give you lots of answers. In addition, an MRI of the brain will also give you answers about why you have sudden changes in your memory if it’s related to your brain.
I wish you the best. Good thing you’re going to get checked!
I am 48 and about 4-5 months ago, I had those very same issues. I couldn't gather/find my words in the middle of a sentence, would forget the names of simple things, would forget a lot of things 5 minutes later and couldn't recall many conversations. On top of that, I would put items in strange places, not remember where I put them and I also couldn't focus. Creativity and coming up with any ideas were out of the picture- I couldn't think straight! My 80 year old mom told me I needed to get checked for Alzheimers and my hubby swore that I had ADHD. I even started to think something was wrong with me.
Fast forward to now. I went to a new job with MUCH less stress. I couldn't believe just how much less until all of those problems went away!! I even started coming up with new ideas at my new job after about 2 weeks or so there. I couldn't believe it. I also no longer have the brain fog I used to have. I still once in a while forget where I've put something, but that usually happens when I am in a rush.
My former job was extremely fast-paced and I was always doing at least 10 things at any given time.
I have a lot of things that have happened to me over the years which have been very stressful, and a lot of bad things still going on, but apparently my job was affecting me the worst.
Stress does a whole lot to your mind and body. Your brain tends to kick out information that it doesn't feel is needed as well.
Best wishes to you on your checkup!!
If you can't remember where you keys are at 65 doesn't mean much if at age 25 you could never find them either - if it is new & you're relatively young it could be many other issues
And fyi what it's worth I screwed up cooking rice yesterday....twice in a row. Also clothing mishaps and losing my phone go hand in hand. Running errands in my slippers and losing my phone...putting phone on top of the car and driving off with it while wearing my shirt backwards and inside out. You are in good company!
Wishing you the best with this issue!!