i am exactly the same, to the point where i’m also scared.
as far as a solution goes - try to stay calm and if you can’t find something that you know was there a minute ago, give up searching because the more i look the less i see! 2 hours after giving up the search i usually see it right there where i’ve been searching!
other than that try praying to st anthony as my husband a (lapsed|) catholic always recommends.
when my memory deserts me halfway through a sentence i used to make a wisecrack about my train of thought being stuck in the station but it’s wearing a bit thin now.
i’m 56 and a lot of people my age are also losing their memory even without ms.
you’re not alone in this.
maybe your gp can suggest something to help or your ms nurse.
i’m sorry that i can’t offer any particular solutions, but yes, i could have written your post, apart from the fruit , i tend to start making a mug of tea, leave it for a few minutes, then i’ll reach for a mouthful and realise that i’ve missed the ‘finishing making the tea’ bit, not only have i left the tea in the kitchen while the it steeps, but it’s gone stone cold! aaargh… my brain won’t save my legs either, it’s ridiculous how often i walk/dodder into a room to do something and then either i don’t have a clue what the hell i’m meant to be doing, OR, i was meant to have taken something with me, but i’ve left it back where i started. the list of daft things is so long it’s bonkers. i’m posting more nowadays too. and i’m 51… what’s the betting menopause doesn’t help us either.
i saw a neuro psychologist, he said he’d send me some exercises to help with my memory, this is NOT a joke… i only lost them, you can’t make this **** up!
Happens all the time, mid sentence and I have to say sorry I forgot what I was going to say. I also forget what I was doing the day before or the week before. I keep a diary of appointments to be kept etc so I don’t forget what I should be doing and it helps in reminding me what I have done. I do sometimes think the diary doesn’t help my memory as I don’t have to remember when I get pop ups warning me my hair appointment is in two hours.
My Mum 84 this month reminds me of birthdays but who is going to remind me of her birthday. Ah hang on while I check its in the diary
I have an appointment (thank you diary) with my MS Nurse this month I’ll ask her opinion on this subject…if I remember to write it down and take my list of things to tell/ask her.
Oh dear, me too (63 in July!). But lots of people I know who are over 50 complain about this too, and they haven’t got MS. I find myself using the expression ‘senior moment’. A lot!
Heard a bit of the ‘Medical Hour’ on LBC radio last night, with Dr Dawn Harper. I think she’s on ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ on TV or something. A man called in about just these sorts of memory problems and she was saying something reassuring about memory. Can’t remember what! (see what I mean!)
I found the expression ‘cog fog’ on an MS board somewhere, and like to use that when I get stuck!
Being woman of a certain age" I find that I have trouble, sometimes, deciding what is MS & what is age related.
If I’m in hostile mood towards MS then I blame it for my bad memory and everything else that’s wrong with me, but if im feeling old (like when a young man in a shop calls me “dear” or I realise that it’s only a few years until my eldest son hits 40!) then I blame everything on getting old! I am very fortunate to have sisters so it’s made a bit easier to tell the difference between MS and age related issues.
A thing we must remember is that because we have MS doesn’t mean that we’re immune to everything else. My MS nurse suggested that my GP test me for anemia, vitamin levels etc and my thyroid function, all of which can affect our memories and thinking processes. It may be that they are fine, as were mine, but it still my be worth checking.
And if all else fails then realise you not alone, welcome to the world of some many women (I can assure you, with and without MS) of finally finding our reading glasses in the fridge, the address book in the vegetable rack & the teapot in the bathroom!
If you’re not already taking vitamin D3 then ask your GP to (a) check your levels and (b) prescribe high dose Vitamin D3 (Fultium D3). I started on a ridiculously high dose and have, after a few months, cut back to one D3 a day.
Before I started the D3, my levels were seriously low (even for a Brit coming out of a British Winter!). I had brain fog/cog fog, senior moments almost to the point of not feeling safe to drive or operate heavy machinery. A few weeks on the D3 and almost all fogginess had gone. Yes, I still have the odd moment but I can live with a couple of senior moments a week rather than several an hour.
I must remember to spend at least 20 minutes, every day, in daylight with exposed forearms and face - NO SUNBLOCK - which for a natural red head with glow in the dark pale skin is a bit worrisome but I think I can survive that much sun without going up in a puff of smoke.
yes. me too, i grew up being called janet-elaine-wendy by my mam, i’m wendy! my poor daughter, as the youngest grandaughter had my mother calling her janet-elaine-wendy-jessica-amy so i suppose there’s a genetic component for me at least.
Just know that you are not alone in dealing with MS cognitive difficulties. In fact, you are in the majority and your thoughts and memories are intact, accept the route to access them may have been changed by MS. I have been fortunate to write and present extensively world-wide on the MS cognitive topic and I strongly encourage you and others to check out “Facing the Cognitive Challenges of Multiple Sclerosis” 2nd Edition and “Mental Sharpening Stones: Manage the Cognitive Challenges of MS.” Both books were reviewed by the MS Society and should be available from their lending library.
If decide to obtain them from Amazon or otherwise, please note that I donate all of my author royalties to MS education and research, 100% Stay strong, engaged and active, Jeffrey N. Gingold
Vitamin d3 will help - so will vit b12. The latest research on dementia/altzeimers was that a high b12 can prevent it. lt helps with memory and brain function. And you cant take too much as you just pee it out. Vit d3. Now my levels were very low - so l took 20,000ius daily for a couple of years - now take 10,000ius. l have my d3 tested at CityAssays office B/ham every 6 months. lt is a pin prick test that they post to you. Very easy to do. The test is much more comprehensive then the one your GP would do. And they do not add together D2 and D3. The optimum level you are looking for is 150/225nmols. Now l have gone from 8 to 98nmols - but cant seem to get any higher. This l feel is because pwms just do not absorb enough. lts fat soluble - so you are better taking it with a fatty meal. Or even better use the D3 spray. This goes straight into the mouth and is quickly absorbed into the blood stream not fighting its way through your stomach where most of it is not absorbed.
LDN - is another great help in clearing ‘Brain Fog’ makes you feel much more alert and on the ball. Well it does for me.
As l have PPMS - these supplements are the only help l get to improve my condition. And the only meds l have ever taken that do not cause any side-effects.
We always used to say that though my mother (and grandmother)would go through quite a few names before she got the right one but at least she never called us by a cat or dogs name. I, on the other hand, have called my granddaughter by one of dogs names. Her response, said loudly and clearly for all to hear, was “I’m not a dog! Why did you call me Millie?” Thank goodness we hadn’t call the dog Fido!
Just had another thought, might be worth (if you haven’t already done so) to check for UTI as a low level infection can rumble on in the background for quite some time, causing all sorts of problems. It was surprising to learn that some my bad patches were in fact caused by a UTI. Now if I have an unexpected bad couple of days I get my urine tested.
