Does anyone else have problems with their memory? I was ‘evaluated’ by a neuro-psychologist. He said there was nothing wrong with my memory because I could recall a few nouns in a paragraph he’d just read to me… He didn’t tell me why I have started to forget simple things that I usually do everyday. Things like; Why I have started to forget to flush the toilet, or why I can make a cup of coffee and then walk out of the kitchen without it. Or why I have to ‘preview’ posts 4 or 5+ times before it makes sense to anyone else.
Hi Juliet, yes i have memory problems, things like names, what day it is, what i was about to say just a few seconds ago, sometimes even things like how to use my mobile phone or the TV remote. it probably happens about 2 or 3 times day. I don’t have a dx yet but it is one of things that really bothers mee, can be very embaressing at work
I had to wait 2.5 years before my diagnosis was confirmed, and I know others that waited longer. 3 words. Critical illness cover. I wish I’d known! I have problems with days of the week, and timelines also, I keep thinking its the beginning of the year. I’d always put that down to not being able to work for so long, that weekends are just like any other day 
I really resent not apprecisating Friday afternoons/evenings now
Hi apart from pain, memory is my biggest problem and it does cause lots of problems in my daily life. I forget numerous things through the day, including taking medication even though I have an alarmed tablet machine. Sometimes cannot remember how to use the phone or switch tv on( like Bunnythecat above) and yet I can remember things I wouldn’t expect to.
I have a recently had an Occupational Therapist test me on my memory and she said it was normal (if only).
One of the most annoying things is when people say “Oh , but I always do that” and you know that it is not normal for you.
Hiya
I get the sort of memory problems you mention and I had it confirmed by a neuro psychologist when I had a full cognitive test done. She said it was MS causing it.
I can forget the directions to a place I go to all the time, then suddenly remember again.
I can make a cup of tea, forgetting to boil the kettle or make one, sit down and think I fancy a cup of tea so go an make one, sit down, think I fancy a cup of tea etc…I only realise that I’ve got 6 cups of tea all sitting there on the counter, when I’ve run out of cups! All still hot too!!!
I also forget words and names 1/2 way though talking.
I have to shop with a 2 lists, 1 of things I need and 1 of things I don’t need, so when I have that nagging thing in my head telling oh I NEED that and must have forgotten to put it on the need list, I can check the don’t need list to make sure I’m not going to end up with 6 jars of coffee a enough toilet rolls to last a lifetime.
It’s a pain in the bum but you do get a bit used to it and find ways to cope, as do the people around you.
Sue x
Hi Yes…I haven’t actually admitted this to anyone before now, but a couple of weeks ago, whilst I was particularly unwell, I forgot my own name. I was on the phone giving details and it just went. I could remember my date of birth and my maiden name, which I haven’t used for 24 years but not my forename or surname. I was and still am, mortified. Catherine Xx
I totally get being annoyed about any comments people make thinking they’re being empathy empathic. Grrrr just thinking about It
As well as setting myself an alarm to remind me to take my meds, I have to text my brother within an hour of taking them. Last year, I ended up in A & E when I forgot my epilepsy meds. I have to have my shopping delivered (I live alone), so I order what I need online a week early, so that I have plenty of time to change it during the week. I am so glad I did this post, it makes the world of difference knowing I’m not alone with this. Juliet xxx
I am the same (no dx). The other day I decided I wanted a cup of tea went to pick my old cup off the table to take through and realised it waa a full cup of hot tea no recollection of making it. Permanently wander round looking for stuff but can’t think what it is etc. Oh and MrsH I have forgotten my name too Axx
Hi,
Yes i have memory problems too…taking my meds is a joke, no alarm, no tablets!!
I have a large lesion in my juxcortical region (not sure if spelt right?) and my neuro said this accounts for the memory issues!
The brain cant rewire itself so it has to make/find a new area to put memory in.So i guess it will be a while before my hubby quits yeeling at me coz i forgot to turn the pasta pot on for dinner, or wheres the bloody coffee i made that i didn’t even start! lol
Oh to be my old very capable self again, na this is so much more fun! The new me maybe a blonde idiot and forgetful and shaky and twitchy etc…but i laugh my a** off most days just becauset the stuff i do is so funny. Oh the best one is putting milk in my kettle coz i was sure thats where the cup was hahahaha!!!
What was i talking about again?..
Lea xx
Hi, I believe Coconut Oil is good for the memory. I read somewhere that Alzheimers patients had good results just from taking a teaspoon of it morning and night. It really does seem to be a wonder food. I use it for frying/roasting, plus will have a teaspoon every now and then as it’s supposed to be good for the bladder and helps heal a leaky gut. Expensive, though. A jar is around £7 I think, depending on the brand you buy. Heather
Sorry, but I had to laugh also.
I forgot to preview … lol I was just going to say thank you to Lea, because I needed a laugh this morning. Sudden dizzy spell, and very grateful for the boxes I’ve placed around the flat, as a buffer for falling. Also, it’s great to know the specific lesion I can at least Google to see what else it affects. I get very generalised responses from my neurologist when I ask about my MS or my epilepsy. Coconut oil is supposed for weight loss as we’ll. My daughter bought some for me when I started putting on weight from the steroids. I keep forgetting to take it though 
Juliet xxx
I started making notes of questions I wanted to ask Jennifer. Then I kept forgetting to ask them though … haha Now I email them to my MS Nurse, so we can talk about them at my next appointment. She forgot last time also though …
This thread has made me smile after not a very nice week so far!! It is interesting (and a little amusing!!) to read all of our forgetfullness!! I am constantly forgetting words for things and try to explain what I mean but people just look at me like i’m mad! I teach 4 year olds and they have to help me sometimes, which isn’t great when trying to teach new vocabulary or a new concept!! I have to write the date on every piece of work but constantly forget it and end up asking my assistant about 100 times a day. I forget what i’m saying in the middle of a sentence and put things down and forget what i was doing…nightmare during a busy day! Have yet to forget my name tho!
I’d love for someone to come with me, but my daughter lives in Canada, and I always forget to ask my brothers until it’s too late. Speaking of which, I’d better email to see if one of them can come to my next appointment, on Monday! Doh!
This is a classic MS symptom. I have had “cognitive issues” (as my neuro-psychologist calls it) for about 3 years now…I think. She has done some tests to find out how bad it is:
- The first one was to copy a random shape that looked like a house with lots of extra bits attached to it and she would see how close I was to the original (even allowing for how bad I am at drawing). She then repeated this test 3 times over the next half-an-hour, after doing the other tests, to see how much I remembered about the shape.
- The next thing was she read out a list of 12 words and I then had to repeat them back to her. This test was done twice more over the next half-an-hour or so.
- The 3rd test was she read a list of about 16 words that I had to group into 4 groups. So there might have been 4 tools, 4 fruits, 4 of something else and 4 of something else.
These tests were a disaster! I failed miserably to copy the shape properly or to remember bits that were on/in it. The words tests were worse, in that I could not remember most of the words and certainly could not group the words in test 3. This confirmed to her that my short-term memory was very bad and I needed “cognitive stimulus” (I think that’s what she called it). She encouraged me to do puzzles, the sort that are found in Puzzler magazine and similar ones. I can do many of the puzzles, Sudoku, Wordsearch, etc but fail miserably with Crosswords as I cannot recall certain words - I just know that I know the answers, but cannot pull them forward. The neuro-psycho said again this is classic MS, but to continue so that at least I am stimulating the brain, even if it is bloody frustrating not being able to remember the answers.
I recommend anyone who has this to see their GP and ask if there is someone locally in the NHS who does CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy i think it stands for. This will cover the tests that I have outlined above.
Best of luck everyone,
Dav…dammit i’ve forgotten ny name now!
That sounds similar to the tests I’ve had Dave, but they’re designed to analyse. You shouldn’t feel that you’ve passed or failed them. If you’ve come away with that impression, then your psychologist needs to go back to school.
I don’t have much faith in psychometric tests for any purpose. I refused to use them to define my staff when I was working. The psychologist who did mine was an a***. I shouldn’t tar all psychologists with the same brush.
My memory for faces and names has been going downhill for a while but since having my ‘episode’ I often lose words during sentences, and can’t always explain myself properly. I also forget times more than I used to (eg hospital appointments).