Community Chat

[ALRATIBA]

No - it's a normal aging process.  

See Wiki .....

"Age-related memory loss, sometimes described as "normal aging" (also spelled "ageing" in British English), is qualitatively different from memory loss associated with types of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, and is believed to have a different brain mechanism."

[mimomof4]

I agree with what a few others have said.  Forgetting is a normal part of aging and nothing to be concerned about.  Dementia/alzeheimers is a completely different animal and the memory loss is on a whole other level.  My Mother in Law was finally diagnosed with Early dementia/alzeheimers last October (although I have watched it progress over the past 5 years).  It was the lack of critical thinking that really brought the disease to light during this time more so than the loss of short term memory.  

Keeping yourself active and your mind busy, especially after retirement is very important for overall health.  Spending your days on the couch watching TV negatively impacts your overall health.  These actions won't cure dementia but will help everything else.  

[hckynutjohn]

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@rms1954 wrote:

@hckynutjohn You're funny.  I get the "wrath of notifications."  

I do have a question (not related to memory) and I thought you'd be the best to help.  I fell while taking a walk three days ago.  I tripped on the sidewalk went forward and down to the right hitting my chin on the corner edge of the stair landing (cement) cutting it and had to get four stitches.  I was left with severe pain in my left jaw/ear area.  I thought I broke it.  I was so scared.  Sitting there bleeding.  So after 3/4 minutes I gathered myself up and walked back home.  I went to the emergent care.  The took xrays upon my insistant although NP didn't feel it necessary, her supervisor did.  They said nothing broken or fractured.  So i left and called my dentist and they said to come in and they did a circular scan of my jaw and teeth.  They said nothing was broken.  I still have excruciating pain in my ear.  Being a person who has had many injuries, should I go to an ear nose throat specialst.  I have no ringing but it's very difficult to open my mouth more than an inch.  

@rms1954 

I am sorry to hear about your fall and resulting pain issues. You did the right thing by going to both places independent of each other.

I have never had that exact type of injury so I can only tell you about injuries I have had to areas that had a similar effect. 

There are 2 instances where I was unable to fully open my mouth without forcing it with my hands. That was caused while playing a, coed/supposedly friendly, game of broom hockey, on ice skates.

This is a game where a soccer size ball is placed on the ice and the ice skaters hit it around with a broom. The premise is the same as hockey, which is to hit the ball into the opposing hockey net.

Guess 1 fellow didn't like the fact I was a good skater and could move the ball to my teammates. Anyways, when I was just getting the ball on my broom, and looking down, he deliberately ran hard into me, forcing me head down and to the side, well beyond it's normal range of motion. I also heard an internal "pop" when hit. 

Ended up with 3 crushed vertebrae in my neck, which I still have today. I couldn't fully open my mouth for about a week, a wore a neck brace for over 2 weeks. I didn't have any ear pain at that time.

Thus mouth limitation also effected me with pain running up to and including my right ear. I decided against any surgery as this was back in the mid 1970's, long before scope type surgeries could be done. My ear pain lasted for around 10 days and then was gone.

Got great relief over a couple decades, for neck mobility and pain, from my Chiropractor, who became a friend. He would adjust my neck when this issue tended to pop up over the years.

He even did so 1 time when we met ice skating. He had his 2 kids skating and I mentioned my neck. He had me sit on a bench and he popped my neck into alignment. He died about 8 years ago and I really miss my friend. 

The other one was a different type of injury. My Ortho friend told me the best diagnosis he could compare it to, was similar to an overuse type injury. He looked at it. after 1 of my adult league's hockey games, at the ice rink.

Cause? I was having 2 Root Canals on 2 consecutive days. With mine the dentist had to force my mouth beyond normal range, and then prop it open. The 1st one took about 3 hours, and my jaw felt the effects, again including this time, both ears.

Went back the next day for the 2nd Root Canal. Same deal, but not quite as long, but! My dentist told me my jaw might bother me for a couple days. Well after a couple weeks I decided to ask my Ortho friend, and he manipulated it all over at the rink. He told me it was not a jaw or ear issue, and once again it was a time issue.

My suggestion is to do what makes you mentally feel better about your 2 diagnoses. Never been to an ENT Doctor, as far as I can remember. If you think you need, or would feel more assured with another diagnosis? About all I can think of concerning your injury.

Hope you get to feeling better soon. I completely understand how patience is tough when it comes to pain and longer term recoveries from an injury.

Best wishes to you,

hckynut  🇺🇸

[Annabellethecat66]

Yes! @@Rosemary, I think your post made sense.

I don't get out like I used to.

It's so frustrating to me that, were it not for my back pain, I could volunteer and travel, etc.  

[hckynutjohn]

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@Annabellethecat66 wrote:

I don't get out like I used to.

It's so frustrating to me that, were it not for my back pain, I could volunteer and travel, etc.  

@Annabellethecat66 

I am sure you have told me before, but! Is your back pain due to Scoliosis/Arthritis/Lumbar Discs, or other?

Don't like seeing people having to limit their preferred lifestyle because of spinal pain, of which I am personally experienced. 

Lots of medical posts, and with my long list of my own, at times I forget a couple I went through, and are even chronic, to a certain degree.

hckynut  🇺🇸

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[Annabellethecat66]

@hckynutjohn  I broke 3 vertebra when I was 18.  But it healed.

I've been in many car accidents.  No just little boo boo's.  They were very bad accidents.  None of that did my body any good.  But I think I'd learned to live with that back pain.

I have fibromyalgia...but then I'm thinking more people have it than don't.  You and I have touched on my IGG, I believe.

I remember you have touched on a few of your medical issues.  You, dear man, I believe have really been through pain.

At the height of Covid, I broke another vertebra.  This one was almost totally smashed...

That was when we were being told to stay away from hospitals.

Because I'm used to a lot of pain, I didn't contact my orthopedic Drs ofc.  When I did, I found out the entire office (and most of the other offices in the same group were closed.  Everyone had Covid.

Well after around 2 or 2 & 1/2 weeks my daughter called and said, "I'm on my way.  We are going to get help for this".

After another 2 weeks, my Drs associates opened one office.  They got me in immediately.  I had an MRI done.  I've had so many in my lifetime I've lost count.

I ended up having a Dr in the group who specializes in this open up the vertebra.  

She opened up the vertebra and filled it with medical cement.

My daughter was in the room next to where I was having the procedure.  She told me she'd been crying because hearing the Drs ask for the small chisel.  Then they'd need the large chisel.  Same thing for the mallots they were using.

I thought the bed was going to collapse because she was pounding so hard.

She later said the reason she had such a hard time opening it up because it had started healing the wrong way.  If I'd not had it fixed, I'd have eventually been paralyzed.

But since that last procedure I've had so many "procedures" done, it's crazy.

I've had the Dr go into my spine and burn off the nerves around my spine.  That's been done many times.  The Dr says he never gets used to the smell of the flesh burning.

Every few weeks, I've had steroids injected into my spine.  So far I'm now going on 2 times when the muscle was so hard, it bent the needle.

There's a lot of "stuff" in between all of the procedures.

But I'm like you, John, at least I think we are on a similar train of thought.

I'm upright.  I can walk (with my 2 fake knees).

There's a new procedure where a Dr in the group puts spacers between the vertebra.

I a few weeks I'll have that done.

I feel like I'm lucky I live in a time where there are so many new procedures to maybe make my pain better.

I do have sciatica.  When that kicks up...well..more pain.

My arthritis is, of course, out of control.  I can no longer close up my hands.

But it is what it is.  Right?