Community Chat

[chiclet]

I don't think my memory or forgetfulness is bad at all and then I need to remember a specific thing and it is gone.  I was filling out paperwork at eye doctor and could not remember Claritin.  It was gone out of my head.  I am going to make a list of meds and put it in my handbag. It is not an everyday occurence but it scares me.  One day I was walking and started talking to someone and they asked me what street I lived on and in that moment I could not remember.  That scared me.  It did come back a few minutes later. I read, do constant games like wordmaster and crossword puzzles while watching tv trying to keep sharp.  My husband is either going deaf or in early signs of dementia.  His hearing does seem to be like my dogs, selective hearing. When we go to his doctor appt or watch something on news we come away with a whole different understanding of what was said.  If it is something important I have to get him to look at me and I ask if he is listening.  Getting old is very scary.  When young you can mostly depend on your body and brain. Now not so much.  Need things written down...

[Harpa]

Not so much my own, but I wonder about my students'!

On another side of the coin....

We all have selective memory. (I wonder if Ken Burns is deliberately creating new ones.)

Sometimes concepts stand out for me, possibly more than the details.

Like you, @Annabellethecat66 , I can go off in many directions on this subject! Thank you for the reflection! Your theory/s are interesting!

[LindaSal]

@rms1954 I agree wtih @EastCoastGirl that you are bruised inside.  I am sure @hckynutjohn  will have some sound advice.  You were smart to be checked out and I hope you feel better soon.  My take is you will have soreness for a bit due to the amount of nerve endings in the face and jaw.  They were traumatized, therefore will need ample time to heal.  Don't know if you are able to take aspirin but they are anti- inflammatory and Tylenol is not.   Wishing you the best.

[LindaSal]

I am not worried about memory loss.....yet.  For the most part I can still manage life without writing too much down.  Dh though is another story, I have to remind him (a lot) about what he has to do on certain days, appointments, etc.  He is 8 years older than me and is active and still in fairly good health.    My worries are more for him at this time, though not serious, I can see a slight decline for sure.

[Cakers3]

I was going to respond but I forgot what I was going to day.  Am I on the right thread?

Seriously, though, I do not worry if the name of an object or a person or an event slips my mind.  Everything is encoded in our DNA and I truly believe that is why some people say they experience "past lives" when in reality they are remembering through the DNA from their ancestors.

In any event, I just take it as part of growing older-and I agree that it could be, in part, because we do not make as many memories as we get older, as

@Annabellethecat66said.

It has been shown that playing music from one's generation will be recognized by patients with dementia while they will not recognize other events or people.

Interesting topic.

[bonnielu]

What memory? LOL

I forget and more than I can ever remember.  But things pop in and out and at the end of the day I get everything done.  And knowing this there is always a reminder list of some sorts. 

[KKJ]

@Cakers3  I found your post very interesting especially the part about dementia patients recognizing music from their generation.  Also interesting was an interview I saw years ago with former Pres. Ronald Reagan's daughter.  When he was suffering from Alzheimers she'd talk to him about important events in his presidency.   She said he had no memory of being president but DID remember when he was a lifeguard as a young man!

[ROMARY]

Could it be that, in the past couple of years or so, many of us have been slightly home-bound.

Nothing new for our brains to 'soak in', so just maybe all we had was to recall 'this and that' from years ago.

Just to keep our brains 'busy', so to speak.

Just like a computer.  If we don't use it or enter or search for more information, it just stays stagnent / blank.  

[JeanLouiseFinch]

I am doing everything I can to take care of my brain. I started with supplements many years ago and I do some puzzles now and then.  Almost three years ago I jumped into the keto journey, initially for weight loss, but the more I learned about its benefits in other areas of health, including brain function and cognition, DH and I were convinced that it was going to be a lifestyle commitment for us. 

[Vivian]

BlueFinch is correct. As the spouse of an Alzheimer's patient, I can tell you that there are normal, expected symptoms of aging and then there's dementia. A majority of people of a certain age can be forgetful about recent events. My husband, on the other hand, often forgets where he is. He sometimes insists that we are living in the town where he grew up. He hasn't lived there for 50 years. He tells me he needs to call his brother, who died many years ago.

So, forgetting someone's name or trying to remember if you still have ice cream in the freezer is part of getting older for most people. On the other hand, no games, no books, no rational discussion or therapy can cure Alzheimer's. Brains do get older but, for most of us, brains don't get broken. The forms of dementia all include broken brains.