NationStates Jolt Archive

I seem to be having a memory problem unlike one I've ever had before......things happen, I remember them differently, like I think one person said something, when someone else did. I can't remember if the things I remember really happened of if maybe they were in a book I read. I can't remember if someone said something to me or if I read it in an email.

I asked my doctor and she said to ignore it.......that doesn't seem like a good idea. (although maybe I'm misremembering what she said)

I think I might be going crazy. I tried looking it up, but I suck at google... does anyone know what might be wrong with me? Does anyone else have this or a similar issue?

Wikipedia article on the subject. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age)

Here you go Smunkee. Maybe that will help.

I'm actually quite young, thank you.

Crack.......it's the crack.

Wait...what?

I'm actually quite young, thank you.

I was kidding Smunkee. :p

You know I like ya, or I wouldn't pick on ya.

hmmmm im twice your age....

its something you get used to. even though i still hate it when i realize that i have remembered something incorrectly.

the likelihood is that it has happened all your life but you are just noticing it (or having evidence of it) now.

unless its happening all the time with short term things too....like you mention something that happened yesterday and everything you remember about it is wrong.

I seem to be having a memory problem unlike one I've ever had before......things happen, I remember them differently, like I think one person said something, when someone else did. I can't remember if the things I remember really happened of if maybe they were in a book I read. I can't remember if someone said something to me or if I read it in an email.

I asked my doctor and she said to ignore it.......that doesn't seem like a good idea. (although maybe I'm misremembering what she said)

I think I might be going crazy. I tried looking it up, but I suck at google... does anyone know what might be wrong with me? Does anyone else have this or a similar issue?

Jeez Smunk, that's the third time you've posted this thread since Monday...

I'm actually quite young, thank you.

Perhaps you're misremembering your true age?

It might be that you have too much going on in your head. Too many "You know I should do *whatever*" but keep putting it off.

If that is the case, the best thing to do is to write out the lists and start doing the list.

You might also have to cut your caffeine intake. :)

hmmmm im twice your age....

its something you get used to. even though i still hate it when i realize that i have remembered something incorrectly.

the likelihood is that it has happened all your life but you are just noticing it (or having evidence of it) now.

unless its happening all the time with short term things too....like you mention something that happened yesterday and everything you remember about it is wrong.

I misremembered an entire conversation from about 2pm today, it's now 6pm and....I really think I'm right, but the other 2 people say I'm not.

I suspect foul play. Has the CIA been hanging around your house lately?

It might be that you have too much going on in your head. Too many "You know I should do *whatever*" but keep putting it off.

If that is the case, the best thing to do is to write out the lists and start doing the list.

You might also have to cut your caffeine intake. :)
big stress messes up your memory too.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brain_fart

Maybe they're trying to gaslight you? Can you get your hands on a small digital recorder and record convos to hear back later?

I misremembered an entire conversation from about 2pm today, it's now 6pm and....I really think I'm right, but the other 2 people say I'm not.

Maybe people are messing with you?

I misremembered an entire conversation from about 2pm today, it's now 6pm and....I really think I'm right, but the other 2 people say I'm not.
and your doctor said not to worry about that?

how bad is your stress today?

Maybe people are messing with you?

o.0 I hadn't considered that possibility. It's possible. I went in for emergency surgery once, while I was still a bit under anesthesia my husband tried to convince me that we had 4 kids (we have two) and that I had forgotten about having twins. He almost succeeded until the doctor came in to talk to me and caught him.

and your doctor said not to worry about that?

how bad is your stress today?

Pretty bad. Pretty bad lately actually.

Eh, I have the same problem. Don't know why, thinking it's something about 5 hours of sleep/night. How much sleep have you been getting as of late?

o.0 I hadn't considered that possibility. It's possible. I went in for emergency surgery once, while I was still a bit under anesthesia my husband tried to convince me that we had 4 kids (we have two) and that I had forgotten about having twins. He almost succeeded until the doctor came in to talk to me and caught him.

That's funny. Sounds like something I would do.

Pretty bad. Pretty bad lately actually.
if its not people messing with you then i think it is a problem.

stress, perhaps. are you taking new medications or the same medications in new combinations? are you eating anything different? might you be exposed to environmental hazards?

if you think it might be people messing with you i recommend that you burst into tears where they can see you so they will confess.

o.0 I hadn't considered that possibility. It's possible. I went in for emergency surgery once, while I was still a bit under anesthesia my husband tried to convince me that we had 4 kids (we have two) and that I had forgotten about having twins. He almost succeeded until the doctor came in to talk to me and caught him.

Many times, I've encountered people who remember events differently to how I do. I tend to have (and to have had) a pretty good memory, so it's often been hard to work out how I can be misremembering so much stuff so wrong.

It happened a lot at my last job, and I really didn't know what to make of it until we got a new guy and he pointed out that he was remembering (several) conversations pretty much exactly the way I did.

are you getting enough sleep?

Sleep Deprivation can play weird tricks on your memory.

get some ginko biloba

Dreams and real life tend to get mixed up in my mind. Regularly, I'm telling someone some hilarious new story I'm convinced I heard on the furthest reaches of teh interwebs only for some ridiciulous memory of what happened next to slip into my mind, such as the Pope doing a backflip out my window and landing on a car made of cake. Ah, that'd be a dream then.

Get your water tested *nods*

Pretty bad. Pretty bad lately actually.

*Zen Hugs!*

:fluffle:

My advice, as with all medical matters, is to have a stool sample done and analyzed. Always check the poo!

I'm going to echo others here and say it might be sleep deprivation and/or stress, though I'm not a doctor, so...

Pretty bad. Pretty bad lately actually.
Sounds like stress and sleep deprivation, to me. Even if you're not aware of not getting enough sleep, if your stress level is bad enough, it can interfere with the quality of sleep and have a bad effect as well.

My memory -- never very reliable to begin with -- gets absolutely deranged when I'm under a lot of stress and not sleeping well. It can get almost impossible to function without help.

You should try to de-stress and get more sleep. No matter what, more sleep can't possibly make it worse.

Also, drink more water. I know it sounds dumb, but even mild dehydration can fuck a person up, especially combined with high stress.

Sounds like stress and sleep deprivation, to me. Even if you're not aware of not getting enough sleep, if your stress level is bad enough, it can interfere with the quality of sleep and have a bad effect as well.

My memory -- never very reliable to begin with -- gets absolutely deranged when I'm under a lot of stress and not sleeping well. It can get almost impossible to function without help.

You should try to de-stress and get more sleep. No matter what, more sleep can't possibly make it worse.

Also, drink more water. I know it sounds dumb, but even mild dehydration can fuck a person up, especially combined with high stress.

didn't think about dehydration. also, FYI, while water does wonders, Sports drinks are better at re-hydration. since they add more than just liquids. ;)

It's teh fluoride in the water.

I'm going to echo others here and say it might be sleep deprivation and/or stress, though I'm not a doctor, so...

didn't think about dehydration. also, FYI, while water does wonders, Sports drinks are better at re-hydration. since they add more than just liquids. ;)
Not true, actually. The problem with dehydration and memory is not lack of electrolytes, etc. It literally is that the more hydrated your body is, the more efficiently the biochemical processes work, such as the firing of neurons in the brain. All you need is water for that. All the other ingredients of sports drinks have no effect on that at all. They are only useful for quickly supplying muscles with fuel to avoid cramps. And some are too high in sugars or other stimulant ingredients and will only aggravate a stress condition.

are you getting enough sleep?

Sleep Deprivation can play weird tricks on your memory.

Yeah, I would say this is a good possibility. I stayed up 3 days in a row once. It wasn't good.

It's teh fluoride in the water.

Maybe the small amounts of lithium?:p

My sleep schedule has never been "typical".......I stay awake for up to 72 hours before sleeping and even then I don't sleep much, just 3-5 hours.....but then eventually it catches up with me and I sleep like 24 hours.......I have been better in recent years at catching naps at odd times to compensate.

My sleep schedule has never been "typical".......I stay awake for up to 72 hours before sleeping and even then I don't sleep much, just 3-5 hours.....but then eventually it catches up with me and I sleep like 24 hours.......I have been better in recent years at catching naps at odd times to compensate.

You just answered your own question.

You just answered your own question.

Um......not exactly. I've been on that sleep schedule since I was 12, never had memory problems.

My sleep schedule has never been "typical".......I stay awake for up to 72 hours before sleeping and even then I don't sleep much, just 3-5 hours.....but then eventually it catches up with me and I sleep like 24 hours.......I have been better in recent years at catching naps at odd times to compensate.
You'll kill yourself doing that. Stop. Now. Go to bed.

My sleep schedule has never been "typical".......I stay awake for up to 72 hours before sleeping and even then I don't sleep much, just 3-5 hours.....but then eventually it catches up with me and I sleep like 24 hours.......I have been better in recent years at catching naps at odd times to compensate.

I read a study once about how the brain uses sleep to discard waste information. It went on to say that someone that didn't get enough good sleep didn't properly reset their brain for the next day and it played havoc with the test subjects heads. Why do you think they use sleep deprivation as a form of torture. It will make you go mad.

Non serious memory problems are a common occurrence amongst humans, particularly after the ages of 40, but can happen for younger people as well. More serious problems can cause memory issues, such as various forms of dementia, cancers, and amnesias caused by injury, spontaneously (transient global amnesia) or psychological (hysterical post traumatic amnesia). However, judging by this thread, you are very unlikely to have any of these more serious problems, I approximate the probability to be ~ 0.00467. Luckily, I possess a fully functioning memory core that has an approximate age of 4 million, 360 thousand, 423.7 years, and I am thus unlikely to encounter such problems myself for a very long time.

Um......not exactly. I've been on that sleep schedule since I was 12, never had memory problems.

One of the symptoms of prolonged sleep deprivation is hallucinations

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1690

It may just be catching up to you. This link is a long read but brings up some good points. However this may not be the problem at all with you but I am willing to bet it is somehow linked.

Um......not exactly. I've been on that sleep schedule since I was 12, never had memory problems.
You've heard of "cumulative effects", right? Prolonged, severe sleep deprivation can cause permanent brain damage, as well as other health problems, since your body does the bulk of its repair and immune boosting during sleep. And yes, that was meant to scare you.

I read a study once about how the brain uses sleep to discard waste information. It went on to say that someone that didn't get enough good sleep didn't properly reset their brain for the next day and it played havoc with the test subjects heads. Why do you think they use sleep deprivation as a form of torture. It will make you go mad.

True that. It's one of the ways of washing people's brains.

Actually there was a show on TLC about sleep. Missing enough can change your personality permanently and all sorts.

I'd be inclined to say it's stress, accentuated by prolonged sleep deprivation, and then possibly brought to notice by some miscommunication. I've left conversations and could have sworn they turn out differently than they actually had, simply because often people don't get what I'm trying to say to them.

Non serious memory problems are a common occurrence amongst humans, particularly after the ages of 40, but can happen for younger people as well. More serious problems can cause memory issues, such as various forms of dementia, cancers, and amnesias caused by injury, spontaneously (transient global amnesia) or psychological (hysterical post traumatic amnesia). However, judging by this thread, you are very unlikely to have any of these more serious problems, I approximate the probability to be ~ 0.00467. Luckily, I possess a fully functioning memory core that has an approximate age of 4 million, 360 thousand, 423.7 years, and I am thus unlikely to encounter such problems myself for a very long time.

Well, that's really hardcore.

There you go smunkee, problem solved.

My own memory is particularly bad when I over-sleep. I'm generally dumb for the whole day if I sleep more than ten hours, and of course that usually follows from being short of sleep over the previous days.

I seem to be having a memory problem unlike one I've ever had before......things happen, I remember them differently, like I think one person said something, when someone else did. I can't remember if the things I remember really happened of if maybe they were in a book I read. I can't remember if someone said something to me or if I read it in an email.

I asked my doctor and she said to ignore it.......that doesn't seem like a good idea. (although maybe I'm misremembering what she said)

I think I might be going crazy. I tried looking it up, but I suck at google... does anyone know what might be wrong with me? Does anyone else have this or a similar issue?

Hmm, sounds like you're making source attribution errors - ie recalling the information correctly but attributing it to the wrong source. I'm pretty certain these are quite common under situations of interference, so when you have other things taking up your processing capacity. This is because we only have limited brain power to distribute and so our brains take short cuts - since the most important thing is the content of the information not the source, when the brain has to make cuts, it's the source that goes first. The reason you'd be misremembering where you heard it is because when we recall things it's a top-down process - we reconstruct the event based on what we remember, so your memory would attribute the information to the most likely source.

Given you are quite stressed at the moment, I'd say that's the likely to candidate for taking up brain power. Try and destress, get some rest (above all don't worry about it as it will just increase the stress levels making it worse). If it persists then I'd go back to the doctor. But chances are it's stress related. Disclaimer: again clinical/neuropsychology is not my primary area of psychology, so don't take this as an expert opinion.

I seem to be having a memory problem unlike one I've ever had before......things happen, I remember them differently, like I think one person said something, when someone else did. I can't remember if the things I remember really happened of if maybe they were in a book I read. I can't remember if someone said something to me or if I read it in an email.

I asked my doctor and she said to ignore it.......that doesn't seem like a good idea. (although maybe I'm misremembering what she said)

I think I might be going crazy. I tried looking it up, but I suck at google... does anyone know what might be wrong with me? Does anyone else have this or a similar issue?

How old are you? Do you work hard? Do you have a lot of fights with your partner or kids?

It's a myth that people will lose memory when they get older. Young people forget almost the same. They only react different to it, when it happens.

But stress or hardworking could interfere your memory capacity. Like someone else already said, cognitive resources are limited, when they are in competition, usually one will drop.

As a matter of fact there's evidence that you forget nothing, at least not the stuff that's stored in your LTM. What you forget is the access to that information. Everyone forgets sometimes the name of a rather famous actor or a movie title and by thinking about it, sometimes unconscious, you eventually find the name or title.

If your doctor says: 'no worries', then you're probably medical ok. So indeed do not worry, your memory will come back.


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/22/old_people_memory_conundrum/

You could do the 5 word test of Dubois. Do it with your partner or a friend. It works like this:


1) Your friend should give you a list with 5 words and you have to read them: Musea, lemonade, sieve, truck, grasshopper

2) After the reading, draw the 5 concepts: the building, the liquor, the object, the vehicle and the insect.

3) After the drawing, repeat the 5 words

4) If you forget some words, your friend may give you some clues (like there’s was something to drink in the list)

5) Do a simple math exercise for 5 minutes (or do just something else)

6) Redo the entire test (the reading, the drawing, the recall)

7) If you fail (even with clues from your friend) then I should consult your doctor again.


There are also other tests available like IADL (instumental activities of daily living).

I seem to be having a memory problem unlike one I've ever had before......things happen, I remember them differently, like I think one person said something, when someone else did. I can't remember if the things I remember really happened of if maybe they were in a book I read. I can't remember if someone said something to me or if I read it in an email.

I asked my doctor and she said to ignore it.......that doesn't seem like a good idea. (although maybe I'm misremembering what she said)

I think I might be going crazy. I tried looking it up, but I suck at google... does anyone know what might be wrong with me? Does anyone else have this or a similar issue?

Yeah it happens to me all the time. The further back n time the event the more shadey the memory of it I find, but that is just normal isn't it?

Yeah it happens to me all the time. The further back n time the event the more shadey the memory of it I find, but that is just normal isn't it?

Not necessarily. Many very old people can recall details of stuff that happened in their childhood but forgot things of last week. The memory capacity of our brain is very fascinating and we don't exactly know how it works.

Um......not exactly. I've been on that sleep schedule since I was 12, never had memory problems.

or so that you can recall. ;)

*Zen Hugs*

Put on some soothing muzak, get one of those flameless scented candles, and get some sleep.

:fluffle:

please?

Not necessarily. Many very old people can recall details of stuff that happened in their childhood but forgot things of last week. The memory capacity of our brain is very fascinating and we don't exactly know how it works.

That's not entirely about retaining memory capacities. In old age short-term memory can reduce in effectiveness and so long-term will become more obviously better in comparison though this is not that it's improved. Also, memories crystallise because as we recall them we modify them to some 'perfected' version where various details are filled in without factual basis. Memory is not just retrieving a hard-copy of an event, but an active process of recalling an outline and making up the rest, based on others' testimonies and generic situations similar to it.

That's not entirely about retaining memory capacities. In old age short-term memory can reduce in effectiveness and so long-term will become more obviously better in comparison though this is not that it's improved. Also, memories crystallise because as we recall them we modify them to some 'perfected' version where various details are filled in without factual basis. Memory is not just retrieving a hard-copy of an event, but an active process of recalling an outline and making up the rest, based on others' testimonies and generic situations similar to it.

Yes I'm aware that we deform memories, but also young people are doing this. The point is that old people CAN recall memories of 60 (or older) years ago with a lot of details and which are correct.

Do you have some serious link about the drop of STM capabilities for older people?

Yes I'm aware that we deform memories, but also young people are doing this. The point is that old people CAN recall memories of 60 (or older) years ago with a lot of details and which are correct.

Yes, indeed. It's often very surprising to hear, compared to how a younger will have seemingly more vague memories of earlier years.

Do you have some serious link about the drop of STM capabilities for older people?

Not off-hand, but from my experience of elderly relatives and conditions like dementia.

I'm actually quite young, thank you.

Memory changes pretty much throughout your life. It isn't all just the physical degradation of your brain. A lot of it is mental habits.

Take me for example. I'm terrible at remembering people's names. All day long I ask people their names while reading their names. I don't want to know what their names are, I just want to make sure that it isn't different from the file I'm reading.

Consequently, when I meet new people, they introduce themselves, I introduce myself, and literally by the time I've finished saying my name I've forgotten theirs.

As we get older we rely less and less on our senses and more and more on our educated expectations. Instead of listening intently to what people say, we tend to partially wait to hear something that surprises us, and if we don't hear it, we assume they said what we thought they were going to say.

We also increasingly tend to construct our memories of events rather than recall all of them directly. We directly recall a few key points, and then just fill in the rest with a sort of subconscious heuristics that we have been constructing our whole lives.

Direct recall decreases dramatically after childhood.

Try this experiment. Watch a movie with a young child (I'm not sure exactly how young yours is (are?)) The next day write down everything you can remember about it. Then ask your child what happened in that movie. They'll probably get way more of the plot than you will, assuming they understand it.

When I was 12 I could watch a movie and practically recite the script. When I was 20 I watched Stargate. It had something Egyptian, that guy who was that girl from the Crying Game, and spaceships, right?

It's not because you're brain has something wrong with it. It's because it's trying to be efficient with its resources.

Um......not exactly. I've been on that sleep schedule since I was 12, never had memory problems.

Only two types of people can actually run on that schedule in my personal opinion. 1. Drug addicts on stimulants of which I can be assured you are not 2. People with a varying degree of bipolar disorder. Bot categories of people can have memory problems related to the natural circadian rhythms that are off kilter. If your doctor hasn't questioning you about your sleep habits by now your doctor sucks. You should speak with a neurologist and hopefully he/she can give you a better idea of what is up. If you do happen to have bp rest assured there are treatments and programs to help you regulate your life. Sleeping in those patterns is not normal for a reason. Get some help and hopefully get some scripts to get some rest.

There you go smunkee, problem solved.

If you are suggesting that a similar memory core should be integrated into 'Smunkee's' brain, I am sorry to inform you that humans are not sufficiently developed in medicine and computer programming to carry out such a procedure. I approximate that such a procedure will not be possible until the year 2230.

Pretty bad. Pretty bad lately actually.
Have you been taking anything to counteract that stress, such as pills, alcohol or mind altering substances?