Memory HA HA'S

[Soundy]

I was talking to some friends about memory issues I have had since surgery ... it is becoming aware
to those around me enough that things are just not right ... so they have sent things to me to
remind me that I forget stuff ...such nice friends... 

if you tube link doesn't work go to you tube and search Ode To Forgetfulness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lSliucgygc&feature=channel

[msmaggie]

My mom, in her later years, developed Alzheimer's, and because of that I tend to worry more than most when I forget something.  So, when people look at me in a puzzled way and say "We talked about this.  Don't you remember our conversation?"  I really panic.  That has happened several times since my surgery, and I am very relieved that other people who are not  60 tell me that they are having difficulty with memory!
I did not have an AN, so my recovery (if you ignore the part about  CSF leaks, meningitis and another hospital stay ) has been easier than a lot of you.  My balance is unaffected, my hearing is decent, and the headaches are a fact of life but respond to OTC meds.  Because of that, I tend to discount the fact that I had brain surgery and that there could be other souvenirs from a brain tumor. I am very aware that I have to take extra measures to move important things from short term memory to long term memory.  Sigh...does this improve after a while?  I am almost 8 months out from surgery.

Priscilla

[nteeman]

I might have a memory problem but I don't remember!

 

[epodjn]

I was starting to blame it on my AN surgery also but then others my age (50) tell me they have the same memory problems without an AN. Someone told me they thought it was due to menopause. I don't know what to blame it on but I know my memory is getting worse. I have post-it notes everywhere and my kids jus roll their eyes and laugh when I forget what they told me several times. Sure is frustrating though.

[Jim Scott]

Soundy ~

I have an occasional episode of 'forgetfulness' but I don't consider it 'memory loss', nor do I blame it on my AN, surgery or radiation.  My wife, who is almost a decade younger and has never had an acoustic neuroma or any kind of brain surgery also has infrequent episodes of mild forgetfulness.   A few weeks ago, she tore her closet apart trying to find a mis-placed item of clothing she really needed.  She couldn't find it and had to replace it with something new.  It 'turned up' a week later in her closet...she had just overlooked it.  Exasperating - but hardly evidence of memory loss...just temporary forgetfulness.  I do the same thing every now and then.  I suspect most people, especially over 50, do. 

I think we all tend to fear Alzheimer's and either become over-concerned about occasional forgetfulness or just blame it on our AN.  I chose to see it as simply a fact of life - and aging.  My son said that when he visits and I greet him with the phrase "who are you and what are you doing in my house?" he'll know there is something to worry about.  He was laughing at the time he said that.  Until that actually happens, I won't get too upset over occasional forgetfulness.  If it ever gets more frequent and severe, I'll definitely consult a doctor.  I don't expect to have to do so in the near future but I realize it could happen...just not today.

Jim

[Soundy]

I can't blame all memory issues on AN surgery ... but since surgery it has changed and gotten worse... don't
know if it is due to stress , headaches etc that have come about since surgery just know it is different ... and
other around me notice ... somethings like putting stuff in the fridge like man in video did with his keys are funny ...
stuff like almost burning my house down cause I forgot I had something on the stove wasn't funny ...
but gotta laugh ...or cry ... and I lose my truck which is opposite of losing self but friends have said they are
going to get me a First Alert necklace to keep me from getting lost

and could be lupus since that can cause brain fog ... whatever is going on has accelerated since surgery and doctors
don't know why and have just began to roll with the punches , write lots of notes and giggle at the funny things ...
I laugh more about it than friends do... it scares them ...maybe I have forgotten something that they haven't
told me about  or did something dumb that hey have not mentioned

if it was occasional I wouldn't worry ...but it is daily and I am second guessing what I do and say or have done to the
point of making myself more stressed out over it ... mostly little stuff but it adds up

my FIL gets lost in the hollow and we have to go find him ... needs fitted with a GPS tracking device... he drives
back and just kinda loses track of time and stays back there ... sometimes for 2 or 3 hours ...sometimes when asked
he acts like he doesn't know what he has been doing

last week end it was my turn to find him  and he was back there reading a paper and had set a bunch of tree tops
on fire that my husband piled after a storm took out some trees ... my youngest went with me and she was video the
fire and smoke and me and him talked about stuff... when the girls (his only grandkids ) were born  ,weather , times
past 40 years ago and the future ... my husband is hard headed , my MIL is stupid (his words not mine ) ... he had said
something about wishing they would get his peanut butter back on the shelves and I asked what kind ...he said Jiff
and I told him it was on shelves ...seems MIL had told him they had not put it back after recall and was bringing him
Skippy ...this is when he said she was stupid ...she likes to control people and he asked me to bring him some Jiff ...
I think he choses to forget and disapear... but we watch him to protect him from himself ... and I guess that is what my
friends do with me sometimes

MIL thinks he has Alzheimer's or is crazy ...he is 76 and has lost a leg to diabetic complications and is almost blind in an eye ...
probably shouldn't be driving but my MIL drives him insane and he has to get away from her ... she would do him like a
few would have done me ...stick me in a corner and feed me and keep me safe from myself ... we still watch out for him
as he could wander from truck and get snake bit or try to check a new born calf to see if it was a bull or heifer and get
trampled by the cow ... or fall ... he has a dog that is never more than 10 feet from him... she could use a tracking
device too ...if he wandered off tracking her would lead to him ...I don't think he is really lost as others believe ..just
de-stressing and getting out of the house... some days he wants to go riding and comes over here and gets one
of us to drive him around through the back roads ... just farms and cows to see ... a few horses but gets him out