Hi guys.Ever since about May, I have been having memory problems. At first it would start out with small things, like forgetting when I was supposed to meet up with a friend or I'd forget where I put my wallet. Then things started to get progressively worse. I have never been a scatter brain and have always been pretty good when it comes to remembering things. But my mom noticed a change too, she even told me, "Becca, you're kind of becoming a scatter brain!" and we laughed it off... but soon it wasn't funny anymore.
I have been in school for three weeks and I can't remember my schedule. Mom would ask me when a certain class was, and I would tell her a certain time because that's what I thought it was, but once I went and re-checked my schedule, I was wrong. I got two of my classes mixed up, thinking that one started at 2:30 when it really started at 1:30. We thought, well maybe since its a new thing that I have to remember, it'll just take some time. But we found out that I am forgetting to do stuff or forgetting whether or not I have done things that I have been doing for years. For example: I can't remember whether or not I have taken my medication or remember to take them period. I have never had a problem with remembering my medication, and I know how important they are for me so the fact that I may forget them and think I have taken them; I will eventually get worse because I haven't had the medication I need. Ontop of that, I remember to turn my oxygen on at night but when I wake up in the morning and the oxygen is on my floor and not on my face, I can't remember whether or not I even put it on the night before or if it just fell off during the night. And its not like any of this medical stuff that I do is a new routine, I have been doing all these things since I was baby and have never had a problem with it.
Yesterday we went to my primary care doctor and he ran a few tests to test my fine motor skills, balance and stuff like that. He said he would check the list of medications I take (I take 45 pills a day!) to see if any of those could be the cause of it, but he thought that stress and/or depression could be the cause of me forgetting things. But I pointed out to him, I have always been aware of my feelings. When I start to feel depressed or stressed, I am the first person to know so me being subconsciously depressed or stressed didn't seem like it was possible. Well he sent us off and promised to check the medications. We were on our way home when he called not even an hour later and told my mom that the medication I take for my irregular heart beats has the potential to cause memory loss. The article he found said that '3 - 40% of patients suffer from memory loss'.
This is the same medication that caused my Thyroid to become a problem. We have tried to take me off of this medication before and put me on a different one. But without this medication, I started to have the irregular heart beats once more and that is why I had to go back on this medication, which has now caused me to have memory problems.
Not this Thursday but the Thursday after this one, I will be going up to California to see the doctors up there. We will talk to the arrythmia doctor and see what our options are because me forgetting things, especially important things like taking my medication and wearing oxygen at night is not healthy for me. And its intruding on my life. If I can't remember when classes are or when I need to meet a friend for lunch, it clearly interferes with it and it is getting so frustrating for me and my family. The other night, we were talking about how I couldn't even remember my schedule and I just had to sit down and cry because I'm not used to being like this and I don't like how it makes me look irresponsible to others who don't know what is going on with me.
Has anyone else had memory loss or memory problems from some of their medication? If so, what did you do to conter it or help it get better? I'd love some tips and prayers.
Thanks,
Becca
