cognative issues...

[meg321]

I never really have known how bad my cog issues are compared with others.  For example, yesterday I made several decisions that I forgot right away..and now I only remember one.  I talked to my husband and decided I would shower and wash my hair this morning instead of last night, 5 min later i was in the shower washing my hair.

My husband had asked me earlier if I wanted eggs etc for dinner and i told him I would just have a pot pie.  In a short while I was in the kitchen asking about the eggs, I had forgot about the pot pie.  I did this a few time yesterday.  

And it is this way all the time....I just forget things and I try to write things down. But you cannot write it all down.
My husband tells me when I should leave for appts, even though I know the time, its on my calendar....i cannot always leave here on time.

I forget i put things on the stove and if I leave the room I willI forget to go back.  I could go on and on but you know...

The brain has left me...it feels full of stuff...foggy..whatever.  I know you know the feeling.  Is there something you can do to help this?  I saw my MS doc this last week but forgot to ask her.

thanks,  

hugs,meg

[jensequitur]

Oddly enough I've been able to learn new things, so don't be afraid to try.  I've been learning to play the stand up bass - good for hand strength and memory.  I've also been training on new programs at work, and learning them just fine.

But I still have the problems you describe - calling something by the wrong word and not being able to say the right one.  Even worse is not knowing that I used the wrong word.

[lovemy6monkeys]

I had a while, a good 4 months or so, where as I like to say, I lost my cooking mo-jo. I'm a pretty good cook, though not one to follow recipes, but I've always loved baking (where I do follow recipes). Once I was having trouble with basic cooking, by burning things or just not having it turn out exactly right, I was terrified that I'd lose my baking mo-jo too. So I just did not bake. Luckily after a while I found my mo-jo (and in my head I'm saying that in an Austin Powers voice LOL)

I do still have issues. I mix up my kids names a lot. Or, for example, the other night I asked my husband to get the baby tylenol and told him it was on top of the tv. I knew it was on top of the fridge, but I kept saying tv instead of fridge.

I also "test" myself a lot. I might need to check to see if I need to add more hand soap to my shopping list. Instead of just going to the bathroom to look, I'll decide to go to the bathroom first and then look. Probably 6 out of 10 times I'll leave the bathroom without checking on the soap supplies.

I'm contemplating starting online courses for transcription. But I'm scared as all get out that I'm just wasting money and I wont be able to do it :-(

~Jess

[Queenfan]

I SO know what you're talking about.  But at 45.... what constitutes age related forgetfulness vs/ 'brain malfunctions'. ?

Also relating to the cooking... I was never much of a cook anyway, but somehow I can mess up Hamburger Helpers... we have 7 people in the house, and have to make two boxes to cover everyone - messing up means not adding the correct amount of water - which I have done or trying to put a seasoning packet into the measuring cup of water... or trying to put the gallon of milk into the cabinet instead of back in the icebox.  

Numerous other things happen to along the lines of what you guys describe.... but I was passing it off to age (and the fact of having 4 kids).... but mine all started full force (and seems to be gaining speed) since this past May.  Age? or something else?

I might look into this neuro-phsyc evaluation and see if any of my Docs recommend it.
And, Socrates.... I forget about my poor doggie being outside too.  He comes to the door and barks to remind me he's there.  :-(  

Sue

[Sailorsong]

Lulu's comment about rehab services reminded me that a few years back I tried that route. After 3 days of testing they told me I was too bad off for them to help me. The more I do the worse I get, so the training would be off no use to me.

I do have period when my cognitive function gets better, unfortunely they are getting fewer and don't last as long. When I was going through my SSDI evaluation SS sent me to a shrink for testing. In his report he stated that I had lost at least 70 points on my IQ. It was probable more than that as I had an IQ that qualified me to get into Mensa. But he figured that my IQ was at that time of a 5th grader.

Boy I sure miss my mind!

Dennis

[jensequitur]

I recommend fun box-popping games - things like Bejeweled, Big Kahuna Reef, and even the games on Facebook.  MS World has an arcade with games, too.  

I've heard good things about Nintendo's BrainFit, too.

Basically anything that's a puzzle is good for you - helps you think around corners, and problem-solve.  

To take advantage of neuroplasticity, it's best to exercise moderately, then go play some games.  The exercise causes new neurons to grow, and the game playing causes the brain to decide to keep those new neurons.

[Lulu54]

Supposedly there is therapy you can do to improve these cognitive functions.  They won't come from the neuropsych evaluator - they just diagnose the problem but don't work on the solution.

My neuro sent me to rehabilitation services and they did an evaluation of my cognitive skills.  I am on the low end of short term memory acceptable range, but the therapist still recommends that I do some training now.  I'll start that in May when I get a break from work and the weather for the long drive.

In the meantime I have been using the site lumosity.com  - the activities on there are perfect to work at home on these skills until I can work with the pro.  Maybe they would help you, too?  It turns into quite the challenge for me and I swear I can feel my brain working.  

Lulu

[jensequitur]

I went through about four months when I couldn't cook very well - kept missing instructions, kept doing things in the wrong order, forgetting crucial steps.  We made a lot of hamburger helper, which is hard to mess up.

[Ufrustrated2]

that is funny what Dennis wrote. In a light-hearted way. i've done some the thinks mentioned here. i go in the shower one tiem about to turn the water on and saw i still had my clothes on. have strong DejaVu sensations from time to time. i don't pay attention to that anymore like i used to.

i dont' cook much since i live alone. but the stove thing is an issue if i walk away from the kitchen. i might start on something and totally forget i left something on the stove.

i think this is why i am having a hard time completing some tasks. i start them ok, but i start on something else and forget them. and some i just lose interest in like i could care less if i did finish them

seems we all have a bit of a deficit in this area.

[socrates2k1]

Well, I guess we can feel a little better, when we know, we are not the only one, dealing with an issue, huh.

It's a relief, to know, someone else knows, what we are going through.
[Though we would never wish it upon anyone]

Take care and God bless,

Socrates

[jensequitur]

It's time to ask your neurologist for a neuro-psych exam.  It will help identify areas in your brain that aren't working.  

MS patients have problems with sequential memory, such as following recipes or memorized instructions, and short-term vs. long-term memory.  I've done some very similar things - talked to my honey about what we were going to do, then totally forgot that we had come to a decision.  Or asking him the same question two or three times in a row.  My short term memory just doesn't work like it's supposed to.  I use a timer for much of my tasks, so that when it goes off I remember that I was doing something.

[socrates2k1]

Meg,

Also, I don't know about you, but I really have trouble remember what day it is, let alone the date, but especially the year.

I took a fall, last July, and ever since, I have been one month and one year ahead.

I fell in July, and in my mind, it was August, and the year was 2010.
I fought this the rest of last year, so to me, the year is now 2011.

When I'm asked for the year, my mind tells me, 2011, so my wife has to remind me that it is, 2010.

She can tell me what the day (of the week) it is, and later that day, I will still ask her what day is it?

I even forget names, of people close to me, like my granddaughters.

I really get in mind trouble, when asked to sign my name, I had a horrible experience (doing just that, last year), so now I have to be shown my name, so I can copy it.
Pretty bad, huh.

Take care and God bless,

Socrates

[Sailorsong]

Meg,

   Oh do I know what you are talking about. I do all of the things you mentioned and then some. Like this morning I was watching TV and decided that I needed to go to the bathroom. I got up and walked past the bathroom into my bedroom and started to undo my slacks in order to go to the bathroom. It was only then that I realized I was in my bedroom and not the bathroom.

  At my next Neuro appt I plan to ask ( if I can remember)  about a service dog (they can remind you of things related to tasks) to maybe help me with these cognitive problems.

Dennis

[socrates2k1]

Meg,

Hey, I know this feeling very well.

In fact, early on (meaning since last July), because of cognitive problems, my wife and I decided that I could no longer cook anything (by myself) on the stove or in the oven.
Because I would get easily distracted, think of something I needed/wanted to do, and would forget I left something on the stove.

Now mind you, I never actually left anything on the stove, therefore nothing actually burnt (thank God), but my wife realized this was a strong possibility.

She will "let me" use the microwave, kinda hard to mess us there, huh.

I have found, what you say, very familiar.

For instance, I will be heading out of the room, and will ask her if she needs anything (a drink, snack, etc.) while I'm out, and she will tell me "something" (drink, snack, book, etc.), but when I return, I do not have (what she asked for).

Also, I would let my dogs out (to to their "business") and forget I left them outside (on a leash, of course).  She would notice they were not inside, etc.
So, I began standing, at the door, watching them, and letting them in, or using a timer, to remind me to bring them in.

One of my biggest cognitive problems, is I cannot remember more than 2 steps or tasks, at a time, and sometimes I only remember one.

If you ask me to get a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee, I might remember both of those, but if you ask me to get a bowl of cereal, a cup of coffee and the newspaper,
I will only remember 2 of the 3.

For example, I like "bird's nests"
(basically, you cut a hole in the center of your bread, butter both sides of the bread, place it on a heated griddle, crack an egg and drop it in, where the hole is, season, cook one side, then flip over and cook the other side)

[Again, I'm not "allowed" to cook anything on the stove]

But I may only remember to cut the hole out (I use a small cookie cutter), and to butter the bread, the rest I would not remember.  Note:  usually my wife has me
do everything except cook it, so I feel better about myself.

So, I can sure understand where you are coming from, what you feel, and how you feel.

Take care and God bless

Socrates