Capitol Hill Blue Forums Life and Moral Issues Issues of Aging Memory Loss

Wow! My problems continue to appear. This one is odd. I just spent about 20 minutes trying to reply. Then I apparently hit the wrong key and it all went away. Have no idea what happened. I can remember a time when something like that might upset me a bit. Now, however, when something like that happens I just shrug it off as there is nothing else to do and I seem to have got to a place where more stuff is simply there and accepted because it IS.

First, if you don't have a digital voice recorder buy one, its cheap and helpful. If you say, hear, or read something of interest take out your recorder and say something about it. Then, even if you have forgotten what it was you will probably remember it when you hear what you recorded. The memory thing is very strange. You may think that you have forgotten something but, if somebody, or your recorder, has a good thought there is a very good chance you WILL REMEMBER! If your recording is not helpful, accept that, delete that, and move on with your life. Hell, sometimes I am doing something and try and remember six words to copy someplace else. I I wanted to remember "copy someplace else". If I haven't recorded the three words odds are I can't remember them. As soon as I hear the recording, however, I will usually remember everything. Just a thought.

I also find that all of us dealing with the VA are doing it differently. I have a single person (for get what they are called but I will, eventually remember, and its not important, I think its something like helper and provider but not sure). Anyway, up here the VA doesn't really have a lot of doctors and things so they will send me to the local hospital/medical place which is fine with me. Most of the time I go there for medical things because its easier for them to deal with my insurance rather than VA. In any case it really makes no difference. The thing that is bothersome is that the VA and the Port Angeles medical folks do not share anything with one another which, sometimes, makes a mess.

What I started, and then lost, is REALLY lost. I have no idea what I said. This is not a memory problem is the problem with sticking with something or remembering such. This is not memory so much as attention span. It took me a long time to understand that one. If I am talking to somebody about something, and somebody else walks up and asks a question or says something, whatever I was thinking about and saying has gone with the wind. That one is something to get used to. I am now, pretty much, not real upset when that happens because one can get used to anything once you discover what happened. I have been to shrinks and helpers now and then but none of them have ever mentioned this one. For a long time this one was something that would upset me. It took me a long time to figure out its a problem in that my brain no longer stores everything and when this happens it was never really there in the first place. I betcha, if you think on it, that its really not that unusual for some brains. I have however, if I think I am talking to somebody and its really important or interesting I try and move to a place where somebody is unlikely to interrupt. Interruption is interesting all on its own. When I think on it I really never had such a problem before the s*** hit the fan. There is a saying; "s*** happens". I started, a couple of years ago, REALLY believing in that one. Stuff happens, nobody is at fault, it just was and get over it.

There was some other stuff but this is it for now. Hope I haven't wasted anybody's time. Just trying to help and talking about this is helpful for me. I can't do it with my wife. If I start she wants terribly to help and has no idea what she is helping with. We get along fine and have been married for 60 some years but one has to be careful, otherwise ..........

She is taking a trip with a daughter next month for which I am grateful. I have been putting on weight and its time to lose some. My plan is simple and it works great but will not work with her here. I just stop eating. After 4 days I am no longer hungry. She will be gone for 3 weeks and that will do the job. I have talked to 3 different doctors about this one. Its REALLY strange. Each of the 3 told me they do exactly the same thing and one must take all vitamins and pills and, other than that, you should be fine. They also told me that I was to tell nobody because that might make trouble for them. Given what my wife thinks (she thinks I will die every time I do it which is rarely) I can only imagine what somebody would think of a doctor that would do such a foolish thing.

I bit of information. Does everybody know that to become a doctor takes about 800,000 dollars. Most of that is a federal loan. Every one of the 3 doctors are REALLY pissed off about those loans. There was a time when gov was charging a bigger charge for the loan than the banks! I had one, a woman heart doctor who was married to a Canadian doctor (he had no loan as Canada takes care of this). They have both moved to Canada and she plans not to pay the loan. They saved up 100,000 to pay on the loan and it didn't even cover the cost of the loan (cannot say the word that represents "the cost of the loan" <sigh>)

Sorry, really gonna stop now!!