Posted by Gracie2 on January 20, 2002, at 1:25:30
In reply to Re: Feeling stupid again--DOH!!, posted by noa on January 16, 2002, at 6:36:17
Noa- nice to hear from you, dear.
I suffer from short-term memory loss to an almost disabilitating degree, which has wreaked havoc with my personal and professional life. I get tired and dismayed from all the times I have to hear, "I told you that - don't you remember?"
No, I don't remember. I think all the little neurotransmitters in my head still haven't adjusted to directing themselves after six months of taking high doses of psychiatric drugs...a year later! Or maybe I'm doing an early Rita Hayworth, I don't know. My grandfather had Alzeimers.
Anyway, I've had to resort to certain tricks. I have a big calender in my kitchen and I make it a point to write down everything. I would never bother to look at an appointment book, but I can see this calender right in front of me when I make coffee in the morning and dinner at night.
We live in an old four-story house, including the basement, and if I intend to do more than one thing on a separate level, I remind myself of the number of things that I wish to accomplish before I go back downstairs. (Find my checkbook/bring down the laundry/turn off the computer.) Otherwise I'm bound to forget something.
It sucks and it makes me feel really old, which I'm not. Thankfully, my long-term memory is intact, so I can still function at work even though I can't remember when I'm supposed to be there.
Write down everything. If it's really important and immediate, set a timer or write it on your hand. My son's girlfriend has her pager set to go off at the same time every day to remind her to take her birth control pill (largely thanks to me, after I put the fear of God into her). I also have to take a daily pill for hypertension and I keep the pill bottle right on the coffeepot. I leave post-it notes everywhere. I have gas credit cards in case I'm out of money and haven't noticed that the tank is almost empty. It's really survival stuff.
I've been getting by okay in that manner. I hope I improve but until then, I have to surround myself with reminders.
Good luck to you-
Gracie
poster:Gracie2
thread:16762
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020112/msgs/17001.html