are memory problems normal? | ADHD Information

my brain is like swiss cheese it is scary. i sometimes stop in the middle of what i am doing and then panic because the kids are not with me,then i think ok one is at school,other one at nursery.conversations are the hardest mainly over the phone.i just zone out and if i try to concentrate too much i get an headache.

It's also very normal for those with ADHD I am telling you I feel at times that I have early alzheimers and i am 34. That's why my friends think I am great they can tell the same story or joke over and over again and I've forgotten it so for me it's new every time. I have discovered the only cure is don't be afraid to write things down (which is obvious) and try learning memory tricks if you need to remember important things. I think for me the importtant thing is to accept that your memory is bad and just learn to live with it. People are understanding if you give them a chance...my friends aways call and check that I've done what I asked them to remind me of.....I have found that my friends are my greatest resource.

 

Dawn

I tell my co-workers I suffer form C.R.S (Can't remember Sh*t) I think my mind has so many different things going on at one time I can't remember everything

Well, lets see, Within the past week - I forgot to invite the guests to my party.   P1sD off dh because I forgot to pick him up at the garage and he had to walk home.  He was REALLY mad.  My boss calls me on my cell phone to remind me of a meeting that I forgot about.  Thank goodness she calls me now or I wouldn't show at all.  Was nominated to a committee for a 2 year term -there is one more meeting in year 2.  I hope I make that one, so far I've forgotten all of them.  It's amazing I have a job. 

Memory problems? nah, I'm good

..Now this is so funny..ADHDers having short term memory hiccups..It is one of the things that is "normal" in ADHD.. The brain is burning along at such a rapid speed.. Gesss it's a wonder some of us remember to eat..

Memory problems are definitely part and parcel with the whole ADHD thing.  I actually find that I can stick with conversations pretty well, so long as I'm actively engaging in them.  If I stop talking, my mind begins to wander rapidly, and I stop listening.  Then I'll zone back in and realize I have no idea what they just said.  Emotional situations are the worst for me!  I get so caught up in how I feel that I forget to listen to the conversation going on, and I zone back in realizing I haven't a clue what's really going on.  My ex boyfriend used to get so mad at me for not remembering half of our conversations.

CBT and meds really are the only ways to improve this stuff.  You have to learn how to pay better attention (so many of us are so used to our brains wandering that we don't notice it's happening until it's done!), and meds are a great start.  It's expensive, but it's worth the investment.

What was this thread about???

Pretty normal to forget, and or, space out ... but there are other things that can cause memory problems...Have him tell his Doc. and get a complete checkup...I had a thyroid problem, that greatly decreased my mental ablities.

LTC138844.4428472222

No we're not anti-meds, but have no script coverage and his doctor is a moron. He did try straterra and all it did was make him feel sick. Counseling isn't covered either, and I am now convinced his counselor isn't that bright either--the counselor told him to "call if he needs him" 3 weeks after he moved back home!

 So DH is trying make his changes by himself, which is kind of difficult. It's all such a difficult road to navigate. DH's father was pretty demented when he died and I think he worries that his memory problems mean he is getting demented too. I have to say it freaks me out too, when we have numerous conversations about something--ones he actively participates in, and then BAM! He's forgotten the whole thing. Especially when it comes to the kids, because he loves them, and tries to engage, so that is especially disturbing.

Useless trivia--he definitely can remember all that! I don't think it is worse, just that I am noticing it more because I am actually speaking to him these days!

My DH seems to really have trouble with memory--not just forgetting appointments and stuff (that's a given)--like whole conversations we have had multiple times.

Example; this whole school year my daughter has been talking about her teachers who graduated from the same college as the one our oldest child attends. Like, it comes up at least once a week since last fall. And tonight my DH looks straight at her and says "Oh did Ms. Smith go to Western?" like this was brand new information. When we said yes we have talked about this many times, he says, oh yeah. But I am not convinced he really remembers. Is it that he's not paying attention (for 9 months, same conversation repeatedly), or is this a reason for concern? He is not on any ADD meds. This is only one example. Any advice?

Very normal for ADD.  We zone out and don't even realize it until we come back.  There are huge gaps of information missing.  I used to accuse my dh all the time of not telling my things.  Turned out, he told me, but I missed it. 

Meds really helped with this.  They can't and don't do everything - but I feel like I awoke from the dead.  If it is not because yall are totally anti-med;  Then my advice is obvious.  Sometimes meds are necessary for a productive life.  Was for me. 
So he has been diagnosed with ADHD?  Has he always been like this or just this past 9 months.  Is it getting progressively worse?I forget whole conversations. Sometimes it takes a few days, and sometimes it takes 5 mins!  I can ask my husband the same question 3 times in 10 mins! He said I already told you! My memory has gotten a little better since I started taking fish oil, almonds, eating blueberries on my cereal, and walking 30 mins. I know I was lacking a lot of essential oil in my diet. Walking just wakes everything up I think.

TOTALLY normal for a guy with ADHD.  Combine the fog that ADHD gives us with the normal absent-mindedness a typical male suffers from - wow you get a total swiss-cheese brain dude.

I had totally zero recall unless it really really interested me - or it was simply trivia.  I would have killed on jeapordy lol.

It's not that we don't want to remember for you girls - it's very hard to!  When my ADHD was at its worst it could actually sabotage me even when a list was made!  I'd look at the list (say grocery list) - again and again and it was like a blind spot happened right in the middle.  I'd get the wrong stuff or not at all.  Got me in lots of trouble.  You can only say sorry so often.

Meds help a lot.  I have nearly perfect recall now.  Never did before.  Also it can be learned.  I'm in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and it teaches to shut down all other events when learning a detail.  Off goes TV and radio and if you must - go to a neutral and not busy site to learn the important information.  Lots of new ways to do things that keep out the distraction.  Perfect? Hardly but much much better than the way it was.

I had memory problems just like you have had.  I remember one time I told a friend of mine who has just had a baby that I would bring her dinner and then forgot.  I was so embarrassed.  I told her I would bring dinner the next night, and I forgot.  I said, "I'm so sorry.  I will bring you dinner tomorow."  (This sounds like some old fairytale!!!)  I finally just went and bought a gift certificate to KFC and a dessert from the grocery store and gave it to them with my apologies.  How embarrassing!!! 

I don't have the same memory problems at all since I've been doing crawling exercises.  I know it sounds hoaky, but it really works for me.  If you want to give it a go, check out the book Stopping ADHD and the "crawler's unite" post on the alternative thread.  I think that the brain makes the connections it never did because I didn't crawl enough when I was a baby.  Now, I am making those connections. 

 

Yes, it is a definite trait of ADD to zone out mid conversation.  I have just gotten on meds, and they have helped somewhat.  Prior to this, it had to be something that really interested me in order to keep my attention-well, sometimes not even then.  I also had trouble following lists at the grocery store, or sometimes I would end up either forgetting them or losing them on the way to the store!And some of us don't even remember to do that.  When I was in college before I was diagnosed my then girlfriend now wife would bring me food when I was writing computer programs for class.  Then she would come back to make sure that I had actually eaten it and not forgotten that it was there.  It's amazing how much time passes when your not paying attention to it.

Memory Problem! Never had a decent memory to start with. My solution, a rating scale of importance 1 to 10. Write it down in a personal diary that is carried with me "Always". If i am in the middle of something and i stop..Panic, is there something else..Check the list for that day...end of panic. The reality of time is something i have difficulty with. Add the ability to hyperfocus and yes i can forget even to eat at all. Brakain's partner is a lovely woman, love is a many sided emotion...Crafty in the creative sense... Hey! I have no memory problem and so I am okey...Yeahhh!!!