The past year or so I've been noticing that I might have a memory problem. Its getting increasingly frustrating. I'm forgetting names of people I see daily, and I get tounge-tied very easily. I find myself backtracking what I say on the radio when I'm out on the call, or describing an event to someone: "yeah I saw.....um....whats his name...Alan, today...." when I see that person on a daily basis. I had to backboard someone the other day and I did it wrong. I had to stare at it and finally someone stepped in and fixed it in seconds, for something I've been good at for years! Its getting frustrating and I'm only 21. No drugs, no smoking, perfect BMI and rarely drink. I don't take any meds. But I'm beginning to think something is up. What kind of doctor would I go for something like this?

 

What have you been eating lately? How much exercise?

 

Wish I could help but i don't have much of a definite answer.
I did go through something very similar. Couldn't remember certain words that I use in an everyday vocabulary basis. Tongue twisted all the time trying to think of the simplest things. Couldnt remember names. My boss would give me an agenda for the next day, plain and clear of what time and where I need to be. Next morning would wake up and have to sit there for 30 minutes trying to remember what he told me. Too afraid to call him and ask again from embarrassment. Especially since he is 65 with spot on memory.

It has gotten better. I can't say exactly what it is that was causing it but I will say that my diet was horrible, stress and I wasnt getting much sleep. The sleep I was getting was not that great. Tossing and turning from stress. I was drinking a lot of caffeine also. 2, 20oz coffee's in the morning, another coffee with lunch and a red bull on my way home became routine.

So I cut back on the caffeine, started eating better, bought a new mattress and focused on getting more/better sleep. I was only averaging 5 hours per night and now I am getting more like 6 or 7. I wake up feeling much better and the memory is getting better. I'm a lot more witty and quick thinking. Still stumble on a few words and names but I can tell it is a lot better.

 

I've been eating somewhat normally, a little more junk food than normal. I try to eat salads and such when I can.

I exercise ever day. I run 3 miles and do 25 push ups and pull ups. I've got a good mattress and get 8-9 hours of sleep a day. I have the normal college stress every once and a while, but overall I'm an optimistic guy. I always wake up with a smile on my face and most of my friends know, something bad has to happen to change that.

 

Here's what I think. Even as early as......wait a minute....what was I saying?







Seriously. You KNEW I'd be 'that guy'. But I CAN be that guy because I've had the same thing going on with me for the longest time. As early as my late teens, I started having short term memory issues. Just short term, though. My long term memory is exceptionally sharp, and I literally remember a few details of my life from when I was 3 years old.

A few trips to a few different doctors about it, several blood tests, etc, revealed that there wasn't anything abnormal going on that would cause this, and in the words of the docs, 'sometimes it just happens' (short term memory sucks but long term memory is extra sharp).

Now, that's just in my case, and I am in no way suggesting you take this as the diagnosis to your issue. Go to the doctor! I'm just saying that it might be nothing at all and just a new characteristic for you. It happened to me about the same time. It was very frustrating at first (still is every now and then), but you get used to.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

Im with Dewser here, i can clearly remember things happening when i was a child, being chased on my big wheel by a viscious squirrel, working with my dad processing deer but i forget things people told me just this morning.

Crap where am I?!

 

I have this happen to at times. Just short term... if I get a rushed feeling to do something I get flustered and forget things.

 

yet another agreement with dewser, (im only 16 so dont listen to me) but im that way as well. I can remberber stuff from ages ago, but cant remember what my math teacher, mom, cousin, ect, had told me 5 min ago...

 

These days, I'm sure there's a couple dozen 'syndromes' or 'disorders' that they attach to this issue ( ), but sometimes things just don't work in the ol' body like they used to. I think a lot of people get labeled with 'syndromes' and 'disorders' and get 'treatment' that only makes them worse in the long run. In other words, I don't believe for a second that every kid that is diagnosed with 'ADD', etc has a thing in the world wrong with them physically other than they haven't had the seat of their britches dusted enough.

*Sigh*...but I digress.... Must've been the 'ADD' kicking in.

To be safe, go to the doctor if you feel like it's out of the ordinary.

 

I can't remember names ever. Why I luck out at work with everyone's name on their shirt.

Out in the real world I just say "hi friend."

Adrianspeeder

 

Probably its temporary and you will grow out of it. If it is worriesome to you, see a doctor and get checked out.

FWIW, some serious mental illnesses will first show symptoms in the late teens and early 20's, but the issues would likely be much more serious.

Could be stress related, as people your age often do not know how they will eventually fit in the working world, their relationships are uncertain, etc... IOTW, you don't know what you will be doing for work, where you will be living and who you will be with 5 years from now.

When you are a teen, you don't care about those things, and take life day to day. As you age, you transition into some new worries and you don't have the answers. That's stressful for most people.

 

I can't help but notice you said you don't do drugs, but you drink.
Alcohol is a drug, a horrible one that claims more lives every year than any other drug known to man, combined.
Alcohol has a long history of damaging effects on your brain.
Alcohol literally turns people into idiots over time, this is why its legal, they like all their sheep in line.
I know you said you don't drink often, but still, realize every time you do drink you are doing your body harm. Get that whole "i dont do drugs, i only drink" mentality out of your head.

Rather than immediately assume you have some sort of problem with your brain function though, it might just be that you are a bad listener, or have a short attention span, this would be much more likely, especially given your age.

 

Recent studies show that moderate use of alcohol may have a beneficial effect on the coronary system. In general, for healthy people, one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men would be considered the maximum amount of alcohol consumption to be considered moderate use. (By ?healthy? people, we are referring to non-pregnant women, individuals not addicted to alcohol, and people without pre-existing medical conditions, among others). However, the amount of alcohol that a person can drink safely is highly individual, depending on genetics, age, sex, weight and family history, etc. A ?drink? is considered to be:

4-5 ounces of wine

10 ounces of wine cooler

12 ounces of beer

1-1/4 ounces of distilled liquor (80 proof whiskey, vodka, scotch, or rum)


http://www.healthchecksystems.com/alcohol.htm

 

Obviously a controversial subject.
You have a lot of special interest in the alcohol industry that can sway any of these "studies"
There are many natural, more healthy ways to lower your blood pressure or increase circulation that don't involve consuming a toxic poison - alcohol.
I guess it all depends on which article you want to sight?
Alcohol itself is not healthy, there is no disputing that, whether or not consuming it might have some very small beneficial factors, is up for debate.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...ol-consumption

Alcohol is a toxin that kills cells such as microorganisms, which is why we use it to preserve food and sterilise skin, needles etc.

The supposed cardiovascular benefits of a low level of alcohol intake in some middle-aged men cannot be taken as proof that alcohol is beneficial. To do that one would need a randomised trial where part of this group drink no alcohol, others drink in small amounts and others more heavily. Until this experiment has been done we don't have proof that alcohol has health benefits

For all other diseases associated with alcohol there is no evidence of any benefit of low alcohol intake – the risks of accidents, cancer, ulcers etc rise inexorably with intake.








It's funny how you cherry picked that tiny paragraph of HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL propaganda out of your link, but I assume ignored the other 90% of the page?


This is from your link
Oh but it might lower your blood pressure every so slightly, while drinking it, and increase circulation, right ?
Its the most deadly, addictive drug in this country and kills more people than every other drug combined. Alcohol in itself is not good for your body, to anyone unbiased enough to weigh the pros and cons, its pretty obvious the very few *possible* pros are heavily outweighed by all the factual cons.

Above all that, one of the main things that bothers me about drinkers, they place themselves on a morale high ground constantly, by NOT referring to it as a drug. "I don't do drugs, just drink sometimes". It's so damn silly to lie to yourselves like that.
Also keep in mind 50+ years ago cigarettes were good for you, as well as opiates and tons of other things that special interest groups had tons invested in. For anyone to think there isn't a huge amount of money behind this "alcohol in small amounts can be healthy" is surely living in their own reality.

 

I heard something the other day about memory loss, but I forgot what it was