We had leftover ham w/bone, cornmeal, etc. It was cold, windy and a bit snowy; so yesterday I emailed family and asked if they wanted to come for soup tonight (Tuesday). No response (only one granddaughter got the msg at college; she's home at night). Driving home from work last evening, I decided it would be good to have ham 'n bean soup w/cornbread LAST night; so hubby and I enjoyed it LAST night. This a.m. family says they'd love to come over for ham 'n bean soup TONIGHT. Heh heh There's some left but not enough for a family of 8. So sorry. WHY did I not remember my invitation? DH is the one diagnosed w/vascular dementia! I won't go near a neurologist now! Please, someone, tell me you forget major things, too, not just the usual stuff. Sure would make me feel better.
Yes, absolutely, forgetting things is quite normal. You remembered that you forgot, so you didn't REALLY forget. AD people don't remember that they forgot. Now feel better & I'd sure like some of that soup. Think I'll go fix something warm for lunch.
I keep telling our primary care physician AD is contagious and that she is missing the boat by not being the first doctor to bring this to worldwide attention (lol)!!! I forget stuff all the time. I write down as much as possible, but you can't write down everything. Thinking and remembering for 2 is a hard thing to do.
One of my major problems is forgetting to put DW's hearing aid in, or to give her the ibuprofen from her various aches and pains. I say this is because I don't need a hearing aid and don't have any pain. I also seem to forget to do various jobs around the house, such as laundry (I need to go check on that now)
FayeBay--I don't know why I left the bathroom sink running. But I did. It could have only been on for maybe 5 minutes. DH discovered it. You'd have thought he had found the mother lode. He's still talking about how I forgot to turn off the bathroom faucet. I keep complimenting him and telling him how good that was that he found it. He laughed and said he'd share his 'memory pillsl' with me.
Oh, well. Whacha gonna do? Ya' gotta love 'em. :)
And as for that ham and bean soup, (sounds delicious) try making a pot of potato soup and add the ham and bean to it. Make another pot of corn bread and 'viola' there you go. Should work out fine. And no, you aren't losing your memory. It's just on overload. Perhaps we all need a surge protector for ourselves.
Jane L. Just today I went to a Home Improvement Store, on my way home I remembered that I had left a jar candle burning. I never do that, I guess my mind was somewhere else.
Really scary here is taking DH meds instead of mine. Real easy to do. I have did it twice over the past 2 years. One time I passed out, the other time I drank a lot of water and prayed a lot. I have as much safeguard in place as I can without going to the neighbors house to take them.
My wife was always on top of things even when she was working. We did share the load, but she was the one who ALWAYS made sure things got done. Now its all on me, and I was mediocre at it at best. I forget how much I forget! :>
I put things in my Calendar all the time to remind me of doctor's appointments and social events. Send myself emails at work and on my blackberry. I find myself talking to myself throughout the day, and I always try to 2nd guess myself. There are times when we have to go out, and I pace around the house saying.. " I know I'm forgetting something..." over and over again. It worries me and that makes it worse! I'm sure I've forgotten something I wanted to write here...
It is very scary, I also forget more than I use to as well. I told a friend that Tom has alzheimer's and I am losing my mind. He laughs at times and asks me which of us has the problem.
Not to worry folks, I was told that this is called CAREGIVER DEMENTIA. As you know, its the overload of emotions and everything else that is involved in caring for a loved one with AD
Jane, when I read your post, I immediately thought "caregiver dementia" and as I got further down, I saw Sunshyne mentioned it. There was quite a lengthly discussion one time on "the other site". I felt much better after reading about it. I'm not losing it entirely. LOL
I think all caregivers have, will have or have had it during their caregiver days. It's one of the unfortunate "perks" of our job.
i also seem to be walking in a daze alot of the time. cant remember if i gave meds or not..even my own.:) i was just counting pills from the day i filled them to see if i took it..haha
i think the caregiver dementia is right on track . with so many other mindboggling issues we continually struggle with day to day, its not uncommon at all to feel at a loss ourselves. definate brain-fog! divvi
I've spent the last 3 days trying to clean up my 'office.' It's not that big, I just start reading everything I find and it takes for ever. There's just so much junk in here. Then I come here and that takes time to read and respond. I don't think I'll ever get it done. I'll let you all know when I do finish the project.
Being so slow and lackadaisical is part of the brain fog, I think.
Thanks, Sunshyne, for the link. I forwarded it to our grown children after I'd read it and all the other posts. Ah ha! I'm not alone; I'm not crazy. This will be my mantra.
This reminds me of the bumper sticker that says, "Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids." In this case we get it from our spouses. I'm used to hearing that stree makes you crazy, but the one that hit home was when I read a quip that stress makes you stupid.
I could tell you so many stories of stupid things that I have done including the time year before last when I bought a new car without even driving it. There had been a mix up with the coding of the key for that car so they gave me another to drive. The difference was that the one I wanted had a bench seat and the one I drove had bucket seats. Guess what I don't like about the car -- the bench seat! We looked at another car that was moreb expensive but was drastically discounted. I still fret abouit the qualities that the other car would have had and wish that I bought it.
I have to agree with the person who said that it is because one brain has to do the work for two people. And, Mawzy, as far as me getting the house in order. Lots of luck.