Short Term and Long Term Memory

[Enid]

Sigh too madie ! (won't it be nice when they are gone).

Long term memory totally restored (better than well too - but improving lapses in the short term - seem to ease gradually).

 

[Calathea]

My long-term memory has been shot for years. I developed ME when I was 19 (though possibly had a milder version from 15), and I can only remember a tiny amount of my childhood and teenage years.

I've heard somewhere that what we think of as short-term memory is actually medium-term memory, and that true short-term memory is things like knowing which letter to put next when writing a word. Does anyone else have terrible trouble writing cheques, for instance?

I have to use routines to remember how to do things like shower, otherwise I'm quite likely to forget to put on deodorant or moisturiser. Unfortunately, I often forget how to use the shower, and start altering the heat by mistake and scalding/freezing myself.

 

[SickOfSickness]

I have to say, some of it is funny when we look back, and it's good to laugh about. I am tired and frustrated with the mistakes like burning my food or other problems cropping up. If one thing happens, that time and energy resolving it, like making new food, means I can do less of what I need and want to do. This is something healthy people won't understand. For them, if they had some problem and had to spend 20 minutes, it's just one thing among their day. It is minor. For me that may be the biggest thing I did all day. I used to get upset about it. Now it happens enough, and I try and shrug it off, but it's tiring. (Healthy people do get upset. They can spare the energy of being upset and forget all about it later. We can't get upset or we would make ourselves even worse.)

I've heard somewhere that what we think of as short-term memory is actually medium-term memory, and that true short-term memory is things like knowing which letter to put next when writing a word. Does anyone else have terrible trouble writing cheques, for instance?

Yes I remember reading something about short term being 1 minute to 5 minutes. Or maybe it starts at 30 seconds or less? There is another type of memory for really short (a few seconds).

 

[heapsreal]

i think we sort of adapt with using timers and jotting down notes all the time, but it is a bugger when u cant remember where u wrote your list of things to remember.

cheers!!!

 

[ahimsa]

i think we sort of adapt with using timers and jotting down notes all the time, but it is a bugger when u cant remember where u wrote your list of things to remember.

I hear you! I've done that so many times.

Years ago I finally bought an electronic organizer, aka, PDA=Personal Digital Assistant (mine is a Palm TX). Then I enter any appointment, including when to take my pills, so that it will beep at me. I used to use sticky notes and paste them on every door and mirror in the house. And so often I would still end up completely forgetting about a doctor appointment, or pill, or some time based activity. No matter how many "to do" lists or sticky notes I had written I still managed to forget things more often than not.

The good thing about my PDA is that it doesn't just beep once. I keeps beeping at me every few minutes until I open it up and turn it off. The bad thing is that I still need to remember to keep it near me or I can't hear the beeps! My water glass (or my water bottle outside the house) and my PDA need to be within my sight at all times. Gosh, that sounds like a security blanket or something.

Of course, I'm sure many of you out there have an iPhone or other smart phone that can do this even better than my ancient PDA (almost 7 years old which is OLD for technology). But I'm way too cheap to buy a new smart phone and pay those monthly fees.

 

[Mya Symons]

Is it only short term memory you all have problems with or is it long term also? Recently, I have begun remembering many things from the past from long ago, but I still have problems with short term. It is very weird. For example, there was something on T.V. today about digging for buttons and I remembered my mom used to make me go to the sewing store with her when I was very little and dig for a certain button she was looking for in a bin. It was a very vivid memory. It makes me a bit nervous because I have heard this happens with Alzheimer's and I have family members with Alzheimer's.

 

[Wally]

I showed up to a doctor's appointment without wearing shoes.

I was having a lot of trouble remembering to complete multiple tasks before leaving the house, so I started lining up everything I needed on a table next to the front door. Great plan until I arrived in the parking lot of the doctor's office, stepping out of the car wearing only socks. No shoes to be found anywhere in the car, I apparently had left them on the floor by the door rather than placing them in the line-up I so carefully crafted on the table above. It would have taken me about an hour to go back and retrieve my shoes, so I sucked it up and walked into the appointment wearing a pair of brightly colored socks. I thought maybe no one would notice. No such luck.

A few appointments later, I proudly walked into the office feeling redeemed because there had been no other instances of me exiting the house without wearing shoes. :victory: The moment of triumph was quickly lost, when I sat down in the waiting room and looked down at my feet. I was definitely wearing shoes, but I was wearing two left feet, one brown and one black. I tried to play it cool like nothing was amiss, but apparently they were on the lookout for me and my feet. The upside to enduring this humiliation is that my medical records include a very nice write up documenting my cognitive decline.

I have had a few other ME/CFS neurological "moments" that have left me wondering if my brain has gone on holiday without me. But I can happily report that these moments appear to come and go less frequently when my symptoms are not in a full flare. I also believe that learning to adapt to life's challenges has helped me a lot, so I now happily spend my days either flashing my barefeet or parading around in a variety of brightly colored socks!!!

 

[alex3619]

My long-term memory has been shot for years. I developed ME when I was 19 (though possibly had a milder version from 15), and I can only remember a tiny amount of my childhood and teenage years.

I've heard somewhere that what we think of as short-term memory is actually medium-term memory, and that true short-term memory is things like knowing which letter to put next when writing a word. Does anyone else have terrible trouble writing cheques, for instance?

I have to use routines to remember how to do things like shower, otherwise I'm quite likely to forget to put on deodorant or moisturiser. Unfortunately, I often forget how to use the shower, and start altering the heat by mistake and scalding/freezing myself.

Hmmm, I have had issues with counting to three or finishing a word. I start to type one word, and wind up finishing with a similar word with a different ending. Does that count as short term memory? Not to mention that sometimes my short term memory (which is supposed to hold 7 plus or minus two things) can only hold one thing. One new thing and the old thing is gone, repeat until my memory improves after a long rest. Bye, Alex

 

[SickOfSickness]

Is it only short term memory you all have problems with or is it long term also?

Major problems with long term. I think I'm worst in medium, and little gets written to long term.

I now happily spend my days either flashing my barefeet or parading around in a variety of brightly colored socks!!!

Funny stories. Once I was in such a rush. I put on shorts and left the house, not realizing they were my skimpy ones that I only wear for comfort indoors. Never wanted anyone to see me in them. Oh well. It could be worse too.

Even healthy do these things sometimes. A common one is leaving their wallet in the car or at home. Hasn't everyone (healthy or not) done it at least once?

 

[Mya Symons]

Even healthy do these things sometimes. A common one is leaving their wallet in the car or at home. Hasn't everyone (healthy or not) done it at least once?

My dad used to always tell me the story about how Albert Einstein would go to work in his PJ's and sometimes his underwear because he was deep in thought and forgot his pants. I hope I always remember my pants!