Memory Issues

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Hey guys,

I wanted your advice - over the past 3-4 months; i've been suffering from memory issues ever since my psychosis relapse due to my Schitzoaffective disorder.

Its hard to explain, but basically i have a hard time focusing in conversations and remembering things during a phone call or conversation. I'm not sure if its because i've been through so much the past few months with losing a loved one and i'm too much in my head or it could be a side effect of the medicine i'm on.

But anyway, its one of the last things thats bothering me - so my doctor raised my Lourisadone (Latuda) from 40mg to 60mg - and i'm hoping its just a side effect of the Schitzoaffective disorder and it will go away with an increase in meds.

Does anybody else struggle with memory issues?

Thanks,
Honeeecombs

 

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Id hope you have a good medical and therapeutic support network where you live.
It's a complicated thing, memory.

Sending best wishes for your peace.

 

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I have some memory struggles because of leftover COVID longhaul brain fog and scars on the frontal lobe of my brain from concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries received when snowboarding. But the top cause of my memory issues are because I take Ambien, Ativan, or Percocet sometimes. They affect my shortterm, but not longterm, memories. My mom is a therapist and says your memory problems are unfortunately probably from your psych meds. So the good news is if you went off the psych meds, your memory would likely return, but the sad news is that with such a severe diagnosis, you mustn’t ever go off your psych meds or you’ll end up back in institutional care.

Increasing your Latuda is likely to worsen your memory problems, not improve them. But I’m not a psychiatrist and you should follow his/her advice.

 

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@Honeeecombs,

I don't have any of the conditions that you struggle with, but I have been having trouble with memory and distractions ever since Jun 5, 2023 when I found my wife dead on our kitchen floor. I have had to discover everything that she was doing for our daily lives, and then try to figure out how she did it.

It's as if I am afraid of the next problem popping up that I will have to respond to quickly and alone. I will be on my way to do one thing, but then I notice something else and get sidetracked, then I forget the first thing I wanted to do. It is very hard for me to sleep, and I struggle with brain fog.

I just pray that when it is my turn to leave that God is as merciful to me as He was to my wife.

 

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@MezaJarJarBinks Wow, I’m so sorry; I didn’t know that happened to you. It sounds like you suddenly acquired ADHD because that’s its primary symptom: distractibility. What you wrote - “I will be on my way to do one thing, but then I notice something else and get sidetracked, then I forget the first thing I wanted to do” sums up my entire life with ADHD. It’s funny that they used to think ADHD magically went away when you became an adult because now they know it actually gets worse and worse the older you get. I don’t get a lot of help from the meds myself. I take them all and I’ve tried them all, but they only help a little bit. I’m so lucky that I have a high enough IQ to compensate for having ADHD. But it just doesn’t seem like it’s enough anymore.

So while I can’t relate to finding your spouse dead, I can relate to being spouse-less for the past seven years and having to do everything by myself, and I can also very much relate to you distractibility. Maybe you should mention your distractibility to your medical providers because there are a number of medications out there that exist to increase one’s focus; Provigil, Adderall, Ritalin, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, and Strattera are some examples.

 

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@Honeeecombs Memory issues and brain fog can be issue with mental health meds; it's always an issue I've had whilst on meds for OCD for depression. It can take a while for things to stabilise after an increase so I wouldn't be too worried yet. Sorry to hear things have been so rough.

 

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@snow,

Thanks for your sympathy for my wife. I always made sure she knew how much I appreciated her, and I would thank her for everything she did. One of the many pet names I gave her was, "My angel on loan from God". She was very humble and would always try to dodge that with "POG", which meant "Plain Old Girl".

Also, thanks for the Rx suggestions. One of my many afflictions is "Restless Legs Syndrome" (RLS). Unfortunately, psych meds are known to aggravate RLS, so I'll have to shy away from them.

My wife took care of paying our bills, and she insisted that they send bills via USPS. She would pay each bill individually. After trying to do things the way she had been doing them I decided to automate everything I could. That means that whenever I am given the opportunity by a vendor to do so, I set up the account to automatically charge a credit card that pays me 2%. Then I set up the credit card to automatically charge my checking account. That way I don't even have to think about it, and my trips to the mailbox are very rare. Saves me lots of time and worry.

The other big issue has been my lack of cooking skills. Oh well.

 

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I am sorry for the season of loss of the loved ones. It certainly is a reason for brain fog. Very sorry to hear.

 

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@MezaJarJarbinks: I'm sorry to hear your dealing with the same issues. I as well lost a loved one this year (My mother); and we found her in bed passed away. It was the most traumatic thing i've dealt with in my life and in some respects i am still dealing with it. I do hope the memory issues go away or go away with time - i know i'm doing better than i was when it all happened.

@Sci_Fi_Fan: I know; i saw your post that your playing Detective Pikachu. I haven't played that one yet, but for some reason i cannot find my switch since i moved into my new apartment. Maybe i haven't looked hard enough for it, but i do hope i can find it so i can get back to playing games on the go.

@Snow: Thank you for your mothers insights - i am really hoping it wares off in time or i can find another medicine that will treat my schitzophrenia without sacrificing my memory. I can't imagine what you go through with at Traumatic Brain Injury. I did hear that Lion's Mane supplements are supposed to help with memory and focus - so i might give them a try too.

@Maymay941: Thank you Maymay; always nice to hear from you my friend

Sincerely,
Honeeecombs

 

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@Honeeecombs I was actually going to suggest you could try a brain health supplement for memory, too, but always ask your doctor first, via a quick phone call or email. I often see commercials for this brain health supplement called Neuriva. It contains the vitamins B6 and B12 which my brain neurologist has me take for brain health. I think regular Neuriva may have caffeine so take it when you wake up so it doesn’t keep you awake when you try to sleep. Or, you can take this decaffeinated version:

NEURIVA ULTRA Decaffeinated Clinically Tested Nootropic Brain Supplement For Mental Alertness, Memory, Focus & Concentration, Cognivive, Neurofactor, Phosphatidylserine, Vitamins B6 B12, 60ct Capsules

Amazon.com

I’m sorry to hear you lost your mother. I had no idea that had happened. Grief from losing someone that important to you will absolutely wipe out your memory and your ability to be present in the moment. So you probably have some medication side effects going on and the grief side effects going on. I think both may get better with time.

 

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@Honeeecombs I was actually going to suggest you could try a brain health supplement for memory, too, but always ask your doctor first, via a quick phone call or email. I often see commercials for this brain health supplement called Neuriva. It contains the vitamins B6 and B12 which my brain neurologist has me take for brain health. I think regular Neuriva may have caffeine so take it when you wake up so it doesn’t keep you awake when you try to sleep. Or, you can take this decaffeinated version:

NEURIVA ULTRA Decaffeinated Clinically Tested Nootropic Brain Supplement For Mental Alertness, Memory, Focus & Concentration, Cognivive, Neurofactor, Phosphatidylserine, Vitamins B6 B12, 60ct Capsules

Amazon.com

I’m sorry to hear you lost your mother. I had no idea that had happened. Grief from losing someone that important to you will absolutely wipe out your memory and your ability to be present in the moment. So you probably have some medication side effects going on and the grief side effects going on. I think both may get better with time.

Hi Snow, do you have any experience and or thoughts on omega? I take a lot of it because it makes so much difference for me. I had not heard anything about the B vitamins you mentioned but will be adding them to my routine. I wasn't aware you'd had a head injury before reading your post earlier today.

 

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@jeffswet I think Omega is important to take. I tried it once, but it gave me fish burps and I smelled like fish. That was about 15 years ago so I should probably try it again. I think I’ve read they’re supposed to have kind now that don’t make you smell like fish and don’t make you burp? Do you recommend any brand in particular? I have never ever read anything bad about taking Omegas. I’ve only read outstanding praise of them.

 

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@jeffswet I think Omega is important to take. I tried it once, but it gave me fish burps and I smelled like fish. That was about 15 years ago so I should probably try it again. I think I’ve read they’re supposed to have kind now that don’t make you smell like fish and don’t make you burp? Do you recommend any brand in particular? I have never ever read anything bad about taking Omegas. I’ve only read outstanding praise of them.

Some, but not all of them give you that fish after taste and they do revisit, but not all of them. It may also help to take it before or in the middle of a meal. It turns out, according to a nutritionist I had an appointment with, that I was taking too much 3-6-9 - I only take one each day, while I take Omega 3's 3 times a day. My thinking is so much clearer when I am taking them, that even my dreams make more sense. With me, that says a lot. I buy whatever is on sale.

 

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@jeffswet Thank you very much for your ad ice. So is that dose you’re on now (one 3-6-9 and 3 3’s) okay with your doctor? I didn’t know could make such a strong difference in clarity of thinking. I’m really excited to try it again now. When I tried it before, I didn’t have brain fog yet.

 

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@Honeeecombs

I'm late to the party on this but memory and brain fog issues are something that has been a huge issue for me for decades though I am now greatly improved.

There is a lot that I have done or taken to help and of everything magnesium has been the most helpful. A huge percent of the population is low. In addition I have found great luck with NAC (use with caution) and sunflower lecithin to boost choline. Omega-3's are good too. B vitamins can be important too so should be tested. B1, B9 and B12 were worst in me.

I take a lot of other things too and my feeling is that even the probiotic foods play some part in this.

FWIW - nothing I take is mega-dosed and may not even be every day. Though my doctors may not agree with all I take it works better and has no side effects. Looking at you Zoloft and Gabapentin.

I wish you the best with this. A poorly functioning brain is miserable.

 

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@jeffswet Thank you very much for your ad ice. So is that dose you’re on now (one 3-6-9 and 3 3’s) okay with your doctor? I didn’t know could make such a strong difference in clarity of thinking. I’m really excited to try it again now. When I tried it before, I didn’t have brain fog yet.

My doctor knows about it, but has not commented on it. She is the one who referred me to the nutritionist. The dose I take is from the label, though one brand may be stronger than another- I've never been able to determine that. All I know is that of all the meds and treatments since my injury this is the only thing that has been effective. I should mention that cognitive therapy helped me as well. Perhaps the best thing I have done (non-medicinal) was to go back to school- it was a year of night school math courses. I re-took my grades 11 and 12 math and during that period, and for at least a year after, my memory and mental functions were vastly improved. This was only about 3 or 4 years post injury, so for me, it was really good. I hope to do a lot more courses.

 

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@jeffswet Good for you for going back to school! I love that math noticeably improved your brain. Maybe all of us who have brain fog should take a math class again to clear things up! I’m going to keep that in mind! I very much hope you’ll be able to return to school.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is indeed very helpful. I should probably do some more because one can never really get enough therapy.

Thank you for your advice about vitamins. I’m going to talk to my doctor about it the next time I see her.