Monday, December 13, 2010

Lack of brain

So I claim chemo brain regularly. My husband agrees. Sometimes he even suggests I might possibly be a space shot. Today's newspaper has an article about memory loss as affecting older adults (not me) and what is normal and what is not:

What’s normal and what’s not
A memory problem is serious if it affects your daily life.

- Sometimes forgetting names or not being able to recall a word.
- Memory lapses that include walking into a room to retrieve something and then blanking on what that was.
- Forgetting where you put the keys to your car. (Forgetting how to use the keys is not normal.)

NOT NORMAL
- Forgetting how to do things you’ve done many times before, such as cooking a dessert you’ve made for years.
- Repeating phrases or stories in the same conversation.
- Unusual trouble making choices or handling money.
- Permanently forgetting the name of a close friend or relative.
- Frequently misplacing something such as a purse and putting it in inappropriate places, such as the fridge.

SOURCES: American Academy of Family Physicians, US Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Eliza Shulman


I asked my husband to read this list. He says he believes I am in the normal range. But let me tell you my side:

- Last weekend we replaced the screen door on our house and switched it so it opens from the right, not left. I still try to open it from the wrong side.

- I open the refrigerator when I was going to put something in the microwave.

- I routinely cook on an off burner.

- I can only find my car in parking lots because I can make it beep from a distance.

- Every day I have to go look at what I blogged on yesterday before I can post today.

So as you can see my brain is a sieve. But I am normal. So I can feel better. But still I claim chemo brain so the expectations are not set too high.

2 comments:

ChuckieFrog said...

I have the same things like mixing the microwave with the fridge. I always say by memory cards are full so what can I do?

WhiteStone said...

Remembering names and words is sometimes tough for me. And to drive in the city it is a major effort to figure out how to get from "here" to "there". But I'm finding that my chemo brain is alleviating as time goes by.

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