Memory and confusion

[flatterycat]

Hello
I’m in a bit of a state over something that happened yesterday while driving and has also happened occasionally over the years.

Basically I was driving my car and thinking about which route to take. Then for a few seconds I looked around and didn’t recognise the road I was driving on. I carried on and then saw a building and knew where I was. It lasted moments, but has completely scared me. It has happened before over the last 2 years and I also remember similar times back in 2011 when I was very stressed. My memory is also terrible at the moment. I keep forgetting what I’m talking about mid sentence, or walk into a room and wonder why I’m there. I’ve been forgetting words too. So scared I have Alzheimer’s or some other issue with my brain. I’m 49 and just want to believe that this could all be part of anxiety. I think I could accept the forgetfulness if it wasn’t for the driving incidents.

Can anyone relate to what I am going through right now?

[nomorepanic]

Have a read of the symptoms page on the main website - there is something about this on there.

[flatterycat]

Thank you. I’ve had a look, but couldn’t find what I’d experienced x

[chrisfromflorida]

Hi Flatterycat-
I am experiencing some of the same things as you. I have battled health anxiety for years. I had it mostly under control but it has crept back in. Since around May of this year i started to notice my memory was getting poor. I would have trouble remembering my upcoming work schedule or what we did the last couple of days. With some hard thought I could typically figure it out but I was absolutely not as sharp.
I had a couple of episodes of driving somewhere and for a moment forget where I was heading. It really scared me. I was thinking early onset dementia etc.
I scheduled an appmt with a nuero who specializes in memory issues. He gave me a test in his office which i passed. He wanted further testing and I had an MRI, EEG and a nuero psych exam. The nuero psych exam was 4 hours of questions and memory tests. Very exhausting.

All of the testing came back normal including the nuero psych exam which stated I had no cognitive impairment. Which I could hardly believe. I was certain they would find something on that test.
Fast Forward to today and I still am having foggy memory and have trouble remembering what we did or what our schedule is. Again, if I really sit down and think I can usually figure it out but there is definitely something amiss. But I constantly test myself about what i did and what i am scheduled to do. I am driving myself mad with this mental testing.

I guess the anxiety really is affecting my brain/memory. It takes so much brain power away distracting me I can not make short term memory as well as I used to.

I am taking lexapro for about a month and thought I saw some improvement but lately the memory is just as bad. I am debating to go back for a follow-up to see if they have any recommendations on how to deal with it.
I have read quite a bit about this and an encouraging thing is that people with real dementia caused memory issues rarely know they are having the issue. Obviously we are both very hyper aware of the situation.
Hope you are doing better. Hopefully we can calm each other nerves. Anxiety is a beast.
Chris

[flatterycat]

Hi Chris

Thanks for your reply.

You have certainly had lots of testing! I haven't mentioned my fears to my doc, mainly because I see her often and often worry that I have a BT. I did have an MRI scan in Jan which was normal, but of course that was 9 months ago!

I had another scary experience the other day; I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't work out where I was. More evidence for me that something bad was going on. I have been under a lot of stress; death of a very close friend, big change in role at work etc.

Anyway, thanks again for your reply.

Sarah

[chrisfromflorida]

Hi Sarah-
Those are definitely huge stressors. No doubt causing your brain to overload and thus not make short term connections which causes the fog/poor memory.

I have several very stressful things going in my life, one for 2 years+, and I believe this is what has drug me into this sad state with my brain.

But sometimes it sure feels like something more sinister. Always good to know others have similar experiences and live to tell about it.

Best of luck.
Chris

[axolotl]

If you think of your brain as a computer, when you're stressed or anxious it's running all kind of unnecessary subroutines to deal with the thoughts that are whizzing through your head. Occasionally you run out of "processing power" and it makes you forget something obvious or do something strangely absent minded.

I've put stuff in the fridge instead of the cupboard, I've put dirty cutlery in the bin, I've forgotten what month it is, and yes, I've got lost in places I've been to hundreds of times. It's just part of the rich tapestry of anxiety symptoms.