Today at work after an hour and a half of starting my job all of a sudden I didn't know what to do.
It was so emberessing, (sp) I started crying. After a few min. I had to ask my coworker to help me out.
I've been doing this same job since 1990 and today after this happened it has freaked me out.
I've posted here a few times but I do come here on a daily basis. Normally I read the caregivers forem as thats what I do with my mother who has Alz. .
After my day today at work I'm really worried,.. havn't been tested as I have other issue's to take care of.
Has anyone else been down this path before? It's frightning as I have alittle over a yr. to go and can retire from this company that I've worked for 29yrs.
But today, not knowing what my next step was and the episode that followd put me really on edge. I'm thinking to myself, " I've been the best welder for the last 19 yrs. and today I couldn't remember what to do"
To all who is expercianing this, I need your feedback on whether to blow this off or if it's time to see a Nuro,...
Thanks,
Marcia

To my way of thinking you should be no.1 priority.Go get testedthe longer you wait the wose time it will be since medications work better early on better.......

Get tested. But it could be the stress of caring for your MIL. Or a zillion other problems. Take it one thing at a time.

We are all scared but doing the best we can and hoping for the future. YOu do not have to be alone.

You have certainly come to the right place for advice and reassurance. I am sorry for what you are going through. I had a similar experience years ago, turned out it was a bad combination of medications i was on. My co-workers thought i was on "drugs", didn't give me a chance. POne time i took a bus home and ended up in a different part of the city. It was soooo scarey. It was scarier than getting tested (i was afraid of what the results of the test would be), so i made the appt. I wished i had gone in earlier. Good luck to you..see the Dr. Not knowing is the WORST! God Bless!

Marcia, I believe that no matter what the doctors find, you will feel tremendously better than you do right now. Having a symptom, not knowing what it means? I reckon this is, indeed, the time to get some testing done.

Do you have a regular, primary care doctor? That's the place to start. That doctor can run tests for biological things that could be afoot, e.g. thyroid, diabetes. The next doctor you'll see will be determined by what those initial tests find.

Marcia, I have a pretty good idea of the fear you feel right now. Heavy fear that knocks you down then sits on your chest. Well, knowledge is the bat you use to knock that guy off.

This last point is, well, I'm sure you've thought of it, but I have to say: At your job, tell no one. There are a few employers out there that will approach this with the business' health in mind, not yours.

What do you think about these things?

Marcia,

Did you have a difficult time understanding what your co-worker told you when you asked? If not, I would chalk it up to a brain fart or rather brain constipation. They happen from time to time. If it happens again, try to note what you were doing at the time.

I sometimes find myself holding my breath. It can leave me disoriented.
I do a lot of welding and when I try to be precise, I tend to hold my breath more. It is not that I need to, it is just a bad habit.

As the other said, it could also be an interaction from something else. If it is your only symptom, I would just wait and see if other problems pop up. How is your sleep? Poor sleep can also be a big cause of daytime brain farts.

I have experienced your symptom from time to time for most of my life. It has become common since 2001 but was very random and infrequent before.

Thanks all for your feedback,... another thing I've noticed over the last few month's when in a conversation not remembering people's names.
That's real ennoying also to me.
Only a few people know at my work that I have FMLA but they know it's for my mother, not me.
I've joke'ed around with my coworkers when I've messed up and said, "I think I have it too" but yesterday's incident was very real and like I said last night frightning to me.
I have discussed it with my family doctor and he's dismissed it. That was several months ago tho so it may be time to see him again.
I do know 1 thing, I can't keep messing up at my job or coworkers and management will start to wonder whats up with me.
Right now I am on quite a bit of medications for various things but don't think any of those would cause a mental block at my daily job.
We'll see how things go today! Again, thanks all.
Marcia

Hi Marcia, nice to meet you. Early detection is the best because IF you do have Alzheimer's the medications work best in the earliest stages. Yoi've received alot of good advice here, please do not ignore it. I was diagnosed when I was only 38 years old in 2002. The meds do make a difference though I am declining now. I encourage you to see a neurologist asap.

Tracy

Marcia, hi.

Alan has given you good advice. You need to see your doctor, not in fear and trembling that you may have dementia, but to fix whatever is causing your "brain constipation" (thank you, Mark.) It may be due to stress -- if you click on the "find" button in the purple bar and enter "caregiver dementia", you'll find that many of us develop memory problems due to the stress. You may feel better if the doctor determines that's what's going on, and prescribes a short round of therapy to learn stress reduction techniques, or perhaps an antianxiety med, or maybe you're suffering from clinical depression and hadn't realized it.

OR, as Alan says, you could have a thyroid hormone imbalance, easily treated with meds. Or you could have a vitamin B12 deficiency, and just need a vitamin supplement. There are all sorts of things that could be making your brain a bit foggy, and you just need to take care of it.

So get an appointment set up, and find out what's going on with you, please. As Alan says, you will feel much better when you know.

Marcia,
I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time. I agree with the others. Get a medical check-up. Also, a medication check. There are many causes for forgetfulness. Sometimes, stress but usually is multi-factorial. Please, see your doctor ASAP. It is difficult to fight the "unknown."

Good Luck. Please, keep us posted.

I agree with Alan, don't tell anyone yet!

Hi Marcia

Force your doctor to do a consult, tell them you insist on blood work---full screening. Personally, I kept notes for a long period of time on variances that I noticed. When I finally did sit down w/my doctor, I brought my notes w/me for the consult.

I agree with everyone on the board. DO NOT SAY A WORD TO YOUR EMPLOYER. After conferring with my employer, my experience was not pleasant.

Good Luck
M

Marcia,

My concern for you is that if you see the doctor with just a few complaints, he might label you as a hypochondriac or somatoform. In todays health care industry, there is pressure to lock out those who use up health resources with somatoform issues.

From your later posts, I see you have had some other symptoms and a track record of these symptoms.

Try to put together a list of the different complaints with as much contextual information as possible.

I agree with the thyroid and hormone panel. My wife is a proponent of women having a good understanding of their hormone condition.

We have a friend who had similar symptoms as yours in her mid 30's. After seeing a women's hormone specialist, she got treated and her life changed.

There is a need to find a specialist in women's hormones, beyond the garden variety gynecologist. Look for a specialist who is practiced in bio-identical hormone therapy. That person will have the knowledge to treat the specifics. Most Drs treat you with a shotgun approach using Brand Name hormone therapies.

In case you do not know the difference, bio-identical hormones are hormones that are made to be chemically identical to the hormones your body creates. They are usually synthetic but still chemically identical to human hormones. Brand name hormones are a modified copy of human hormones. That way the Big Pharma manufacturer can patent the compound and get market protection. They are designed to simulate the natural hormone but never quite match. They have side effects that bio-identical hormones do not have.

Most women think of hormones as something that you might need at menopause or pre-menopause. Problem is that not all women are the same hormonally. Heritage, diet and other environmental factors can be big influences.

Hope you can find a good doctor to check this out for you. It can be life changing. It sure was for my wife and her 30-something friend.

Marcia, You mentioned that you are on quite a bit of medications for various things but you don't think any of those would cause a mental block at your job. One of the medications I was on for over 6 years is anti-cholinergic, and works exactly the opposite of the Alzheimer drugs. Looking back, I see that the memory loss worsened after I bagan that med. However no doctors made the connection, not even 3 neurologists and 1 psychiatrist. Finally an internist told me to stop that drug. So don't think that your meds can't be the reason for your impaired performance at work. Poly-pharmacy is the term for multiple medications in patients, especially the elderly. Not that you are elderly, but even well-tolerated medications can have untoward side effects in combination.

I agree with everything others have said about getting checked for various known caused of diminished capacity. Don't be scared. Take one step at a time, so you'll be able to take better care of yourself and your mother. Come back to the board after each step so you won't feel alone.

Iris L.

Whatever you find out, please let us know.

We absolutely ADORE happy endings, so especially if it's thyroid or vitamin deficiency, etc, please let us know!

Hi All,
To all the females who are on this site. I've been on pennicilin for a mouth infection the last 7 days.
An evil drug with my body. Constant diahrea and bad yeast infection. Sorry guys to post this.
I'm getting a shot tomorrow in my neck that I'm hoping will end my pain with my ongoing problems,... my what problem's we have as we age!
Marcia
Wish me luck!
Marcia

Marcia, how did it go? How are you feeling now?

Pennicillin is done now thank goodness but the shots in my neck did not give me the relief I was looking for.
I was soo hoping that I could get rid of taking pain pills but will have to wait on a follow up visit with my orthopedic surgeon on plan B.
I've had 3 fusions done on my neck in the last 10 yrs. and for the last 6 mo's constant pain on my left shoulder blade.
Good news is I'm flying out this morning to DC to be with my boyfriend for a long weekend. That always makes me feel better until I land back in Indiana,... then it's sadness.
We've had the long distance relationship thing going on now for 9 yrs!
I do take a low dose hormone pill but good advice on having blood work done. I will follow up on that after I return.
Thank you all for being so kind.
Marcia

a Anything like should just have to give you relief..it only seems fair! I hope you have a wonderful weekend..I would give ANYTHING for a weekend..but Mom won't let anyone else take care of her. That's ok though, the time will come soon enough that she won't need me at all.
let us know how you are doing

judi,

Is there a respite program available to you. They will really know how to work with your mom so you can get a few days of rest. Sometimes, hospice care does respite care before starting hospice care. They know how important a respite time is to the family caregiver, especially at the time grows short.

Judi,
How are you doing? I know it's been several day's since you responded to this post.
Hugs,
Marcia

oh Marcia..i am sooo touched that you noticed I haven't been here for a few days. It really means alot to me.
Mom had her Dr visit Tuesday and the Dr had to admit that she (mom) has declined drastically since her last visit in Jan. She did the memory test again. I had to "help"her score it! I was watching over her shoulder when she was entering in moms answers and she was iving her great scores! I said..nope..she didn't know that one..nope she didn't know what day it was..no she didn't remember the three words..etc etc. No wonder the Dr. thought she did so good the first time..she (the Dr.) couldn't remember what moms answers were! ANYWAY..we should have no problem getting the script for Namenda judging by the exam and the memory test. I did insist on a nuerological exam as well. And I insisted she be tested for a UTI. The Dr. says that would have no bearing on her behavior???? whatever! I think we need to think about a new Dr.? I like this one personally, but I don't think she is qualified to handle AD cases.
We increased moms antidepressant, and she has shown improvement in just the last couple of days, so things are loooking up. The Dr. would not even consider Seroquel or anything like it. Said it would give mom a heart attack?
Thanks again for checking on me..hope all is well with everyone.

judi

judic, the doctor's refusal to prescribe Seroquel is based on the "black box" warning the FDA has put on this drug, as well as several others that are often used to alleviate behavioral problems in dementia patients. Elderly patients with dementia were found to be slightly more likely to die when on these meds. The causes of death varied (which makes one wonder whether the study was entirely valid) but most appeared to be either cardiovascular (e.g., heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (e.g., pneumonia) in nature.

Most qualified doctors feel that the risk is relatively small, and justified, in cases where the patient has significant behavioral problems and nonpharmacological interventions have not been successful.

It does sound as if you need to find a doctor who is more experienced with AD patients. Perhaps you can find a good geriatrician...

Judi, doctors are just mechanics. If you took your car to a garage with a flat tire, and the mechanic wouldn't do anything about the tire, would you go back? Of course not.

I'm a happy Seroquel patient. A 2 or 3% increase in a death outcome is something I embraced, once I realized how much of a difference it made in my functioning. A doctor who's still into being a doctor, who's still researching new options, would know that prescribing Seroquel and related drugs is done commonly nowadays.

Portland is a decent sized town, and undoubtedly has the kind of doctors you need. You might call your local Alzheimer's Association, see if they'll recommend someone. Calling the insurance company and asking to talk to someone about doctor recommendations may work, too.

Alzheimer's is too hard a fight, to not have the right doctor.

I'd rather have a mean doctor who knows his stuff than a nice doctor who is ignorant or slow to act.

You are only with the doctor for a few minutes. You are with the patient for days on end.

My dad went though a few doctors as he progressed. The doctors who respond to the caregiver are worth the effort to find.

Check with the local AD support group.

Good luck to you as you search for better care.

judic, I took a quick look and found that there is an Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland. They have a Memory Assessment Clinic. This would be an excellent place to get your mom properly evaluated, and find good doctors for her. I found my husband's wonderful geriatrician and neuro at the ADRC in our town.

Jeffrey Kaye, M.D., Director
Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Center CR 131
Oregon Health and Science University
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road
Portland, OR 97239-3098

Website: www.ohsu.edu/research/alzheimers

Information Line: 503-494-6976
Director's e-mail: kaye@ohsu.edu
Director's Tel: 503-494-6976
Director's Fax: 503-494-7499

thank you thank you thank you!! I will let you know how it goes.