The thing that happens sometimes is, I do something odd and have no recollection of it. Maybe I'll have emptied my pockets onto an illogical place I would never normally use, or change the time on my alarm clock but not know it.

What's that called? It isn't just a memory problem, I don't put much into new memories unless I'm really focused.

Naming something is gaining a little bit of power over it.

So, is there a clinical name for it?

Dear Alan,

Your awareness into your disease and yourself is very impressive. Misplacing items in odd locations, or not having any remembrance of something you did, can feel frightening. I hope some of this information can help you find comfort. There is no clinical word, to my knowledge to describe your recent occurrences, but I thought it may help if I could explain in some detail how our memory bank works and what may have happened in your situations.

Memory is the ability to retain learned knowledge of past events and retrieve that knowledge at a later time. When memory fails it is usually at the learning, retention, or retrieval part of the memory process. Your brain only stores information it needs. If an event or interaction was not marked as important, or it was an everyday standard procedure, like placing your change on the table, or turning on the alarm, then your brain may not choose to store this. How Alzheimer’s disease affects these processes will vary, but it may help to understand how you can forget something you did all together.

Your physical condition may also have attributed to the odd and unmemorable events. If you were tired, dehydrated, sick, etc you may have been more confused and disoriented when you set your alarm incorrectly, for example.

It can be very difficult to understand all the aspects of this disease, as they are often unpredictable and variable. I do agree with you that naming something gives a feeling of power over the issue. I hope this information can empower you as well, and help you through these changes you are noticing.

Take Care,

Thanks Jaimie. Maybe we can come up with a word for it?

I spent my professional life as a psychotherapist, a good bit of it also as a teacher in the field. I find my professional past might be helping me with insight, but there are times when I envy the person with Alzheimer's who doesn't understand what's happening.