Short-Term Memory Loss "Solutions?"

[Still Hunter]

Periodontal disease ( Gum Disease) is one of the leading causes, especially in over 60 individuals. Clean teeth and healthy gums are essential to good memory.

 

[Silver Wings]

I’ve got an answer, but you’re probably not going to like it. Most folks recoil at the thought of lifestyle/diet change, but that’s what has to happen if you really want to see results. If it was a simple matter of taking a pill or supplement everyone would be doing it and no one would forget what they went into the garage for.
6 years ago I started researching diet options for dealing with lifelong gut issues, to include colon cancer at age 40. For many years doctors told me I couldn’t improve my gut due to damage done by surgery, chemo and radiation. Unfortunately I took them at their word for too long. After tweaking minor things here and there and trying many different supplements I basically got nowhere. Then I started reading about the low carb diets…LCHF, Keto, Paleo, Carnivore, ect… I adopted the LCHF diet and it changed my life. Dramatically improved gut function within a few weeks, which of course was my goal. This was accomplished by eliminating all the inflammation in the gut caused by eating too much processed crap, even though I would have told you at that time I had a “fairly clean” diet.
While researching I learned that there would be other benefits as well…achey joints would improve, weight loss of course and IMPROVED COGNITIVE FUNCTION. As I read these claims the skeptic in me called BS. There is no way giving up bread, pasta and chips is going to do all that. To my surprise it all happened and happened quickly…within a month or so.
I’m 63 and I feel better than I did in my 30s. I can hunt hard and long. I have zero aches and pains when I get up in the morning and I don’t walk out to the garage and then have to go in circles wondering what I came out for!
I would urge anyone interested in improving their overall health to look into this way eating. If you really want to know if it’s worth the change I would suggest doing a personal experiment. Go all in on the change for a minimum of 30 days, 60 would be better. Do not cheat, make it a legit experiment. At the end of that time you’ll have the data to determine whether or not diet change is going to be worth it to you.
Good luck whatever you do.

 

[Woitey]

My paternal grandfather had dementia, Dad had it too, and so did his twin. I had what you are speaking about in my 40s. Spoke with the Doctor about it, as I thought it was early-onset dementia. He told me that kind of thing is normal. You've got too many things on your mind. He said that if you went shopping and parked your car at the mall and couldn't find it for awhile, that isn't dementia. He told me finding your car and not knowing how to get home after living at the same address all your life is. So after that example I no longer worried about the normal aging process. I'm 65 now and while I'm no Mensa candidate, I think as long as you are mentally engaged in your surroundings you'll be fine.

 

[TheGDog]

My thought on that particular issue is that... at this new stage of life (54yo) myself.... we just have a crap-ton more simultaneous concurrent thought-streams, and things to remember running at any one time.

Hence the reason for Calendar apps, etc.

And it's like... you've only got soo much "RAM" it can hold all these concurrent processes in. So my theory is that it does better at holding onto thoughts we mentally flag as having more importance/urgency.

So therefore... you get the thought in your head of go get this simple thing in this other room... and even whilst walking to that other room, you're still probably processing on one of those other bigger background threads of execution that you've mentally marked as more important... so that minor little tasks of go pick u "blah" from the other room, end up getting dropped because they've not be marked as big-time important. Just a theory.

Usually if I go into a room and forget the task, I'll just pause and go back thru the events I was doing just prior, and can always end up re-recalling why I was headed in here.

 

[Bubblehide]

As mentioned previously, there is a solid link between oral health and alzheimers. However, maintaining mental acuity is highly linked to socialization.

 

[ScottMellor]

My wife is a neuropsychologist.
No supplements have any prvoen affect on brain functioning.

 

[CRJR45]

My wife is a neuropsychologist.
No supplements have any prvoen affect on brain functioning.

Or do they ?

 

[180ls1]

Nicotine, seriously.

OBVIOUSLY, tread with caution.

 

[dog]

For what it’s worth, I had a small stroke several years back and was slow to recover. I started taking ginkgo biloba and it did seem to help some of my worst symptoms. (Migraines, short term memory loss etc)

 

[Bubblehide]

Man I had the perfect solution to post, but in doing so, I forgot.

 

[flathead#2]

I'm 58 and have recall problems sometimes. I will get there , just may take me a minute.
I've noticed mine is worse when I'm operating on information overload.
Usually takes about a week off work before I start noticing a real improvement.
But then its time to go back to work.
Figure on being a genius when I retire.

 

[505Wapiti]

I've got some stuff called Dynamic Brain by stonehenge health. It does make a diff. Basically a supplement/vitamin.

Not drinking, getting enough sleep, and exercise would probably help too. One of these days...

I stumbled across Stonehenge when I was with a biotech company and traveled to the Bay Area regularly for work. I take the dynamic mushroom and their krill oil. A tad on the expensive side but with the dynamic mushroom, I noticed a difference in mental clarity within a few days. I was getting frustrated with brain fog and just an overall feeling of declining cognition post COVID. I also do my best to maintain a healthy diet and exercise when I can (this will improve as I’m having cervical disc replacement in a couple of weeks) but should be back to normal exercise soon. All that said, I believe Stonehenge has good products that do help. Worth a try for sure, your mileage may vary. About to be 52 in Oct.

 

[ScottMellor]

If you can show me a peer reviewed study from a respected university showing cognitive improvements pre and post taking a supplement I will munch that stuff like popcorn in the previews at the AMC theatre.
Otherwise, a fool and their money are soon parted.

 

[TheGDog]

The more and more work requires me to keep INSANE amounts of coding... present at the forefront of my mind.. while involved with making updates to stuff... such as because Microsoft is end of life-ing this, or that. And forcing everyone to move over from X to Y.

Ya end up just having to be a big stickler for stopping and writing down for yourself your notes of what transpired that day, and plan of attack for where you'll pick back up tomorrow. High level overview, but with enough detail you won't forget anything. And how you're gonna test it. Maybe send a STATUS UPDATE email to the Team about what's on your plate. Your next steps are.

Then for home stuff, start leaning more heavily on making use of things like Google Calendar entries so your phone smacks ya upside the head to remind you of stuff you wanted reminding of ahead of time.

Key is being committed to picking up habits of using and doing the data entry reqd with the tools used to begin to help you, in terms of of not letting something slip thru the cracks, juggling massive work isht and massive "Daddy" duties isht.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I'd try to find out what the staffers are feeding Biden.

 

[RWT]

Maybe just lose the phone. I was recently laid off after 17 years with an IT company. I had 3 months between jobs, primarily due to taking the first month off just to breathe. I was amazed at how peaceful life can be without the stress of work. I was easier to get along with in the house and much less forgetful. Start doing more things that bring you joy and less chasing the dollar.

 

[TheGDog]

I'd try to find out what the staffers are feeding Biden.

And NOT consume that! (Seems to be ice cream, hehe)