My memory problems are getting worse

Hi. I'm a 33 year old male. I been diagnosed with dyslexia, short term memory loss and a mental age of a 13 year old... well for the past year or so I have been trying to keep a record of thing I forget... and it accruing more often now. I can’t seem to remmber people I have met last fortnight for instance. and sometime when I get in the car I’m like what the hell am I am doing like I complete forgot how to drive.. I have to get out of the car and wait then try again in an hour or so. Then it comes back to me. I can’t seem to remmber the basic task like brushing my teeth. Getting a wash etc.... Now I have said these thing to my local Gp but she seem to think I’m ok in a good state of health just slightly overweight. But she is not helping the issue of my memory at all. Is there any advice you could give me or any help out there as if this gets any worse I feel for someone else life. As I’m a forklift driver. Not just someone else life my own also I’m so nervous and unsure now days... Please help...

[ggreg]

Well, first of all, you do NOT have a mental age of a 13 year old.  You wouldn't be able to write such a succinct and interesting little post if you were that mental age.  But you know, dyslexia can make it hard to learn stuff, so maybe that's how come some test said that.  Anyhow, you're plenty smart.  President Woodrow Wilson had dyslexia, and he had to study extra hard, tutors, the whole nine yards, to get where he got.

With that said, it sounds to me exactly like your forgetful episodes are more like your mind gets confused and then you space out.  It's sort of like if you visually focus on a word long enough, any word, just pick one here, it'll start to look unfamiliar to you, and you'll get that same feeling you get when you have problems brushing your teeth or whatever.  Loss of focus like that usually happens when a person is tired, they don't eat right, they don't sleep right, they're in pain from some sort of physical problem, or they're upset about something in their life.  If that applies to you, then have a think about what might be bothering you along those lines.

Me, I am in a lot of pain all the time, I take medicines for it, but it still hurts a fair amount.  As a result, I get spaced out like you sometimes.  For example, and this happens a lot, if I'm tired because I've experienced more pain that usual and didn't sleep right, well, almost every time I stare in the mirror, I kind of have that out-of-body thing happen that you have.  I know what it is, but it still sort of mixes me up for a while there.  When you don't feel normal, it's pretty unnerving.  

All this may sound like just a bunch of talk, but I honestly think if you went to the county health department and asked if you could talk to a psychologist there, it's free or low cost, you can go as a walk-in, and just talk about what you think might be causing you to lose focus, you just may get to the bottom of this thing with their help, and maybe they'll get the psychiatrist on staff to give you some temporary medicines to assist with your specific problem, whether it's sleep or discomfort or anxiety, and maybe you'll see an improvement after a few weeks.  Also, at the same health clinic, you could have blood drawn to make sure your nutrient levels are normal, becuz sometimes lack of B vitamins or protein, for example, can cause this sort of thing, even.

By the way, regular exercise, even just taking a walk after work, will help you feel better, help you relax, enjoyable exercise (as opposed to work exercise) sets off feel-good chemicals in the body, and also, by walking amongst the trees and natural things in your neighborhood or a park, it will help ground you, make you feel more sure of yourself.  Or you can go swimming, or play tennis with a friend, just whatever you would like to do as a sport type activity.  And do things that lighten up your mood, creative stuff like music, art of some kind, watching a great movie, joining a club with people who share your interests, stuff like that.  You need to release your emotions in a pleasant sort of way.

I hope this helps you a little bit.  I realize this is just a general response to your post, but since I can relate to your confusion episodes, I just thought I'd give you some idea of what I think might be going on with you.  Maybe other posters here will have more ideas.  Or you can do a search of the forums for dyslexia, see if those folks have your problems sometimes.  Or you can post in a forum specifically for mental issues, perhaps.