Concerned about my memory loss...

[carmenid]

I have noticed an alarming memory loss in the last few years (can't remember when it started). I don't remember instructions, I don't remember driving to work, I don't remember what I had for lunch, names, places, nothing...all of this has been affecting my productivity at work and has slowly affected my self esteem because I feel stupid and others treat me like if I was stupid.  In addition my head feels numb all of the time, I have horrible attention deficit issues and I day dream a lot.

Just to give you a background on myself, I am a 33 year old single female, I am fairly healthy and in good shape. Not sure what to say my stress level is, I am in front of the computer pretty much all day but my job is not all really stressful and my life is pretty simple. I have asked my family doctor about this and I don't believe she took me seriously.

What is this that I have? and type of Doctor should I go to?

[carmenid]

never thought of a neurologist, thanks!  I hit my head hard twice while I was a kid but not in recent years...

[SimplyHappy]

Hi, I'm sorry you are having memory problems. Have you hit your head that you know of anytime in the last few years? Did you start a new medication a few years ago that you remember? A lot of things can cause memory loss, that I know of, since I have memory loss problems thanks to a brain injury I got from a car accident. Don't lose faith, and maybe think about a trip to the neurologist. If you get a good neurologist, maybe they'll send you for some neuropsych testing which will help show where the difficulties in your memory are and if there are other things that you're having trouble with that may not be apparent to you. Good luck and use your cell phone calendar with a reminder system (if you have one) to help you through the day as well as post-it notes. It's amazing how useful it is to write something down on a peice of sticky paper, stick it to your finger and walk with it to your designation. If you forget where you're going, you'll realize you have something sticky on your finger, look down and then you see the note you wrote to yourself. Trust me, it sounds like a bit much, but it really does help. On my bad days, that's the only way I manage to actually get to where I'm going even if I'm starving and I'm on the way to the fridge, I sometimes still forget where I'm going. And yes, it's embarassing to feel "stupid", but you're not. Just becuase you are having memory difficulties does not mean you are stupid, don't let anyone ever tell you that you are. I hope your memory improves and it's just something simple and easy to fix. Good luck.