Losing My Mind

[jj1960]

For the past 2 weeks I have been experiencing extreme fatigue(even with a good 8+ hours a night of sleep), occasional dizziness later in the evening and short term memory loss. I have noticed the memory loss seems to be getting worse. I find myself almost zoned out at times with my mouth open and looking confused.I am in a professional technical field and when speaking with customers on the phone I cannot remember simple things associated to my job. I just draw a blank and what really bothers me I cannot recall what it is that I have forgotten. I have to ask a coworker to help me remember. I am terrified to go to the doctor but I want to know what could possibly be causing this. I am a smoker and have smoked for about 30 years. I am 50 yrs old. I have had 2 small squamous cell carcinoma growths removed in the past 2 years. One was on my breast and the other on my back around my shoulder blade area. I do not have any serious medical issues other than asthma. No high blood pressure and no diabetes. I did have hyperthyroidism about 15 yrs ago and took some high powered medicine that caused it to go into remission. I have been fine since. My mother passed away from a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor @ the age of 59. I have a 1st cousin that was diagnosed about 5 yrs ago w/ MS. Please tell me what could this be. When I go to the doctor next week what should he test for?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Extreme fatigue could be due to anemia, diabetes, hypothyroidism, or due to kidney or liver problems.
Another possibility is sleep disturbances. You may sleep your customary 7-8 hours and yet feel fatigued. You need sleep studies to rule this out. All the above mentioned conditions can cause memory loss after a period of time.
Certain types of epilepsies and seizures too cause short term memory loss along with tiredness or fatigue. Chronic infections too are known to precipitate memory loss. For this you can try yoga and meditation. Disorders of the hypothalamus, chronic fatigue syndrome and psychiatric disorders like depression too cause similar symptoms.
I think you should discuss these possibilities with your doctor. It is difficult to comment beyond this without examining. A comprehensive investigation is required keeping all the points in mind. Hope this helps. Take care!

[thinangel]

alzheimer, under-active thyroid, cancer, hormones..

[thyroidian]

Your first port off call, should be to test the thyroid,
This sounds like an under-active thyroid to me.
I would have a full thyroid blood panel done as soon as.

I had an overactive thyroid, and have had two surgeries for this, but now i have to take thyroxine, because i am now under-active.
Usually when you have had treatment for an overactive thyroid, like you have, eventually you need some help , and regular blood tests to check for going underactive.

Hypothyroidism, can make you forgetful, and memory lapses, also chronic fatigue, along with other symptoms.

Get this simple blood test, as this maybe the problem.

Good luck
Nicola

[donjoe341]

Tell the doctor about your mom's brain tumor and your past hyperthyroidism. The hyperthyroidism may have turned to hypothyroidism. I would make sure the doctor does a full thyroid panel to see if it is fluctuating. Check T4, T3, TSH and thyroid antibodies. I have heard hyper turning to hypo. It also wouldn't hurt to have a blood glucose tolerance test because of your age and symptoms.