My memory is going

Me too, Jeanie. It's been a problem since I was in my 50s, but the word usually comes in the end. Apparently there is no need to worry .

There was an interesting thread on here about memory problems.
Someone put forward the theory that as you get older you try to keep cramming new stuff into your memory bank, but there's not enough room for the recent stuff. It doesn't get correctly categorised, so more difficult to recall.
I've often thought that's the explanation.

I think that may have been me (theory) TriciaF because that is what I always think.
The brain is a sort of computer, and it deletes some things and stores others in trash and keeps the relevant or meaningful things in the inbox.
I sometimes forget names or words of everyday objects but not often, I would worry if it happened all the time though.

I was told it is if you don't recognise what the object is , not it's name , that is when you worry

Moments of memory loss are not uncommon, I think. Most of us will have gone upstairs and wondered why, or gone to the fridge for something, and forgotten what. It is the not knowing what the fridge is, that is when memory becomes a problem. A specialist told us that some time ago. When I was in hospital recently, I was asked to say the months of the year in reverse, I managed this easily, thank goodness, but there were one or two others who got so far and became confused, I think this is the time to start to worry,not Panic, but realise something is not quite right. (The reason I was asked to do this was because I had been asked how I slept, and I said badly, and when asked why, I said that I felt the bed was rushing away with me and it was quite frightening - the doctor put down against my reply "demented").

Someone put forward the theory that as you get older you try to keep cramming new stuff into your memory bank, but there's not enough room for the recent stuff

I agree with this, but is it the older stuff that gets chucked out, or the younger stuff?
My son needs memory for his job, and he says that if he has a lot to retain, his brain becomes selective.

jeanie my husband and I both have that problem - we often say to each other "How can we not remember so-and-so?" or such and such a film? It comes in the end or ... as my husband says maybe it wasn't important enough to remember!

I know I am not nearly as sharp as I was 5 or so years ago - I was like a walking directory/dictionary/memory bank at work, now when someone says "Re that email you sent me last week ..." I invariably think "What flipping email?" and blag it until it comes back.

I wouldn't worry too much, I think it is quite "normal" as you get older to forget stuff. Or search for a word.

I'm sure this starts to happen with the loss of hormones at menopause.

Jeannie I noticed a big difference in my memory when I took fish oil capsules for my joints! Might not work for everyone, worth a try. I only use the Boots ones, you can get fancier. I don't take them all the time but I do think they make a difference.

I've noticed difficulty with some words, but it's mostly with not very commonly used words, e.g. the name of a plant. Today I can remember the name virginia creeper, but tomorrow I may struggle a bit. I go through the alphabet until it pops back into my mind.

I started doing crosswords and I'm finding that this is re-establishing some words back into my memory. I think it literally is a case of 'use it or lose it'.

Azie, I'd read about fish oil too and mean to remember to take them!!!!

Try also www.memory-improvement.com

I fill my shopping basket at the supermarket, when I get to the till I could tell what each item cost, even if there are 40 items, but the other day I could not remember the word microwave. I knew what it looked like but not what it was called.

Charleygirl I could have written your post almost word for word, with me it was " Lasagne" I couldnt think of the word at all, only that it was a mince meat dish layered with pasta ! I blamed it on a migraine I had brewing !

Last time I visited mum I spent five minutes trying to open the unit doors using my bank pin number rather the door code.

After the staff openedthe door for me, they asked if I wanted to see one of the vacant rooms.

I try to change tv channels with the landline handset. More idiocy than forgetfulness, I tried to turn off a house alarm (not mine) with a Green Day key fob instead of the plastic that would have stopped the noise ....

I also 'mislay' fairly common words and names and go through the alphabet to 'find' them. It sometimes brings them back to mind!

Lack of sleep renders the usual crossword indecipherable to me , a goodish sleep and I can finish it !

Aggie - I hope that is why I now sometimes make mistakes in very simple sudoku. I used to do much more difficult ones with less trouble!

The U3A here started a course about memory loss - but I forgot when it started!

Alie - just what I'd do!

Conversation yesterday:

MrA: I don't think I've arranged any breakdown insurance.
Me: I thought you did.
MrA: Oh yes I did, I remember now.
Me: Who is it with?
MrA: I don't know, I can't remember

Perfectly normal conversation, imho.
Anyone who is worried about their cognitive function could try this. We have found it quite reassuring
www.google.co.uk/search?q=foodforthebrain.org+cognitive+function+test&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

A month or so back I was really worried about all my memory problems. Going to the wrong cupboard to get a mug, fully knowing a little later which cupboard I should have used. Forgetting words. Chatting with DH then having a memory blank. I mentioned this on GN and so many of you confirmed you had similar problems.

I now take more time when I am doing something so that I don't use the wrong cupboard. I now remember words and names I had difficulty with in the past. I keep a To Do List running and I have relaxed and stopped worrying. I cannot tell you the relief I have, as I fear dementia more than cancer.

I find it depends a lot on concentration. I have just fed 10 people (unexpectedly) as 2 DDs turned up with their children and a hanger-on. They were all hurtling around and I had trouble remembering which cupboard things were in, and what had started cooking etc. - how they all finished up with a roast chicken dinner I do not know!

If I am doing things in peace I do not usually have any trouble - but I always call the 7 GC by the wrong name if they are all there - I do know what their names are but the wrong one just chooses to pop out of my mouth unbidden!

I actually feel so much better reading these posts. I was known for my fantastic memory at work. My first job was in the accounts dept of the local health service. In those days before computers, everything: invoices, orders, payment receipts were all stored in lever arch files on shelves in a number of vast filing rooms. One day the auditors descended unexpectedly about a possible fraud, where a large sum of public money had been spent, but no-one could produce either an order form or receipt for payment. All the bosses were in to help with the search. I piped up with the question, "Is it the order form and invoice for the medical camera you are looking for?" I got up walked into one of the filing rooms, pulled from hundreds of folders, the file with all the relevant details. I was always storing bits of seemingly irrelevant info in my head.
Roll on to today. I was going to hairdresser's and running late. I got to the car, no car keys. I went back inside and searched the house from top to bottom, no keys. They were in my pocket all the time. I swear I had already checked there.

After losing my mother's engagement ring six months ago, I again searched everywhere. Last week I found it in the corner of an old purse. Someone must have put it there, It couldn't possibly have been me!

I have found lacking in vitamin B12 does make a difference to my memory. I spent a week at my DD's late last year and found I was missing words. I also knew I was lacking in vitamin B12 because when I don't take supplements I start falling asleep at around ten in the morning and other symptoms I get are my legs ache. I had previously read that low levels of vitamin B12 can cause cognitive decline. It's not a cure for dementia but older people do need more vitamin B12.
Link for Harvard study - low levels of vitamin B12 can be sneaky and harmful

I won't let myself forget to take a multi vitamin B tablet each morning.

I have tried logging on to do this at about 10:30pm and I have now cocked up my initial registration details.
So the site thinks I have already joined and has my email address so all I now get is that this email address is taken. I cannot get it to work at all.

I noted the comments that "dyslexics might find some of this difficult."
This daft old bat has managed to mess it up before she started. This is dyslexia in action (and I can read) It's the other parts of brain wiring that is buggered.

I can see how I would have problems with a number of these questions and I could appear to show signs of cognitive impairment. I have contacted the site to see if they can let me back in.