hi everyone just a quick question to everyone who has memory problems .

[lew-ann]

am I the only one or does anyone here have the same problem when parking for example, when grocery shopping I have often came out of the supermarket and it has taken me over 15 min to find the car the worst was in the multi story took nearly two hour and I had to draft in help, I just avoid now and when I go shopping stick to the same place usually at there far end where no one parks ! a disabled badge would be handy but it is reserve for those that really need it inc the builder and other none disabled people who can't be bothered to walk more than 50ft to the shop grrr

[sospan]

Strangely parking or even finding a car has never been a prob lem even though after my injury I have poor depth perception and memory. Much like most of the brain injury symptoms i can't fathom them out

[lew-ann]

yep there are many things that go unnoticed but is hidden quite well. I know their there! but most is missed by the average person, like you said some thing you can't fathom out, but I still have what I can only call ghosts of anterograde amnesia I know when it is likely to effect me other things that are annoying and sometimes strange then again the brain is a strange and rather fascinating thing

[Bards]

Ditto. I always try to park in sight of likely exit, but have a high vehicle which helps in large car parks, and fortunately rules out most multistories. It used to be even worse (comically so on a good day) - sometimes when leaving a building I wouldn't know for sure if that day it was a car, a bicycle or a bus stop I was looking for, as not sure how I'd got there! Happy hunting...

[lew-ann]

I also have a 4x4 (pickuo) much to everyone's distaste for that reason and another medical reason, it does help but I have to parked behind those trolley thing before and couldn't see it, but you can't park near the shop as the spaces are designed for cars, so I always park right at the back where no one parks I can laugh at it now but the first time I 'lost the car' was not funny esp as I could not control my emotion panic started to set in it's a horrifying feeling but anyway I can laugh now and I stick to the same place, avoid multi story car parks or complex ones, and last but not least take my 11 year old daughter fantastic weapon if you have to park somewhere strange lol 5yts later and I'm still playing hide and seek with my car amongst other things i had not thought about the others such as bike, bus I think that be very frustrating but like all thing repetition seem to be the key and leaving things always in the same place lol inc car keys and the little tickets you get at the barrier when you park funny!!!!

[bexx87]

yes I do have problems remebering where I parked which is why I write down (normally on my hand) what exit I came out of and what level I parked on but I dont do this in work so colleuges see me wandering from the upper to the middle to the lower car parks and back again whilst I play spot where I parked my car

[lew-ann]

I do sometimes but again i need to remember the pen you can guarantee someone's borrowed it plus I have trouble writing (coordination) but it nice to know i,m not alone

[lifelonglearner]

Hi - It's only happened to me once - but I know others who regularly have the same problem. One solution is to take a photo of the car on the smart phone after walking away about 10-20 metres, with an obvious object in the background. Once you're in the habit of doing this you end up not actually needing to take the photo as you will always be in the habit of looking back at the car , spotting an obvious object nearby and the 'photo' is actually an image in the memory. Worked for me after a bit of practice.

[Danslatete]

I called the police once thinking my car had been stolen but my car was in the garage and I was in my other half s car! A very stressful experience. I have a piglet on my ariel and I have a bright yellow car which helps, I walk up and down till I find it. It's easier if the kids are with me because they go to it automatically. Almost ten years and I still have this problem, but I have found a way to manage it!

[Hidden]

Hi, forgive me because I'm struggling to understand I would love to drive and have accepted I never will because of my problems which include memory loss.

And i wonder is it safe to drive with memory loss......But its just come to me

short term memory loss means you can forget where the car is parked, and you have long term memory to use for driving skills..... is that it????

[Kirk5w7 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Leslie, I feel very much the same, not that I have memory problems, I can't move my head from side to side fast or often enough to see safely all round, so I don't even try, but would love to get back behind the wheel, maybe one day !!!! Janet

[Kirk5w7 in reply to Kirk5w7]

Another aspect of this is my spatial awareness, but I worry that some other people are a little less honest about their limitations, I don't see as well when the light quality is lower either, so I just wouldn't feel safe getting behind a wheel, I'm sure I would still beable to operate a car but how safely for other road users? Xxx

[nemo_really in reply to Hidden]

Remembering where you've parked the car can be a problem, but having a distinctive vehicle helps and trying to park in a regular kind of position (eg, farthest from the shop! ). I also think it gets easier with time. The type of memory loss may play a part in the difficulty. I have reasonably good visual memory and sense of direction and map-reading is almost at the intuitive level. On the other hand, I can't remember place names and have to constantly check whether a name on a sign is one that I want, even if I've only done so a few minutes before. The most "amusing" instances are when I have a break in memory and don't recall the last few miles; in at least one instance, I didn't remember anything between sitting at my desk reading and being in my car 20 miles away, with no idea where I was going or why.

However, none of my passengers, nor the DVLA, have ever said I wasn't safe. OK, most of the passengers went catatonic and the rest were carried away screaming in terror, but none of them offered a word of criticism...

[lew-ann]

Correct my driving skill mostly unaffected because I have no sense of direction thank good for the sat nav I can remember every sign every thing relating to driving it's a bit of a God send it seems to clear the mind I do how ever need the sat nav esp going somewhere strange just for the speed limits yes I know my driving is safe even passed my hgv 2 years ago things can be learnt by repetition some memories are so well ingrained it's automatic the film boure identity was a good example

[Hidden]

Yep I could have written this myself

[bexx87]

Hi, yes when I get a new car or Im parking somewhere new, I forget what my car looks like as I tend to look for my old one before reminding myself that the colour has changed so for Im looking for a purple not a red one and its a R reg not a S reg and I tend to try and park in around the same area every time as work has 3 parking levels and sometimes when I park in level 1 I often go to level 2 (as its my normal parking area)before realising I parked somewhere differently. When I park in shopping galleys, I write on my hand what level I parked on and I make a note of something that I parked by as a trigger eg I parked some where near the toilets, I use the trigger method when Im going somewhere new so I know how to get home and I use to have a park app on my phone that gave me directions to where I parked if all else fails

[MICH451]

I don't drive but it takes me forever to find my way round our town.

[paxo05]

Lew-ann. Just come across your post. Yep have same problem. Had some funny experiences since returning to drive. Think the best was when I first went out on my own only to get lost. Ended up taking a taxi home and then the taxi taking my wife back to where I had left the car. Wife was not impressed and presented me with a sat nav the following day. Worst time I lost the car in a car park was stand beside what I thought was my car trying to get the remote to work. Ten minutes later the penny dropped. Yep it wasnt my car!!!! Another ten minutes walking round pressing remote till magically further in thecar park my cars lights flashed yep did I feel stupid. Know tie tinsel to car ariel looks a bit daft but I know its my daft car.

[charlyfarley]

Ha! I have a similar problem with parking, don't know if it's to do with my injury or not but it drives my wife mad, (so we're both nuts). I've driven from Oxford to Ikea in Bristol before now only to find the car park empty, got confused then turned around and driven back, it didn't help that it was early and the shop hadn't open yet!

[Hidden]

Hi Lew-ann, I have exactly the same problem with memory. I try to park my car at the same area when shopping etc. If that's not possible, I take a photo of the nearest landmark which could be a shop front, street name, house no. or anything else that I can see. I always have my little camera in my bag.... so handy. Every once in a while I erase the images. Also I had roof racks installed to try to differentiate from the sea of other similar looking cars which is a common silver hatch back. Yep, having an invisible disability is a nuisance at times. Claire xx

[lew-ann]

It does not get any better even the tricks I use are not fool proof lol lewann x