Memory/Azathioprine

[Jennyhadenough]

I completed four college classes with a 90% or higher so far.

I have to say that it was not easy , my husband came through in a big way. I feel that he owes it to me, being that he is controlling and forbid me to stay in college after we married.

I’m fifty-seven years old and have been out of school for many years.

Sometimes I get real foggy and forgetful, especially with reading. I have to read a passage many times before finding the answer to the question that is being asked.

I decided during summer session, to take math and reading tutoring. I scored where I thought that I would with math.

Reading, I scored between ninth and tenth grade.

I tested out of needing a developmental reading class when I took the college entrance exam.

Here is my concern. The instructor gave me ninth grade reading material, and I have to answer questions after reading the passages.

I couldn’t stay focused. We dropped a grade until I could stay focused and complete the assignment. I was able to stay focused and on task at a fourth grade level. “I was embarrassed”. I completed the assignment and left with my granddaughter who has been attending the tutoring center for two years.

I took the reading materials that I was unable to complete at the tutoring center home with me.

Last night I gave the ninth grade assignment another look and it was very easy and I was able to complete it easily.

This seems to happen often. Should I blame the medication or do I just have to wake up my brain from a long nap.

Does anyone else have struggles with learning or remembering things that we shouldn’t forget?

For instance: how to solve a math equation that we learned for the first time.

I have to keep a to do list, and a calendar or I will forget.

Is this just normal aging or should I talk to my Doctor?

Next year he said that if my labs continue to do well he will take me off Azathioprine

Thank you for reading

Jenny

[butterflyEi]

My sister who is a retired special needs teacher years ago said to me that she thought I might have been undiagnosed dyslexic when I was at school. This is something I obviously overcame as I used to happily read many books and am a retired professional chiropodist. I needed to concentrate to get the knowledge for that job into my head! I used to fall asleep reading the text and had to read everything more than once but I was always good with my hands and had a successful practice. As a senior citizen I cannot read a book. I have tried many different genre and even read children's stories but cannot get into them or finish them. However odd bits that I read or hear stick in my head.The PBC Foundation run Thursday afternoon Q&A sessions with PBC specialists during one of those sessions one said that the brain of PBC patients had been mapped and the scans showed differences between us and those without PBC. There may even be an article in the Bear Facts magazine but I do not remember for certain.

It is always worth sharing with your doctor, as they say not everything is PBC and not everything is aging. My breathlessness and difficulty walking about 5 years ago turned out to be pernicious anaemia. Since regular b12 injections I can again enjoy a good long walk, my memory improved but I still have to write a list.

Hope this in part is helpful to you at least you will know that there is a medical reason for your struggles.

Best wishes

[Jennyhadenough in reply to butterflyEi]

I get winded easily too. It only started after Azathioprine. I will certainly ask my pcp about it.I was diagnosed with pbc/aih very early and so far I have been lucky, according to my Hepatologist, it hasn’t yet began to progress.

I really hope that what is going on is side affects from Azathioprine.

Sadly the only issues that I have with having pbc/aih is uneducated people only hearing hepatitis. In most cases that’s all that it takes for people including a few nurses and medical professionals that should have the common sense to use Web MD to learn that I did nothing to develop aih/pbc.

Thank you for your response.