Poor memory: It's a struggle for me to remember... - Thyroid UK

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Poor memory

JuanGonzalez profile image
28 Replies

It's a struggle for me to remember things that happen I have to think hard or retrace steps back to know what I have done , it's really frustrating I have poor memory

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JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez
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28 Replies
JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez

I also feel confused in many situations and I feel like I don't have track of anything , I'm like a total mess

JD138 profile image
JD138 in reply to JuanGonzalez

Hi there. Sorry you have this foggy memory. When this happens to me I take really good quality Vit D and Nutri adrenal. Works a treat for me. At one time I was so bad my daughter thought I had early onset dementia!!!

JD138 profile image
JD138 in reply to JD138

Hi again. I've been thinking more about you and forgot to say in my last reply that Gluten can be a player in brain fog. I gave it up early last year and that has made a huge difference to me. Good luck.

Clutter profile image
Clutter

JuanGonzalez, Memory problems, confusion, 'brain fog' are often due to undermedication. You've said before that your TSH was in your doctor's normal range but that isn't necessarily optimal.

If you post your TSH and FT4 results with the lab ref ranges (the figures in brackets after your results) we can see whether you are optimally medicated. The ranges are important as they vary from country to country and we can't interpret the results without them.

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to Clutter

Well on my last test I was still a bit hypo barely above the normal but I want to request to take armour or try another type of medicine any advice on what I should do ?

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to JuanGonzalez

Juan, barely above the 'normal' is still much too high. The upper limit of the range is too high and totally irrealistic. Your TSH needs to be Under one. Or even suppressed. Did your doctor give you an increase in levo at that moment? He should have!

I think that you should give levo a fair try before thinking of other things - which will be complicated to get hold of. You're obviously not on your optimal dose, yet. Ask your doctor for and increase in levo and see how you feel after. You could be one of the Lucky ones that do well on levo alone. I have the impression it suits men better than women.

Hugs

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply to JuanGonzalez

JuanGonzalez, I can't stress how important it is to get your results with the lab ref ranges. Normal is a very broad range and is very different to optimal. Without seeing your results it is impossible to tell whether you are optimally medicated. Being 'barely above normal' sounds as though you were slightly undermedicated.

As Greygoose says, see how you feel after a dose increase in Levothyroxine or Synthroid before switching to NDT or T3.

Redditch profile image
Redditch

We call it brain fog. It's a very common and worrying symptom. I got so bad I once stood at the bottom of my stairs and couldn't remember how to ascend them. Your medication is not right. You need to take lots of vitamins and minerals and find the right balance. It can be totally symptom free if you get the right balance. Message me privately and I will share my reading and my current diet and list of supplements. We are all different but you CAN get this under control.

daisyd profile image
daisyd

Check out the symptoms from the Hughes syndrome site on here, sometimes people with thyroid problems can also have this.

hairyfairy profile image
hairyfairy

It`s hard to know whether memory loss is down to thyroid or aging.

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply to hairyfairy

On one of his previous posts, Juan said he was 18. :)

How are your B12 levels? I think my memory improved after taking methylB12 and methylfolate. Even though my serum B12 levels were high on tests. And the feeling of having cotton wool stuffed in my head, of my brain finding it harder to think, like operating clogged machinery - that went when I went off gluten.

It doesn't mean that these things will work for you. We are different people and so may have different illnesses. But they may be worth checking out.

Oh, and the other thing of course is, how are you sleeping?

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to

everyday for these past 2 weeks I've been sleeping around 3am or 5 am I just can't go to sleep I feel as if I need to be awake I really don't know why

in reply to JuanGonzalez

OK, well, if you are not sleeping deeply for enough hours that may well lie behind your memory problems. Are you in the US? Have you tried a v small dose of melatonin when you wake up?

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to

it's only been recently that I don't sleep good , but the previous times before it was the same , and I've heard of that medication , I will ask my doctor about it , I used to take trizodon for sleep before , and yes I'm currently living in the US

in reply to JuanGonzalez

In the US you can buy melatonin over the counter. It's not a sleep drug that you might get addicted to, it's a natural substance made by the body that sets the time you go to sleep and is also an anti-oxidant. Have a look at the Wikipedia entry on it. You don't need large quantities. My son used to take 1mg, as I recall - the smallest amount that will be on sale. I find that if I wake in the night it can help me go back to sleep.

Do mention it to your doctor, of course, in case it clashes with any of your other medications or conditions. But generally it is pretty safe stuff.

Marz profile image
Marz

healthunlocked.com/juangonz...

Here are your previous questions in the link above. May help to read all the helpful replies you have had. With regards to Centrum - the supplement you are taking - I think the manufacturer is Merck or some other Big Pharma company. As a result the levels contained in the supplement are LOW - best to take things individually that you need :-)

Mass marketed multivitamins are no silver bullet.

Beware of folic acid and cyanocobalmin--> These cheaper forms may be more of a problem than a solution to a problem. Choose methylated forms of B12 and folate (neurological forms) and avoid synthetic vitamins like the plague!

Standard TSH, T3 & T4 tests miss thyroid resistance (hypothyroid type 2) which is a lot more prevalent than what most doctors think.

Free T3, Free T4 & Reverse T3 tests indicate thyroid function in the cells, the only place

where it matters.

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to HeathUnlockedakis

The vitamin b12 is made of cyanocobalmin and well I do take the cheap kinds

SilverAvocado profile image
SilverAvocado

I also have poor memory, concentration, and all the rest of it.

I think struggling to settle at night is linked to these. My awareness of time is very off, so if I leave things as normal I tend to do these things all over the shop.

I've started setting timers for everything, which helps a lot. I now get up, have lunch, and go to bed bed at the same time every day. I also realise that I'll get tired 3 or 4 hours before is is actually sleep time (which I think is completely normal), and make sure I'm not fighting that with what I do.

I was reading on another forum about people struggling with ADHD, and realised I get some of them same effects through my lack of concentration. I tend to flap about with small tasks, or the day will go past and I won't have properly rested as I intended to do for for the whole whole day... I feel less guilty about this now that I realise it's what the symptoms do, not me being lazy or undisciplined :p

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez

How long have you felt like that? as a younger teen I was given lexapro and I have also tooken ability for depression but for only about 2 years , I've also ha've tooken vyvance for adhd , I've tooken respidol for anger , and some other meds to

hayo6 profile image
hayo6 in reply to JuanGonzalez

be ware, antidepressants and meds for the stomach don't allow your thyroid meds to be absorb properly

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez

Meant to say abilify

Ladywell profile image
Ladywell

Before increasing medication or other actions, I trongly encourage you to get the new (2nd) edition of Could It Be B12? by Sally Pacholok, read it, and get yourself on enough B12 to reverse these issues. We should all be carrying this book everywhere, and showing it to everyone in our lives.

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez in reply to Ladywell

Where can I find the book I'm here in the US ?

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez

Oh my god I'm really angry right now because I couldn't remember one thing and I can't kind of control myself I feel hopeless I feel depressed I felt suicidal thoughts right now I really don't like this I feel like I'm trapped in an endless nightmare

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply to JuanGonzalez

JuanGonzalez, please find out your thyroid levels. If you are undermedicated this may be why you are feeling hopeless, depressed and suicidal. The brain needs a lot of thyroid hormone and without it mood , cognition and sleep are impaired and it becomes a vicious cycle of despair and depression.

You are very young and have a lot of responsiblity with a young wife and baby and it is a lot to cope with when you feel unwell, so see your doctor about a dose increase as soon as possible. In the meantime, if the suicidal thoughts become pressing or you just need to talk and have someone listen please call the Samaritans samaritansusa.org/contact.php

JuanGonzalez profile image
JuanGonzalez

Thanks and is that like a 24 hour place to talk ?

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