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Ask HN: Increasingly Forgetful?

• jurre 15y ago
  Maybe you should add how old you are.
• gexla 15y ago
  Maybe you should keep a diary or something like that for events you feel are memorable. As a developer, my memory is trashed. I feel like I'm constantly trying to load so much info in my head that there's no way I can keep much in memory. My method of dealing with this is repetition of the important stuff, writing down the things that I know I will forget and allowing everything else to disappear. This requires excellent organization of your info, but it's far better than trying to remember everything. I would rather do without the baggage anyways. Garbage in, garbage out.
• Mz 15y ago
  There are actually things you can do, nutritionally, to support brain health. Most folks are not really interested in hearing that, so I won't waste my time elaborating.
• crawfordcomeaux 15y ago
  TL;DR version: If you're experiencing something that you don't like, look to fix it, ESPECIALLY when related to your health! Your quality of life decreasing due to memory loss is enough of a concern to justify getting it checked out. Issues w/memory that I've experienced at different points in my life were related to diet, sleep deprivation and thyroid problems. Are you experiencing any other issues? How's your mood stability? Do you get enough to eat/drink/sleep (7-9 hours) each day? Memory issues can be tied to a lot of issues, but some things may not be the root cause. Sleeping/eating disorders could be affecting your memory, but the disorders themselves could be caused by other underlying issues. Personally, I had memory issues related to chronic sleep dep (driven by a "sleep is for the weak" mentality and a firm insistence for years that I only needed 4-5 hours a night). Getting onto a regular sleep cycle fixed the memory problems and a host of other issues. Having sleep deprived myself from age 14 to 25, the impact it had was incredible. I became much more creative & productive. I started having sleep/memory issues again in the past year (along with mood issues and irregular appetite) with increasing frequency. I've got a currently undiagnosed (waiting on blood work) thyroid issue, but started taking synthetic thyroid hormone a few months back. The fact that it's resolved all problems points to hypothyroidism, so now I'm hunting down its cause. Thyroid issues can be notoriously difficult to diagnose, since (I think) all tests could come back inconclusive/negative & most doctors use the TSH test to rule it out. The TSH test usually only reports thyroid issues in extreme cases, though, which is why there's a growing movement in medicine to educate doctors against using it as a thyroid litmus test. As my mom puts it (thyroid problems run deep and wide in our family), "it pretty much just tells you if you're alive". If you suspect a thyroid issue, you'll want all thyroid blood tests run, especially thyroid antibody tests. If a doctor isn't willing to order them all, find another that will. I saw an endocrinologist who repeated incorrect thyroid information related to my test results that I've both read about and have been told about by my GP & a dermatologist friend of the family (both are excellent diagnosticians & doctors). I won't be seeing the endo again. One thing that makes thyroid issues difficult to pin down is that it requires the patient to be knowledgeable & assertive about their own treatment in order to properly gauge their doctors. Here's a collection of links w/info on different thyroid aspects: http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/Get_Tested_for_Thyroid_Disease_and_Properly_Diagnosed.htm http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/Get_Tested... Sorry to go a little offtopic on thyroid stuff. That little gland has plagued my family for generations, so I'm pretty adamant about pointing it out as a potential cause of things.
  • jyu 15y ago
    Sounds like something I definitely need checked out and look into the thyroid issue, although my family doesn't have a history of thyroid problems. I don't think I have any of the issues with diet (mostly cook for myself), but it could be bad sleep hygiene/routine and lack of regular exercise. Definitely I'll check in with a doctor now. Your response on the thyroid issues sound scary and really informative, thanks a lot!
• samstave 15y ago
  Look into your diet. Are you eating a lot of processed food and a lot of food from aluminum cans (soda) - as well as cooking in aluminum pans? Aluminum causes Alzheimers.
  • nate_meurer 15y ago
    There is no evidence that aluminum causes Alzheimers. Some early studies indicated a very faint correlation at the population level between aluminum in brain tissue and alzheimers. Some of those studies explicitly noted the likelihood that amyloid plaques were incidentally prone to aluminum accumulation, meaning that Alzhiemers might aluminum buildup, not the other way around. Subsequent research has largely failed to corroborate the correlation, and no causative relationship has ever even been proposed to my knowledge. If aluminum did cause Alzheimers, then we'd all be screwed, regardless of whether we drink from cans. Aluminum is widely used to treat potable water. You consume large amounts of aluminum in your fruits and vegetables, tea, bear, and grains. You eat aluminum in antacids and pickles. The list goes on.
• anon001 15y ago
  I used to have the same exact issue. There were two things that I did that returned me back to the level that I was accustomed to operating at. 1. High-quality supplementation. I take Total Balance Men's Premium and Omega 3/QH from Xtend-Life. Please note that "regular vitamins" from your corner drug store or GNC are "McDonalds"-grade vitamins and are simply not sufficient as they contain low-quality nutrients and--pardon the vulgarity--they just get urinated right out instead of being fully absorbed. The downsides with Xtend-Life is that they are pricey and the shipping takes a longer that I'd prefer (they are in New Zealand) but, ultimately, they are absolutely worth it: http://www.xtend-life.com/ http://www.xtend-life.com/ 2. Sign up for Lumosity. It's a cognitive training web site based on sound science from research Universities. They have plenty of working memory and even dual n-back exercises: http://www.lumosity.com/ http://www.lumosity.com/ I can assure you without any doubt whatsoever that if you do both of these things, you'll be feeling tremendously improved--if not even better than the level that you were originally operating at--quickly.
  • AznHisoka 15y ago
    Ditto on the Omega 3/fish-oil. It's a must-have daily drug for me. If I don't take at least 3 capsules a day, I start acting all jittery and crazy. Also to the OP: If you're drinking coffee, I suggest gradually stopping. It can cause seizure-like sensations for some people who can't tolerate it well. Everyone else has some good suggestions: exercise regularly! sleep early, and cut down on the processed foods, and eat more veggies. Also, I recommend adding in some spirituality for good measure. All of these are prudent ways to prevent mental breakdowns as you get older. Programmers are especially prone since some of us don't get much social interaction everyday
• Rickasaurus 15y ago
  At 31 my memory isn't nearly as good as it was at 18. I remember I could sit through my classes, do none of the reading and still get perfect scores on my tests (as long as the material was covered). However, my ability to internalize and relate complex ideas is MUCH improved. I'm way better at abstract math now, I'm not sure I would have even had the patience for it previously. Another thing to consider: many people get minor bouts of depression in the winter. Generally your memory is worse while depressed.
• msie 15y ago
  Too much web surfing and tv watching? Too much multitasking? Stop surfing the web for a week and see what happens. On HackerNews I will often looked at 10-20 articles and soon forget the first articles I looked at.
  • tstegart 15y ago
    Yeah, I had this problem at my last job. I had to read around 1000 pages a day of material. I couldn't remember people's names 10 seconds after meeting them. I stopped remembering phone numbers completely. Since I stopped that job life is a lot easier, my brain has so much more space.
• sachingulaya 15y ago
  Medical doctor here(well, almost!). One huge misconception I want to clear up is that memory loss is not a normal feature of aging. I don't have a lot of information to go off of here(when did it start?, is it getting worse?, did you notice it yourself or did others around you notice it?) but the common causes of memory loss in the below 50 demographic are hypothyroidism and B12 deficiency. If you're a vegetarian B12 def. is the likely culprit. What to do: Go see your general practitioner. He/She will run all the usual labs and check your thyroid and B12 levels as the first step in your workup. Another possible factor is depression. Depression and memory loss go hand in hand. (Sidebar: If I see a geriatric patient with memory loss I'm thinking either Alzheimer's or depression. The differentiating factor is that Alzheimer's patients don't know that they have memory loss.) Go get checked out. B12 deficiency is reversible in the short term but can cause permanent damage.
  • jyu 15y ago
    I think it started after college and I am almost 29 now. I have had depression before without realizing how serious it was until I started getting treatment and therapy for it. I'm not a vegetarian, smoker, drinker, and exercise at least weekly. It could be bad sleep hygiene, but I'll definitely check out B12 and thyroid problems.
  • jyu 15y ago
    I think it started after college and I am almost 29 now. I have had depression and my memory retention was really bad during this phase. I started getting treatment and therapy for it nearly 1 year ago. I think I have always been kind of oblivious at times, but now it seems like I need to use repetition tricks remember important things. I'm not a vegetarian, smoker, drinker, and exercise at least weekly. It could be bad sleep hygiene, but I'll definitely check out B12 and thyroid problems. Thanks!
    • sachingulaya 15y ago
      Glad to hear that you're getting help. You can email me(check my profile) if you have any questions down the line. Take care.
• FellowTraveler 15y ago
  Maybe you should quit smoking marijuana.