# Ok, I am really starting to get worried about memory loss **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 2, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674 "2009-07-02T05:49:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/21 "2009-07-02T19:51:11Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > As a matter of fact, my doctor just today was explaining to me the deleterious effects of artifical sweetener. You don’t say. I drink Crystal Lite every day, and put Splenda on my unsweetened granola. I wonder if it’s contributing to my growing inability to multitask as well. I wonder if Stevia is included under the category of “artificial sweetener”? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/22 "2009-07-02T22:11:52Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > Sometimes at work (I’m a cook) I ask somebody to put some…of that.. ya know.. plastic stuff…over the food…SARAN WRAP!..Or put that food in the ..uhh…COOLER! > > I have been sitting here for 5 minutes trying to think of the Vice Presidents name..It escapes me. I can only come up with Joe and not even sure if that is right. i followed the election and I cannot remember his name. > > I’m sorta scared. Forget about it. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/23 "2009-07-02T22:50:48Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Forget about it. About what? ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/24 "2009-07-03T15:34:47Z")
Undergoing menopause makes it worse. My friends who are past that say it improves again afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/25 "2009-07-04T01:10:08Z")
I got up to do something in the kitchen, and when I got in there I couldn’t remember what it was, so I wandered around a little and gave up and came back and sat down. Then I remembered what it was and went back to the kitchen. I found I had already done it. Now I don’t remember what it was, anyway, to tell the story. Oh, and EvilTOJ needs a sound thrashing. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/26 "2009-07-04T01:48:56Z")
There are a lot of things that can make your memory start fritzing out - anti-depressants, coming OFF antidepressants, change in sleep habits, depression, allergies, stress, chemo, menopause… but they get better when the trigger goes away. I just say I’m in “dork mode”, and get **JustThinkin** to finish my sentences. ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/27 "2009-07-04T02:14:48Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > It has been happening to me for years, but it is getting worse and worse. Although my surgeon tells me I am nuts, I swear that I lose more brain cells every time he puts me under. It makes me sad. If you Google “anesthesia memory loss” you will find may links, such as [this one](http://www.tangledneuron.info/the_tangled_neuron/2008/06/surgery-anesthesia-and-memory-loss.html), suggesting that repeatedly being put under anesthesia does indeed affect your memory, possibly long term. (You’ll also find a lot of links disputing the idea.) ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/28 "2009-07-04T02:33:56Z")
I was so worried about my mental state a couple of weeks ago when I asked someone to help me change the container of water for the thing that dispenses the cold water. Actually, that sounded much more coherent than what actually came out of my mouth. Last week, someone else my age (38), asked the same person to help her change the “water thingy” and he apparently looked at her like he looked at me. I felt MUCH better after that. The password is: watercooler ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/29 "2009-07-04T03:02:27Z")
> [@Ms. Meta](#): > > If you Google “anesthesia memory loss” you will find may links, such as [this one](http://www.tangledneuron.info/the_tangled_neuron/2008/06/surgery-anesthesia-and-memory-loss.html), suggesting that repeatedly being put under anesthesia does indeed affect your memory, possibly long term. > > (You’ll also find a lot of links disputing the idea.) Interesting. I used to be quite proud of my memory. I could remember details of books and conversations that others could not. Now I’ve had at least 9 operations since 2003 and my memory is for shit. I keep a composition notebook with me to keep track of details. I needed the operations, so I guess there was no way around the trade. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674/30 "2009-07-04T03:13:10Z")
IIRC, I’ve had memory problems all my life. Dates have never had any meaning for me, nor have time spans. I can’t remember when I moved from Los Angeles to Santa CRuz, nor can I remember when I moved to Florida the first time, or either of the other two. Some words escape me; I once called the vacuum cleaner a lawn mower. My Darling Marcie once asked me if I had ever had a good memory and I had to tell her I couldn’t remember. Take heart; forgetting a word means nothing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-am-really-starting-to-get-worried-about-memory-loss/501674.md?page=1)