Last week i missed an appointment at the eye hospital and the fiirst i knew about it was a letter telling me to phone if i wanted to be considered for another one.Well i did phone and spoke to the doctor's secretary who asked me what kind of time would suit me best,so i told her.This week,i said to my son that i couldn't for the life of me remember the date the secretary had given me and that i'd written it down but couldn't find it anywhere.I tipped all my papers out and checked every envelope trying to find it,nothing doing.I phoned again and explained everything and the lady asked who i'd spoken to.I said ,well it was someone who sounded like you-the doctor's secretary.she then said that she was the doctor's secretary,but never gave out appointments because she's not allowed to.She remembered me phoning last week but only put me on a list.I'd imagined the whole thing about writing it down and then had gone through the whole palaver of looking for it.What a plonker!How can i get up to speed again-i used to have a fantastic memory i was the one who remembered dates and numbers,and who was related to whom and when the bills were due etc,etc..

No good asking me how you can improve, I'm 20 years younger than you and do exactly the same kind of things at times :)

You are a year younger than me and I frighten myself sometimes with the things I forget.  I have gone out and left the grill on for hours!  I can't do more than one thing at a time.  I used to be a teacher - multitasking all day long and coming home to organise everything there too.   I do agility and having a fast dog keeps me on my toes.  I make lists and use stick it notes.  I search the house looking for things that turn up right under my nose.  I used to tell my husband off for doing the self same thing.  It is most annoying.

That reminds me - I turned the iron on half and hour ago.  I think that maybe spending too much time online doesn't do much for the memory either :-)

games like brain training are supposed to be good :)

its very easy to forget stuff like that, get yourself a diary and never put it down is probably the best idea.

My short term memory is shocking :(

do men have bits that drop off like this(apart from the obvious,of course)?It's not fair if it's just women.We as a family love quizzes,now every time i buzz,just by shouting buzz,something i know i know gets stuck half way out of my brain, and i end up frantically shouting,oh wait ,i know it,i know it!I never win these days.:)

I've got a big diary and honestly i forget to look in it 'til it's too late.Also, used to have really nice handwriting but that's gone up the wall too-it's all the emailing.i wrote my son's birthday card today and it looked as though Poppy had written it.

> i wrote my son's birthday card today and it looked as though Poppy had written it

:-)  :-)  :-)  LOL!!

good lord poppity now im worried myself im 18 years younger than you and your post sounded just like me lol
its  true im the same iv never in my life forgotten the amount of things i have over the last year and i to used to be so good with dates times and events , now i forget everything, infact the only sure thing i now remember when im told of things i need to remember is that im going to forget that :-(

> iv never in my life forgotten the amount of things i have over the last year

That's our answer then.  It's not us!!   They're putting something in the water.  :-)  :-)  :-)

My son moans he has to have a diary now as "Mum" forgets to remind him of important appointments !!

We have to forget some things to make room for all the new stuff ;-)

i think its Hormonal meself but if the water could be blamed id be much happier :-)
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dame i forgot what else i was going to say lol

chelzeagirl, I had to laugh. We always blame the water when something goes wrong ;-)

I actually find that having a calendar that you can write on is very handy to have beside the phone. That way you can flick through the dates and add whatever is needed to the date as you get the information over thephone :-)

Now, I'm sure I put the milk in the fridge, or was it the washing machine ;-)

I put it down to being such a busy person that there is so much going on in my brain deffo not age !!
Yep and the diary calendar thing only works if you remember to look at them,
My big problem atm seems to be getting the right name out and that includes my family. Yesterday I called my son but managed to use both dogs names and my daughters before I used his name omg !

> atm seems to be getting the right name out and that includes my family

Yes,thats it too-coming out with a whole string of names before getting the right one,then doing that little flutter thing and feelng even dafter!

> They're putting something in the water

And in my case it's not whiskey,either as i only seem to have a glass or two of wine at Christmas.:)

buy yourself some kind of diary, i would be lost without my filofax (very 80's i know) both personally & for work, i'm pretty good at remembering stuff but i think that's cos i'm so used to writing things down. try some kind of brain training, maybe get the game for the nintendo ds or i'm sure they're some online.

I will get a brain training game.I like Brain academy on my Wii,but a portable game would be fab.

> Yesterday I called my son but managed to use both dogs names and my daughters before I used his name omg

I was doing that in my 20's. used to call the cats to the kitchen for dinner..the kids knew I meant them!!

If fact my son uses one of our old cats name as a nickname for my daughter LOL

My children bought me the brqin training game and a ds to us it on.
Trouble is I keep forgetting to use it.
Karen ;)

lol Karen

I actually find that having a calendar that you can write on is very handy to have beside the phone. That way you can flick through the dates and add whatever is needed to the date as you get the information over thephone

Umm my calendar was only just changed over from April 2 days ago so doesn't help me, forget to change it :)

If you are really concerned you might want to have a chat with your GP.

Grumpy Old Women had a bit on a couple of years ago about memory - how it tends to go downhill during later middle age.  One woman (can't remember which one, of course) talked about looking at a lamp in her home and not remember what "that thing" was called.  :-)

As to names ... I've always been terrible at remembering people's name and I've learned to live with the embarrassment. 

I am only a few months younger than you and although I've not forgotten appointments I do forget a lot of things.   I'm considering having my eyeglasses screwed to my head! 

And I've lost weight recently, a good thing, and been re-organizing my wardrobe.  Taking clothing out that I'd bought that was too snug - most of it never worn - out of the back of the wardrobe or stored in the spare room.  I could hang my head in shame because I must have bought two or three of nearly identical items of nearly everything.   I even had two literally identical (size and brand) pairs of black jeans.   My memory has apparently been on the downhill slope for some time now.

And of course, if you are under any kind of distress or distracted by something going on in you life, memory does suffer, at least for me it does.

I have to have a calendar in the kitchen - I used to have a diary but I'd forget to get it out of my handbag to look at it!!!

My memory is far, far worse since I turned 40 last year!  I'm usually pretty good at plant names for instance, I'm an enthusiastic gardener. At the mo, though, it takes me ages and ages to come up with the right one!! I just can't remember the right word for things!!

It could be worse though - my Nana could never get the right name for any of us until she went through every one elses in our family. I wouldn't have minded but I'm number 5 of 6 and for years I thought my name was PeteBarbLinJackPaula!!!! :-O :-D :-D  (True story though!)

You know, I used to laugh at my mum when she called us the wrong names. After all, I'm the only girl in the family and I still got called Ian/Alan/Sheila (my brothers and aunts names ;-) ) Now, however, I can fully understand it. I only have the one child living at home and I call her by her sisters name regularly :-D At least I haven't called her by her sisters nickname yet (she'd kill me for telling that one ;-) )

> My big problem atm seems to be getting the right name out and that includes my family. Yesterday I called my son but managed to use both dogs names and my daughters before I used his name omg !

lol, my sister and cousins got used to our gran calling us by a list of all of our names plus our mums :) my sis was not so bad with linda, lesley,... oh Georgie! but my poor youngest cousin, she got five names before hers.

I think a lot of it is that John and I used to talk all the time about what we would be doing and planning how we were going to get to our various appointments and now he's not here there's a big part of my life that's gone and that means I don't get to chat like I used to.It keeps the mind so lively when you have someone who talks about anything and everything and makes you laugh so much too.He used to go through all the female names in the family to get to either our girls or his sister's name.You know when there's someone there and you bounce things off them,sometimes just to remind yourself,like saying,oh don't forget about the clinic,or will you remind me to turn the oven down  in ten minutes,it's amazing how many times we do that,and when you can't anymore and you have to remember every big and little thing yourself,well I suppose somethings going to overlooked.I think I'll loose some weight,I've got into the comfort eating thing and it's doing me no good. had a wardrobe clearout and bought a few nice tops and skirts and pants but to be honest there are a few I've not worn yet.I keep myself groomed,but tend to stick to my usual gear of pants,top and cardi.I must shake myself awake!

well i muddle up the kids and the dogs names and i'm 27! i do feel like i've been getting worse forgetting where i put things etc

I find it quite frightenening how fuzzy my mind has become.
Today I went to SC show as a spectator & driving home I ended up in the wrong lane to turn off several times when I DO know the roads, nothing major but I have been stressed/tired recently (oldie was PTS, & my other VERY special dog has had 2 major ops) so put it down to that. I also forgot my good friends birthday recently. A few weeks ago I let some custard burn the bottom of the saucepan. It's been in the dishwasher ever since (how lazy am I), probably had 50+ washes but still black-ish. OH decided to get me a new pan. Got it out of the box, put veg in, hot water, turned on hob, 10 mns later veg have boiled dry & bottom of new pan is black. Maybe a month's cruise somewhere exotic would help?

Well I've read this with interest as I'm useless at remembering, I'm always saying if it's not written down it's not happening.

I have a diary and it's A5 (provided by work) and believe me it's used to its full potential.

This morning in the shower I did think my shampoo wasn't lathering well...when I got to the conditioner it was.  Thought no more than strange, until after when I was drying my hair and realised I had conditioned then shampooed! doh!  I'm 47 and nothing surprises me or the people around me anymore with the things I do!

> Last week i missed an appointment at the eye hospital

just out of interest poppity, if you dont mind saying, why did you have to see someone about your eyes.? Its just a thought. I developed eye problems and had terrible problems with memory etc and was eventually diagnosed with thyroid problems which can cause both these things. Hopefully not you but just thought would mention it. To be honest, my levels are normal now but still forget to do things although nothing like when I was ill!!!!

PS. I now put my memory problems down to a cluttered mind. I have so much going on in my life that my brain hurts!!!
My very worst event was when I put the grill on to make some toast. Completely forgot about it and decided to pop down to the shop for some butter. shut the dogs in the kitchen as usual when I go out. The shop is about three minutes drive away and I was in and out pretty quickly. Still totally forgotten what I had done. When I got back, there was bedlam. The smoke alarm was screaming out and my poor dogs were totally traumatised. One of my girls has never got over this and runs into the other room when I get the bread out of the freezer. God only knows what would have happened if there had been a queue or I had broken down. Never did it again!!!! Now before I go out I always check the oven is switched off at the main switch and it happened ages ago so I havent got over it yet either!!!

Oh,isn't it crazy-the things we do.I always know when my toast is done-the smoke alarm goes off!:)

I've just remembered something,years ago,i put on my eye makeup and went out shopping.waiting at the bus stop,people were looking at me and smiling,and that made me feel pretty good.Then i got to the supermarket and at the checkout the girl looked really intently at my eyes-I thought she was admiring my eyeshadow.Got back home thinking i'd never had such a lot of interest in me for a long time.Went to admire myself in the mirror,and suddenly saw what others saw-One eye was done in green and the other in brown!!Well it gave John and the kiddies a good laugh anyway.I stayed in the house for a couple of days!:)

It's very understandable when you have those kind of upsets in your life.You must be very upset about your doggies and i am sorry about what you've been through with them.I do hope your other very special one gets over the ops and recovers to full health.x

> Went to admire myself in the mirror,and suddenly saw what others saw-One eye was done in green and the other in brown!!

lol Ihave done similar things so you are not alone. I went out with my sweatshirt on back to front.... flatcoat appeared on the back instead of the front.

I used to call my kids by the dogs names, the cats names and often got the wrong name, so my two eldest daughters to save further confusion have managed to find husbands both called Dan, of course nothing ever runs smoothly and the youngest has a fiancee called....... Greg, who did say to me the other day he is getting used to being called Dan now by everyone. :-D

I did read that having kids affects a womans brain and makes them more forgetful, so we can always blame our kids when they moan that we can't remember who they are! lol

I once got to work and about midday I noticed I was wearing a different style of shoe on each foot.   They were fairly similar and I was wearing longish trousers, so I am not sure if anyone noticed.  *However* although similar in style the shoes had different heel heights - and it took me half the day to notice that I was walking funny.   Just shows you have "off balance" I am normally :-)

I once got to work and about midday I noticed I was wearing a different style of shoe on each foot. lol

i to have dont this ,

My OH has cleaned up the house and his office desk hunting for something he lost. He said (as usual) that he gave it to me to put in my handbag. I was able to prove he took his wallet in and paid for the groceries that day. So there.

Do you spend about 3 minutes looking at someone in vain hope that the word you wanted to say would pop into your head? I was telling Ben(son) that I had removed three ticks from Ben (Whistler!!!) that week. Wondering why they were all laughing at me! My Nan called me wenlesviv until she got the right  grandaughter !! (Wendy,Lesley,Vivienne) I went by that one for years!

Its as I said we have such big brains some leaks out!! Im a waterfall at the moment!

I did that until I lost my Diary!

I hair moussed my armpits one day instead of deoderant - sshh dont tell anyone!

Ditto when I leave the iron on, I iron under the hall smoke detector, my son's timed breakfast by putting on the bacon and waiting for the smoke detector!!

Oh,Cairnmania that is so funny!Everyone of you has made me laugh.I shouldn't tell you this really (but here goes).You know how you pick up your jeans sometimes froma chair in the bedroom(read that as floor) and pull them on thinking you've saved precious time not having to iron them(read that as i'm a lazy so and so).Well i did that once and went to the bus stop with my daughter.We were doing our little Abba dance routine up a corner of the shelter,where there were not many other people gathered.Along came the bus and i stepped forward with the queue behind me.Lifted my foot up to step on,and a pair of knickers slid out of the leg of my jeans and dangled off my foot.I just swooped down and snatched them up still holding them when i paid our fare.I really shouldn't be allowed out. :)

LOL blimy quick thinking there!

That will keep me chuckling for the evening - thanks!

> My OH has cleaned up the house

Viv - I wish I could say the same but he usually stands there helpless waiting for me to do the searching!  After all it is my fault it has gone missing!!! 

I was out or I would have had to do it!! plus both cars checked, its the works lottery tickets!! We always go to starbucks at Sainsbury's I get coffee he does the lottery and we both shop. Can't think where he put the tickets after the coffee!!
He's still hunting after a week, we re did the tickets but its the mystery thats got him going! never seen him so industrious. Must hide the next lots as well!

i used to have a fantastic memory i was the one who remembered dates and numbers,

We've all got this to come, so I'm not going to laugh at your new found predicament - well just a wee bit. :-)

It may be your memory or just distractions, I think we all have that happen at times the best way is to write everything down and double check that you have written it down. ;-) You'll have to be like me, I am so annoying sometimes I can be half way through dinner sat at the table and I'll remember I have to phone someone or worry that I did not write something on the calender and I will jump up to write it down, I know by the time dinner and chit chat is over I will forget so have got into the habit of doing things or writing them down the moment they pop into my head, no matter where I am.

When it comes to work a diary is not good enough, I also leave stick it notes where I will be sitting, walking. Hopefully I will be in such good habits by the time the brain starts to shrink I'll be ok. :-D

So I would definitely advise some stick it notes to keep close to hand which you can get used to writing things on as they happen and then transfer dates, times, phone calls to do etc onto the calender/diary or stuck where you can't miss them. :-)

Don't worry! That makes you forget even quicker, just start to get into good habits now as we're all going to have memory lapses. :-) Unfortunately!!!

> I can be half way through dinner

I can be half way up,or down,stairs and not know if i'm coming or going!