Brain Freezes and Memory Issues
 

I had a brain freeze this morning. Really scary. I was completing an online form that asked for my home phone number and I totally could not remember what it was. :confused: I knew what my cell phone number was.....and my address and all the other info. But for the life of me I couldn't remember what my home number was. :eek:

Granted, I don't write it, type it or even think about it very often. Plus I never call it! :rolleyes: And when I tried to look it up in my own cell phone directory it was listed as "Home" and I had to search for the number. The cell finally displayed it. :rolleyes: As soon as I saw it I recognized and remembered it.

But it was so scary not being able to remember my own phone number. Kind of made me mad. :mad: :o

Yeah, that is very scary...and makes you feel vulnerable, too, I bet. When that happens, I think of my poor MIL and all of the difficulties she has trying to function now with Alz...makes my heart melt even more.

I have to FORCE myself to remember that not all of the cognitive stuff is MS. Everybody occasionally walks into a room and can't remember why, or suddenly can't remember a name or number you've known forever.

I have the brain freeze sometimes, but especially under stress. Someone would come into the Post Office and say, "Can I send this can of Spam via insured mail to Botswana?" and suddenly I couldn't even think where or how to find the answer. The person might have well have been speaking Martian.

What really upsets me is drawing a blank on an entire scenario...back to the Post Office again: someone would walk in and say, "We got the results back!" and I'd be totally blank, no idea what she was talking about. A biopsy? Pregnancy test? Application for a mortgage? And it wouldn't be some minor thing; it would be a major life event, and the person would have been SHOCKED to think I "forgot".

I got pretty good at faking my way through the freezes and blanks, but sometimes I was trapped. Boooo. :mad:

Once at work the GM asked me a question during a meeting and I just sat there with that "deer in the headlights" look. I did not know what he was talking about. And it was something I dealt with everyday. He may as well have asked me to do a calculus problem. :rolleyes: At that point in time the only other person at work who knew I had MS was my boss. I knew at that moment I needed to make plans for the future. A year later I was on SSDI and not working anymore. :(

I like old sci fi movies from the 50`s and 60`s, but at times the names of them and the actors in them escapes me.

:D As long as I can find my way home if I decide to go some where I am good!

There are three circumstances under which my brain just locks up:

1. When I'm caught by surprise. If someone suddenly walked up to me and said, "Quick! How much is 8 times 7?" or "What is your middle name?" I'd say, "uh...uh...uh..."

2. When there is a lot of peripheral noise/motion, such as after church with everybody milling around chatting, kids playing, etc. Someone will be asking me a question, and I know I'm supposed to respond, but I just lock up.

3. When I least expect it.

Oh, names are the worst for me. I'll be watching something and know I should know the name of the actor or actress....it's on the tip of my tongue.....but I can't think of it. Thank goodness for Google! I can't tell you how many times I've gone to the computer to find a name. Once I see it I remember it! :p

i know what you mean.
i have a lot of cognitive issues, especially with names. it's embarrassing.
and last nite i was going between 2 channels with the remote. every time i was on 1 channel i couldn't remember what the other was i was just watching. duh...

in other ways my thinking is still sharp and i bet yours is too.
try not to stress about it. that just makes it worse.

Sometimes I wonder, is it age or MS? But @!#$ it, I look good for an old bat :D

[QUOTE=Blessings2You;844641]

I have the brain freeze sometimes, but especially under stress. Someone would come into the Post Office and say, "Can I send this can of Spam via insured mail to Botswana?"

I may get brain freeze but I know I don't like Spam.