Anyone else have problems concentrating or remembering things?

It has gotten really hard for me to concentrate, and read/ understand some things... math is hard, I get so lost with things... I also can't remember stuff as well. Anyone else?

Thanks.

yep

unfortunatly - it sucks and seems to be a large part of the disease - from what I understand it's because of disruption in the limbic system which causes difficulty with memory/ concentration AND THEN you add the pain to it and it just insane. Oh and then add the meds!!!!

I also empathise on the blankets eating your legs.... hate it hate it hate it hate ite hate it.

Grrrrrr

hope things improve - I find I write everything down.. and have post it notes everywhere, also my carers make a list of everything to achieve each day so that I can try and stay focused on what I am supposed to be doing. I find that setting a couple of minutes apart each day to organise does help with the memory thing. Have you tried using mnemonics ? sometimes helps?

Take Care!

Rosie xxxxx

*raises hand* Oh me, me, me!!! LOL I've got big time memory problems and I hate it!!! I used to have a good memory and now I mostly forget things, sometimes right after they're said! Note writing for myself is a hit or miss. I'll make a list and then the list goes missing and i forget anyway! LOL I just make an effort to remember to do something and if I forget, oh well.

The worst part, at least for me, is forgetting words. I'm talking to the hubby and forget, right in the middle of the convo what the heck I was talking about. Or I can't think of the word for something and I know what it is. Hubby has gotten good at knowing what I mean or guessing what it is I want. I either point or name the color of the thing I want. It's very frustrating and makes me cry sometimes as well. I've written most of my life and though I haven't written a best selling novel or anything, I've always labeled myself a writer. Written lots of poems over the years as well. It's hard because of that for me because I've always prided myself on being so eloquent and now it just doesn't come out that way at times. I'm adjusting and as long as I don't completely loose my mind........oh wait.......my mind ran off a long time ago so too late!

You're not alone in this! I read some medical article that talked about how pain affects the mind, as frogga said. Your brain gets so involved with processing the pain signals that it's hard to leave room for anything else and as a consequence leads to forgetfullness. So true! Those little neurons in there firing away, screaming fire! fire! and here we're trying to think of what the heck that contraption is that keeps food cold is! Oh right, refrigerator! LOLOL

On a bit of a sassy tear today. I'll go now.......*exit stage left* OW! Dang table.........*mumbles to self as I leave the room*

Hugs,
Karen

Dear IHH -

Hi there. I am sorry to hear of your report of memory/concentration problems. I understand how frustrating that can be. Over the past few years, on this board and its predecessor, I've posted versions of this information a few times, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it again, hopefully in a streamlined version.

First of all, you have to be sure that the issue doesn't lie with the medications you're on. I know this to be an issue with two of the meds that I’m currently taking, Baclofen and Neurontin. However, because I am no longer working, it's an irritation I am willing to put up with in the name of pain relief.

That said, there is however, a substantial body of evidence that show's the chronic pain alone can lead to the loss of gray matter in the brain. Please see, "Chronic Back Pain Is Associated with Decreased Prefrontal and Thalamic Gray Matter Density," A. Vania Apkarian, et al, The Journal of Neuroscience, November 17, 2004 • 24(46):10410 –10415. The abstract of the article is as follows:

The role of the brain in chronic pain conditions remains speculative. We compared brain morphology of 26 chronic back pain (CBP) patients to matched control subjects, using magnetic resonance imaging brain scan data and automated analysis techniques. CBP patients were divided into neuropathic, exhibiting pain because of sciatic nerve damage, and non-neuropathic groups. Pain-related characteristics were correlated to morphometric measures. Neocortical gray matter volume was compared after skull normalization. Patients with CBP showed 5–11% less neocortical gray matter volume than control subjects. The magnitude of this decrease is equivalent to the gray matter volume lost in 10 –20 years of normal aging. The decreased volume was related to pain duration, indicating a 1.3 cm3 loss of gray matter for every year of chronic pain. Regional gray matter density in 17 CBP patients was compared with matched controls using voxel-based morphometry and nonparametric statistics. Gray matter density was reduced in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right thalamus and was strongly related to pain characteristics in a pattern distinct for neuropathic and non-neuropathic CBP. Our results imply that CBP is accompanied by brain atrophy and suggest that the pathophysiology of chronic pain includes thalamocortical processes.

For a free, full text copy of the article, click here: http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/24/46/10410

The tie-in piece to RSD/CRPS is “Decreased Levels of N-Acetylaspartate in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in a Case of Intractable Severe Sympathetically Mediated Chronic Pain (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Type I),” Igor D. Grachev, et al, Brain and Cognition, Vol. 49, Issue 1, June 2002, Pages 102-113. And the abstract of the article is as follows:

In our previous in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H MRS) study we found reduced levels of N-acetylaspartate in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of chronic back pain patients. This study tests whether these chemical abnormalities can be detected in other pain states. Using H MRS, we measured levels for N-acetylaspartate and other identifiable chemicals relative to creatine in four bilateral brain regions, including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate, and thalamus, in a case of intractable severe sympathetically mediated chronic pain [complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type I]. The subject's chemical variations in the brain were compared to the same regional chemicals in 10 normal subjects (age- and sex-matched). Univariate statistics showed reduced levels of N-acetylaspartate in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and increased levels of myo-inositol in left orbitofrontal cortex of the patient with intractable severe CRPS type I. These data support our original hypothesis that depletion of N-acetylaspartate in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is a chemical marker of chronic pain, indicating for neuronal degeneration. Unpredicted changes of orbitofrontal myo-inositol may be related to the specific mood/affective state in an extreme pain perception. This is the first report, which identifies chemical markers in the prefrontal cortex for objective measurement and monitoring of CRPS type I. This information might lead to valuable insights into diagnosis and future effective interventions of CRPS type I (e.g., prefrontal brain stimulation).

A copy of the Grachev article is attached to this posting.

For this reason, my doctors put me on Namenda (mementine), a so-called NMDA receptor antagonist – like ketamine – that was approved by the FDA roughly three years ago for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of Alzheimer's disease. I now take 30 mg. a day, along with all of my other medications. While it isn't perfect, I can tell the difference in terms of my conversational abilities and the like, on the days in which I miss taking the meds in my haste to get out of the door in the morning, where I still drive kids to school 5 days a week. Importantly, I am not personally aware of any negative side-effects from the Namenda.

I hope this is helpful to you, and at the same time is not too overwhelming. You may wish to discuss these articles with your physician. I remember that Apkarian piece generated a sensational amount of attention when it came out a couple of years ago.

Good luck.

Mike

Attached Files

Decreased Levels of N-Acetylaspartate in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in a Case of Intractable Sev (111.8 KB, 251 views)

I hate the convo stuff - it makes me sound so dim! well.. it's sorta green and red but not really and it's sometimes gold and spiky...... (anyone guessed yet)
Over the last year or two I have developed a tonal language that mum and the carers can understand (And some mates) - esp in the morning when my tablets haven't kicked in so the pain is unbearable and i can't really talk very well..)

I sound like the soup dragon off the clangers!

do you get patches when you can't reember what happened? I have lost an entire year to that (when I was 17) and still get it sometimes where I find I have an hours block where I don't know what happened - very weird!

bizzarely ketamine hasn't helped me - maybe that's cos my brain is like a colander anyway without adding meds etc!

take care

rosie xxxxxx

I think the memory problems are horrible. I didn't know wheather it came from the RSD, Fibro, or Depression.

Since Bill passed, I have to take care of the bills and I have already forgotten to pay some. I am trying to decide wheather to turn them all over to Susan to take care of along with my check or keep trying to do it myself.

I use to be really good in Math. That's a joke anymore. I was just telling Susan I need to get a calculator so when I go buy groceries I don't go over my budget. I use to be able to almost figure to the penny how much I was spending.

I forget what day it is. I forget appointments. It's just unbelieveable how much these diseases suck out of us.

You are definately not alone in this.

Ada

I don't have RSD but TOS instead- same problems - not as much now that my symptoms have calmed - but during the worst of it --YES !!
I thought I was getting Alzheimer's, ADD , couldn't think of or say the words I wanted to say.
Forget about crowds and following conversations -

I freaked after I recited grace at the table.My kids thought I had lost
my mind.I put it together but it missed some parts.They thought this was funny.I just went along with the kidding. Later the tears poored.
You know kids if there is a crack to fill they fill it.
siccy

I can't remember hardly anything when I have problems with RSD. I search for a word that I can't think of. I can't pay attention in school or do tests very well. My teachers are awesome though, and they totally understand when I can't do work.

I think I have developed serious ADD- Word finding difficulties and memory problems

We joke about it but it is really frustrating!

Debbie