We hear about short-term memory loss a lot, as people age, when

[raccoon]

someone has Alzheimer's, when someone's had a traumatic brain injury. But do people ever suffer from long-term memory loss?

[ShortnFiery]

1. What?

:blush:

Seriously, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) and other forms of brain trauma through accidents or strokes can result in long term memory losses.

As I age, I have to chuckle at an increasing number of "senior moments." However, I'm already so scattered, it may be difficult to discern when I slip over the edge to dementia. :shrug:

[NOW tense]

2. My wife always says

"When they come for me. Tell them I have always been this way."

[izzie]

3. I have been hunting for my keys for over 50 years.

Hope that does not count as it is a family thing. Every one does it in this family. I just figured some thing happened to that gene when cars came in and we have been passing it down as we breed.

[pipi_k]

9. My mom has been hunting for her keys at least that long also

She would wait till just before we were ready to leave the house, then announce that she couldn't find the car keys, setting off a massive search.

I was determined to not follow in her footsteps (in case it was genetic) so I have my keys firmly attached to the strap of my purse at all times. When I come in the house, I put my purse on the counter with the keys on top to remind me to snap them back on the strap again, then I put my purse in its special location.

However.

I can't say the same for other things around the house. I put stuff away and then forget where I put it. Often I will be searching for a specific thing and fail to find it but end up finding something else I put away but couldn't find six months before. The sad thing is, this isn't a big house. There's only limited space, but for some reason I'm able to find some very secret hiding places for my stuff.

It's a daily adventure.

[izzie]

14. My father had to finally do a board with keys and names

He did have a business that he needed about 100 keys and used them weekly. It was a joke in the family and I think he handed it down to us all. Even his grand children have trouble with keys. The second item was the 'other sock' and where did they all go?

[gauguin57]

5. That's hilarious!

I think I'll get a medic alert bracelet with that saying engraved on it.

[Kip Humphrey]

4. The young suffer from long-term memory loss.

[bigendian]

6. My mom has dementia.

It is really frustrating to deal with her sometimes because there is a lot of repetitive conversation.
On the plus side, she can't remember why she bitched about so many people. Now I don't have to listen to that.

[pipi_k]

10. My MIL had dementia also..it was frustrating but sometimes funny

She broke her second hip at the age of 93 and came to live with us for the last six months of her life.

Sometimes she would forget to take her teeth out at night, then get up in bed and take them out and hide them. Then she would accuse unknown people of stealing them.


This one time she really lost it. She forgot that Mr P was her son but remembered that she had an older son named Charlie. So we're showing her family photos and she asks who Mr P is and he says he's her son. She was shocked. Surprised. Amazed.

And a little put out with her older son, Charlie.

She asked, "Does Charlie know about this?"

When told that he did, she then said, "That rascal!!! He never told ME he had a brother!!!"

Honestly, we didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I think we just laughed. When she "came back" we told her. She thought it was pretty funny too.

:7

[KharmaTrain]

7. It's Hard To Explain...

My mother had altzhemeimers...over 4 yeras I watched her become a prisoner in her body. Short term memory loss was a signal of the onset, but it was masked behind other problems. However, one day, late in her illness, I walked into her room and she was incredibly lucid. We conversed for a half hour and her memory was as sharp for that brief time as ever. I felt it was like she had come back one last time to make sure things were OK. The next day, she was once again having difficulting forming words. When I described what occured to neurologists, I was informed this is a common occurance and they have no explanation.

As far as traumatic brain injury...I've seen many a program (if you can believe the teevee) where people have suffered all types of traumas and in the flury of the moment not only lose consciousness, but also forget what occured for hours or days afterwards. An example is a plane crash survivor who suffers a blow to the head on impact and all they can remember is just before hitting.

[Javaman]

8. What is this place? nt

[DeepBlueC]

11. All the time...it just doesn't surprise anyone

Long term memory loss would be not remembering what happened years ago. None of us can recall everything that happened over time...I love it when interrogators will demand to know where a person was on October 17 of 2005. I wonder they remember where they were on that date?
I am not an expert but I would say that some long term memory loss is pretty much what we all experience. I have a friend that can't remember stuff we did in college which is imprinted on my memory. It's a different story if you forgot everything in the past..that's amnesia. So long term memory loss or slowness to retrieve distant memories is a fairly normal phenomenon which exists along a continuum, but global loss of long term memory is not..it's some form of amnesia.

Short term memory loss makes it difficult or dangerous to function on a daily basis so it is much more a matter of immediate concern.

[Individualist]

12. I can remember lyrics from most of the popular songs of the 50's

but can't remember what I had for dinner last night.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

16. I can tell you the winner of every Formula One race from 1970 to 1985

For later ones, I have to look it up, except the ones that are notable in some way.

[applegrove]

13. I think as you age your general knowledge keeps improving. Is general knowledge

kept in long term memory?

[raccoon]

15. I would guess so. nt