at the moment my progressive cerebellum ataxia has taken hold now
legs hardly any use, left arm not responding well , sensory organs ie eyes taking longer to focus in the morning, hearing-constant tinitus, but over the last couple of months i am seem to be suffering short term memory loss, ie , i need to do something , get sidetracked for a minute or so , then i forgot what i was meant to be doing in the first place,and i have to think really hard on what i was meant to be doing!
do any of you guys suffer from short term memory loss ?
Yes Paul, it unfortunately is. Sidetracked has become my middle name:) I have to take a list to the store no matter how few items are on it, use a calendar to remember appointments etc. It's a pain in the buns we just have to adapt to.
...now back to whatever I was doing before....hmmm, what was I doing? :)
hi thanks for that, i had a gut feel it was, does it get worse ? i suppose its similiar to dementia???
cheers
paul
napper4 said:
Yes Paul, it unfortunately is. Sidetracked has become my middle name:) I have to take a list to the store no matter how few items are on it, use a calendar to remember appointments etc. It's a pain in the buns we just have to adapt to.
...now back to whatever I was doing before....hmmm, what was I doing? :)
i have got this also and have to use a calender and do notes also in an extra booklet for to remember different things - like napper4 wrote it. This was starting in my youth. But it got worse within the last two years and especially in the last week. Yesterday i could not remember a phone number which i wanted to copy from a handy to my calender. This was only a time space of a few seconds. More and more i need it that the contents are close together, so that i can switch with my eyes and then copy one number after the other.
For me i am not sure if this development now is from my ataxia. It could have come from an infection from which i suffer since 6 weeks. Seems to be mixed thyroid, laryngal and esophageal,in which organs ii seem to have malfunctioning of the glands and autoantibodies since a few years (my stem cell transplantation; but the malfuntioning can be caused also in other people..)
Not really similar to dementia - in my case. But i am also not sure,will undergo testing within the next weeks. The acercerbation could have been caused by brain damage by the stem cell transplantion (cytoxiines).
Furthermore it depends on the contents what i forget and what not. Some things i don t forget.
Hi Paul - I think that “Sidetrack” should be my middle name.
I rely heavily on lists…I wouldn’t get anything done if I didn’t have a list to remember what to focus on.
napper4 said:
Yes Paul, it unfortunately is. Sidetracked has become my middle name:) I have to take a list to the store no matter how few items are on it, use a calendar to remember appointments etc. It’s a pain in the buns we just have to adapt to.
…now back to whatever I was doing before…hmmm, what was I doing?
For the thyroid function there are existing blood tests for a first orientation if you could have got this (additionally to your ataxia):
TSH, fT3, fT4, TPO-AK , TRAK and TG-AK... -your general practicioner will know. If any ot these would be not in the range this could be a sign of a malfunctioning (usually tests are repeated to get a firm result). A significant malfunctioning can be therapied be meds. In my case this is difficult because my fT3 and fT4 have been lowered but not repeatedly, TPO-AK is the threefold, but maybe not so relevant as long as the level of TSH hav not gone over 10, The upper range limit for TSH is actually 2,5 (or the old value: 4.00), it should be examined and monitored but in the experience of German Doctors thyroid hormone substitution would not help. So i have to wait now for the date with the ambulance for the thyroid diseases. Also i could have a sort of Sjögren symdrome also causing some related effects. Happy to say that on Bens friends there is existing also a forum for Sjögren and i am already inscribed. For my esophageal symptoms i have had a diagnosis of CLE in 2011, will have a date with an internist next week for discussing my options.
My big problem are also the infections! Actually there is an infection affecting all this area going around in Vienna, and i got it.
has there been considered that you could have a Hashimoto Thyroiditis? I have read that because of the Autoantibodies produced by your body you would need a testing in a nuclear-medicine-ambulance, and this testing repeated every year? Did you hear about this? Also a scintigramme should have been done, and ultrasound-imaging. Have you got experiences with such?
Appointments that are not important to me I seem to forget. But remember all my kids appointments. I blame it on Ataxia. But everyone keeps telling me it is just a sign of getting older. I do forget short term. But I see a lot of people that don't have ataxia forget to.
hi paul, I have a 38yr son who has cerebellum ataxia, we live in sydney australia, he also says he has short term memory as well, he has trouble speaking and has to have botox injections in his throat to help his muscles relax, his walking is not good at all as most people with this condition know that they are looked at as if they are drunk, he is now just started to use a walking stick, which he hates, as he hates having labels put on him, but he realises that it stops people stareing at him and gives him more balance he doesnt have any problems with his eyes though, I think that depending on the scar/ scars that you have it effects people in different areas of their body.
thankyou for your reply, i have been using a stick for a while now , your right about people thinking we are drunk,
what i do, is go to my local pub (i cant drink as i have haemochromotosis) have a few becks blue label (non alcholic)
then stagger back to my car , you want to see there faces !!
but with all seriousness, i have been saying to people that i have MS , then people understand
paul
silentbob said:
hi paul, I have a 38yr son who has cerebellum ataxia, we live in sydney australia, he also says he has short term memory as well, he has trouble speaking and has to have botox injections in his throat to help his muscles relax, his walking is not good at all as most people with this condition know that they are looked at as if they are drunk, he is now just started to use a walking stick, which he hates, as he hates having labels put on him, but he realises that it stops people stareing at him and gives him more balance he doesnt have any problems with his eyes though, I think that depending on the scar/ scars that you have it effects people in different areas of their body.
In Austria we don`t have seafood, but instead jodine in the salt you can buy in the shops. As there is much of communication in German forums on thyoid (mal) function, you can read so different things, -e.g. if you would have got the autoimmune form of thyroid low function, you should not eat iodine and only take jodine-free salt.So as my general practicioner expressed at first sight of my blood counts, i would have thyroid problems in the Hashimoto direction (still not diagnosed and supposedly in the being watched position for al while), i went to a pharmacy and bought jodine-free salt! My cholesterol is elevated , it s on 35 (with upper range limit of 32). I have not concept what to do here.My doctor does not even notice this..Seemilingy not high enough to cause treatment. There are many possibilites discussed in forums how to improve low thyroid function, eg. singing and breathing exercises could help as well as several herbs.... Akita
Folky said:
hi akita,its never been mentioned by anyone about hashimoto thyroiditis.a few years ago my gp just gave me a few blood tests,of which one was for thyroid.and my thyroid was not producing enough hormone.so she wants to keep a check on it now once a year.she thought about putting me on thyroxin.so as i dont eat seafood,which is the main source of iodine,i decided to buy kelp tablets which of course are iodine.just to see what they would do for me.and a year ago after my follow up check,my thyroid was just within limits again.so i would rather take kelp for life,rather than thyroxin...i have another follow up test in a weeks time...hopefully my thyroid will still be improving......i also read that if the thyroid doesnt function good,it will push the cholesterol level up.which they found also,my cholesterol was 6.4.so i bought some flaxseed capsules,which improve the good/bad cholesterol levels.and my cholesterol a year ago was 5.so hopefully that will also be improved........folky
Akita said:
Hi Folky,
has there been considered that you could have a Hashimoto Thyroiditis? I have read that because of the Autoantibodies produced by your body you would need a testing in a nuclear-medicine-ambulance, and this testing repeated every year? Did you hear about this? Also a scintigramme should have been done, and ultrasound-imaging. Have you got experiences with such?
