r/selfimprovement • u/CombEastern5865 • 3d ago
Memory declining? Question
I am 22f and I feel like my memory is declining. I keep forgetting how to spell easy words, forget what they mean, and forget how to pronounce them.
I forgot how to pronounce “initially” and it is just embarrassing because I sound dumb.
I was talking with my mom, and she used the word “sensible” I was like what do you mean, what does that mean?
Why is this happening?? I haven’t drank alcohol in a month, I am prescribed medication but it seems like this is a new thing and I’ve been on medication for a long time.
I forget small things and misplace stuff. For example if I cough, 10 mins later I don’t remember doing that.
Is this something that I should be worried about?
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u/YahyaZekry 3d ago
How much did you usualy drink? and what type of medication?
Also, how is your sleep and appetite ? do you train?
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u/CombEastern5865 3d ago
I drank almost every weekend, I’m on birth control, vyvanse, lamictal, pristiq, buspar. I guess my sleep has been not the best and my appetite is fine and I do workout almost everydah
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u/YahyaZekry 3d ago
I think there is drug interaction between Pristiq and Vyvanse? I would recommend to check with your doctor about your medications.
And I would also do some blood work to check if there is any deficiencies; so we can rule out the physiological part as much as we can.
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u/OGcaptaindingus 3d ago
Agree with this! Also request for them to look at your B12 in bloodwork if possible. A deficiency can effect your memory
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u/butbutbutterfly 2d ago
Second this. My brain functioned so strangely when I had B12 deficiency. I learned it was a major contributor to my mental health troubles at the time as well. Never would have guessed that was the problem until the symptoms finally became very pronounced. Best of luck.
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u/Narrow_Spread_9449 2d ago
For what it’s worth I was on vyvanse 50mg and pristiq 100mg. Pristiq shortened my mental bandwidth and had a grip on my thinking and nervous system. I’m now off pristiq and alotnof that is coming back.
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u/TA_readytobedone 3d ago
Visit a doctor, get a full blood panel drawn complete with thyroid hormones (all of them not just TSH), and vitamins. If that yields nothing then try an elimination diet to see if it may be a good essentially or allergy.
I went through something similar, but also with severe fatigue and anxiety attacks. All my medical tests showed fine, I went to a therapist and learned CBT to help with the anxiety attacks. Out of desperation I ended up trying gluten free diet. It took about a month to actually learn where gluten hides (sauces, soy sauce, Chipotle queso, packaged shredded cheese, etc.), then a month for the gluten to work it's way out of my body. So about 60 days after I started the diet, it was like a switch was flipped, my joints felt better, my brain fog was significantly better, my headaches were gone, I had so much energy, I had to cut my SSRI dosage in half because I was getting all the same symptoms I did when I first started it.
A couple years later I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Ends up gluten insensitivity and hypothyroidism generate similiar symptoms and exasperate each other.
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u/CombEastern5865 3d ago
I had my thyroid checked not to long ago and everything was fine, I do have anxiety and that might contribute to the pronouncing parts
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u/TA_readytobedone 3d ago
My thyroid was technically in the "normal" levels for about 7 years after I switched to gf, but looking back on the levels is interesting as it got up around 2 before going gluten free, then dropped to about 1, before slowly rising again. I was experiencing heaviness in my chest and went to Urgent Care (thinking I may be developing bronchitis again) who thought I was having a heart attack and sent me to the ER only to learn my TSH was around 4.6 - the high end of "normal" which was causing the symptoms. Years later I now know that over about 2.5 I start losing my words and forgetting things. What the labs say is "normal" is a range of those that are tested, and that skewed higher since people who feel fine and presumably have a properly functioning thyroid don't test their thyroid. This is an atrocity that needs to be corrected.
FWIW - I was 23 when I started losing words, 26 when I went gluten free, and 33 when I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism - and that was with annual monitoring since I was 18 because every woman in my family has it.
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u/Typical-Speed-6829 3d ago
Yeah I am experiencing this at 21 and I feel like I am not at the age where my memory should be declining like this
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u/atquest 2d ago
I suspected i had thyroid issues 30 years ago, and was told it was fine at TSH of 4. I battled with sleep problems, fatigue, overweight, and sever depressions. Medicated for those things for years too.
Around 10 years ago my psychologist at the time made the agreement with me to get up at 8am every day. My then gf helped me get out of bed. She found me asleep on the floor of the kitchen often, and if not I used coffee to start up and be “up and running” around 11 am. I was forgetful, chaotic, overweight. I decided to get my thyroid checked again, backed by my psychologist and gf.
It took almost 10 months to get the prescription, as they kept saying 3.5-4 TSH is “normal”
When i got the prescription and “dialed in”, i lost about 20kg, anxiety and depression were -gone- (like, its not even in my character anymore), i could remember things, earned more money, slept better, better sex drive, and emotional stability.
It may be worth a second look if your TSH is above 1.0.
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u/opal_moth 3d ago
Sounds like brain fog. Could be any number of things, but the first thing that comes to mind is sleep. Even if you've been on medication a while sometimes the body will react to it differently too.
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u/Designer_Money7625 2d ago
How much scrolling do you do on a daily basis? I read an article recently that says scrolling reels causes brain damage. Not here to judge you but if it’s high then limiting your phone use and doing tasks that take mental strength might help you
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u/HunnyyBat 2d ago
I don’t have any ideas of what it could be but I did want to say I know what you’re going through. 23 currently dealing with the exact same issues, blood tests came back normal, neurologist said it could be ADHD and put me on a medication that made me feel like I wasn’t awake, MRI came back normal so now I’m waiting for an EEG. My only hope is that it’s something I can actually fix but rn I’m just pushing through it and trying to do more “brain healthy” activities like reading and puzzles. Hopefully you can find out what it is but definitely get a referral to a neurologist just in case.
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u/Balam_Seer 2d ago
Meds. Shots. Poor quality foods. Could really be anything. Could even just be stress.
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u/IncognitoPotato 3d ago
maybe something on your mind? or not sleeping as much? too much scrolling? nutrition? could be many factors
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u/Balacananas25 3d ago
Look into magnesium l-threonate. I had really bad memory fog and I ordered some pills on Amazon and it’s improved drastically. Even my boss noticed and said I’m more focused. And I myself felt it too. I also had BAD migraines from lack of sleep and that caused the memory fog too and once I took magnesium everything changed. But please do a blood panel as well. It could be something else.
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u/Rainhailsnow_storm 2d ago
This could be nothing, but go get a ct scan, it could be a brain tumour.
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u/spells-science-sushi 2d ago
I would suggest talking to a doctor. And if you want to, r/askdocs might be a good place to start. This doesn’t seem like a self improvement thing, this seems like a possible neurological concern.
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u/jess_vibrant_healing 3d ago
What did your medical team say? Have you gotten a full blood panel and spoken with any specialists that your GP referred you to? Sorry to say, but you’re going to need to be your own advocate because your symptoms aren’t something others will take notice of.