Brain retriveal issues

Madre
Madre Member Posts: 123
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I finished chemo October 2008. Lately I have noticed that I find it difficult to retrieve thoughts! I can picture people's faces but cannot remember their names, my husband says he tells me things and I don't remember. Now at my job I remember just about everything with no problems! Does anyone else have the stupids?

Comments

  • khl8
    khl8 Member Posts: 807
    #2
    Yep! It is called chemo
    Yep! It is called chemo brain! And this is a truly documneted condition!
    Kathy
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
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  • Kerry S
    Kerry S Member Posts: 606 Member
    #4
    I kid you not
    I finished my chemo/rad 8/08. I kid you not, look down on my past post of "fix for chemo brain". Anger brought it back for me. It also hit me big time a just few months back.

    Chemo brain is great for getting out of trouble!!!!!

    Kerry
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    #5
    Kerry S said:

    I kid you not
    I finished my chemo/rad 8/08. I kid you not, look down on my past post of "fix for chemo brain". Anger brought it back for me. It also hit me big time a just few months back.

    Chemo brain is great for getting out of trouble!!!!!

    Kerry

    chemo brain
    Yup! I have a bad case of it too. I had already spent 10 yrs trying to get my thyroid tamed and dealing with the 'brain fog' of that disease and now to top it off chemo gave me a hellacious smack in the grey matter.

    My onc assured me that it would get better now that I'm off chemo. It hasn't. I have a daily planner and to back that up I have a spiral notebook with same info in it, and to back that up I have sticky notes decorating my fridge.....and I still forget stuff. All of this would probably make me chuckle but my parents are both terminally ill and I am their caretaker and it would help if I could get organized and then remember what it was that I organized!

    Kerry brother, you trip me out.I wish anger would *fix* me like it did you.I just have to laugh about it all. Makes me feel better than crying does.

    -Pat
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #6
    Jaylo969 said:

    chemo brain
    Yup! I have a bad case of it too. I had already spent 10 yrs trying to get my thyroid tamed and dealing with the 'brain fog' of that disease and now to top it off chemo gave me a hellacious smack in the grey matter.

    My onc assured me that it would get better now that I'm off chemo. It hasn't. I have a daily planner and to back that up I have a spiral notebook with same info in it, and to back that up I have sticky notes decorating my fridge.....and I still forget stuff. All of this would probably make me chuckle but my parents are both terminally ill and I am their caretaker and it would help if I could get organized and then remember what it was that I organized!

    Kerry brother, you trip me out.I wish anger would *fix* me like it did you.I just have to laugh about it all. Makes me feel better than crying does.

    -Pat

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    unknown said:

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    Unknown
    #8
    unknown said:

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  • Patteee
    Patteee Member Posts: 945
    #9
    unknown said:

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    these clips of Tim
    these clips of Tim Conway
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5BMVmOWzfk
    some of the Johnny Carson ones
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbikKb_t0i0
    and Betty White
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxL7MKsGoPo


    had me laughing so hard during chemo I can't sleep nights. Betty White in particular-
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #10
    unknown said:

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #11
    Patteee said:

    these clips of Tim
    these clips of Tim Conway
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5BMVmOWzfk
    some of the Johnny Carson ones
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbikKb_t0i0
    and Betty White
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxL7MKsGoPo


    had me laughing so hard during chemo I can't sleep nights. Betty White in particular-

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • PGLGreg
    PGLGreg Member Posts: 731
    #12
    The stupids.
    "Does anyone else have the stupids?" Sure, but it's probably just old age. No need to blame chemo. If you remember job-related things but not what your husband said, it just shows what's most important to you.

    --Greg
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #13
    Huh?
    What was the question???
    I find for every new thing I learn something else (like my second phone number) gets shoved out. I've reached max info, I need an upgrade. Brain V 4.5.6.

    Some things I have an incredible memory for, other things like what I ate 2 days ago I do not recall. I'm very good with names and faces but I've always been like that. I don't find that it really has anything to do with what is important, just some things are ingrained more than others for me. Chemo doesn't help neither does getting older, having more to remember, etc.
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    #14
    PGLGreg said:

    The stupids.
    "Does anyone else have the stupids?" Sure, but it's probably just old age. No need to blame chemo. If you remember job-related things but not what your husband said, it just shows what's most important to you.

    --Greg

    Greg
    You couldn't even pay me to believe what you just wrote:) But I am so happy for you that you haven't had these problems related to chemo. I have read that not everyone does.

    And, not everyone on this board are old aged like me & you.

    -Pat
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    #15
    PhillieG said:

    Huh?
    What was the question???
    I find for every new thing I learn something else (like my second phone number) gets shoved out. I've reached max info, I need an upgrade. Brain V 4.5.6.

    Some things I have an incredible memory for, other things like what I ate 2 days ago I do not recall. I'm very good with names and faces but I've always been like that. I don't find that it really has anything to do with what is important, just some things are ingrained more than others for me. Chemo doesn't help neither does getting older, having more to remember, etc.

    What was the topic again?
    I didn't do chemo, and I still have the same ailments. My wife will
    tell me all week about the time of her appointment, and the day
    of her appointment, I have no idea where she's going.

    Maybe it isn't the chemo at all, maybe it's some chemical cancer
    cells release?


    I get so bad, that when someone calls, I forget where I'm going
    between the rings.

    Did I tell you how when someone calls, I forget where I'm going
    between the rings?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #16
    John23 said:

    What was the topic again?
    I didn't do chemo, and I still have the same ailments. My wife will
    tell me all week about the time of her appointment, and the day
    of her appointment, I have no idea where she's going.

    Maybe it isn't the chemo at all, maybe it's some chemical cancer
    cells release?


    I get so bad, that when someone calls, I forget where I'm going
    between the rings.

    Did I tell you how when someone calls, I forget where I'm going
    between the rings?

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    #17
    Chemo brain
    I first heard of chemo brain when was about 20 and an aunt of mine had breast cancer and claimed she had chemo brain. My family was merciless with the jokes so i started acting like an idiot ever since just in case I ever got cancer and got chemo brain. That is just how proactive I have been with this disease. Of course many in my family believe I started acting like an idiot much sooner than that, but the truth is everything before that was just good luck.
  • bdee
    bdee Member Posts: 304
    #18
    RickMurtagh said:

    Chemo brain
    I first heard of chemo brain when was about 20 and an aunt of mine had breast cancer and claimed she had chemo brain. My family was merciless with the jokes so i started acting like an idiot ever since just in case I ever got cancer and got chemo brain. That is just how proactive I have been with this disease. Of course many in my family believe I started acting like an idiot much sooner than that, but the truth is everything before that was just good luck.

    Chemo brain
    For me it is getting worse. My doctor told me to get out as much as I can and talk to people, go places and see art, etc. Read a lot and listen to familiar music. That all this should help with my brain.

    In the last two days I've almost burned down my house because I left grease on the burner and today, my son walked in to find my kitchen flooded because I started water in the sink to wash dishes then completely forgot about it. Sweet son helped me mop it up.

    But these are two things I have never done before. Even though my 29 year old daughter and my 30 year old son in law almost burned their apartment down the same way.

    Debbie In Arkansas
  • ldot123
    ldot123 Member Posts: 272
    #19
    bdee said:

    Chemo brain
    For me it is getting worse. My doctor told me to get out as much as I can and talk to people, go places and see art, etc. Read a lot and listen to familiar music. That all this should help with my brain.

    In the last two days I've almost burned down my house because I left grease on the burner and today, my son walked in to find my kitchen flooded because I started water in the sink to wash dishes then completely forgot about it. Sweet son helped me mop it up.

    But these are two things I have never done before. Even though my 29 year old daughter and my 30 year old son in law almost burned their apartment down the same way.

    Debbie In Arkansas

    Chemo Brain Exists
    I had chemo brain during and a while after treatment. It took me forever to read a book as sometimes I could not remember what I had just read. It has gotten better though although now when stuff like that happens I call it a seniors moment.

    Cheers,
    Lance
  • Sandi1
    Sandi1 Member Posts: 277
    #20
    John23 said:

    What was the topic again?
    I didn't do chemo, and I still have the same ailments. My wife will
    tell me all week about the time of her appointment, and the day
    of her appointment, I have no idea where she's going.

    Maybe it isn't the chemo at all, maybe it's some chemical cancer
    cells release?


    I get so bad, that when someone calls, I forget where I'm going
    between the rings.

    Did I tell you how when someone calls, I forget where I'm going
    between the rings?

    LOL !!! I have the same
    LOL !!! I have the same problem and i'm not on chemo either. And i'm not anywhere near being old enough to have these problems. I think it's from stress - worrying about my husband who is on chemo and who does have chemo brain. we have a good laugh over it though, he does have a good sense of humor.
  • Lotus
    Lotus Member Posts: 4
    #21
    It's Chemo Brain! Yes, I
    It's Chemo Brain! Yes, I have the same issue. They say it will eventually get better. I hope so. I spend too much time trying to remember why I went from one room to the next.

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