Ok, maybe it's just me, but here's the thing -

A few years ago, I noticed that I would completely forget the plot and details of movies. I was taking tamoxifen at the time, after a bout of breast cancer, and blamed the memory loss on that. Honestly, I would be watching a movie, and say "Gee, this is pretty good", and my husband would tell me that we had already seen it sometime in the past. I wouldn't remember it at all.

Then it started happening with books.  I would be reading a book, and while some of it sounded familiar, I couldn't remember how it came out, so I would finish it.  Sometimes I wouldn't remember any of it, and again my husband would ask me why I was re-reading a particular book.

Now I notice that it's happening with old TV shows.  I am currently watching old "Frasier" reruns in the mornings on one of our local tv stations. I know that we used to watch this show every week when it was on, but I still see some episodes that are totally unfamiliar to me.

So far, it hasn't happened with music yet  (anyone want to hear me sing eight minutes straight of "American Pie"? )

My point is, (finally!) that thanks to sleep apnea memory loss, I have all kinds of new entertainment to look forward to, since I don't remember  a lot of things that I've read/seen in the past!  When I get bored, I can take a book off the shelf and have the experience all over again!

Haha that's a really optimistic way to look at it!

I'm the same way.  It worries me that it's permanent.  We just started watching the new season of Heroes and I completely forgot what happened in the last season.  It started coming back to me slowly, but before OSA I would remember most of what had happened in the prior season without needing any recap.

I really hope it improves more!


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Brian
Severe OSA
19 cmH2O
Respironics M Series Plus
F&P Forma Full Face Mask

Now THAT'S the way to look at it!  

I have had a bad memory since developing it and was always so frustrated about it....now ya got me thinking differently! LoL

I have always been that way. I thought it was normal. My problem is driving half way to a destination and can't remember if I let my dog in after putting her out on her tether. It's happened twice recently and several time before. When I run back to check, she's always inside. I am glad to know that if my brain has checked out, at least my body functions on auto-pilot. But there's always the chance that I might have left her outside. I can be in the shower and can't remember if I shampooed my hair just seconds ago. I have turned on the water faucet in the kitchen or bathroom, walked away and then hours later come home to find that it has been running all day. I am sure I have permanent brain damage from almost 60 years of untreated severe apnea. It's scary.
Grandma


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Grandma, you're right. It is scary. One of my things is leaving my house, driving down the street, and then wondering if I've closed/locked the door.  I've been known to turn around and drive home to check, and finding that of course I did lock the door.  One of my "tricks" is to conciously say to myself something like "Ok, it's Wednesday morning, and I'm locking the door. It's locked."  This seems to kind of confirm in my mind that I have in fact locked the door (or whatever I'm trying to remind myself).  I think sometimes that we do things automatically, and so can't always be sure whether we've done them or not.  

I've just started on vpap, so I'm hoping that some of these memory issues will improve.

Best wishes
jrinker

Talking to yourself about what you have done sounds like a good idea. I have done it occasionally, or I say "You have let the dog out. Remember to let her back in."  However, I can't always remember to talk to myself! I have posted a photo of my dog with the words "DOG IN?" on my door to the garage. Today I left the house and couldn't remember looking at the picture. I am pretty sure I didn't even think about the picture. Luckily, I could remember having brought her inside.  I usually sit in the sun room where I can watch her outside. I keep magazines there to look at until she's ready to come in. It works most of the time except when I have a lot on my mind or need to be somewhere. Then I might absentmindedly get up and walk out of the sun room to check on something or do something else. Well, the next step will be standing out in the snow while holding her leash. I pretty much wouldn't forget to come back in then, I think. Especially if I am out there in my robe and slippers!
Good luck!
Grandma


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Grandma, maybe you need to teach your dog to be more assertive!  I used to have a golden retriever who I put on a cable outside the front door.  When she was ready to come in, she would come up on the porch and bark at the door.  And heaven help you if you didn't get to the door soon enough to suit her.  That dog could get loud!

jrinker

I'm so with you on that one Jrinker :D

I've found that watching Lost on my iPod is a great way to stimulate the old grey matter and help keep me awake when I'm on the edge of sleep during the day.  I imagine this wouldn't work half as well if I could remember each episode like my spouse can ;)

Everytime I get to the end of Season 5, I can just roll back to Season 1 and not have a clue what happened!  I do remember the general plot and major twists and turns, but I don't remember the details or the incidentals.

Its nice knowing that I have all the Buffys, Heroes, Smallvilles, Prison Breaks et al to go back and watch and only know that I liked them first time around :)

My dog is quite assertive. She's just barked me out of bed way earlier than I wanted to get up. I can't hear her once she's outside. I wear hearing aids and often don't put them on until I am ready to leave the house. I know, the logical solution here would be to put them on as soon as I let her out...if I can remember to do that.

I don't watch much television but I have certainly spent many happy hours re-reading books because I can't remember how they ended and am constantly surprised by the incidents in the book leading up to the end. I thought everybody did this. Is it just me...and the other apneacs that do this? Maybe it should be one of the screening questions for sleep apnea.
Going back to bed now.
Grandma


_________________
ResMed Quattro Full Face Mask
ResMed S8 Escape with heated humidifier
Pressure set at 11

I stopped reading books a long time ago, I found that I'd be asleep after the first two pages and was unable to ever get to the end of it without having to start again ...

Perhaps when the CPAP kicks in, I'll be able to start reading again!