Memory Loss - Desperate for Help

Same thing happened to me! I wish I could say I had help for you, just wanted to let you know you're not alone. My daughter's 11 and I still don't have it back. I think it has more to do with having to remember things for 2 now and just being generally responsible for another life. Definitely getting enough sleep and eating right and taking vitamins helps me. I've heard the herbal suppliment Ginkgo Biloba is good for memory but I haven't tried it.

Yes pregnancy causes memory loss. I am still trying to find mine. It is because of a hormone called oxitocin. Among other things, it is the hormone that helps us to forget the pain of childbirth.

Welcome to parenthood and if this is the only side effect you get then you are blessed!! :) Unfortunately, it is a permanent condition for me. Mom-nesia is very hard to deal with, but you can always find support here.

I had memory problems and brain fog as a sign of hypothyroidism. (Previously I had a great memory). I had to take copious notes to cope at work. Once I started on thyroid meds I got my brain back.

Sometimes pregnancy can unmask a struggling thyroid gland. You might want to get your thyroid checked.

If you are sleep deprived that can affect memory also.

You probably just have momma brains now, like the rest of us. Think about it, with the baby you have so much more to remember plus you're likely not getting as much sleep as before. What you're thinking is memory loss may actually be memory over-load.

Relax & start looking for ways to cope. Make lists. Re-organize. After getting my phone turned off & nearly the water too, I finally put all my bills on auto draft. I have a chalkboard in my kitchen & every time I see that we're running low on something, I run & write it on the chalkboard, cause the next minute, poof, it's gone to la la land. I always take a list to the grocery store. Never did before, but I will inevitably forget the one thing I went for if I don't do it now. I have arrived at daycare (twice) with a shoeless child. Fixed that one by keeping an extra set of clothes (including shoes) in the car. My current project is de-cluttering so that I can actually find things. Course the clutter is something else that came with the kids.

On an up note, I read about a study not too long ago that found that having kids makes you smarter. (They only studied women.) And don't worry, it doesn't get any worse for the second child because you've already lost your mind with the first.

I did that after one of my pregnancies. It is not really the pregnancy, but the stress of it, hormonal changes, poor quality sleep, work, new baby, etc. All stressors. Take a good multivitamin/mineral, eat healthy, get plenty of rest, get some enjoyable exercise, cut back on "to do" list. Allow your body to recover from pregnancy/delivery. Be nice to yourself. Enjoy baby. Ask for help. Healing takes time. :)

Girl!!! I used to be soooo smart! I think my kids sucked the brains right out of me!!!
It gets better - I think - I cant remenber!
Scary part is I am thinking of getting a Ph.D - with this brain???
Your fine - just get some rest - some things God doesent want us to remenber : )
T.

You really need to feed your brain. Check out Unforgettable on www.melaleuca.com look under health. They work wonders

the same thing happened to me, i made very embarrassing mistakes at work that made me look completely inept at my job. unfortunately, the only way i found to "ride it out" was to tell people to email important things to me rather than just tell me, and i carried my calendar around like a bible. i also made lots of lists (which i also kept in my calendar) and tried to be very systematic about checking them off each day to make sure nothing was overlooked. i worked longer hours because i was slower at processing stuff, but i managed to pull through! heehee!

DON'T WORRY!!! I was so scared when I was pregnant with my first that he was making me crazy! It does come back with time... it sounds like you really have your hands full right now anyway. Things will get better!

Have your doctor check your thyroid hormone levels. If your thyroid output is low it can effect your memory. This is a likely the culprit since your hormone levels go whako when pregnant.

It happened to me when pregnant and when my thyroid meds don't do their job. I'm 38 now and have been on Sinthyroid since I was 12.

It can be very frustrating. I have always been a note taker and list maker. But, at times, that still would not help. Then to have someone question if you are really paying attention because you don't remember parts of a conversation. Drives you crazy sometimes.

Oh, um... I forgot what I was going to say. Just kidding.
You are not alone. I used to swear that I was having a blond baby because I was so spacey. (It was a joke All of you beautiful blonds out there, please don't be offended.) When she came out with jet-black hair, I had some explaining to do.
I think it was exhaustion. I thought that I was getting plenty of sleep but how can a person sleep while there is someone else inside her moving about? I tried to nap, it didn't help. I wish I had some advice. I would like to tell you that it gets better, but it probably won't until baby starts sleeping through the night. I wish you the best of luck and hope there is someone else out there that can give you some real advice. All I can offer is sympathy. Good luck.

Try a couple of Ginko Biloba every morning, and some fish oil every day, also you can do puzzles, that help to stimulate your brain, reading informative material, and you can add some reflexology. (massaging the feet) the brain is located in the middle of the big toe. good luck!

Let your doctor know about this because during pregancy you can develope Thyroid problem and it can cause these memory problems. Look it up on the internet. The Thyroid controls so much of your whole body. Memory, weight gain or loss, hair loss, leg pain at night et. But anyway now doctors have to test pregant women I think about 6 months, because something trigers this in women that are pregant. And this is such a simple little pill (cost hardly anything). And only Armour is the real Tyroid pill, if you read up you will find that out, do not waste your time is the other stuff.

Good Luck

You are definitely not alone! They even gave it an offical name (finally)... It's called Mom-nesia. It has to do with all the hormonal changes, etc.
My kids are 14 and 8 and I still have a touch of it. :)

Definitely have your thyroid checked! This might not be the problem, but it just might be problem. My thyroid failed before pregnancy, but I remember the brain fog, tiredness, etc. I could not focus on conversations and really had to work at forming responses to questions.

Girl, I know the feeling!!! I do not think it is that uncommon. My memory has not been the same since my pregancies 10 yrs ago. I feel it is because I have so many other things to worry about with kids, households, jobs, etc. It was so much easier when I was only taking care of myself??? My memory has improved as my kids get older and I can focus more on myself. So don't beat yourself up over your memory. I adjusted by keeping a main family calendar that I hang on the refrigerator. I also keep a very small appt book in my purse since I often make plans when away from home. I also keep many notes in other forms. At the beginning of each week, I integrate them all to make sure I am aware of everything that I want to get done. Also, when time permits, I make time to use my mind, like reading something educational or have intellectual type discussions with family or friends. I also work puzzles. Don't get me wrong, some days I can do this often and some days I cannot do it at all. When your family can offer you some time away, take it for something you like to do. Friendships are very important. This helped with my sanity and to clear my mind.

I hope you don't end up with the long term effects as I have. My children are fixing to be 10yrs and 13yrs old and I still have horrible memory problems. But I am also a stay at home mom and focus so much of my life on the kids and their school and not much else. I have little notes everywhere and still forget things. Maybe with you being outside of the home to work you will be able to train your brain to think and remember before long...Best wishes to you.

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I'm not a physician. As with anything, consult your physician!

Its the pregnancy. Boost up on your B vitamins I think B6 is the one that your body uses alot of to help form the baby's organs but its also a vitamin we need to help with memory. It may be B12 but actually I think its both. See my memory never came back lol.

Same thing happened to me. I think they call it Momnisia like amnisia. ( sp ) My son is now almost six months old and I am just now comming out of the fog. It gradually goes away.

Please have your thyroid checked. My memory often fails me due to being hypothyroid. There are other suddle signs-dry hair, sensitive to cold, edema, depression---someone can call me and ask me to get something at the store and I will go and get everything but what they asked for. Good Luck

Hi V.-

Yes, it's normal. Just do what you can to get sleep, take your vitamins, eat well and blame it on the baby :-)! I'm sorry to say this, but I'm still waiting for it to get better and my kids are 6, 4 and nearly 8 months old!!!

Good Luck!
K.

Hi V.,
When did you have your baby?

I just returned last week from a conference at the UN on brain education. Very interesting day. Short term memory is a function of the brain. It is a focus issue. I seriously doubt it is from being pregnant physically. It may have something to do with being pregnant and so you focused on so many other things having to do with the new baby.

there are brain excercises that you can do that will help you focus and stimulate the parts of the brain that have to do with short term memory. The best books are by Ilchi Lee. You can find them at any Dahn Yoga center, there is one in kingwood, or you can find the books on amazon.com or try the www.ilchi.com and you can find articles and also purchase books through his web site. PS he is comming to town in august, at one of the universities here. I have heard him do this lecture once in Arizona, but I already have my ticket to hear him again. L.

Go and see an endocrinologist - not your reg physician. Have your thyroid checked. Dr Zaniewski on 1960 is who I see.

I had a brain fog and thought I was loosing my mind.
dry hands
hair falling out
sudden weight gain
a notch that appeared in my throat because of it that I felt when I would swollow.

My regular doc said that it was fine.
Dr Zaniewski said that it was not acting efficiently.
It has made all the difference.

Hi V.,

let me think, 7 months old... well, when my daughter was 7 months old, I was concerned that I had permanent brain damage or was an early case of alzheimer.

I used to have a good memory, as a matter of fact, I was known for that at work. Now, if I dont write it down, it's gone !

On the other hand, what did I have to manage before ? work responsibilities ? Piece of cake compared to being a full time mom (24/7, not 40 hours a week!)

I dont think I would have been able to pack a diaper bag for an outing or change a diaper in less than 2 minutes. Now I can ! Try to list all the things you have to think of now when they would not even have crossed your mind before, and then think of all the things you take care of now that you did not even have to worry about before. You'll see it adds up quickly to a HUGE list of things to do and think about. Your brain is constantly busy.

Taking care of a child is a LOT of work, it's overwhelming at times. Things got better for me as I got better organized (I felt less pressure to clean/tidy up/do this/do that) and it helped me feel more like myself (or as close as I can get to it !).

If you feel that you could organize things more efficiently, take the time to think it through, it has definitely helped me. I still dont know about my brain but now at least I have found a few workarounds (like Cara, I keep stuff in the car, just in case...)

I hope this helps
A.

You are definitely not alone. I went back to work for a short time after my first baby and wow, I had lost my brain! That was 7 years and another baby ago and it's still not back completely. Anyway, my denstist (also a mother) once told me to take omega-3. Our brain needs good fat to function properly and preganancy and nursing deprive our brain of this good fat. She felt that this was the reason a lot of women get post partum depression also. Not sure if this is true. I take it off & on and when I do I feel like my memory improves. It's good for a lot of other things too so it's worth trying. Here is a good article explaining it...
http://www.life-enhancement.com/article_template.asp?ID=578

A couple of things: cut way down on the sugar and eat blueberries. Also, go to the Health Food Store and ask them for suggestions. Lack of sleep can contribute to memory loss as well. I used to have a great memory, but after three kids, if I don't write it down, it won't happen. Be kind to yourself!