I get that sometimes too, like short-term memory loss?

Maybe you are not a visual learner. Maybe you would do better to hear the words instead of read them.

I am legally blind, so I use a screenreader. It is free and called NVDA (non visual desktop assistant). The voice is robotic, but I can give you a nice voice to install if you are interested in trying it message me.

The main drawback is it takes a few seconds to load the pages on the internet (about 5 extra seconds), and you have to learn a few simple shortcut keys.

Alice

I had the biggest drop in retention after trying Chantix-to quit smoking.

That drug really messed me up. I couldn't remember anything. I bumped into walls and fell a lot. I had my only psycotic episodes I've ever had. Well, the only ones that were really bad and noticable. I had to carry around sticky notes to go from room to room or I would forget why I had gone to the kitchen. It even affected my ability to spell.

As time passes the symptoms are getting better. If I go to the kitchen, even if I forget why, I eventually remember why. I have fewer bruises from bumping into things and my spelling has improved.

One med. affected my vision, but it has gotten better over time also.

I still have terrible short term memory. When I talk with my husband, he can't interrupt or I will forget what I was saying. It's frustrating, but I have sticky notes and notebooks to remember thing I need to.

I forgot to ask if you feel this is due to meds. or if you have always had this issue?

I certainly know what that feels like, tho I also get mental sluggishness whereI just can't concentrate on any reading material. It is so frustrating, I feel actually listless but numb in my head, don't know if that makes sense, so every sympathy to you in your struggle

This happens to me during both mania and depression. It is one of the signals things are not right. I've heard others say their meds cause it. Its very annoying to me because I really like to read and because my job requires me to read and write a great deal. Your pdoc should definitely be addressing it.

I haven't been able to read in months and that was one of my favorite things to do. I have short term memory loss also.

To answer your question, it started happening in my late twenties. I thought I was going nuts. I was diagnosed then with Major Depression and didn't tell them. Then another really gifted BP came along and spotted me out of the crowd-did she know more than my present psych?- and said that it is common with depression, etc. I used to run into walls too, in the hospital, but that soon got taken care of. The sticky note thing I've never resorted to but maybe I should have. I've literally walked around in thousands of circles trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing.

Things have gotten a lot better over the past three years. It took a long time to find the right-or I think it's the right-antipsychotic for me. My Pdoc has told me to read twice a day-the newspaper in the morning and something of choice at night. I do, but very slowly and not very much. I understand about half of what I read and forget most of that within a few hours, if not all of it. We just increased my antipsych so maybe that will help.

i struggle with this also.

i've been this way my entire life. i can stare at a page, see words, sentences, paragraphs. but they do not make sense. i try to read them over and over again, but nothing sinks in. i can find myself 30 pages later, and still no idea what i have just read. even if i am able to make my way from cover to cover, i still couldn't tell you what the book was about. i thought it was just me.

didn't know if it was a bipolar, add, or whatever sort of thing. but grr, its frustrating. if you can figure it out, please let me know. i have been on every med imaginable. and i have been like this before meds, and even now that i'm "stabilized" on meds.

i go thru this all the time! i do keep a notepad with me to remember doc appts. and such.
havent been this way my whole life, so i do wonder if it's the wonder-
ful meds or old age lol.

ECTs sure haven't helped this for me. even replying to posts i have to look at them a few times to make sure i am responding appropriately. it takes me months to read a book and i often read them over and over without knowing until dh brings it up. i live by my calendar and notes.

I have trouble with it also. Before meds I
used to love to read. Now I can't seem to
remember anything I've just read. It's very
frustrating. It's the meds.