Worried But Not Sure If I Should Be
When I got pregnant, my memory went to the dogs. People would laugh, and tell me it was 'placenta brain' or 'pregnancy brain' and that it would go away when Marlow was born.
First, let me tell you about my memory before she was born. I was a waitress and I could remember, without writing it down, sixteen seperate orders, then I could hand them out to exactly who ordered them(and I worked at a place where sixteen people in a party was pretty common). I could read a book, then tell you, in great detail, what it was about, all the characters names, locations etc, months after I had read it. I could meet someone once, and remember their names, and any other tid bit, years down the road! It used to amaze people.
But then it started to not just falter, but stop. So Marlow was born and it got a bit better. But now I'm finding myself forgetting things that just happened. For instance, I was at work the other day, and I had to call the repair guy to come fix something. So I call him, then I'm helping a customer and all of a sudden I can't remember hanging up the phone on the repairman. I can't remember if I said goodbye, or if I just hung up, I can't remember the customer I am helping walking in, and I can't remember the money they just gave me.
It's starting to happen more and more and it's starting to affect my job. I'm responsible for stock and money, and I find I need to count both three or four times, because unless I clearly write down what I just counted and exactly what it is, I often forget it. I used to be able to balance into the thousands of dollars without needing a calculator!
The other day I walked into the kitchen and Marlow was in her highchair eating food, that I clearly prepared, but I couldn't remember making it, or putting her in her chair, and that scared the shit out of me.
I don't know if this is ordinary stuff or not? I have had a headache lots for the past few months, but I had my eyes checked and I need new glasses, so I'm waiting on that to see what develops with the headache. I know my doctor will tell me to do just that anyways.
And, I'm not that fond of my doctor, and the downside of free healthcare? Most of the doctors jump border to the states where they make more, so doctors are so scarce your lucky if you land a family doc! He has a 'lets wait and see' attitude, and he sometimes makes me feel stupid. I took Marlow to him because at her immunizations they told me it would be in my best interest to get her balance checked out because it was still so off, and he basically treated me like an idiot for bringing her in and wasting his time.
Sigh, I haven't really told Joey too much, because he will insist I see the doctor. I'm seriously considering it anyways. My job may be in danger because of it, and Im scared I'm going to do something stupid. But I only get one opinion, so I don't want to go to the doctor with stupid, unfounded worries.
First, let me tell you about my memory before she was born. I was a waitress and I could remember, without writing it down, sixteen seperate orders, then I could hand them out to exactly who ordered them(and I worked at a place where sixteen people in a party was pretty common). I could read a book, then tell you, in great detail, what it was about, all the characters names, locations etc, months after I had read it. I could meet someone once, and remember their names, and any other tid bit, years down the road! It used to amaze people.
But then it started to not just falter, but stop. So Marlow was born and it got a bit better. But now I'm finding myself forgetting things that just happened. For instance, I was at work the other day, and I had to call the repair guy to come fix something. So I call him, then I'm helping a customer and all of a sudden I can't remember hanging up the phone on the repairman. I can't remember if I said goodbye, or if I just hung up, I can't remember the customer I am helping walking in, and I can't remember the money they just gave me.
It's starting to happen more and more and it's starting to affect my job. I'm responsible for stock and money, and I find I need to count both three or four times, because unless I clearly write down what I just counted and exactly what it is, I often forget it. I used to be able to balance into the thousands of dollars without needing a calculator!
The other day I walked into the kitchen and Marlow was in her highchair eating food, that I clearly prepared, but I couldn't remember making it, or putting her in her chair, and that scared the shit out of me.
I don't know if this is ordinary stuff or not? I have had a headache lots for the past few months, but I had my eyes checked and I need new glasses, so I'm waiting on that to see what develops with the headache. I know my doctor will tell me to do just that anyways.
And, I'm not that fond of my doctor, and the downside of free healthcare? Most of the doctors jump border to the states where they make more, so doctors are so scarce your lucky if you land a family doc! He has a 'lets wait and see' attitude, and he sometimes makes me feel stupid. I took Marlow to him because at her immunizations they told me it would be in my best interest to get her balance checked out because it was still so off, and he basically treated me like an idiot for bringing her in and wasting his time.
Sigh, I haven't really told Joey too much, because he will insist I see the doctor. I'm seriously considering it anyways. My job may be in danger because of it, and Im scared I'm going to do something stupid. But I only get one opinion, so I don't want to go to the doctor with stupid, unfounded worries.
Replies
I think you should really call the dr - for sure. I would be going in to see someone if I were expereincing what you are. I have \"pregnancy brain\" too and it\'s lasted a while since Jacob was born since I still have it off and on but it is nothing to the degree that you are. I know that you are concerned about the drs not being that good (which is exactly why I don\'t like the idea of \"free\" healthcare myself - but that\'s another topic) but I\'d totally be doing somehting to get that checked out.
I would go to the doctor too. A couple of possibilities spring to mind, and I am hesitant to talk about them as I don\'t want to worry you unnecessarily, and he sounds like the kind of Dr who hates it when a patient has preconceived notions. But you might want to look for info online about these things before you go.
One is epilepsy. Sometimes women get it after pregnancy. Some forms of epilepsy involve extremely short blanks, so small that people don\'t notice you staring into space for 2 seconds. Maybe ask Joey if he has noticed anything?
The other possibility is a sleep disorder. Extreme tiredness (probably from parenting a baby!) can lead to microsleeps, most often noticed when driving. You know when you get from A to B and you literally cannot remember travelling over that distance but you know you must have? That is a microsleep. Amazing aye. Other than tiredness, narcolepsy-type disorders can manifest in this way. There are good treatment options for such disorders, so don;t panic... the same is true for epilepsy... in most cases these disorders can be successfully treated, it can just take time to sort out the best meds.
And I am in no position to suggest you have any of these disorders. You are too intelligent to believe a layperson who you haven\'t even met, and I find that reassuring ;-)
If I had a Dr like yours, I\'d plan out the kind of symptoms I was going to share, to ensure that you get his attention. He may try to fob you off with telling you you\'re a hypochondriac with stress-induced psychosomatic illness. Just ignore that. Go in with some key symptoms to scare him with, like that you\'re not sure you are safe to drive, that one of your parents or grandparents had similar symptoms.
The proper investigation of possible epilepsy or sleep disorders is an overnight sleep study or some kind of EEG testing. I hope your health system funds those tests reasonably readily. Also keep in mind that disclosing concerns about driving might lead to him taking your licence away or you losing insurance cover. So do your homework first. I do think you need to get these symptoms investigated somehow.
All the best with it.
Dr Hope =)