Age and memory

[Yaworski]

I don't know how many thousands of novels I've read over the years. Sci Fi, crime, fantasies, even romance novels. So it has never surprised me when I start reading a book, only to realize that I read it before, maybe twenty or thirty years earlier.

What's getting me now is that I don't remember movies I've seen recently. I had never seen the Mission Impossible movies so I started from #1. Last night I started watching "Fallout" and partway in, things looked familiar. Maybe I saw this scene on a talk show? Nope, more and more I realize that I've watched this movie but I couldn't tell you what is coming up. For the life of me, I don't have a clue when I would have watched it. So it turns out that I had seen one of the MI movies, I just don't remember it.

 

[gnappi]

This has been MY experience not recently but for most of my life. Since my son was little (27+ years ago) when asked about some detail in the recent past I said "I don't know, I've been asleep since then" :-)

 

[Johnnu2]

The beauty of it is that I can now watch hundreds of movies that I KNOW I've seen before and everyone seems new to me. Hence, I don't have to subscribe to any special cable stuff and certainly no streaming rip-offs. If I wasn't married, I'd still have my house antenna... Really...!

J.

 

[Kevin]

Plus add to it there are so many movies out there. And many of them have similar plot lines. So they kind of blend together.

I do Wordle everyday, in the morning. But if you ask me what the word for the day was at lunch time, I couldn’t tell you. It’s just not important.

Which is also one reason you might not remember a mission impossible movie. They really aren’t important.

 

[Ride1949]

 

[pyth0n]

The upside is you meet new people every day, your clothes, car, guns, etc. all look new to you. Every thing is a first all over again. Deja vu all over again.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I'll bet you can hide your own Easter Eggs also. I can and I only need one book in my library. :) :) :)

 

[Dan in MI]

Movies have always been "in the moment" for me. Until I have seen it a few times I don't remember much about it. Not so much with other things, but for whatever reason movies don't stick.

 

[crstrode]

In 2010 the house was sold, and we moved. Moved again, and then yet again to our forever place in 2016. During those three rapid-fire relocations, about 1000 books, (all of which I had read) were either sold or donated. The book inventory is probably down to less than 500 now. I've read all of these as well.

In my younger days, I would not, except on very rare occasions, re-read a book, or re-watch a movie. It was easy for me to provide a detailed blow-by-blow re-telling of just about any book I had read - even decades in the past.

Looking over the shelves of books today, there are very few of which I could provide a decent synopsis!
This is a good thing. I will never - ever - run out of things to read, and won't spend another cent doing so . . . :)

 

[Sam Summey]

I don't know how many thousands of novels I've read over the years. Sci Fi, crime, fantasies, even romance novels. So it has never surprised me when I start reading a book, only to realize that I read it before, maybe twenty or thirty years earlier.

What's getting me now is that I don't remember movies I've seen recently. I had never seen the Mission Impossible movies so I started from #1. Last night I started watching "Fallout" and partway in, things looked familiar. Maybe I saw this scene on a talk show? Nope, more and more I realize that I've watched this movie but I couldn't tell you what is coming up. For the life of me, I don't have a clue when I would have watched it. So it turns out that I had seen one of the MI movies, I just don't remember it.

First stage of Alsheimer's...
we all have it that are over 60 years of age.

 

[Yaworski]

Which is also one reason you might not remember a mission impossible movie. They really aren't important.

That's a thought.

 

[Kevin]

Movies have always been "in the moment" for me. Until I have seen it a few times I don't remember much about it. Not so much with other things, but for whatever reason movies don't stick.

Thank you for pointing this out! It reads like everyone else here wants the OP to check into the Alzheimer’s ward ASAP.

My wife and I like to watch movies, and I see actors I recognize from other movies. Actually I recognize their voices, since they might look different from one movie to the next.

But heck if I can remember which movie they were in. So we end up hitting pause and checking our phones to see who they are and what they’ve played in before.

Some things just aren’t worth remembering.

 

[jav]

I feel that way about movies I know I seen it before but when I watch it again I don’t remember anything about it my problem is I am guilty of playing on my phone and didn’t pay attention . So when I really want to see this movie I put my phone down

 

[JohnL]

At 73, names have become a challenge.

 

[Fox Mike]

I just started to read a novel by Dan Brown and now 'think' I MAY have previously read it. Oh well it kills time that I would otherwise be doing something else ... to kill time.

 

[davevabch]

Many novels are so similar these days, I love reading the classics more than once. I have read Moby Dick probably 5 or 6 times and pick up something new each time. Great quotes and I love great quotes. I have one great Civil War Book of history that is 6-700 pages that I have read 4 times. Just watched the new version just released and still not as good as the original book.

 

[vito]

Usually it is short term memory that starts to go as an early sign of dementia, of which Alzheimer's Disease is the most common form. Going on an errand and suddenly not sure of how to find your way home. Being asked what you ate for dinner last night and having no memory of it. For some, long term memory starts to fade first. As the disease becomes more pronounced the effects become clearer. My Mom had Alzheimer's, for fortunately for her it did not start to become noticeable until she was already in her late 90's. After her short term memory disappeared, her long term memory started slipping away. At first she clearly knew who I was when I visited. Then it became where she remembered she had a son, but said I was not her son. Later she expressed surprise when I told her I was her son, responding "I have children?". By 101 she lost the ability to speak, but it wasn't until just short of 104 that she "forgot" how to swallow and stopped eating and shortly afterwards passed away.

Working with the elderly for many years as a Nursing Home Administrator, I noticed that being unable to recall a past memory, at least temporarily, was a common aspect of aging. But with Alzheimer's or other dementia disorders, the memory is truly lost. If you can't remember the name of a childhood friend, or the name of a movie that you almost remember, but an hour or day or week later it pops into your head, that is NOT dementia. If the lost memory is really lost, then it might be from dementia. There are tools to test individuals to determine if they are showing early signs of Alzheimer's that your health care provider can use, so seeking such help for yourself or a loved one is a better plan than just worrying about it.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

At 73, names have become a challenge.

Wait'll ya get old! :unsure:

 

[hittman]

Not only if you can’t remember the name of a childhood frame but after being told you don’t recognize it. That is a true sign …

 

[Yaworski]

Usually it is short term memory that starts to go as an early sign of dementia,

When I was in my 30s I asked a clinical psychologist about forgetting things like why I was headed to the basement. She told me that's pretty normal and nothing to worry about because short term is ephemeral and things get bumped out of it easily.

 

[MaxMan]

Please help me, why did I come to this site. Even this forum would be helpful.
Let's be friends and grow old together. Then well be new friends.

 

[Jeepnik]

Lots of stuff today about memory loss and dementia. It seems "experts" are always trying to figure out new names for stuff that existed since the beginning of man.

Myself, there are lots of things I don't remember. My early childhood for instance. But then again, I didn't remember it in my 20's, it just didn't make a big enough impression on me. I'm terrible with names. But I have been since I was a child. If I didn't see you for a bit I'd remember your face but not your name (phone contact lists that have pictures are a blessing). Some folks loose keys, phones or what have you all day long. They don't have memory problems, they just have other things on their mind and weren't paying attention to where they put them. But I don't have this problem. So, just because you don't remember things from 5 minutes ago or 50 years ago isn't necessarily a sign of memory loss or dementia, they just might not have been all that important.

 

[FFguide]

I had a thought about something that I was going to write…..but I can not remember what is was…

 

[mr surveyor]

I seem to remember that back in the early sixties older folks were referring to today's dementia as "hardening of the arteries". I'm over 60 (as most here seem to be) so I may not be remembering that bit of trivia right.

I hope I'm posting this to the right thread and not on the Reloading threads :rolleyes:


jd

 

[eveled]

A friend of mine was super excited about some new supplement (Ginkgo Biloba) that was going to help his memory.

A few weeks later I asked how it was going?

"Not good. I keep forgetting to take it!"

Sounds like a joke, but it's a true story.

 

[Mobuck]

Since we've been involved with the church transfer, I've been asked many questions about 'old timey' stuff. Things from my childhood. Standing in the church and talking about the pews, I had a vivid rememberance of possibly the last time I attended services about 65 years ago. Some of the pews were donated to another local church but I followed the holes in the floor where they'd been removed and with total clarity said "this is where Mom's family sat". Several other questions from that time frame came up and I had answers I hadn't expected.
Memory is sort of like a 'rag bag' quilt--various colors, patterns, and types of cloth mingled together making a warm blanket.

 

[Jeepnik]

When Ginko came on the scene I figured why not. So I did. I can't say it improved my memory. But it did greatly increase my episodes of lucid dreaming.

Lucid dreaming consists of dreams over which you seem to have control of the story line. They are also quite vivid and memorable.

While this was quite enjoyable I found that I frequently woke up feeling both physically and mentally exhausted. So I quit taking it.

After I retired I started taking it again mainly for the lucid dreaming effects. On nights where I have several such dreams I tend to sleep and hour or two more waking up well rested.

Does it help with memory? No idea. But it does seem to be a legal mind altering drug with no adverse side effects.

 

[Mobuck]

"After I retired I started taking it again mainly for the lucid dreaming effects."
I already have far too many of those about past experiences I'd rather NOT remember.:oops::oops:

 

[JackBull]

Eat more eggs, 6 per day. Your brain is made up of cholesterol. Feed it.
Avoid grains, fried foods and statins.

 

[vito]

Not only if you can't remember the name of a childhood frame but after being told you don't recognize it. That is a true sign …

If you don't recognize something from the past, after it is told to you, it well might indicate that the memory has been truly lost. You might well be right that this is a "true sign" but unless it happens repeatedly and it interferes in your ability to conduct your daily life I would think that it is not yet a serious concern.

In any event, despite the best efforts of modern medicine, little or nothing can be done to stop whatever is causing a brain to descend into dementia (or what was once just called "senility" or "hardening of the arteries"). The newer drugs like Aracept do not seem, in my opinion, to really do much to help at all (but I am not a physician nor a scientist studying these things). In my years working in the "senior care" industry, I can say that there are things that help folks manage. Keeping to a routine, and staying in a stable, familiar environment can be very helpful in continuing to live a satisfying life. Having routines to follow, and having assistance with those routines, such as living in a senior focused retirement community, can help achieve that stability for as long as possible.