Memory Loss/Word Retrieval Problems

I had a TAH and I feel good except for a few little problems. One big problem I have is memory loss. I am sometimes having trouble remembering what I want to say mid sentence. I'm not imagining it. Something is very different with my memory and word retrieval. Is this permanent? I can feel a marked difference between the way I am now and pre-op. I can't take hormones and I think it's related to my lack of estrogen. It's a little scary.

I'm 4 months post op and still have that happen occasionally. Just had an incident this morning! I want my brain back!

Hi. I had my surgery a couple of weeks before you did. I suffered with that same fog, bad memory and loss for words. It scared me a lot since one of my best qualities is being a good conversationalist and I need to be able to commicate well in my job. I am not taking HRT either.

It seems that, over the past couple of weeks, it has gotten better. I still find that I am not as sharp as I used to be but it's slowly coming back. I have read from other ladies on here that it is a hormonal issue but I haven't researched it much.

I find that the more active I am, the better it is. Not necessarily exercising although that helps, I just mean getting out of the house, being around people, talking, moving, etc. I think that it is a slow process that gets better with time. I sure hope so!

Not getting enough sleep or quality sleep makes it worse for me as well. Are you sleeping well? I seem to require a lot more sleep now than I used to. I hope that gets better over time.

Good luck and it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to talk to your doctor about it. I know you said you can't take hormones but maybe the doc will have some other suggestions.

Best wishes and I hope things improve soon.

For me that always means my thyroid is off, but in this case, I'd say it's seems to probably be estrogen related. i don't know if this applies, but there's a wonderful article linked by "the keeper of the keys" here on the following thread (it's about being able touse hormones safely at low levels, etc.): https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...d.php?t=347895

Impairment of cognitive and verbal skills is a direct consequence of Surgical Menopause. I talked backwards and could not find words for about 6 months, and am still not quite as articulate but it has improved a lot. I use oestrogen and I would not be without it. I have days where I am forgetful, disorganised and cannot find a certain word still but it's liveable.

Thank you, everyone, for your posts. I've been researching my problem online and there are some sites that say this is a temporary condition and others say it is permanent. I guess I'm so worried because my mother has Alzheimer's Disease. When you have a parent with dementia, you always feel that you will get it too. Every time you forget where you put your car keys, you think it's the beginning of the disease. Now that I can actually feel a decline in my short term memory, my fear has increased. It is very worrisome.

Saridah,

Yes, and what confuses this issue more is the fact that the more you "worry" about that happening, the worse it will probably be because anxiety can cause short term memory loss too (especially when it escalates to the level of panic attacks.)

Wishing you the best,

I've been experiencing the same thing! Problem is, I've kept my ovaries and am only 31. It just gets so frustrating not being able to think of the right word or to be able to say what you mean. I've been using the words "thingie" and "that over there" or just gesturing wildly entirely too much lately. I really hope this clears up soon. It's beginning to get embarrassing. I thought brain fog would only be from an autoimmune flare, but I guess not.

I've been doing this for a year or two and it's no better now. I'm struggling to multitask. I was playing Upwards with my son and trying to help my daughter with homework (easy stuff) and couldn't also keep score. That wouldn't have been a problem pre-surgery...