I’ve tried every possible dosage of melatonin and it affected me about as much as air. The main thing that fixed my ten year bout with insomnia was to retire and start sleeping from 2 AM to 8 AM. I’m kind of a night owl and now that I’ve stopped fighting it I sleep much better.
I’ve always had a pretty bad memory for remembering plot details of books I’ve read and movies I’ve seen, after a month or two. I envy people who can talk intelligently about books they read in high school! I don’t think it’s really gotten worse. And I’ve always had trouble remembering the names of people I meet… But now I often struggle to remember the names of famous actors and actresses and other celebrities, something I never used to do. I know the names are in my head somewhere, but it’s as if I can’t find the right file cabinet where they’re stored! I once spent an hour trying to remember Kate Winslet’s name until it suddenly came to me – I was too stubborn just to look it up.
On the other hand, I can still absorb large amounts of information when I’m working on a case, and I can still recite to myself the names and relationships to each other and relevant dates of about 200 of my direct ancestors if I’m having trouble sleeping. Kind of like counting sheep! So I’m not too worried yet.
Thanks for the info on Benadryl. I use take a lot of it to help me not get so congested at night. I sometimes use the totally wrong word or can’t remember a word or how to spell something. I’m another who used to have a photographic memory.
I’ve recently started B12 supplement and I think I’ve had more energy. I’m on HRT as off it I wasn’t sleeping at all.
When I first noticed that I was grasping for words and losing fluency, I read a book that was on our son’s summer reading list that talked about memory called Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer. Here’s the wiki synopsis:
I almost cried when I read the description of memory palaces as I had instinctively used a form of this from the time I was little but never knew there was a name for it. My recall of anything was almost perfect which served me very well in school. This book describes the methods for improving memory and how to construct a memory palace. I can tell you it works even though no one ever taught it to me and I had never read about it codified like this. Losing this ability so abruptly is what frightens me. Now when I place items in my mental cubbies, I am unable to just “look” into those places to retrieve them. For me, this isn’t like memory degrading or misfiring; it’s like a lifetime, bullet-proof structure is crumbling. Practicing, which I never had to do before, isn’t helping. I just can’t do it anymore, and I’m afraid to find out that the problem is more than normal aging. If there is no cure, what would be the point?
OP, DH & I have noticed that sometimes I say the wrong word, I think the right one, but say the wrong one. I have always been a fast talker and fast thinker & he thinks my mouth just can’t keep up with my brain, hoping it’s that and not the other way around!
You would enjoy the. PBS show Sherlock Holmes who uses memory palaces often, and the tv show Bull, also discussed memory palaces.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/secrets-sherlocks-mind-palace-180949567/