Short term memory loss

Discussion in 'Veteran Accounts' started by Ron Goldstein, Mar 21, 2018.

  1. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    A word of explanation regarding Short Term Memory Loss..........

    In July 2017 I had the misfortune to be taken ill whilst on a river cruise holiday in France and on returning home was immediately diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.

    The short story is that I am responding exceedingly well to Hormone Therapy treatment (just a tummy jab every 12 weeks) but the unwelcome side effects include the dreaded short term memory loss.

    At it's worse is the “Did I just lock that back door ?” (when in fact I've only just locked it !) and at it's least there is the perpetual bind of having to frequently consult my diary to see what I've got planned for the day.

    The purpose of making this posting is twofold.

    1. I wish to apologise for recent postings where I've rushed in to make comment without checking my facts and
    2. I wish to assure any readers that anything I posted prior to 2017 was as near factually correct as I could make it and was always checked against my diaries and copious records.

    Ron
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2018
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  2. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    I think you have earned the right to speak as you please, short term memory loss or not

    Now what the hell was I going to write - anyone know??

    TD
     
  3. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    Good luck with your treatment, Ron, and thank you for posting. You'll be buying "Vogue" next, although I think current female fashion trends are very messy.

    That wretched walnut with the silly name pressing around the ureal tract has had me in trouble but I have yet to be diagnosed with cancer, just enlargement, which my surgeon fixed some years ago at the second attempt, although I may have to see him again. He described the pipe we pee down as being made of icing sugar, it soon mends itself. Another surgeon removed my rodent skin cancer. I am very, very lucky.

    Whilst the newspaper I am about to mention may not be everybody's cup of tea there is a crusade by it to stop men dying of ignorance or shame. The archives of the newspaper have many articles covering the latest treatment for prostate cancer and prostate reduction etc.: just read the Daily Mail for those articles ( although the racing pages aren't bad.)
     
  4. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Just for a smile and to show the oddity of language (I also have an enlarged prostate) - it should be noted that the prostate gland which can only ever be found in the male species for some reason in the French language is feminine

    La prostate est une glande de l'appareil génital masculin.

    Maybe you need short term memory loss after reading this

    TD
     
  5. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    I'm very glad to hear that you're responding to the treatment, Ron.

    My own grandmother, a few years your junior, is going through the same experience with short-term memory loss following post-operative medication. She can tell me which part of the shelter the dog favoured and how much her father's cigarettes cost in 1940, but she'll ask me the same question twice in ten minutes as if the first answer didn't quite stick.

    Wishing you and yours the very best.
     
  6. TriciaF

    TriciaF Junior Member

    Hoping your health improves Ron.
    As for the memory loss, I've never noticed it in your posts.
    Yesterday I did the same thing as you - went out, forgot if I'd slammed the door and had to go back to confirm.
    And I haven't got prostate glands (even if they're female in french.)
     
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  7. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Blimey !.... It seems as though I've uncovered a pot of worms !

    Thanks to all for your understanding of what nowadays appears to be the number one problem us blokes seem to face.

    Whilst writing, I must put in a plug for Amazon's Echo Dot which I have recently welcomed into my home. If you haven't heard about it yet, there is loads on the internet ( including this) :
    At just under £40 I think it's the best thing since cut bread !

    Ron
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2018
  8. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    But then as you know there are parts of the female anatomy that are male !! (in French) - language hey - what would we do without it

    TD
     
  9. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    I see I got my first Echo Dot Back in May 2018.

    Since then I've been getting several more so that I can have the convenience of one more or less in each room and I am now the proud owner of 4 of the blighters !

    I can't speak too highly of them .............

    Ron
     
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  10. Robert-w

    Robert-w Banned

    Now what was this thread about? No don't tell me I'm sure it'll come back to me.
     
  11. SteveDee

    SteveDee Well-Known Member

    I just need to agree and repeat what Ron said about the effects of Prostate Cancer Hormone Therapy in his post back in 2018.

    His points 1 & 2 go for me also (except substitute 2021 for 2017).

    In addition to short term memory loss I would add 'having a fuzzy brain' where some days "2 + 2 = 3" as a major problem. I've been doing things and saying (& posting) things which don't make much sense.

    I haven't been able to apply myself, so any of my previous hobbies; especially diy, photography, 3D printing, electronics & software, have ground to a halt. I've still got out and enjoyed walking but even then, fatigue has restricted my range and capabilities regarding walking up inclines.

    I didn't know if these issues were due to hormone therapy, long covid or dementia (or possibly all three!).

    But I can now report that the fog is beginning to clear. I decided not to have my HT (Zoladex) injection in April, so 6 months on, and the effects are very slowly reducing.

    It could be another 6 months before I stop having 'hot flushes' but this will be the sign that this dreadful stuff has left my system. And in the last couple of weeks I've painted the shower room, built some shelving and started a new RaspberryPi project.

    Life is good!
     
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  12. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Glad things are improving for you SD. I've had one or two similar concerns this year, but thankfully none have materialised into anything major.

    Here is a somewhat related article from today's BBC website:
    Brain power dropped among over-50s during Covid-19 pandemic, study shows
     
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