I tend to forget things. It’s usually trivial stuff. For example, I put detergent in the dishwasher last night, but I forgot to start it. I keep forgetting to pick up my medication at the pharmacy.I forgot to return a DVD to someone. But it’s  not just short-term memory that’s a problem. I also forgot a lot about my life in general. The reason I have memories of my wedding is because I watched a video of it (it was a fantastic wedding). I don’t remember my honeymoon. I have very few memories of my teenage years and my twenties. I’m constantly asking my mom to clarify things for me.

Is my forgetfulness from ECT that I stopped in May? I know that used to be the cause, but is it still? My memory has improved, but it’s not what it used to be. Will my memory ever get back to what it used to be? This is why I don’t want to try ECT again, even though my psychiatrist keeps suggesting it. I’m afraid I’ll forget everything.

I'm a 32 year old married woman who has been dealing with Bipolar disorder since the age of 14. This is all about my life, diagnoses, and treatments. If you have any questions, just ask me. I hope that others with Bipolar Disorder or PTSD can relate to my blog and find it helpful.

5 thoughts on “Forgetfulness”

  1. Forgetfulness is a symptom that I think is more common in bipolar disorder than people realize. It can be the illness itself and/or the medications used to treat it. That is what I think decides how it improves – it could get better with a med change for instance, but may get progressively worse if it is a symptom of the bipolar itself. I struggle with forgetfulness on an extreme level. I often forget what I’m going to do when I am in the middle of doing it. I hope the situation improves for you.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  2. ect memory loss must be cruel. i struggle enough simply with the depression memory loss.

    I helped with transportation for a a friend to her ect appointment. I gave her a ride early in week three. I quickly realized her memory wasn’t working. I thought i’d tried to keep it easy and ask were her siblings lived. i knew they lived in the area. she replied, “my brother lives in bothell and (a long 10 second pause) for the life, i can’t remember where she lives. i know it’s in the area, though.” after finishing her month of ect, which didn’t take, her doctor told her about one in four people don’t have success with ect.

    i don’t know if you if you have good insurance or are independently wealthy check out trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation, tms, which recently got approved by the fda and is receiving some acceptance from insurance companies. the electrical impulses are with magnetic pulses. it is showing greater promise than ect but for the success and for the lack of side-effects such as loss of memory. oh, and patient comes in the office, sits down and get to it. no meds and you might as well read a book or write a blog post during your session.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a comment