Resolved question:
I have a physical, mental or psychological health issue/disorder.
Male, 28
Firstly, I’ll say that my memory is lacking severely. I can watch a movie and forgot a lot of it by the next day. I remember very few events from my childhood. Of those events I do remember, I don’t really remember anything in vivid detail. Everything is a blur to me. Family and friends usually speaks of events that had occurred in the past but I cannot remember any of it. My memory seems to really hinder my experience in school and my ability to learn, well, anything. Even things I’m really interested in. I’ve forgot everything I’ve learned through school. I struggle to remember the page I have just read (sometimes end up reading a page 3-4 times). I never really feel like I can focus. I can sit down to read a book in a house with complete silence, start reading and be completely distracted by my thoughts or anything else. Or I would fall asleep. I’ll start thinking about anything and everything. It’s not a lack of motivation to learn or read and it’s not a lack of interest. Psychologist had put me on ADD medication. The effects worked for 3 weeks. I was engaged, not tired, energetic, ability to read, write and speak and then it decreased and eventually stopped. The dosage was increased but had no effect. Went up to 45mg of dextroamphetamine per day (15mg at 9am , 12pm and 4pm). Psychologist then integrated in antidepressant (wellbrutin). Did not see any change and remained tired, fatigued, concentration was gone, etc.
The inability to focus carries over into many things other than reading books. I feel like I’m never focused in a conversation. I can be talking to someone one-on-one and I won’t even by listening to them. I’ll be drifting off into some other world. Staring at the wall, blindly saying “yeah.” Typically I can’t recall the beginning of a conversation or what we are speaking of. Even when I put the effort into it and consciously try to focus, I find it extremely difficult. During conversations I stumble on words frequently or say the wrong words. Also, I have a hard time remembering the word I am trying to say. I struggle to thinking of the word I am saying. I have a lot of trouble conversing and I know others can tell to some degree. I struggled my entire life with speaking and didn’t develop the ability to talk until a later age. I’ll often just stop mid-sentence because I either lost my train of thought, drifted off into some other world or just can’t think of the right word. I feel that my cognitive abilities are severely lacking.
I tried caffeine pills (first stimulant). The pills worked wonders (memory was much better during the few weeks, energy was good, and concentration was good). The pills only worked for 2 weeks and then stopped working entirely. If I don’t use caffeine pills for an extended period of time (few weeks to a few months) then try them again, they will work for a few weeks then stop. This applies to the antidepressants and ADD medication as well.
Went to a doctor who prescribed Cipralex (Escitalopram – antidepressant). This was before I went to the psychologist mentioned above and was given ADD/Anti-depressant medication. Best I felt in my life (memory, energy and concentration were amazing) at first but after 3 weeks the effects started to disappear. Went back to having bad memory, low energy and poor concentration. Doctor tried to increase dosage but didn’t work and went back to feeling tired all the time and symptoms started to come back. The doctor then tried to put my on Sandoz Bupropion SR (antidepressant) but effects only worked a week then stopped.
My mom has had the exact same issues her entire life. She does have thyroid but is using Synthroid to help with it. She’s complained to her doctor her entire life but never had been able to solve this issue. Other issues that run in my family are low blood sugar, higher cholesterol and arthritis. I have done a blood test and everything is normal. Iron is fine, thyroid is file and everything else good.
See below for a summary by age.
As a child
- had a hard time concentrating, could never read a book and developed reading, writing and speaking skills much later than everyone else (extremely late)
- difficulty reading and speaking
- anxiety
- very active child, loved playing sports and was always active
- difficulty socializing excluding close friends
- extremely poor memory
- A lot of daydreaming – spent most of my childhood daydreaming
-as the day progresses, my cognitive abilities became a lot worse.
Teenager
- hard time concentrating, struggled to read, write and speak. When I would write something, every sentence would have an error. Missed words or wrong word used. Could never write a complete, correct sentence.
- Slept a lot more and felt depressed (started losing hair)
- Extremely poor memory – worst memory out of everyone I know
- anxiety started getting worse. Have always avoided doing things that caused anxiety including speaking with a group of friends. Felt stupid during conversations because I couldn’t understand or recall past events.
- Hard time speaking and reading. When I tried to read my concentration span was very short
- A lot of daydreaming
- hard time thinking of the word I’m trying to say, difficulty putting sentences together
-could never think at night (no memory, no ability to speak) – always tired at night
Adult
- hard time concentrating
- feeling of depression when I am very tired
- Energy level is very low mentally and when I am really tired I feel depressed
- daydreaming all the time
- in big group settings when I am required to talk, my anxiety gets really bad where I feel like I cannot talk. I get heart palpitations and I become dazed.
- Difficulty talking some days (very bad some days) – cannot put simple sentences together like “Hi, how are you doing?”
- difficulty reading, trying to read puts me to sleep
- extremely poor memory – feel stupid all the time as a result of not being able to memorize past events (important events – ex. the date of birth of siblings/parents birthdays). This that were just said to me.
- Hard time thinking of the word I’m trying to say. Better in the morning but as the day progresses it becomes a lot worse
- difficulty reading menu's
- hard time understanding when I am speaking to someone one on one, tend to end up saying “yeah” but not absorbing anything
- forgetful
- when I’m writing sentences I make a lot of errors and one sentence can take me a few minutes even though very simple.
- Sometimes I feel dizzy all of sudden - energy just fades
- hard time understanding
- No retention
OTHER INFORMATION
- Random heart palpitations – went to a cardiologist that did a stress test, scan of heart and EKG and noticed no issues
- More I sleep more tired I am.
- Become mentally exhausted in the evenings. I cannot put sentences together.
- When I work out extremely hard to the point that my heart starts beating fast and hard, during the next few hours I have good concentration, can read, write, etc. On the odd occasion it will carry on into the next morning but stop.
- Get angry easily
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Neurologist, Medical
Hello.
Thank you for posting your query at DoctorSpring.com
I have noted your symptoms, which are of long duration, and affecting your quality of life.
The main problems are poor memory and a lack of concentration. There are symptoms of depression too.
From a neurology point of view, we need to look at all possible causes of memory impairment. First of all, an MRI scan of brain should be done. Another scan that could be useful is PET CT scan of brain, that provides useful information about brain functions.
Among blood tests, vitamin B12 level should be checked. Thyroid has already been tested.
I hope it helps.
Dr. Sudhir Kumar MD (Medicine), DM (Neurology)
Senior Consultant Neurologist