[Anonymous]

#1076460

First of all, I’m sorry that you are going through this. I’ve been there, memory problems and age factor, so I understand completely what you are facing. I also think I’ve had jobs like you are describing.

Try and take notes when you are talking with someone or you are given directions on what to do and how to do it. If you still have questions go ahead and ask them. It’s best to ask and double check then to do something wrong. Work slowly, proofread, and double check everything you do. Even if it is a task you do often. Ignore the looks you are getting. Also, sometimes we can misread a look, glance or comment, because we are so worried about what we are doing.

I did lose one job I had because there was new management and my position was elimenated. That did open new doors for me. I then went to a business school and earned by associates degree. During that time I did have part time jobs. I also am married and my husband is working. I will admit that currently I am looking for a new job. I finished school in September.

My memory has never returned 100% like it was, but several years have gone by since I’ve been diagnosis. Is it Graves, or just an age factor? It has improved a lot since my levels have now straighen out. Also, I’ve learned to relax and I try not to worry to much. I know now that when I was having problems, some of it was because I was stressing myself out.

I hope I’m encourging you by posting what I’ve been through. I am in a better place and feel much better about myself. I know that the next job I have, I will be able to perform in an excellant way. We just use whatever tools we need to.

Diane B On-Line Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1020237

I was browsing the web and came across numerous bulletins around June 2006 on memory loss. This was a very hard issue for me. I had been ill for a long time before diagnosed and when I was in my living room and didn’t know who I was or where I was, just for an instant, I was terrified.

My levels are currently “normal” with no medicine just waiting for RAI. My memory has improved a great deal, but I am still having problems at work. When you tell coworkers or a boss the reason you forgot to do something, they treat it like an “excuse”, not a “reason”. I work with 35 people in my group, doing technical work, payroll, etc. The new guys in the group look at me like I am imcompetent at times, and the old ones wonder what has happened to me. In the past year, I have become paranoid in doing my job because I’m not always sure that I am remembering everything about how do my job. I ask a lot of questions repeatedly concerning the same processes. I know the paranoia is a combination of memory loss and the anxiety attacks I had during hyper.

Will I regain my ability to remember processes, etc. to the extent I knew them before hyper or can you lose it and not regain the ability to remember as accurately? I’m also fighting an age factor.

[Anonymous]

#1076461

GREAT advice from Diane! I particularly love the comment about how we can misinterpret people’s glances and comments, in light of the fact that we are so uncertain of ourselves. We are our own worst enemy, and we figure that everyone is as hard on us as we are on ourselves. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes it’s not, but the really important thing is to develop some strategies to remember things we chronically forget.

At our conference in San Diego, there was one speaker who was an expert in memory issues, and a lot of what he said was truly just common sense for people who are either aging or who have other issues with their memory. Taking notes is a great idea ~ it’s the same advice we got from many of our teachers, when they told us to get the information into our heads by as many avenues as possible. You heard it, now write it, perhaps even say it (sing it?), and you’re getting closer to having an easy time remembering it later. One of the main topics our memory expert covered was short term memory. Short term memory is fragile. We can forget things easily if they are in our short term memory, and there is truly no way to strengthen your short term memory (even for young people who do not have Graves’). It’s called short term memory for a reason ~ it wasn’t made to store information long term. Long term memory is another thing entirely, and he said that the “breaking point” between short term and long term is just one minute. Once you have spent at least one minute (it’s longer than you think) putting your full attention on remembering something (repeating the information, writing it down, making some associations to help you remember the information, etc. etc. etc. ~ use any tricks you like), you have transferred that information into your long term memory, which will make it MUCH easier to retrieve when you need it. Backing that up with notes, cheat sheets, and alternate sources of the information (where you can look it up independently, etc.) will strengthen your ability to remember because you’ll be able to either remember yourself or look it up without asking anyone. The more you use these tools, the more confident you will get, and that can make an enormous difference as well.

I know that sometimes we consider a lack of memory as a serious deficiency, and for that reason we attach shame and humiliation to it, and we don’t want to admit we may have difficulty. Once we remove all the shame & humiliation and start helping ourselves, you can LOOK just as flawless as you always were.

Wishing you luck!

~Ski
NGDF Assistant Online Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1076462

I wanted to share with you what I experienced today. I went to a job placement service to sign up with them. They had several tests that I needed to take. Yikes! This was for clerial jobs. There was another applicant there testing also who was 20-25 years younger that I am. There was one test she started after I did and one we started at the same time. Both of them she finished way ahead of me. I do not know how we each scored. BUT she was dressed in jeans and a sloppy shirt. She also didn’t have any simple manners. I had on dress pants, sweater, and a dressy jacket. I also asked questions with “may I” and said “please” and “thank you”. My appointment was at 9:00 am for an interview and testing. She was already testing when I got there and they opened at 8:00. She was on the computer testing and finished with that around 9:45. The manager there emailed to me the computer part of the test so I could do it at home. I started it at 3:30 pm and finished at 6:45pm! I’m sure the “younger” person didn’t take over 3 hours to do her test. I know what I scored on them but I do not know her scores.

So yes, this does prove that some younger people may do certain tasks faster. But like I said before there were other important things that she lacked. This made me feel very well about myself.

Diane B On-Line Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1076463

Diane,

Thanks for sharing and for your encouragement. Also, I wish you the best in finding a job that best suits you. I actually have all my tasks in my calendar with pop-up reminders, but I forget the new things because I have a tendency to close the reminders without reading them. I will start reading the reminders and carrying a pad with me. I can’t make it across the room without someone asking me to do something for them and since I can’t remember it when I get back to my desk, the pad of paper is the answer.

Have a great weekend!

[Anonymous]

#1076464

Ski,

Thanks for your suggestions. I agree that the best way to retain info is repetition. I’m just feeling stressed about what I haven’t did this year and what I “think” I have forgotten. Paranoia is hard on a person and I have suffered with panic attacks for years.

Have a great weekend!

[Anonymous]

#1076465

Mawmaw, you might find that the panic attacks go away once you are at controlled-normal levels of thyroid hormone. That was my experience anyway. It took a while to “trust” that they were not going to return — but ten years and counting, I’ve not had a one since getting well.

Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

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