
Talk to your doctor about memory loss when it starts to interfere with daily life.
Around age 40, you may start noticing you can’t recall people’s names as quickly or you forget details of phone messages you didn’t write down.
These memory slips usually aren’t cause for concern, but talk to your doctor when memory problems interfere with daily life, said Sarah Kortenkamp, Ph.D., a Marshfield Clinic neuropsychologist.
“Even if your memory problems are caused by normal aging, your primary care doctor will be able to take steps to determine your baseline so it’s easier to detect if things get worse,” she said.
Dementia: More serious memory problems
Dementia refers to cognitive decline like memory loss that’s severe enough to interfere with daily functioning.
It’s more than minor annoyances like forgetting to pick up milk at the grocery store. You may forget entire conversations you just had, avoid socializing because you can’t express yourself or do other things that are out of character.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Proteins and plaques build up around neurons in the brain and interfere with communication between neurons. Because Alzheimer’s can’t be confirmed without examining the brain, doctors look for symptoms to determine if patients likely have the disease.
“People who have dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease may repeat questions after you just told them the answer, forget to take medications for several days in a row or forget they talked to you on the phone last night,” Kortenkamp said.
There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s, but medications can stabilize memory loss for up to a few years. Some patients see more benefit than others.
“It doesn’t freeze time, but patients who respond well may get more time at home and to get their affairs in order,” Kortenkamp said.
Other causes of memory loss
Your doctor will run tests to determine what’s causing your memory loss. Memory problems don’t necessarily mean you have dementia and they may be treatable.
A blood test will show if you have low vitamin B12, vitamin D or iron. Low levels of these vitamins and minerals can affect brain function. Your doctor also can check your thyroid hormone level, which can affect cognitive function if it’s too low or too high.
Certain medications and other health conditions are known to cause or contribute to memory problems, including:
- Over-the-counter sleep aids
- Pain disorders
- Depression and anxiety
- Uncontrolled high blood sugar
- Sleep apnea
Improve brain health
Although you can’t reverse effects of Alzheimer’s disease, you can take steps to improve brain health and reduce your risk of memory loss as a normal part of aging.
“Anything good for your heart is good for your brain,” Kortenkamp said.
That includes exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet and controlling diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol with your doctor’s help.
Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and fish oil supplements are known to be good for brain health. However, evidence is mixed whether eating fish or taking supplements will slow or reverse cognitive decline.
Social interaction also benefits the brain. Older adults who maintain social connections tend to do better on memory tests, Kortenkamp said.
I have some problems completing sentences or finding the right word sometimes. This happened when I started with other fibromyalgia problems, (pain, fatigue, sleep difficulty, etc.). Some articles I have read say that 'fibro brain' is just part of the condition. I will be 80 in a short time and haven't really seen any change since my 60's in how I construct sentences or recall names.
Are any studies being done on the long-term effects of chemotherapy and memory loss (chemonesia)?
Shortly after I began receiving chemo treatments for breast cancer, I began having memory problems, particularly with accessing words. When my chemo treatments ended, the problem improved, but has never completely disappeared. It's not as frequent now, but I continue to have trouble remembering/accessing words. It is very frustrating to have common words simply disappear in the middle of speaking a sentence.
Hi, Michelle. According to our Shine365 story "Chemo brain: A real, manageable cancer treatment side effect," “This is an area that is not well-studied,” said Dr. Gayle, Marshfield Clinic oncologist. “There aren’t randomized clinical trials to say exactly what you should do. We need more studies looking at patients going through chemotherapy at different ages and assessing the biochemical changes that occur.”
You can read more about "chemo brain" here – https://shine365.marshfieldclinic.org/cancer-care/chemo-brain-a-real-manageable-cancer-treatment-side-effect/
Discuss further memory concerns with your doctor. If you are a Marshfield Clinic patient, you can also message your care team via My Marshfield Clinic: https://www.marshfieldclinic.org/MyMarshfieldClinic -Kirstie
I've been discussing this issue with my doctor, so that end is covered. Thanks for the link to the article. I had suspected that the area wasn't much studied, but hadn't thought about it in terms of pre-testing to evaluate changes.
On my own, I was playing more mentally-stimulating games while in treatment, including Sudoku, games from Luminosity, and Dots to help keep my mind focused and active. I like to think it helped.
I hope someone is considering this area of research. Chemonesia/chemo brain is no fun! There are many people who would benefit from such a study.
I share Lois C.'s question.
FLASHg, please see the response below. I hope this helps answer your question. -Kirstie
will an MRI reveal Alz/dementia problems?
I would like to know the same as Lois C
Hi, Lillian. I have replied to Lois below. Thanks for reading. -Kirstie
Hi, Lois. I shared your question with Stuart Waltonen, PhD, Neuropsychology. Here is what he had to say on MRIs and Alzheimer's:
MRI does not contribute significantly to the accuracy of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis over a doctor’s clinical assessment of the patient’s symptom pattern and history of symptom onset alone. By the time the MRI can detect changes within the brain in a patient with Alzheimer’s, the patient’s symptoms and the observed progression of symptoms over time have already confirmed the diagnosis.
There is some preliminary research suggesting the MRI may help with predicting the rate of decline in patients with Alzheimer’s but there is not enough research evidence at this time to warrant using the MRI for this purpose.
An MRI of the brain can help rule out other neurological disorders causing the patient’s symptoms, such as a brain tumor or stroke, to name a couple of common disorders, which then allows doctors to arrive at an Alzheimer’s diagnosis more quickly.
-Kirstie
Thank you very much for your time and information! Lois