Hey all,
I am curious if anyone else has experience memory problems since becoming a diabetic. Next month I will have been a Type 1 diabetic. It seems that my memory is kinda dodgy. Is used to be VERY observant, and my memory was really good. I am not sure why it is slipping. I dont know if it is because of sugar fluctuations or what.
Any comments?
This is really important for me to discuss, in my profession it is an absolute neccessity!
Changes in your blood sugar will definitely affect your memory and thinking. When your blood sugar is too low your impairment can be mistaken for intoxication. When too much sugar is in your blood, it thickens and slows blood flow to all your organs, including your brain. (This was the explanation give to me by my Diabetes Educator several years ago.)
I forget things all the time. I have had diabetes for 16 years and believe it is my constant issues with hypoglycemia that have lead to my imperfect memory. I almost never remember anything once I get low and I am low at least 3 times a week. If your blood is high you will feel tired or lethargic and will not want to work with diligence. Good control is important for every aspect of your life.
From what I can remember in the literature T1 diabetes doesn't necessarily affect memory. I think what you are experiencing might be the new stress brought on by diagnosis and lifestyle changes. This distraction can make it very difficult to remember things at first, but once you are settled I'm sure you'll be fine.
I experience problems with concentrating since I was diagnosed only a month ago. I have seen my grades drop because I sit in class and one minute I'm paying attention, the next minute I could not tell you what subject we were even talking about or why I got distracted.
This is interesting, because my parents and I were just talking about this the other day. They were bringing up something (I think it was a vacation or something) from just shortly before I was diagnosed, and I couldn't remember it. I began to think about it and realized that I don't really remember much of my life before I was diagnosed, except little bits. I was diagnosed at the age of nine, so I should remember at least a few years before, but I really don't remember that much.
|†~*Sarah*~†|
I have trouble concentrating when my sugar is too high or low, but not 24 hours of the day. I've had diabetes for 20 years and my memory is still pretty sharp, hope that's uplifting for you.
[quote user="Sarah"]
This is interesting, because my parents and I were just talking about this the other day. They were bringing up something (I think it was a vacation or something) from just shortly before I was diagnosed, and I couldn't remember it. I began to think about it and realized that I don't really remember much of my life before I was diagnosed, except little bits. I was diagnosed at the age of nine, so I should remember at least a few years before, but I really don't remember that much.
|†~*Sarah*~†|
[/quote]
the same with me i was diagnosed at the age of nine (in now 14) and i dont really remember but little bit of my life before but their only things that were really big or have always sticked out but when my mom brings stuff up now i look at her like shes crazy and ask if she was serious.
Yeah I'm in the same boat you are buddy! I've been diabetic a lil over a year and I use to be able to remeber very good. Now I vitamins can't even help me refresh my memory when it comes to a road block...
There are studies on memory loos and Type 1 diabetes. Too many lows can affect the way our brains function. The accumulation of brain deprivation of sugar over many years can cause a sort of early alzheimers. I have been warned of this from my doctor and the fact that being too tight with your sugars can harm you as much as the highs.
This is interesting... It seems those of us that have been diagnosed recently, or are new to the disease seem to be the only ones with the memory problems. I wonder if it as said on the last post that those whom have many lows can have a type of alzheimer??
I dont keep my sugars on the low all the time, in fact I find it hard to compare what is considered often though.
I would think new diabetics would be more sensitive to deviations from normal bg, and this may be effecting memory until you get used to it. If it was a type of Alzheimer's, it would be weird that only new diabetics are getting it.
I am interested in what kind of memory problems you are having. Are you having trouble remembering information you have known for years? Remembering things from a few days ago? Trouble keeping multiple pieces of information in your head at the same time? Remembering words, events from your life, simple facts?
Just a thought, but do you think that it really isn't memory loss for recently diagnosed type 1 diabetics, but rather the distraction of dealing with the disease and issues related to it? I would think if I were recently diagnoses I'd be overwhelmed and distracted and therefore some memory lapses would be from lack of concentration?
I was diagnosed January 2008, and my memory is still very much in tact. (I've always had a pretty sharp one, where some things are concerned anyway, and it still seems as potent and - at times - unforgiving as ever.)
I will admit, however, making the lifestyle adjustment - as Dylan & Mad Evans suggested - has rearranged quite a few of my priorities in the last year. As a result, some things that otherwise would have been at the top of my list get moved to Slot #3 or #4. Now, if I happen to *forget* one of these things, I more readily attribute it to all the stress and crazy emotion that seem to accompany that overwhelming lifestyle change.
Hmmm, so i guess my CSR may just be simple misdirection.
I think that I can relate to much of what has been said so far. When I am not regulating myself well and am having highs/lows I tend to have problems remembering most. But at the same time, as someone said, I just am not sweatn the simple stuff anymore. I have other things to think about that are important to me. In some ways, we deserve to be a little selfish. I am not trying to forget but throughout the entire day I am calculating, and thinking about my D and where I am at. Its just the way it is.
I think that as soon as I can calm this concern down, maybe my memory will be back to normal.
i typically have really good memory, if im low i have a little bit of trouble remembering things.
Here’s one more reason on that very long list of reasons to keep blood glucose levels under control: memory function.
In a study done at Columbia University Medical Center, researchers found diminished memory function even with moderately elevated blood glucose levels. The researchers state that since glucose regulation gets worse as a person ages, this result may help explain age-related cognitive decline even among people without diabetes.
The results of the study were originally published in Annals of Neurology (December 2008 issue), but I read about it in the New York Times:
when i was having a low blood sugar, i was practicing my french speech i had to memorize, and i thought i was having a low blood sugar so i decided to practice it one more time. i said the first sentence then my mind went blank. i could not think. all i knew was i needed to go test my blood sugar then have juice. and it wasnt even that low, only 3.7mmol/l. i had gone at 1.6mmol/l and think clearly.
I've only had diabetes for 3 years, so if there is any long term effects on memory, I haven't experienced them yet. But like most other diabetics I've spoken to I tend to have trouble focussing and remembering things when my levels are out of wack. Generally high levels don't have a huge effect on me, unless I've been riding high for a day or so. It's those nasty little hypos that get me thinking like a potatoe.