Brain Fog — what was I saying?

This morning I got up bright and early, dressed, was out the door, in my car, raised the garage – and forgot where I was going. Only for a few seconds, but still, I forgot what I had gotten myself up so early for. In that second or two I forgot, I assumed it must have been important to get me up so early, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what the heck it was. (I was meeting a friend for coffee, so I’ll blame lack of caffeine).

These moments of absentmindedness are happening much more often lately. I’ve begun to misplace things, only to find them later in the oddest places. Most recently, l’ve lost a fresh lemon that turned up in the freezer, a bottle of vitamins that I found in my t-shirt drawer, and a phone that I finally discovered with my bathroom toiletries. The worst was when I lost a pair of scissors as I was wrapping a gift. I tore the room apart trying to find that pair of scissors – only to realize they were in my left hand the whole time. I looked around to make sure there were no witnesses to that brain fart moment. I even scared myself a little.

Research does show that once a woman reaches her forties, it’s not unusual to experience bouts of forgetfulness and poor memory. . .

Sorry – I forgot what I was thinking.

As I was saying, research shows that brains in over-forty women begin to experience what is called “cell death,” as tiny neurotransmitters in our brain begin to die off. Some researchers blame lack of estrogen, while others blame poor diet and lack of vital nutrients during peri-menopause. Still others believe the brain is like a muscle and if you continue to exercise it regularly, you shouldn’t lose any function. But that’s what they said about our abs.

I have also noticed that as I’ve grown older, I don’t have the attention span I used to. It’s like I have adult-onset ADD. I’ll start to watch a TV show, then leave to boil eggs, then decide the bed sheets need changing. I have learned after forgetting too many things on the stove recently to set a timer, though when it rings I can’t remember why I set it in the first place.

My husband also says I repeat myself lately, so now I begin our conversations with, “Did I already tell you that…?” Many times, he looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind (which I haven’t yet told him I have) and says, concerned, “You just told me five minutes ago.” He keeps his eyes on me for a few minutes as I roam aimlessly from room to room, possibly to make sure I’m not having a stroke or snorting coke.

My husband says I repeat myself lately – oops. Never mind.

When I did some research on how to improve my memory and brain function, I found that the most widely suggested option is to avoid alcohol. To review: I’m losing my memory and have adult-onset ADD, not to mention I can’t sleep, my hair is falling out, my bladder is weak, my abs have disappeared AND my metabolism is so slow I can eat a cracker and gain five pounds.

Take my glass of wine away and someone’s going to get hurt.