#adhd memory issues

[fanaroff]

Fun fact about ADHD with this I found out due to an incident that landed me in the hospital: we are naturally very low on B12 vitamins and it can actually make our memories worse. It can also lead to neurological problems. We have a genetic lack of the stuff. I had a severe deficiency of it that left me loosing an entire 8 days. Started taking it and WOO BOY I can remember what I had for dinner yesterday. Had a conversation recently where I only forgot one word.

If you’re ADHD and craving chicken constantly and can’t handle other meats or feel sick after red meat/IBS symptoms: get B12. Chicken has it. You need it. Vegan alternatives are bananas, blueberries, oranges, some mushrooms, and beetroot. Several water flavorings you can find that have B12 on it and are usually organically sourced. The water is easier for me as I don’t have to remember to take a pill every morning. You need a lot of B12 on the daily so it’s hard to overdose on the vitamin.

B12 is important for breaking down proteins. If you don’t have it, those proteins bind to your nerves and can cause nerve damage and brain damage in later stages. I do not have constant access to a psychiatrist for my ADHD management so I did not find this out until it landed me in the hospital. I lost 8 days total of memory (of which ADHD drink hoard in my bed turned out to save my life as I couldn’t move. All I know is that I was found and we have no idea what happened during those 8 days outside of me not being able to move much for a while and that I kept myself barely hydrated enough not to die from dehydration) and developed numbness in one foot. All because I lacked B12. (I’m better now dw, but recovering from it has been far longer than it took for it to ravage my brain once I hit the point of no return. Recovery process for any vitamin deficiency that causes injury and illness averages at 6 months.)

B12 deficiency has also been linked to worsening mental states and can actually cause neurotypical people to act like Karens and develop narcissistic tendencies. Especially if it’s sudden and out of nowhere.

Short version to say: keep yourself safe and healthy. Figure out if your memory issues are from a vitamin deficiency that affects neurodivergents the most or if it’s from your own brand of brain spiciness. B12 isn’t the only vitamin that can do all this. I’m just stating from my own personal experience and being told B12 is most likely for neurodivergents.

I’ll add links and resources a little later in the replies/edit/reblog this when it’s not 2am in the morning. I am not a doctor just spreading my knowledge due to what happened to me and stating what to keep an eye out for as it appeared in me.

There are four stages. I made it to Stage 3. It can take years or months to reach this point.

Symptoms can include:

-Memory loss

-Brain fog/ forgetfulness

-Confusion

-New audio processing issues (like being able to hear something fine but you can’t understand what is being said. A friend described it as “dyslexia but for hearing” and I feel it fits.)

-Inability to continue thought or topic

-IBS-like symptoms when eating protein rich foods

-Migraines and headaches (mine were behind my eyes)

-Trouble walking (chronic clumsiness)

-Nausea

-Increased heart rate

-Depression

-Sudden change in mental state

-Mental impairment

-Permanent neurological damage

-Nerve damage

-Fibromyalgia-like symptoms (especially if your doc says “it’s like fibromyalgia but you’re not testing positive for it.” This was a direct quote for me.)

-Numbness in toes and fingers

-Tinnitus

-Joint pain

-Insomnia

-“Visible” heartbeat between your thumb and forefinger, may move your thumb in time to your heartbeat (left hand)

-Hypo/hyperthyroid-like symptoms (especially if you have the symptoms but do not test positive for it.)

-Overheat easily (mine included little to no sweat but no blocked pores or dehydration)

-Worsening vision

-AFAB: Ovarian cysts/worsening cramps/new fainting spells/loss of libido

-AFAB: Endometriosis is not confirmed to be linked officially but I’m mentioning here because it developed for me during the stages I had

-AMAB: Loss of libido/erectyle dysfunction/testicular discomfort/one doc mentioned taint cramps when they were discussing how B12 can affect people with me and I want to let you know that one sent me for a loop

This isn’t all of them, and you may not have all of them, but they’re major tells for it /more can develop over time and ones that are common for neurodivergent people. Especially if they’re in tandem with each other. The noticeable symptoms started out as the similarities to hypothyroidism for me then went into fibromyalgia-like. I thought the memory loss stuff was normal for ADHD but not the level it actually was. Hope this helps!

the curse of adhd:

i will remember with absolute clarity, when the thought strikes me that i have a text to send someone, that this is the fourth time in three days i've attempted to send this specific text

i will forget, in the time it takes me to pick up my phone, that i picked it up intending to send a text

[dikdikpronouncedxylophone]

The most terrifying part of having memory issues is when you can feel something from 5 seconds ago be thrown out the window and there's an empty hole where it once was. You remember that you forgot something.

[madpunks]

we are so ableist about memory. people with good memory take for granted the fact that they can recall as much as they can, and use that to taunt, guilt and threaten people with memory issues. many neurotypes and mental illnesses cause memory lapses. traumatic brain injuries can cause memory lapses. brain cancer can cause memory lapses.

even if your memory is good, it's not right to guilt someone because they can't remember something. trust me, people with memory problems are desperately trying to remember: it's just that we literally can't. it is a very literal "i can't remember".

[solidwater05]

Apparently this needs to be said so

Forgetting things is morally neutral! Memory issues are morally neutral!

You're not a bad person if you...

forget things quickly

forget people

can't remember entire stages of your life

can't remember important things

can remember some things very well and forget other things all the time

can't remember things (or anything!) about your interests

forget to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, etc

forget to reply to texts

remember things and immediately forget them again

can't remember birthdays, events, etc

frequently answer 'I forgot' to questions

can't retain new information

forget things you used to know

only remember things when it's too late

have vague, distorted and/or unreliable memories

depend on others to know how an event you were in played out

have other symptoms that are worsened by memory issues and vice versa

... and anything else I might have missed!

[chroniccoolness]

this post is for the people with memory issues

people who's memories are getting worse every day, who's memories are stable but poor, people who can't remember what they did today or yesterday or this week, people who's childhoods are a faded blur. people who have slow greying-out amnesia that seems to just fade in and out of existence, and people who have complete blackouts, and people who have both. people who mourn the happy memories they know they've lost, who fear the bad memories they've lost that still affect them.

people who have "emotional amnesia" that makes it feel like none of their memories are their own, because there's few or no feelings attached. people who can ONLY remember the feelings from certain or even most memories, not actual events. people who's memory issues scare them or make them angry or make them miserable. people who's memory issues get them called childish or difficult or rude. who can't remember the names or faces of those they love. who are constantly forgetting the things that "you'd remember if you really cared". who misplace everything. who remember so little of their lives that they barely know who they are. people who's memory issues come from trauma/dissociation, ADHD, traumatic brain injury, brain fog/chronic fatigue, drug use, alcoholism. people who have no idea what causes their memory issues. people who's memory issues come from something else entirely.

i love you, you're strong, and you deserve support and care for what you're going through. memory issues can be frustrating and upsetting and disabling, and your suffering deserves to be recognized. whether you're soaring through recovery or are only ever going to get worse, you deserve good things in life and to live the fullest you can, regardless of how much you remember.

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[ariiiiilynn]

[dailymanners]

Be respectful of other people's time. If you make plans with someone else, avoid being late (at least beyond fashionably late) or flaking on them last minute, and especially avoid being a no-show. This is especially applicable for time sensitive things, such as going out to a movie or live performance.

This also applies to appointments with professionals, such as hair appointments, nail appointments, ect. Because the person you've made an appointment with is likely a working class person just trying to earn a living and make it through the day, but when their clients are late this can affect their ability to keep their work schedule and keep all their clients happy, as well as keep them at work late and affect their personal life (such as being late to pick up their child from day care because they had multiple clients who were late to their appointments that day)

Flaking last minute on appointments also affects their livelihood, as it can be hard to fill an appointment time slot last minute so this can affect their earnings for the day. Respect working professionals by respecting the appointment times you've made with them to the best of your ability.

Of course, life happens. We all forgot things, and we all have unforeseen circumstances pop up which force us to be late or cancel plans. But it is important to at least make an effort to be on time, and to honor the plans you've made, so as to be respectful of other people's time and energy.

If you must, set phone alarms and/or leave notes for yourself.

Part of this is being honest with your friends about making plans you don't actually want to do. It's better to be honest with your friend that you don't want to see that movie with them on that night, rather than lying and faking interest only to flake last minute. With the former they could have planned more accordingly and found someone else to go with or even been prepared to go alone if they wished, with the latter you are wasting their time and energy.

Again, life happens, sometimes the bus or train is late, sometimes the traffic is worse than we anticipated, sometimes health problems crop up. But at least make an effort to be on time and honor the plans you've made, as this is more respectful to other people's time and energy. When we make no effort to be on time or honor the plans we've made this can come across as disrespectful to other people's time and energy. Your time and energy is not the only time and energy that matters.

[primrosebitch]

It really is shitty that getting a chronic illness makes your mental shit worse as well, like not only do I have so deal with all my physical symptoms now but it's also made my adhd so much worse, especially the memory issues and executive dysfunction, sometimes my executive function is so bad that i can't even get myself to speak, which is honestly such bullshit, and my memory has always been bad but after becoming chronically ill it's gotten exponentially worse, like forgetting shit immediately after being told and misplacing stuff way more and just like every memory issue i've had but 10x more frequent

[chaos-in-one]

"It's important you remember -thing-!"

Girl I barely remember today.

[rawrsatthetree]

Do you play the dark urge because you like the extra lore or do you play the dark urge because you’re greatest fantasy is your loved ones seeing the absolute ugliest side of you and deciding to treat you with love and patience anyways.

[nobodysdaydreams]

ADHD is a fun time. Sometimes I see a mutual reblog something, and I like it, so I go to reblog it myself, only to realize I’m the very person they reblogged it from and I completely forgot I reblogged the original post in the first place. What can I say, I know me so well.

[pseudophan]

gonna be so sad when tonight is the first preshow space with good audio and i'm asleep because i have a psych appointment tomorrow

[liminalspacewizard]

[pageofheartdj]

Everyone talks about ADHD memory problems with missplacing things, or entering rooms and forgetting why.

No one talks about ADHD memory problems with struggling to learn new skills.

You research and practice. And forget.

Sure something sticks.

But it's frustrating that you need double the time to learn the thing, because your stupid brain can't just grab the information from the first(several) time, like others do.

[thescholarlystrumpet]

That endless neurodivergent game of ✨Hide & Seek✨I get to play every time I put down the Thing I Was Just Holding…. 🙂🙃🙂🙃🙂