Chemotherapy, memory loss, total confusion.

LunaJ62

In 2005 I was diagnosed with stage 4 NHL and was told I only had 3 to 9 months to live, I shocked my Oncologist by beating the cancer with my comrade in arms, Jesus Christ. In 2014 my NHL cancer came out of remission to destroy me again, but again God intervened and put it back into remission. The one thing that's winning the battle is total confusion, helplessness, fear of cancer coming out for revenge. I constantly visualize myself on my death bed wasting away. If I do sleep for more than 45 minutes, I wake up looking like I haven't slept in over three months. I haven't had a good night's sleep since 2013, before this horrific nightmare began. It seems like my mind is erasing itself from all of my memories. Who can forget his only one baby sister's name, for almost 5 minutes, I remember one day thinking to myself, I have a birthday coming up, and I couldn't remember my own age, or the yr I was born for at least 6 minutes. If I'm getting dressed to leave the house, I'll forget to put on my other shoe. I've been bodybuilding for more than 40 years, recently I decided to get back into it, and when I started, I couldn't remember the exercise routines I've been doing for more than 40 years. I don't leave the house anymore because I it's becoming difficult to have a simple conversation with other people, is this dementia or Alzheimer's disease?

DebAL

Luna, I'm so sorry you are feeling like this. Before you go down the Alzheimer's/dementia road please talk to your Dr about getting something to help you sleep. You need to sleep more than 45 minutes at a time. You may notice some improvement if you can get a few hours of straight sleep. Sleep deprivation may be contributing to some of what you are describing. Please make an appt. Hugs to you

ElaineTherese

I'm with DebAL. Address the sleep problems first and see if your cognitive functioning improves. You could try Melatonin or other non-prescription approaches first or talk to a doctor about meds that can help you develop a consistent pattern of sleeping. I took Ambien for a few months until I found non-prescription ways to sleep 6-8 hours a night.

Once you've re-established regular sleep, if your cognitive deficits continue, you can be screen for dementia. But, don't go there first!

WC3

Next time you see birds flying away, those are thoughts leaving my mind.

In my case, it might be chemo brain or from the menopause chemotherapy threw me in to.

But in your case, poor sleep might be the culprit. You should really talk to your doctor about this, and try to get your sleeping back on track. Sleep is not only important for your memory, but for your immune system.

Carlelzey

Trust me, you will be absolutely fine, and stop thinking about the death bed and all. You should not stop the treatment, and consult the doctor who also looks after the dementia patients. This is very natural as per the age, you will start loosing your memory. I hope you are having your kids near to you, and you must be worried about what will happen after your death, who will take care for your kids after you pass away. Here, you can call and take some help from the elder care lawyers, who will not only handle your mental stress, but also help you in making the legal estate related decisions.