Expert: Michalene Peticca - 10/6/2006

Question
Dear,
I started to suffer bad memory few years ago. I am only 30 years old. thought It was due to my psychological condition that time and living away from my wife and kids but this memory weakness continued even after family reunion. My long term memory Is still functioning with some gaps. Now I mix in the names of my kids, I make a U-turn and forget why?, I go to grocery then suddenly realize that I lost the list in my mind even if it is one single item.

I tried to help myself pretending everything is ok and it is just one of those periods in life where you get frustrated. It worked for few weeks. Then feeling of an empty skull came back.

I love reading books and news papers and writing articles. Could this be a side effect of brain overuse? Or is it possible that I am developing Alzheimer's in such young age?

Thank you a lot,  

Answer
Hello,
Thank you for writing.  It sounds like you have a challenging, complex situation and i hope i can help guide you in the right direction.

If you have Alzheimer's disease, it would be very rare at 30 years old, but not unprobable, so let us look at some pieces of your letter to me.

First, you mention that your memory losses began around the time you had a big change in your life....that would be seperation from your family?  But, it sounds like you reconciled and still the memory loss continues?

OK....here is where we need to start:   have you ever been checked for the following?   Depression or a Physical problem?  (Brain tumor, Stroke, Heart disease, High cholestoral, etc.)

Depression may cause memory loss because it is a physical, chemical change in the brain.  Even when good things are happening in your life, if the brain chemicals are imbalanced, your going to suffer some of the symptoms related to depression. (memory loss being one of those)

Physical problems:  Many medical conditions can cause DELIRIUM which mimmicks Alzheimer's by giving us that "foggy" sense of being.   We just don't feel "sharp" in our day to day activities.   Think what you felt like if you had the flu or really bad cold.  That was delirium.  This is very fixable by diet change, drinking more water, vitamins, etc.   

Of course, the most severe situations would be a brain tumor, stroke or truly Alzheimer's disease.  But, i would tend to go seek advice from your family physican about the first two situations and see if they can do a complete PHYSICAL work up on you (including BLOOD work) and go from there.

Feel free to keep me posted, i'll be hoping it is just a minor "glitch" that modern medicine or diet can change!!

Best Regards,
Michalene Peticca, MA