Losing things

[BigNick]

Are you on Stains?

What are Stains?

 

[kgtest]

I couldn’t find my phone, so I went to my iPad to use the find phone app that makes your phone start dinging. Couldn’t find the iPad. Normal day for me.

Lol. +1, I use that find my phone app on a regular basis. Even had DW iphone flung off the bumper of my truck 4 blocks away, run over and smashed...but we found the iPhone

 

[Bir48die]

I'm ADD. I've lost lots of things. I have misplaced a zillion things. I forget one out of every three things I'm supposed to get at the store.

Years ago my stepdaughter bought an outdoor rug for me. I was to turn it to face me as I stepped out the front door. Written on the rug were:

Meds
Cellphone
Keys

 

[target2019]

I had a really good tale to tell. Read a few more posts and forgot...
Oh yeah, I find myself putting cup with cold coffee in cabinet next to microwave. When I see all the empty mugs in there, I feel very down, and want to cry.

 

[Aerides]

I think everyone has a different Normal. So, if someone rarely misplaces anything, and now, later in life, that starts - then perhaps there is an issue. But if they've always done so and there's no real uptick...less so.

The caution is those of us in the latter group will say stuff like "eh, that's nothing I lose stuff all the time" leading those in the former group to mistakenly think everything is fine. Which of course is what everyone wants to think - so it becomes confirmation bias. A visit to the doc might be in order if you are experiencing enough of an uptick to be concerned.

Now.. me? Before the days of taking a photo of your parking space, I've wandered around airport lots for way longer than I care to share looking for my car after coming back from a trip. Even had friends drive me around a work multi-story at the end of a long day when I can't remember from 8 hours early. I've imagined calling the cops thinking it's stolen and them saying "ma'am, are you SURE this is where you parked?" And I'd have to confess, nope, not even a bit now.

I have lost keys for weeks or months on end. I'm always finding stuff in pockets or purses that I completely forgot about (kinda nice sometimes!).

If I ever get a real memory issue, unfortunately, that means I won't be able to self-diagnose early, because I have always dealt with this, it will not be new.

 

[Nick12]

Being retired at times I lose track of what day or what time it is. But no complaints.

 

[I was misinformed]

So far, in nearly 7 years of ER starting at age 51, I haven't actually permanently lost anything. But I've misplaced things so many times. Is this early-onset dementia or just a series of CRAFT (Can't Remember A Thing) moments?

Yesterday I couldn't find my house keys. No biggie, as I have lots of copies and I only need the one key, but there were a couple of loyalty card fobs and an occasionally-useful USB stick on there. Searched everywhere.....

I heard an expert on the radio once who explained that if you can't find your keys, that is likely just normal aging. However, if you can't remember what keys are used for, that's dementia.

 

[braumeister]

I like this description:

	Age-related change	Possible issue
Memory loss that disrupts daily life	Forgetting the occasional name	Forgetting important dates and events
Challenges in planning and problem-solving	Trouble occasionally balancing a checkbook	Trouble keeping track of monthly bills
Difficulty completing familiar tasks	Difficulty recording a TV show	Difficulty driving to a familiar place
Confusion with time or place	Getting confused about the day of the week, then remembering later	Getting confused about where you are and how you got there
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships	Difficulty seeing due to cataracts	Difficulty recognizing your own reflection in a mirror
New problems with words in speaking or in writing	Having a “tip of the tongue” moment	Having trouble joining or following a conversation
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps	Losing track of your glasses	Losing the ability to retrace your steps to find your glasses
Decreased or poor judgment	Making the occasional bad choice	Making large telemarketing buys
Withdrawal from work or social activities	Needing a periodic break from family and social obligations	Dropping completely out of social groups; giving up hobbies
Changes in mood or personality	Experiencing irritability when a routine is disrupted	Becoming easily upset, increasingly confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful, or anxious

 

[imoldernu]

For those who may be interested, a clear explanation of the 7 stages of Alzheimer's.

My own situation is stage four.

https://www.alzheimers.net/stages-of-alzheimers-disease/

 

[tmm99]

You're not alone, these tracking devices like 'Tile' seem to be popular and big sellers.

I have something similar attached to my key chain. I was losing my keys all the time and that's why I decided to buy it, but as soon as I put the thingie on, I no longer lose my keys for some reason. Some kind of magic.

 

[redduck]

From braumeister's post #33

below were listed in the possible issues column:

Getting confused about where you are and how you got there

I would think if a person took the time to reflect about himself, wondering where one is and how one got there would be not necessarily be a possible issue kind of confusion.


Difficulty recognizing your own reflection in a mirror

This has happened to me as I have gown older. It occurs when I catch a side-ways glimpse of myself in a mirror but more often catching that sort of glimpse in a window while walking down (or up) a street. For the briefest of seconds, I wonder who that old guy is.

I also wonder if have ever used the word "glimpse" twice in the same paragraph.

 

[Octogirl]

Memory gaps are common with age, but glad you had the evaluation done.

I was experiencing memory gaps about 2 years ago that I was afraid would force me to retire sooner than I planned. Evaluation was negative so we looked at meds and life style.

I stopped statins (women have more memory gaps on statins then men) , had a sleep eval to be sure I was getting quality sleep, exercise on stationary bike to 80% of resting heart rate for 30 minutes 4-5x/week, rarely drink alcohol now. Eat more fish.


I still have days when I am not as sharp as I would like - but the above lifestyle changes have helped.

 

[Scratchy]

So far, in nearly 7 years of ER starting at age 51, I haven't actually permanently lost anything. But I've misplaced things so many times. Is this early-onset dementia or just a series of CRAFT (Can't Remember A Thing) moments?

Yesterday I couldn't find my house keys. No biggie, as I have lots of copies and I only need the one key, but there were a couple of loyalty card fobs and an occasionally-useful USB stick on there. Searched everywhere. Tried to remember when I last had them and worked out that I used them to enter the house on Monday evening, so they "must be here". Emptied the trash because on a previous occasion I dropped the mailbox key in there absent-mindedly, but no dice.

Felt way more down about this than I needed to, as I had had a small neurological incident a couple of days prior and been to the ER as a precaution. (Double-checked that I didn't lose the keys there, as they put me on a gurney and my effects went into a bag, but if I had lost them there, I wouldn't have got back home afterwards.)

Went to bed and as I was undressing, found that for some reason I had put my keys in the left butt pocket of my jeans, where I never, ever put anything...

Still, perhaps not as bad as a friend who lost his credit card. He called the bank and cancelled the card, and spent the rest of the day trying to work out how he could have lost it. When he went to bed, he found that he had stuffed the card into his sock.

I lost my keys a few months ago and turned the house upside down, finally found them in the garbage can. Have had a bunch of similar mishaps over the last at least 5 years but they occur randomly and have not gotten worse, so I'm calling it normal (I'm 53). Since what you're describing is no worse, I think and hope it's nothing as well!

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

I lost my keys a few months ago and turned the house upside down, finally found them in the garbage can. Have had a bunch of similar mishaps over the last at least 5 years but they occur randomly and have not gotten worse, so I'm calling it normal (I'm 53). Since what you're describing is no worse, I think and hope it's nothing as well!

LOL. My wife lost her car key a couple of years ago during the Christmas season, after coming back from the grocery store. I was upset since modern car keys are expensive to replace, with the remote and the security chip. We also turned the house upside down and looked in all the garbage cans (at least twice).

After a week, they showed up in a bag of grapes in the fridge.

I love my wife, but when she comes back from driving, the keys might be deposited on any horizontal surface in any room.

My solution was to put up a key rack in the front room, and made my wife agree that the first order of business when coming home is to hang the keys up (both house and car). She's got positions 1 and 2 on the key rack. We have 5 cars, so we have lots of keys to keep track of. The spares go there too. All the keys have the own positions, so I can tell at a glance if any are AWOL.

This system has worked well. I was surprised our 2 sons also embraced this without any nagging.

 

[Retiired]

What are Stains?

I am going to guess "statins" - cholesterol lowering drugs?

 

[Dreamer]

I was getting ready to drive my DH to the hospital for his colonoscopy this morning and could not find my purse. I spent about 10 minutes looking for it and then we had to go. I never drive without my license, but did so today. I came home and looked everywhere and could not find it. I mentally retraced my steps trying to remember when I last had it. The key fob for my car is in my purse, so I knew that I drove my car on Monday. I have the checkbook in my purse, so I checked our bank balance online to see if any checks had been written. I got my DH's credit card and checked to see if any unusual activity was on the card. My DH found my purse late afternoon in my closet. I have never put my purse in my clothes closet and can't visualize myself doing it. I don't have a clue why I put it there. I found that to be a little scary.

 

[Montecfo]

The key and phone thing was an easy fix in our house.. Entryway.. very small attractive oak shelf mounted by an outlet at EYEBALL height. Come in place keys and DH's phone on shelf (it's a flip phone) plug phone into charger. Just do it, on the rare time the key isn't there it's in his pants pocket. If the key comes out of the pocket it goes on the shelf.

This is my approach to keys and wallet. They are never lost.

Glasses, which I seldom need, could be several places however.

 

[Montecfo]

Oh, yeah. Kelly's brain can actually get full with information. And then you got to be really careful. Because each new thought after that will totally replace an old one. That's why Kelly forgot to wear a blouse on the day she went to take her drivers ed exam."

This was the Sherlock Holmes theory of finite memory, was it not? He preferred not to learn trivial facts lest something unimportant "displace" a bit of knowledge needed to solve a case.

 

[ivinsfan]

Now with the newer electronic fob the keys never need to leave your pocket or your purse. It should considerably cut down on the missing key problem. Our car is 7 years old and has the fob. We got two sets and one set always stays in a secure places in our house.
That way we know where both sets are at all times.

When we do our annual snowbird drive I take the second set and put them on a hook strap inside my purse.

 

[Midpack]

I read most of that is normal unless you are doing some bizarre like putting your keys in the freezer.

I think it's usually normal with age too.

We actively combat losing things by keeping 'everything in it's place' even if it means extra steps to put an item back where it belongs. To me everything in it's place is crucial for couples (like us), otherwise we'd be guessing where the other puts things. Neither of us reorganizes common stuff without talking it over. If we didn't have established places for everything, we'd be "losing" stuff constantly. YMMV

 

[f35phixer]

I am going to guess "statins" - cholesterol lowering drugs?

Retired got it.... and if you didn't know what they were, you're not on them ;-)


https://www.healthline.com/health/high-cholesterol/link-between-statins-and-memory-loss#statin-risks

 

[mountainsoft]

I am obsessive about routine and organization. Everything has a place and I always put things back where they came from when I am done using them. As such I almost never "lose" anything, because it's always in the spot I designate for that item. I could sit here and tell you where every item I own is located, and probably be 98% accurate.

My wife, on the other hand, loses stuff all the time. She'll pick something up and set it down wherever she was last. Her phone could be on the dining table, next to the couch, in the office, or on the charger in our bedroom. She wastes a lot of time looking for things she could have found easily if she always put them back in their designated place.

About the only time I lose something is when my wife takes something of mine and leaves it somewhere in the house. For example, she'll come into the office and grab my ink pen to write something down. Then she'll take the pen and tablet somewhere else. I reach for the pen that is always on the tablet next to my computer, and discover it's gone. Then "I" have to go searching the house to figure out where she left it. And yes, we have other pens around the house.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I keep a small table by the front door for keys to go when we come home. I always use it but DH something doesn’t. He has been losing things for 22 years. Our car keys don’t have a fob. One doesn’t even have a remote. If you look up what’s normal for forgetting things and what’s not putting your keys in the freezer is not normal and is considered a warning sign.

 

[6miths]

Great stories. The benefit of having four children is that one is constantly reminded that this is most frequently not an age thing.

 

[tmm99]

I was getting ready to drive my DH to the hospital for his colonoscopy this morning and could not find my purse. I spent about 10 minutes looking for it and then we had to go. I never drive without my license, but did so today. I came home and looked everywhere and could not find it. I mentally retraced my steps trying to remember when I last had it. The key fob for my car is in my purse, so I knew that I drove my car on Monday. I have the checkbook in my purse, so I checked our bank balance online to see if any checks had been written. I got my DH's credit card and checked to see if any unusual activity was on the card. My DH found my purse late afternoon in my closet. I have never put my purse in my clothes closet and can't visualize myself doing it. I don't have a clue why I put it there. I found that to be a little scary.

At least your purse wasn’t in your freezer. I have more and more moments in which I can’t remember where I placed things like my glasses or my phone. I cannot seem to multi task anymore so if I’m walking with my glasses in my hand thinking about something, I don’t remember where I might have placed my glasses. I sometimes find them on top of my dresser, top of my bed, on the bathroom vanity top, or buried in a blanket on the couch. I would worry if I found them in my freezer or somewhere totally weird. I wonder if stuff like this happens to someone who is fastidious and who is always tidying things up. I’m a semi-slob (not dirty but cluttered) leaving things everywhere.