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Okay I finished my carbo/taxol and avastin 10 months ago and I keep thinking my memory and problems concentrating will get better and it has only gotten worse. I had carbo/taxol 7 years prior and the memory thing only lasted a few months. I have done some crazy things, carried conversations I can't remember the next day, throwing things away I don't remember etc.
Has anyone had these side effects and how long does it last? Will it get better.
I also have poor memory and concentration. Mostly
the memory is bad and my thoughts get disorganized.
I know it is chemo brain from too much chemo.
My dr says there is no treatment for it. So I write
everything down. That helps alot. I use a journal
which is a small notebook and post its. I have
post its everywhere. I am told it is normal and
will go away but you for example still have it.
This scares me. Hang in there. Take care and
God Bless you. Nancy
do you have any lightheadedness or dizziness with the forgetfulness?
dollycat6
I'm in my sixties so memory may go with the territory. I finished chemo in July 2009. My memory seems to be okay...sometimes sharp...sometimes I have to have my memory jogged and then it works. Like when I don't remember some event, but once DH mentions it, then I remember. I'm not really concerned about the memory. But I do believe that my verbal acuity is down. My thinking seems to be "flat". Like I'm here and my mind is somewhere else. LOL. I blog and when I go back and read what I wrote a year ago, it's a lot sharper, more insightful, funnier than what I write today. Sigh!
I also have issues with concentration and memory. Sometimes the silliest thing I can't remember. Dishbrush?? I KNEW that.. why couldn't I remember it? Dictionary.com is my new favorite site. How in the world to you spell stregnth? Strength? hmm...
I also lost a love, due to concentration issues, for the things I enjoyed doing. Crocheting, drawing, embroidery work and so on. I lost the joy of music too. I play almost every wind instrument there is. I used to spend hours at the organ playing, creating now that joy is gone. No desire to play at all. I'm sure it's do to lack of concentration.
I always thought it would be my kids that would make me lose my mind! LOL NOT chemo! :)
I've heard that chemo brain can take over a year to resolve. One thing that helped me tremendously is an over the counter product called "Focus Factor" sold in health food stores. Also, brain exercises help, such as crossword puzzles, sudoku, watching Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy.
I am nearly 2 years post-treatment (diagnosed in 9/07 and ended treatment in 12/07) and unfortunately, I still experience Chemo-Brain. I have mentioned this to my Onc multiple times and he said it was the course of treatment that I did -- I had 18 sessions of three chemo drugs in a 3 mos period.
I guess the best way to describe it is "foggy" -- I just can't seem to concentrate or remember things -- which has been kind of hard to take because I was always very on top of things. I keep waiting for it to get better and it has not.
I find that I have to write everything down...everything or I just forget and it doesn't get done. Kibbitzqueen's comment about spelling was kind of refreshing to me...I can't spell anything anymore and once was a spelling champ.
I will try the "Focus Factor" mentioned above!
We had a support group meeting on chemo brain and they had to move to a different room because so many people showed up. Basically, the helpful hints were already mentioned. Crosswords are better than Sudoku because they language skills lights up more areas of the brain than working with numbers. They gave us list of things to buy in the grocery store and then gave us different ways of remembering them. A half hour later she asked what was on the list. Make your brain work everyday. Make lists! And most of all hang in there!
Yes, I have these side effects. I'm off chemo ten months and I see no differenceimprovements with concentration or memory. This is so frustrating.
It's been 2 years since I completed my first round of chemo and I haven't seen any improvement in memory, concentration, or comprehension.
I have difficulty pulling words up to try to explain something. I have no concept of the day of the week or date unless I look at a calendar and then I often have to ask someone what day it is after I have looked at the calendar earlier in the day.
My doctor said that it takes a year to recover from the effects of chemotherapy and I told him that it had been 2 years since I completed my chemo. He then said that he guessed that this is the way it will remain.
He is my family doctor, not my oncologist, but I trust him to know what he is talking about.
It's frustrating for me to haveto ask my Mom to be with me when important subjects are discussed. If I don't have her help me, I just don't understand a lot of things.
I call myself the Queen of sticky notes and often tell people that my mind is on paper. If I don't takes notes,
I often forget what it is that I should remember to do.
I just have to remember where I put those darn notes.
I also keep a calendar in my purse and write down every appointment on this calendar so I know where I have to be each day and what time I am to be there.
I guess we just have to learn coping techniques to get along.
I think my brain started little vacations after menopause. Chemo has certainly not helped. My spelling is still good, but my recall is poor. I used to remember names well, but am not so great at that, either. I have to make real conscious efforts now to remember things. Even then, it is a rare week that I am not searching for my keys, my glasses, or my cellphone. I am still missing my main car keys.
Still....If the chemo will just do its job, I will find a way to be a cancer free space case.
The one thing that I forgot to mention is that I have no concept of locations -- meaning that I cannot "assume" that just because I have been someplace before that I will remember how to get there again.
Case in point...last XMAS I was delivering presents to some family friends -- I have known them for 17+ years, they have lived in the same house the entire time and I have been there more times than I could remember. Well...I got lost in their neighborhood...completely and utterly lost -- nothing looked familar and I had no idea how to get to their house. I called them and had to ask directions and they were dumbfounded that I could not remember how to get there. It was horrible!
I am still like that...I have to have door to door directions or I get completely lost -- I was not like this before.
Dear CJ,
Your email was a real eye opener. When I read Kibbitzqueen's rsponse I cried. I have been having some real issues with my ability to concentrate and focus on projects. I have been trying to redo the family photo album. I always end up putting all the photos back in the box because I get so overwhelmed. I never realized that that chemo was the culprit and not me. I just finished 9 treatments of taxol/carbo. Last year (while in remission) I made a teal quilt to raffle as a fund raiser for Ovarian Cancer.......this year while I have started one I can't muster the ambition, desire, or the power of concentration to finish it. I just blamed myself.....not realizing it was the chemo. I knew about chemo brain but never attributed it to all the issues I have been having lately. Thank you for sharing and God Bless
Pinky AKA Suzanne
I want to thank each one of you for your responses. I really thought I was going crazy, I have seen a nurologist and he is doing some testing because it just isn't getting any better. Its really hard because my baby girl turned 21 today and I have a 2 year old and I need to be able to remember things. I will just keep praying and living one day at a time. Thanks again and God Bless,
Am so glad to see this discussion. I didn't connect all the things mentioned with chemo. I am sure some of the memory problems are also related to anesthesia, August 08, June 09, and September 17th. But about 3 weeks ago I has driving to an appointment, a place I've been to for 7 years and all of sudden I couldn't remember which freeway to take! Fortunately I remembered just before I had to make the decision. But it gave me a scare. The other things mentioned by a couple of you is the lack of ambition to do things I've always enjoyed. But it must be something I feel interiorly, because persons around me always marvel at all the energy I have! I know I do push myself and it seems like once I start something, then I have the energy to continue. And sometimes just have a good cry like I am now, releases or cleanses the inside and then I feel better. So thank you! I think it was time for a good cry again! Onward and upward once again. Love you all and you are all in my prayer daily.
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