Question
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 3years ago and have alot of neck pain and headaches also im peri menopause at 51 and the 2 things that are terrifying me is the brain for from both im so forgetful some times my husband will ask me to do something when leaving for work 2 minets later I forget.I am a cna/gna not working as of lately just moved to new state and looking,but the forgetfulness is realy scaring me sometimes ill be talking to someone and loose my train of thought and its embarasing ,poeple must think im on drugs or something.sometimes my husband looks at me with a tilted head says babe youve been nipping on the bottle and laughs he knows I dont drink.Im affraid im getting alzhiemers .whats going on do you have any Ideas.  please help!! ASAP!!!!!   Linda

Answer
The type of memory loss you get with brain fog and aging is different from Alzheimer's. This is a good explanation: http://tinyurl.com/26bw3p

An example of my own was driving home thinking about one address I wanted to look at along the way and forgetting my own address.  I didn't get lost or forget how to drive - just couldn't retrieve those numbers from my brain files!

I do know you "lose" words with aging.  My friends and I all talk around a word but can't think of it.  I think this is heightened by fibromyalgia or other rheumatic diseases, whether it's the added fatigue and pain or something else.

The best helpers I've found are phones with alarms and lists.  A plain notebook may be less distracting than a a complicated organizer but whatever works for you.