Memory problems

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

This issue comes up regularly and it's obvious that many of us suffer

some sort of cognitive impairment.

For me, I used to think that it was my memory that was impaired but

then after thinking about it more, I realized that it's not so much

my 'memory' but my ability to concentrate that is impaired.

For example, if I'm watching tv and someone talks to me, I know I

won't remember much of what they said later because I can only do one

thing at a time. So it's not that I 'forgot' what the person said,

but rather that I wasn't able to concentrate on it long enough to

commit it to my memory because I was distracted by the tv.

Some times I can be driving somewhere and suddenly I won't remember

where the heck I'm going. After careful thought, I do remember and

then continue to drive to wherever that is. So you see, it isn't

my 'memory' that is impaired because I am able to remember it

eventually, but my ability to concentrate on the task I'm doing

requires all of my attention. Apparently I can't drive and think

about where I'm going at the same time

I suspect that this is the same thing that is happening to you

because after your husband pointed out that you had left the

oven on, you did 'remember' that you had also been using the two

front burners so it wasn't your 'memory' that was absent since you

did eventually remember it. I suspect that after supper you got

distracted with something which took your attention off the stove.

As pointed out, Gleevec doesn't pass the blood brain barrier

so there's no direct link between the drug and our cognitive function

however, Gleevec does cause some imbalances with our electrolytes,

specifically magnesium. Magnesium is known to be important for

cognitive function so if you're low on magnesium, it could very

likely cause you to have cognitive difficulties.

I remember several years ago, there were a few of us who started to

take to magnesium supplements to see if it made a difference and sure

enough, it did for some. , if you're reading this, I think you

were one that said you felt a big improvement after taking the

magnesium???

My problem is that I'm never consistent with the supplement because

it invariably causes diarreah for me so I start and stop all the

time.

All this to say that yes, many of us do have cognitive impairment but

I haven't been able to find any scientific link to Gleevec as the

direct cause of it. I've just come to the conclusion that it's the

other things that Gleevec does that causes the impairment.

Take care,

Tracey

dx Jan 2002