It was better, yes. I would often learn poems and texts for my pleasure and for contests. I could remember faces and names with surnames quite easily. Now I can't.

I have the same problem.
The biggest annoyance is having to study many times the same things.
But then, my memory is very fast, I can learn very quickly (though quickly forget) ...
Also when I actually learn a thing (after several attempts) I do not forget easily.
There is another positive point, I can watch a movie dozens of times without getting bored XD.

Anyway I will try to find some advice here too.

There are a many great advices here and also suitable for many possible causes of memory problems. I think you are sure to find help here, just read through the posts.

I wouldn't say I suffer from stress and especially not from depression. But still, seeing a doctor is indeed a good idea to know if anything serious is present.

You should do it as soon as possible. Then we can talk about better and more effective solutions. Good luck mate. :)

Thanks, I appreciate it!

You'd be surprised. It's generally not diagnosed unless it's that serious, but there's a ton of auto-immune disorders that can trace their roots in gluten consumption. A brain fog is a fairly common problem.

Most people with auto-immune disorders would do well to try going gluten free for a couple months to see if it clears things up.
Generally speaking those people who remember things more easily are using some sort of a system. They may not have been taught to do it, but they're usually using a system of some sort. Most commonly it's an informal peg system where they tie one memory to something else. Or they view the fact in a context that makes it harder to forget.

The other thing is that they often times just care more about the things they remember. I've gotten really good at memorizing numbers because it's useful for me at work and because I'm used to assigning them significance.
And here's the biggest problem. That kind of activity is pretty much the exact opposite of focus. It looks like you have a larger than normal amount of short-term memory, but that kind of thing isn't doing you any favors for long-term memory.

I'm more or less the opposite, I have virtually no short-term memory, so I have to hold a ton of things in my long term memory in order to get anything done.
Or he could call Keanu and find out who did his memory upgrade. Just be careful not to overload the capacity or you'll have issues.

Dear Dessimu,

First of all I have to say that unfortunately nobody of us here can give you a proper diagnosis over the internet with certainty without actually examining you physically in some form and talking to you in person, be it a layman or a medical professional, so your first and foremost priority should be checking out a doctor as soon as possible.
Best would be to go directly to a neurologist and - as mentioned before by some of the other posters - have an MRI of your brain and a blood sample taken at least, maybe even a sample of your liquor cerebrospinalis (the fluid of the central nervous system), but that is what you must decide together with your doctor if he/she deems it necessary.

Let me ask you:
- When did you experience your first symptoms of forgetfulness? Was it prior or after the tick bites?
- Did or do you have any other symptoms besides forgetfulnes?
- Did you mention in your posts how your sleep is? Do you have trouble falling asleep or do you wake up during the night?
- What about your concentration?
- How would you describe your general mood? Did it change significantly in the past couple of years since your symptoms started?

(I'm sorry for asking again if you already wrote about it, but I just rushed the thread after your initial post since I am tired as hell...)

The reason I am writing this is the tick bites you mentioned (25 each year for the last 3 years are really an awful lot!) and later on especially the expanding red circle you mentioned which disappeard. When did that happen? If they result from the tick bites and are part of Lyme disease, than it is typical for them to disappear, but unfortunately, that doesn't mean that Lyme disease is gone.

Did the red circle look perhaps something like this?
(please type in "erythema chronicum migrans" into google image search - I don't know why, but I cannot post with these links)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythema_chronicum_migrans

I am writing all of this because it is certainly possible for you to have developed Neuroborreliosis, a late stage manifestation of Lyme disease which usually occurs after months or in some cases even after years of latency after a tick bite and/or the red expanding circles (which also only occur in about half of the cases).
Unfortunately it is painfully hard to diagnose (even with the liquor fluid sample) but the somewhat good news is that it is certainly treatable with proper antibiotics, even though it is hard to cure, but the earlier you get this nasty bacteria killed, the better your outcome, so time is of essence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroborreliosis

The symptoms of Neuroborreliosis are very broad, they usually start with muscle weakness, loss of feeling and gradual paralysis, but they can certainly include (even with the absence of the other symptoms) neuropsychological symptoms such as Alzheimer-like forgetfulness/amnesia, therefore it is certainly a consideration which should get excluded. You should therefore in any case mention the tick bites and the expanding red circle to your doctor/neurologist, since this is kind of a red flag.

Other than that (which I would consider the most likely) it is also possible for you to have a (likely benign) tumor of some sort, which is growing separately somewhere around the hippocampal area so as to affect memory only (if it is your only symptom) or some form of a neurodegenerative disease.
But this is now highly speculative (!), and even though I have a medical background, it is not possible for me (or anybody else for that matter) to give you a proper diagnosis over the internet.

Right now I am guessing to the best of my knowledge with the limited amount of information I can get over this forum and in your case, I wouldn't now worry over some tumors or degenerative illnesses but focus first and foremost on the possible Lyme disease and get that confirmed or refuted. Only after that - if you don't experience a gradual but steady recovery of your memory problems - I would start to think of something else (an MRI scan of the brain would really help a lot, as already mentioned).

So, again, to summarize:
- Go to a neurologist (or if not possible, a general practitioner), mention your problems + the tick bites and expanding circle (this is a priority!)
- Get a blood sample and demand for an MRI of the brain (helps to exclude a lot of stuff such as tumors or degenrative stuff, but unfortunately not the Lyme disease itself, which, again, is hard to diagnose)

I urge you to not delay this any longer and seek a doctor tomorrow (Friday), if possible!

I wish you all the best and get well soon!

Edit: What the other posters mentioned about lead/aluminium etc. poisoning is also a possibility, albeit in my experience a very rare one and it is usually something that tends to develop very slowly and very unspecifically over years and even decades. If an MRI scan and/or Lyme diagnostics/treatment don't give you any clarification whatsoever, then I would think about this as a possibility, but in my opinion, the infectious disease and a brain scan have a much bigger priority since they can yield or exclude faster results and/or require immediate treatment.

Always a good idea to go to the motherboard (motherbrain) manufacturer's website and look up their list of officially certified/tested RAM and buy only that. Make sure to install it with care to avoid getting blood on it!

Thank you for a thorough analysis on this matter, given all the present details.

When speaking of diseases I feel like it is very hard for me to even analyze symptoms that occurred to me over time. Having no real life experience with tumors, cancers, Lyme disease, Alzheimer's and other possibilities, it is extremely easy for me to mistake any symptom of mentioned diseases as present to myself. So I can only agree with you, that only a real life professional can determine the cause or at the very least, lead me the right way.

Now, to answer your questions:
- The red spot looked similar to this, with the bite mark much less visible, red spot being almost evenly red and smaller than in the picture. It was on the left side of my torso. As far as I can remember (and this happened in summer, 2013), the spot expanded maybe a half centimeter in every direction, was present for about three to five days and then just disappeared.

- Possible symptoms. Over the last 3 years I would say, it would come to my attention from time to time that my memory is getting worse, weaker. Usually I would not have big short time complications, but the problems might have lead to undesired results in my life over a long period of time. It is hard to say. What I can tell for sure is that I have grown to be more secluded, solitary (not left alone by the others, but rather choosing myself to have less interactions with people). Example might be not answering phone calls even if I see them, interpreting that the caller has nothing important to say and thus, not even calling a back unless it becomes unavoidable. They might be angry but I feel perfectly fine.

Now that I mentioned limiting my communications, I can also mention another thing. It came to my attention that I am able to understand the feelings of other people but I am unable or choose not to feel them and act adequately. Lets say you feel sorrow and cry over a relative who got into a car accident; I would not. Neither would I express honest natural joy, say... Seeing a newborn baby.. And least likely of all possible feelings - anger. I seem to never express anger and over the last 3 to 4 years I was told so by the people who know me.

There are moments of happiness however. For example, wandering alone in the green forest. Cooking a really nice dinner and listening to jazz. I only want to say that over the years I have grown to be colder. Like a stone.

- The thing with emotions also reminded me that over the years my motivation has dropped significantly. Which sometimes lead to unfinished tasks or unfulfilled promises, a spontaneous change of my personal plans and never ever feeling bad about any of that. Lack of motivation also seems to have an impact on my personality shrinking. I may express a wish to say... Visiting a Jazz club or bar alone or with selected company. Yet I would never get around to actually do it. You may say it is normal and at some degree it is. But as I understand the situation, having an honest wish, yet not realizing it for no reasons is a problem.

The overall motivational and emotional change became visible since ~3 years ago, but might have started earlier.

- My sleep is irregular compared to time. More precisely, there is no real sleep routine. I tend be awake until late night, even early morning. I may go to sleep then and get up after a few hours of sleep or, if not disturbed, I may sleep for 13 hours straight. Usually my sleep is good, I do not have problems waking up out of a blue and being unable to fall asleep again. Nor do I have problem falling asleep overall.

About the sleep I can tell this much. Some time ago (be it 6-8 years ago) I was fascinated by something, called lucid dreaming. I started reading various techniques to achieve the state, wanting to get the experience. The first step would more or less say "Comfortably lay or sit down. Relax your body, feel it shutting down." Over many nights to come I have learned to relax my body. Never really achieved the lucid state as I imagined it, but I found out that relaxing my body leads to a deep and refreshing sleep. I would do so every night since. And I dream often. Dreams being vivid, colorful, usually having a very rich story. And it is not uncommon for me to understand that I am dreaming and sort of seeing the dream from two perspectives - my own eyes, as subconsciousness controls all actions and sort of being detached from everything, like an observer, being able to think consciously. I would also remember the dream(s) after waking up most of the times.

One more important thing to mention would be that I am aware of how much sleep I need and when to be healthy. If I went to sleep from 22:00h and slept at the very lest until 02:00h, I would already feel refreshed and recharged and ready to live in full capacity. This particular time is magical. I can tell even more precisely, that the core of magic happens 23:00h-01:00h, in this time of 2 hours. But still, a four hour sleep to be really healthy is a must. Any more sleep is just good I guess. I can get up at 03:00h or at 07:00h and I would feel perfectly fine. But again, only if I sleep through the period of 22:00h-02:00h.

- As for concentration, I need a background noise if I am working. Be it a TV show, a movie, a song, a radio show. Something that is chosen by me and are not just random short sounds. If there was a small crowd of people in another room right now, their noise would keep distracting me. If I start playing something in the background, listening either through headsets or speakers, I can anchor myself to these sounds and then I can concentrate to the task easily. If needed, I am able to shift my concentration.

Example might be this. I stand at three tables. On one, there is chess game in progress. On another, there is fish cooking. On the third there is movie showing. All three things require concentration. I am able go from one table to another and concentrate on the present thing and it's details in a matter of a few seconds.

However... Like Hedwards mentioned in the post above yours, this is sort of short time concentration. I gave it thought and can honestly say, that I have little to none of long time concentration. Lets say I have to work on a project that is lasting a few months. I could only do well if I could plan the project and divide it into small steps. I seem to struggle to just chew it whole.

- My mood can relate to the emotions I express. Usually I am just... Neutral. Sometimes I get into situations where I don't share the public mood (be it joy or sorrow) and would have to fake my expressions accordingly if I want to get the most out of situation or try and give another person what he/she thinks they need. I can say without a doubt that I do not have mood swings or some sort of outbreaks. I am more like a stone. And about 5-4 years ago... I was not like that. At the very least I was much more enthusiastic and happy.

So far these would be as accurate answers to the given questions as I can think of. Again, you are correct - seeing a professional, in this case - be it neurologist, would help a lot more. I will try to see him in the days to come or at the very least I shall plan on my earliest possibility to see him. I have to travel for a few days, so I shall be busy.

Also, if or when I learn anything new, I will be sure to share in here.

Again, many thanks!

Thank you for your reply.

From what I've read now, memory loss doesn't seem to be your only symptom at all, but rather a part of symptoms all corresponding to your frontal lobe and parts of midbrain functioning.

Since you've responded that it started around 3 years ago and since the picture you've shown me is reasonably applicable to a tick's bite erythema, I would make this potential diagnosis - as already stated - the number one priority to get clarification about.
All of your symptoms could be explained by Neuroborreliosis, the memory loss, long-time concentration difficulties, emotional "flattening", seclusion of oneself, motivational problems, etc., even though it is not perfectly typical.

However, what did occur to me right after reading your last post is the fact that your symptoms - given your relative youth - could also correspond to so-called negative symptoms of early-stage schizophrenia.

Do you know if there are cases of schizophrenia or some other psychoses in your near family (e.g. parents, siblings, grandparents, first-degree cousins, aunts, uncles etc.)? I am asking this because this illness has a strong genetic component and usually "runs in the family".
What about depression in the family? (here, the genetic component is albeit much weaker)

Given what you've written, in your case, I would make a list of probabilities in declining order of likelihood somehow like this:
(again, all of it except probably the Lyme disease is strongly speculative, so on the one hand please do keep it in mind since those illnesses are serious, but on the other, take it with a grain of salt since we're here on the internet and I could be wrong as well)

1. Lyme-Borreliosis (i.e. Neuroborreliosis - most likely, strong emphasis on this one)
2. Frontal-lobe to midbrain tumor (a possibility - underlines the importance of an MRI brain scan!)
3. Early stage schizophrenia (also a possibility, focus after exclusion of the ones above)

4. Some form of clinical depression (however unlikely)
5. Other neurodegenerative disease of some kind

6. Lead poisoning, aluminium poisoning etc.
7. Absent-mindedness (highly unlikely, since in that case you would be like this since your early childhood)

While I don't know much about the medical system in Lithuania, I would advise you to strongly insist on an MRI brain scan if perchance your doctor doesn't think it necessary or somehow doesn't want to send you to one. I think a scan is highly necessary in your case.

Also I feel compelled to add, since drealmer7 suggested to you to start smoking Cannabis, I would strongly advise against it in your case.
While my political position is highly libertarian in general (I am all pro-legalisation - I think governments have no right to impose prohibitions on individuals in regard to substances) and I see Cannabis more as a medical pharmaceutical than a drug, I think it is very much contraindicated in your case given your motivational difficulties and the possibility of schizophrenia. Just felt the need to add that.

On another note: About lucid dreaming, since this is also a huge interest of mine and I experiment a lot with it myself, I can highly recommend to you the book "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" by Stephen LaBerge, probably "the" doctor who focused most of his research on this very compelling topic. A lot of techniques and examples how to induce lucid dreaming in oneself, and I can say for myself, it really does work and enriches one's life a lot.

Thought I would end the post with something positive.

Again, best wishes to you and feel free to contact me per chat (PM?) if you somehow feel uncomfortable sharing this information over the forums.

*crashes through door while riding on Puzzle-Bot*
DID SOMEBODY SAY...
http://38.media.tumblr.com/2cbb2c74eef507f1e43e5484cb514c4f/tumblr_n5jweqqZq01r8xcpeo1_400.gif
...PUZZLE?!?!??!!!?!?
Goodness, how did I not see this thread before? I've got LOADS of memory games and books and stuff!
Looking at the OP, it seems that a lot of people have beaten me to some of the suggestions. Let's go over them one by one.

- Seeing le docteur or neurologist (I hope no lobotomy shall be needed)
Considering how serious you've noted the problem is and to the extent it's spanned, this is probably the best idea. Especially considering your young age. Doctors are experts and can help you way more than the internet can, though we do try our best. From what you've described, I hate to say it, but lyme disease sounds the most likely. According to this site and others, it can cause cognitive issues, frequently involving memory. You really need to get this checked as soon as possible, since it can turn into a MAJOR issue.
That being said, I'll cover the others anyways, just so anybody else wondering can know, and so tinyE doesn't forget my name.

- Adding spices like cumin and turmeric to the ration of food
That's a new one on me. Really, eating healthy in general is a major aid, but yeah, these might assist.
- Learning French or other language might help
Indeed. Languages improve the ability to reason in one's mind, even if you don't end up using it. But hey, if you do, you can talk to more people! Make puns in French!
- Taking notes, planning on paper
Yup. Seeing something is one thing, but actually having to make motions with your hand, surprising as it is, reinforces the concept. This is why there's such an emphasis for students to take notes.
- In case anyone else reads this, stopping smoking weed
Any sort of drug is horrible for memory. You can just talk to your local drug addict to see this.
- Playing puzzles, memory games
But of course! How do you think The Puzzlemaster came to be such an amazing person? Depending on how much money you're willing to spend, there are actually specific game programs and whatnot just for this, such as Lumosity. Of course, crossword puzzles and just good old Concentration work well, too. Just don't expect a quick change is all. It's a slow, gradual process that comes with a long time of doing it.
- Writing a book, recording dreams
Writing a book? I suppose that gets your creativity flowing, but I'm not sure it improves memory all that much unless you're putting a decent amount of effort into it.
Recording dreams, sure, but only if you're looking to remember those dreams, not improve your memory.
- Expecting oneself to be better, to have better memory instead of saying, how bad it is
Sometimes this works for many things, and surprisingly frequently as well. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he", quoth Solomon. However, I'm not so sure in the case of memory. The only way I can see this helping is if you're consistently concentrating on what you want to memorize.
- Applying techniques. Like mnemonics. Harry Lorrayne's book "The Memory Book"
Oh, goodness, yes. This is a humongous help. Ask anybody who's watched the Schoolhouse Rock! series as a kid how they memorize their times tables, even to this day.
- Fresh, hot Basil tea
A new one on me, but sure, couldn't hurt.
- Regular and healthy sleep
Oh yes, most definitely.
- Eating a walnut
Sure, why not? Have an apple too, while you're at it.
- Again, having a good sleep
Sleep never hurts.
- Yoga and meditation is said to do wonders
Eh, it mainly promotes relaxation, but sure. Same idea as sleep, removes stress.
- Snake oil concoction. Not confirmed, but is told to cure all and every disease!
Surprisingly, tinyE wasn't actually too far off on this one. While preferably not snake oil, oils that contain omega-3s actually have been shown to improve brain function.
- Upgrading RAM to either Corsair or Kingston. Condition: one must be a cyborg.
Dang, I arrived too late to make this joke.
- NZT-48. A special kind of illegal drugs that makes you a senator.
Drugs never help. Don't do drugs. If you need a reason why not, just glance over at tinyE.

Really, it boils down to three things:
1. Removing stress
You just can't focus when you're stressed. Get a good night's sleep and remove the stressors from your life as much as possible (or forget about them!) and you'll be able to focus and remember the things that matter.
2. Living healthy
Help your body, and it'll help you. Provide your brain with what it needs and you'll find that it functions much better. Oils, fruits and vegetables, and vitamins all help.
3. Using devices or tools to help on specific problems
Mnemonic devices, writing things down, and sometimes just repeating the thing to yourself over and over again are all really useful. Might not necessarily help overall, but it'll help you remember that particular thing, which is a good idea, especially if it's important.

Now, if you want some games/books to help things, I can make a few recommendations based upon your time/budget/problem.
Other than that, I hope this helps.

You stumped me.

And you crashed my door. You owe me a door now.

You can pay your dept in those puzzle recommendations. If not, my guys will fry them out of you. Because of a door.

Yes, please. Thank you. I can say that I have time to spare and we can assume I have a load of money. The assumption would be wrong in reality, but that is for me to decide. Problem? What problem?