Wait, What Was I Saying?

People with chronic pain have memory problems. Period. The disease or pain disorder itself could be the culprit, or the obnoxious amount of meds trying to suppress the pain. I had one doctor explain to me that my neurons fire to my brain to tell it I am in pain and so the medicine is going to stop some neurons from firing. Unfortunately, the medicine can't differentiate pain messages from important messages the neurons are sending, so sometimes, I will forget things. Oh, great. Please, add stupidity to my list of ailments.

Anyway, I have needed to learn lots of tools and strategies to help keep me on top of my game. With four kids, and a husband as a coach, there are so many practices and games and school events and birthday parties and play dates that there is no way I could just keep it all in my head. Literally, not possible. You definitely gotta do what works for you, but this is what works for me:

1. Google Calendar First and foremost, my Google calendar. I would be sitting in a dark corner crying in the fetal position without it. I put EVERYTHING in it. And, I have it color coded and synced with my husband and oldest daughter. Each person has their own color tag and every practice, lesson, party, doctor appointment, every everything is in there. I have two accounts for me. My main account that my husband sees everything and my old gmail that lists my own persknal tasks, i.e. "mail package", "car wash", "pick up rx" etc. He would be even more overwhelmed if I had all those in there, too. If it doesn't make it into the google calendar, then don't plan on me ever doing it.

2. 5 Second Rule According to Mel Robbins, the creator of the 5 second rule, "if you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it." I am sure there is so much more to his whole philosophy, but my practical application is taking action within 5 seconds. If a new blog topic crosses my mind, I write it down somewhere within 5 seconds. If I remember to go to the store for batteries, you can be assured it makes it to my task list in my google calendar. If it doesn't, it won't happen. The best part about this, is that when I write it down, I can "let it go" in my mind. I can completely forget about it because I will get a reminder in my phone. If I want to email someone or send a text, I will start it and leave it as a draft or open window, so I will see it later to finish.

3. Doctor Appointment List Every time I go to the doctor, he asks how I am doing. And I used to just say "the same" or "a little better". No, no, no. Make a list between appointments. I put my list in the Notes section of my next appointment on my Google calendar. Then when he asks how I am doing, I can say "I have been getting numbness in my left hand, and both hands get pain daily. My right foot is curling in more often with more pain." This gives the doctor a clearer picture of what's going on with me. When I am in that appointment, I forget all the new symptoms, even if they were significant, because there is so much change and it's been a whole month of pain and weird symptoms.

4. Prescription List Have a list of all meds you take daily. You never know when you will need it and don't expect anyone else to remember. I keep mine in my Notes app. Most phone have a Notes or Notepad app on them. In an emergency, you or loved one, could tell an EMT that your prescriptions med list is there. I guarantee they can find it on your phone and it could save your life. It also makes it easier when needing to list it on new patient forms. It's there and one less thing you have to strain to remember.

I use these tactics at work and home. Even though my memory is nothing like it used to be, most people don't notice.

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