Do you take herbal memory boosters? Do they work?

[bertha katzenengel]

MY MEMORY SUCKS! HELP! For the second time in three I FORGOT a doc's appointment!

Three weeks ago it was my therapist. I was halfway home from work when I remembered. Too late to turn around.

This morning it was my follow-up appt with the local God-send spinal surgeon. I was halfway to work. Too late to turn around.

PLEASE help -- tell me if you take any OTC herbal remedies that help!

Thanks.

[bertha katzenengel]

1. Hey! I remembered I posted this!

:kick:

[progmom]

2. I might have...

Can't really remember. :hi:

[bertha katzenengel]

3. BAH!

Funny, bud. ;)

[Squatch]

4. It's because of one herb in particular that my memory sucks.

[wackadoo wabbit]

5. I take a couple.

Ginkgo biloba, of course, is the most famous, and I've been using it for some years. I also take magnesium and fish oil; deficiencies in magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to memory problems.

I've read that sage can help memory, but I don't take it as a supplement; I only use it for cooking occasionally.

I've found that the ginkgo does seem to help my memory. When I stop taking it for a while, I notice a gradual diminishing in memory. Since I don't take the magnesium and fish oil specifically for my memory, I've never really noticed if they make a difference or not.

I don't know how old you are, but as we women age, our estrogen levels drop, and that seems to have a deleterious effect on memory. If your memeory (or lack thereof) continues to really bother you a lot, you might want to get your hormone levels checked. (Saliva testing is best.) If your hormone levels are low, you could try supplementing with bioidentical progresterone and see if that helps. (Progesterone, besides being a great hormone in its own right, is also the precursor to the estrogens.) If you decide to go this route, please ensure that you take bioidentical progesterone and NOT an unnatural progestin! Besides their serious side effects, progestins won't help your memory.

I've read that memory problems are sometimes associated with a pre-diabetic condition, the inability to bring down high blood sugar levels, although I don't know much about this.

Also, are you getting enough sleep? I would say that 90% of my memory problems can be directly related to either not sleeping enough or not sleeping soundly enough.

One last thing: Despite the supplements I take orally and the progesterone I rub on my body every night, I still keep a calendar/appointment book to record things in. Alas, it does appear to be occasionally necessary.