William Barr, Ph.D., ABPP
NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center
New York, NY

After years of evaluating patients with memory complaints, we have compiled a list of the most commonly reported complaints. Some of these reflect primary problems with memory. Others reflect a disturbance in other areas, including attention and concentration. Read on in this section to learn about how epilepsy relates to these types of symptoms.

• My problem is with short-term memory. My long-term memory for things that happened 20 years ago is OK. I can't remember what happened yesterday.
• My husband says I keep asking him the same questions, over and over again.
• I forget appointments, when I have to be somewhere or go somewhere.
• My wife says I don't listen to anything she tells me. She says it seems to just go in one ear and out the other.
• There's a word I want to say and I just can't think of it. A half-hour later, it comes to me.
• I go to the store and forget what I was supposed to get. I walk into a room and forget why I went in there.
• I forget the names of friends I have known for years.
• I am having trouble with reading. When I read a page, the words just don't sink in.
• I'm forgetting numbers. I write them down and they are all scrambled up. I also have trouble with phone numbers.
• Sometimes I want to say a word and another one comes out. Other times, I know what letter the word starts with or what it rhymes with, but I still can't come up with it.