Page 185 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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CHAPTER 19

Estrogen

Cynthia's Story

Cynthia Holmes, an elderly African-American woman, began with the statement that she was not
sure if she was coming to the right place. Her sister thought she was getting depressed and her
friends told her she was not as mentally sharp as she used to be, but Cynthia herself felt that her
problems were too minor to merit seeing a doctor. The ravages of osteoarthritis had reduced her
height from six feet to five feet nine inches, and she shuffled into my office looking as if a strong
wind was behind her back, bending her over. Her face was heavily lined with wrinkles, and she
displayed a listless, apathetic look. I guessed that she was around eighty years old, but in fact she
was only sixty-four. She said she was forgetting names more often, found it difficult to keep track of
her checks and monthly bills, and tended to forget the sequence of cards during games that she
occasionally played with friends. She also reported low energy and fatigue, and a loss of interest in
crocheting and other hobbies that she used to enjoy. She had retired at the age of sixty from a clerical
job, and since that time she had developed a somewhat negative, pessimistic outlook on life. She did
not have any difficulty in sleeping, there was no change in her appetite, and her interest in sex was
lower than what it used to be, a change that she attributed to the loss of her husband from a stroke
eight years earlier.

She did not feel that she had significant memory loss or depression because, as she put it, “You
know, I think it's normal to lose your