What happens when you can't remember your own phone number.

@winterose (39887)
Canada
August 30, 2008 5:31pm CST
My memory is getting real bad, I gave a person the wrong phone number today and I insisted it was the right phone number. I told my phone number was 767-2814, and she called a poor man 3 timess, my number is actually 762-2814 and I insisted it was 767-2814. I had to call my aunt to ask her what my phone number was, and then I called back that poor man and appologized to him too. This is getting real bad when I can't even get my own phone number right. Have you ever done anything like this before?
12 people like this
45 responses
• United States
30 Aug 08
yep had it the other day.. my mom and bro kept calling my cell but getting a radio station or something and i looked straight at the number they were dialing and swore it was right but it was a combo of my home phone number and my cell number.. took me months before i figured it out.. i felt soooo freaking stupid.. and i have forgotten when asked too.. joys of fibro fog
3 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
that must be it, the fibro fog, I have fibro too.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
thanks hon, now I know what it is
1 person likes this
• United States
31 Aug 08
yeah i remembered that.. that fibro fog will screw up everything! i feel like i have alztemers all the time!! they did do scans in a testing of fibro peoples brains and they had less grey matter in their brains.. what that means i have no idea but im sure its not good lol.. but im screwed.. my hubby and best friend have fibro so none of us can remember crap.. lol
1 person likes this
• India
30 Aug 08
hi buddy.. actually this situation really didnt happen to me. but my mom suffered a lot due to this problem.. she never used to remember her own mobile number and even any other no.. on day she went out for for some purchase and after finishing she used to call me to pick up.. but accidentally her phone switched off due to low battery and since the place is remote she walked to nearly a km distance to get a taxi and later she came to my home
3 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
yes it is very weird, I still can't understand why I made that mistake, I was so sure that was my number.
@tyc415 (5706)
• United States
30 Aug 08
I have a problem with my cell phone number, I don't know it since I never call it so I have it written down in case I need it to give to anyone. So far I have been pretty good with knowing my home phone number alone with other phone numbers. I can even tell you our phone number from when I was a child TU3-0173 The TU stood for TUlip, now they changed them all to numbers. Now next week I might now know mine. Sometimes though I do have to stop and think about my number when asked, I wouldn't worry about it if I was you. I also find it very kind of you to call that man and let him know about the mix up.
3 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
the man was very nice to me, so it was only fair that I do that. I remember my first phone number too 935-5698 and that is from over 40 years ago. but this is my home phone I have had it for 3 years, why I gave out the wrong one, I do not know, it is just weird.
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
30 Aug 08
Don't be too hard on yourself. Most of us don't call our own numbers too often. And with today's technology, we just find hit one or two numbers to call pre-programmed numbers anyway.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
I don;t have speed dial, and I know my own phone number, but today I was certain that is what it was and it wasn't. Somebody said it was the fibro fog and I guess that is exactly what it was.
1 person likes this
• United States
31 Aug 08
I understand. Fibro fog has been attacking me lately. I figure it's the change in weather.
@dantakum (404)
• Nigeria
31 Aug 08
Hello, sounds funny but it happens to me too some times when i change a new number the only thing i do is move around with a paper of it in my porket thats what i do.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Sep 08
yes it happens quite a bit when people change phone numbers.
@dantakum (404)
• Nigeria
2 Sep 08
oh yeah.
• United States
30 Aug 08
I cant tell you what to do, because this occurs to me also...lol..
3 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
lol like they say misery loves company
@timou87 (1638)
• Singapore
31 Aug 08
I usually have an address book entry in my phone that has my own phone number, that is for a situation in which I cannot remember my own number for any reason whatsoever.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
I have that for numbers I hardly use but my phone number is something that I never forget. Today I forgot it tommorrow I will remember it, is the fibromyalgia playing tricks on me again.
1 person likes this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
31 Aug 08
Yes. I have done this before also but i gave them my old phone number that I used to have when we first moved here instead of my phone number that I have now. It is very easy to forget your own phone number because we never dial it ourselves. My husband even forgets our address too.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
oh I do dial it, I know my number this is a case of fibromyalgia it is one of the symptoms.
1 person likes this
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
31 Aug 08
[i]Hi winterose, ohhh....I guess you need to just store your number in your mobile so you can always check it out, that is what I am doing since sometimes, I am also messed up! LOL! Maybe this is just normal with all the different numbers we have in our lives..LOL! The phone of our loved ones, our SSS number, etc! LOL![/i]
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Sep 08
I don't have a mobile phone
• Singapore
31 Aug 08
Hello winterose, This is definitely not an unusual situation though not always on the common side. I have had friends and relatives who have forgotten their own numbers. If we think about it, it is actually not entirely unusually since we almost never call ourselves (except e.g. when we are trying to find a "lost" or misplaced phone). And so, why would we remember our own numbers? We would only remember it if we make an effort to deliberately place it firmly in our memories. It would help too when we reinforce this memory by filling in our numbers for e.g. lucky draws and surveys (haha). For me, I have forgotten not only numbers momentarily but even critical passwords. It is not a comfortable feeling when something like this happens and one might even be sent into a moment of abject terror! So say if I really forget my number and need to give it to another, I will just call the other person's phone and ask him to grab the number from his Caller ID display. At least over here, most people have caller ID display enabled so it is not a big issue. Worst case, I would get that person's number then go back home and inform him of my number when I finally dig it out - from either my feeble memory, initial phone contract document or wherever. Cheers, my friend!
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Sep 08
this is the first time I gave the wrong phone number and was absolutely sure it was mine.
@suehan1 (4344)
• Australia
31 Aug 08
rose i sometimes have mental blanks ,especially with my mobile number.maybe try writting it down and putting it in your purse ,so when people ask you can pull it out of your purse and give it to them.if you have forgotten that you have written it down and put it in your purse ,then i would get really worried.lol.cheers sue
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Sep 08
the point is I don;t need to write it down, if it was a question of I was always forgetting it I would, but I know that darn number just like I know my pin number it is the because of the illness, the fibro that I am having memory losses, it was the phone number this time it will be something else the next time.
• United States
31 Aug 08
Look at it this way, how often do you call your own number? I'm often amazed at the fact that some people have to get their SS Card out because they never memorized that number. Memory fades and without learning to keep it alive and active, we lose it with age. Always remember that one of the first signs of dementia is repeating yourself and forgetting things. There are many useful tools to help you keep your mind alert and preserve your memory. This is the "Net", so search for "help with memory loss". (lol) Yep, you may find links for buying it, but always remember it's for you and NOT your PC.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Sep 08
I know my own phone number more than I know anybody elses and I call home all the time when I am out.
31 Aug 08
Some times it happened to me too. I feel it has nothing to do with memory as suc h but preoccupation of a particular thing in the subconscious mind. When we are clogged with certain things in mind and continue to think over and over again on the same subject we have the same tendencies. Something seems to be eating you inside. Unless we overcome our nagging problem we continue to behave in the same pattern. It happens with everybody. Very very common phenomenon.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Sep 08
this is a direct adult of my fibro myalgia
• United States
31 Aug 08
I've actually givin the wrong zipcode before. I emailed my address to a company and when they emailed me telling me it was incorrect, I sent them an email back rudely explaining that I should know my own zipcode and sent the same address and same zipcode again. I had in fact lived there my whole life! But when I was cleaning out my email box months later I looked over it and had given them the wrong zipcode. I was completely embarrassed. Now I am DEFINITELY more careful.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Sep 08
ah so you are the first person who truly understand what I am going through
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
31 Aug 08
Every one does at times for you dont call yourself! So you can tend to mix NOs. up hugs
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Sep 08
I do call my phone number every time I am out, I call home more than I call anyone
@babystar1 (4233)
• United States
31 Aug 08
Yes this happened to me before. I had a dr. appt with a dr that I have not seen before and had to fill out all that paper work. I had to put down my phone number and I could not think of it, I knew the phone numbers of all of my four sisters and the phone numbers of all my four kids but could not think wha mine was. So I asked if I can see there phone book so I can see what my number was. That happened only one time to me. Must be old age lol
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
could be old age but in my case it is what is called fibro fog
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
31 Aug 08
Yes my short term memory is bad but with something like phone numbers I have it written down so I get it right. I also check with my partner to make sure I have it right. I just explain to the person that I have chronic fatigue syndrome and it affects my memory. I often forget what I am going to say in the middle of a sentence and that is so embarrassing. My biggest worry is pin numbers for cards at ATM machines. Luckily I have an easy one to remember at the moment for my cash card but I have no idea what the pin on my credit card is supposed to be.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
yes it gets bad, I have forgotten my pin number too, it has been happening since 2005 with me.
@zeny_zion (1283)
• Philippines
31 Aug 08
when i reach my 40's i always forgettng a lot of things. hahha poor me. maybe, im getting old. even if im going to get something in just a second i already forgotten what it is.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
yep it does happen as we age, I am 53
1 person likes this
@Sheepie (3112)
• United States
30 Aug 08
I just got my first cell phone today and I really hope nothing like that happens to me! I have a bad memory too but I heard that your memory starts getting worse and worse once you turn 20 or something, then it slowly slows down. So it happens to everyone I'm sure.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
I am almost 54
• Guam
31 Aug 08
lol...I guess that number of yours may be new and that's why your short-term memory does retain it. It will take a while before you get use to it. But anyway, you need to have a pocket phone book. So have this ever happened to me? No, not with my own number but with other person's.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
31 Aug 08
no it is not knew, I have had it for over 3 years and I know my phone number but today I was one digit off and swore it was the right number when it was not.