Brain fog
However this symptom, according to my research participants, was ignored or unmentioned by the medical profession. The purpose of this discussion blog is to allow our readers to share in more detail their experiences of brain fog and its impact on their lives and their loved ones.
So what actually is brain fog?
There seems to be no clear clinical definition but a good description might be clouding of consciousness. A term which was originated in the nineteenth century to describe low level cognitive impairment in different kinds of patients.
Typical symptoms of brain fog include:-
a) Poor memory function.
b) Difficulty in concentrating.
c) Problems with learning new things.
d) Inability to find/remember the word you are “looking for”.
You may wish to consider answering the following questions?
1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog?
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog?
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle?
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success?
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog?
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals? If, on the other hand you feel that it is well covered by your medical support please tell us a bit more.
Thanks very much in advance for all your help with this discussion blog.
Here are just a few of the responses!
“1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog? I can be in the middle of speaking and stop mid sentence and forget what I am talking about. Often. I have problems word finding. I cant remember simple things. I cant remember any names whatsoever. even if i have known someone for 20 years. I cant problem solve as well as I used too. I have a bit of delay when people say things to me often. Sometimes I remember a random childhood event out of nowhere. I try to write it down because im so afraid i wont think of it again and that i will loose memory. I can not recall things. That is one of the hardest things for me to do is recall things. Whether it be a date, number, person, event. Anything. It is awful. I hate it.
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog? Fibromyalgia. and ptsd
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle? It is horrible. It has gotten worse this past year and truly affects me daily. I struggle to do things at work that I used to do with ease. I feel way to young to have these issues.
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success? I write EVERYTHING. I write every single thing i can down. i have so many notebooks. I do not have any other treatments really other then trying to reduce stress which is an ongoing task.
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog? no but it would be nice to find something.
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals? If, on the other hand you feel that it is well covered by your medical support please tell us a bit more.
I feel that brain fog is often ignored by health care professionals for a few reasons. Personally, I feel that they just dont believe me. I am only 24 and try to tell them how bad it is. I feel like it hasnt been taken seriously for a long time. Many misdiagnose it seems. Yes Depression is a nasty thing and causes similar symptoms, but this is different.”
“As the mother of a formerly bulimic daughter (7th-10th grade, now a mom herself). I can assure you that if you also tell your parents everything they will take you seriously. My daughter was taking diet supplements and I know that she was purging but for the life of me could not get her to stop. She denied it and denied it until she began having health problems. She has a twin sister and I do not know if I would have ever learned about this had her twin sister not told me. The advice the other lady gave you is only partially correct. If you are doing something to harm your self the doctor is obligated to discuss this with your parents. Would you not rather this information come from yourself? And this is only true if you are below the age of 17 and from what I understand you should be. Your parents are not listening to you because all they are seeing is that your your grades have dropped and the fact that you were previously a straight a student SHOULD tell them something is wrong. However parents are not perfect and sometimes they get wrapped up in their own lives and preferred to push an issue under the rod until it is staring them right in the face.
Trust your parents sweetheart. They love you and only want what’s best for you even if they have been blind to the situation. I fully believe that if you are completely honest about EVERYTHING; with your parents doctor or whomever you choose to tell, that no one is going to tell you that it is just in your head.
If you need help speaking to your parents prior going to see a doctor I suggest going to your assigned school counselor and speaking to them first. Ask him or her to sit in on a conference with your parents. This will also show the parents that you feel like you have not been heard. Because you went to the counselor first they will also understand the gravity of the situation and take you very seriously. I’m sure they want to get you the help you need but they do not have knowledge of just how serious the issue is because you are only telling them about the symptoms but not what is causing those symptoms. Because of the way who told your story I believe you know deep down why you are experiencing Brain Fog. Zoning out and not being able to remember where you are or what you’re doing is a black out and if you are driving during this time, you could not only take your own life but someone else’s as well and I know you don’t want to hurt anyone.
If I remember reading correctly, I believe you said your aunt gave you food. Maybe you can have your aunt sit down with you and your parents while you tell them about your dieting; if you do not feel comfortable with the school counselor. However, as a parent I just feel like it would show a little more gravity to the situation if it were to involve the school counselor. It was a call from a school counselor telling me they noticed differences in my daughters behavior and what they suspected which first brought my attention to it, then her sister confirmed what she knew when I asked her if she had noticed. I knew both of them had been losing weight. But they had joined the swim team and I just assumed it was because of that.
Understand there is only a certain amount of information that any doctor can share with a parent; a medical doctor that is. If you were to go to counseling after all tests have been ran and ruled out any other medical problem with your brain …don’t be afraid that those sessions would be discussed with your parents. I never learned anything that was discussed in my daughters counseling sessions; but she did get better. I will be praying for you and for God to lead you and guide you to get the help you need. You are to young and to smart to be going through this. I’m proud of you for reaching out on this blog now the rest is up to you.
God be with You!”
“In addition to my post below, here is my response
1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog?
i used to feel very cloudy and almost like a headache. my brain just felt fragmented like the computer definition. It felft like a struggle to apply myself cognitively
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog?
a variety of factors, including poor digestion, definitely poor sleep but my current hypothesis is that I didnt have the right ‘brain stimulation’ ie my brain was very ‘unfit’
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle?
It stopped me progressing at work. I stuggled to apply myself in challenging tasks. I was also quite miserable.
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success?
Two things had major success for me. 1. Properly engineered brainwave entrainment – particularly the key track off WorkSharp from ActiveMindsGlobal.com; and 2. the right nutrients, specifically a bio-active b vitamin complex, omega 3 fish oil and magnesium.
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog?
Two key resources:
http://www.activemindsglobal.com/
http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Brain_fog_-_poor_memory,_difficulty_thinking_clearly_etc
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals?
Because it’s very hard to quantify or qualify the symptoms. Even a slight change in your energy output through diet, stress, lifestyle factors, poor sleep etc can substantially affect cognitive function. Also Neurologists would be the only doctors that come close but they don’t seem to focus on subjective symptoms such as clarity of thought, memory recall, cognitive processing speed etc.”
“1. Can’t read a book, can’t recall what’s happened in a tv series/soap, feel slightly detached from reality… a bit ‘cotton woolly’….
2. Stress, depression, menopause, hereditary.
3. Loss of feelings, don’t enjoy anything anymore, worry unnecessarily about things, tearful and anxious, feel vulnerable, upset at forgetting things.
4. Just try to work through it, try different diets, avoid situations where I feel vulnerable/stressed.
5. I write down important things
6. I have never been to Drs about it as I don’t think they would take it seriously!”
“1. Flustered, irritable, impatient with self for not remembering
2. Fatigue, Heat, Medication, Sensory Overload
3. Conflict, Lowers Self Worth, Second-guess oneself, automatically believe YOU must be at fault
4. REST and maintain an ambient temperature
5. No, I have ONE place where I write my “reminders” – I have RRMS for 14 years
6. The embarrassment of admitting you have brain fog and not wanting to know about it”
“There are many reasons for brain fog and age is certainly not one of them! I’ve known people and have relatives that are well into their 80’s and even 90’s who are sharp as a tack. What we eat (nutrition) has a lot to do with brain function. Being overweight as so many are doesn’t help. There are studies and research being conducted that suggest that toxins being released through our intestinal wall enters our blood stream and can damage not only our body but our brain. Exercise and diet have a lot to do with being healthy in body and mind. Avoiding all the GMO and contaminants certainly can’t hurt. I have Celiac Disease, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia along with brain fog. I’ve discovered changing my diet, becoming way more health conscience regarding exercise and diet and shedding a few pounds has made a huge difference for me. At 55 I’m not ready to concede. Age is only a number! Dementia and MS took it’s toll on my mother in her latter years, I don’t want to burden my children with what we had to go through with my mom. Eat right and exercise!”
“I too am like this all of the time. I am 65 so that is to be expected I suppose. The problem is that I have been that way since I was in my thirty’s….I even went to a physiatrist about it. She suggested keeping a notebook with me all of the time. Writing down where I parked , what I came to the store for,etc. That along with having a GPS has saved my life. I have to wonder if we try to overload our brains to the point nothing sticks there permanently . I know when people are talking to me I am thinking of other things at the same time and do not hear all they are saying. I have found by writing down a lot of the things I need to remember that I am no longer thinking of them subconsciously and am able to focus better …It is worth a try ! It makes me so much less stressed.”
“Brain fog – Good word and nice to know that I am not the only one who suffers from this. To sum it up for me: embarrassing; humilitating; frustrating; depressing and most of all so damn scary! It has got to the point where I make excuses not to drive because I fear losing my boundaries begind the wheel. Typing – forget it – so many errors. Fingers just do not want to go where they are suppose to. The more I try to concentrate, the worse it gets. I also get told that I am very hot-headed. Well for those of us who suffer from any symptom of MS we know that pain is a daily thing we face and generally we have to face it alone . We do not have”tempers” we just have a difficult time trying to convey our messages.”
“Main issues:
I cannot keep track of anything that has to do with numbers ei. dates, times, simple math, addresses, and phone numbers. My children find themselves frustrated at me because they have to repeat most of what they say to me at least twice. Depression. Can’t get a job with benefits due to pre-existing condition.
Underlying cause:
Very poor nutritional values.
Impact on lifestyle:
Unable to obtain a job.
Very low self esteem due to depression.
How do I deal:
The Wahls Protocol by Dr. Terry Wahls
I try to improve my lifestyle.”
“First, don’t panic! I hardly think this is an early sign of dementia! MS lesions can affect the brain and cause cognitive issues, but it sounds like you have lesions like I do, on the spine. In all the research I’ve done, it’s quite common for anyone with an auto-immune disorder to have the fatigue and brain-fog. Personally I think it’s because our bodies have to work so much harder to keep us going through normal life! It’s maintaining us while also coping with a disease. So, number one on my list is to get enough rest. Eat a healthy diet. Get enough moderate — not intense — exercise — and make lots of lists so I don’t forget important stuff. I laughed when I saw your note about leaving car doors open. I did that just recently. This is pretty minor — and it isn’t just those of us with chronic illness that do that — anyone over 50 will tell you they do this, too. Forgetfulness is a fact of aging as well. I am 54. A lot of my friends laugh when I tell them what I do and they say, yeah, I do that and I do not have MS. So they are helpful to me in giving me some perspective. Be kind to yourself. We have more to cope with than most people. If you can cut back on what you have to do on a daily basis, I find that limiting the number of things I have to do each day helps me not be so forgetful. Write stuff down. Take naps. Do one activity before starting another. Try not to be put in situations where you are multi-tasking. I get some helpful supplements from my naturopath that support me energetically. That might be worth a try for you, too. Avoid alchohol — drink sparingly because it will tire you. I limit caffeine, too, because of the post-caffeine let-down. But I use it in the morning. Hope that helps.”
“My husband age 63 (now ). In 2007 he started having periods of forgetfulness, extremely poor memory, hand tremors (slight), falling, bumping into things short term memory loss, slurred speech! In 1999 he stated chemo. For Non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He tolerated it pretty well and even worked a little. 2007 he got mono after the flu. He was in bed, ate & bed. He was diagnosed with chronic fatigue,2009 chemo. For B cell non- Hodgkin’s . It took care of the CA. But he has not be well since! We started going to all types so specialists. He has had brain fog since 2007 but it has progressed! He doesn’t ‘t do anything. He won’t shower! He eats sleeps, watches T.V. Then the cycle starts over again! The neurologist ruled out Parkinson’s .he has sleep apnea, uses a C Pap with oxygen but has interrupted sleep. The Geriatric psychiatrist had him straighted out for awhile. He changed his depression meds. Around and he started doing better. Now, after several surgeries (general anesthetic and three procedures for nerve impingements () and some dental work () he started going through brain fog, tripping and everything is a mess again! Any Comments…..I am tired! I want to help him! My daughter came up with Caine allergy! We have yet to speak to the Dr. He has upcoming appointments. GB!
“I get lost in the middle of conversations because my mind seems to literally go blank. I can’t remember what I was saying, and I can’t remember what we were even talking about. Sometimes I realize in the middle of someone talking to me that I lost track of the conversation and I have no idea what they are saying to me. I have a very hard time pulling out names, even of my own children. Often times I will rotate through four or five names before I get the right one, and thats if I get the right one; sometimes I just give up. I have a hard time focusing on what I am doing, but again, this is particularly bad with conversations. At work, I have a hard time completing tasks if people interrupt me in the middle of what I am doing because I get side tracked. Just the other day I had a particularly emotional(angry) outburst at a coworker because she kept interrupting me and repeating herself so I snapped and just said forget it, that isn’t what Im saying and Im done trying to rephrase it. It’s very frustrating and it affects my daily life. I am constantly struggling for words, struggling for names, and struggling to recollect memories from my short term memory.”
‘Brain Fog’…more like Brain Blizzard
1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog?
A) Memory retention and concentration/focus problems.
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog?
A) Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle?
A) I tend to stay home most days; when there’s a job interview, I usually panic and either go or ditch the entire uncomfortable experience.
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success?
A) How does anyone ‘deal’ with this? There are currently no treatments for this ‘brain fog’.
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog?
A) No.
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals? If, on the other hand you feel that it is well covered by your medical support please tell us a bit more.
A) I often wonder this same thing…if there’s a secret among the medical team, I’m feeling mighty ripped off at this point :/
“I have Fibro, Chronic Fatigue, Myofascial Pain Syndroms, and several autoimmune issues, among other annoying (and boring) deseases. Brain fog has been a major contributing factor to my inability to function and live as independently as I did when I was less ill.
I used to be in software and systems engineering and management, which required a lot of math and statistics, quick strategic thinking and decision making and NO mistakes. I was very successful, very well paid and well respected in my industry. I ended up going from working no less than a 60 hour week to having to go on Disability because I could no longer complete a simple algrorythm, let alone add two numbers. Multitasking was impossible, and I couldn’t stay awake or sit at my desk for more than a 10 minute stretch without having to get up and move.
1. I have all the symptoms listed above. The worst is not being able to recall words or people’s names or the names of things/places. It’s as if there’s a backfire happening in my brain like car, and I just sputter. 2. Lack of REM sleep, too much sugar or other poor dietary choices, increased pain and stress. 3. People often think I have a selective memory, which is maddening. When I find myself lost in places where I know I should know where I am, I can get panicky. Maps don’t make sense to me, and right becomes left, etc. I get angry and frustrated with myself, at times, but mostly I find myself feeling fearful when I cannot remember words or people’s names or I find myself suddenly lost. And forget about learning anything new! I can’t retain anything!Reading books is no longer enjoyable, as a result. 4. and 5. I am not able to provide you with anything that’s useful, I’m sorry to say. 6. Brain fog has never been addressed by any of my specialists in the 20-25 years I have been dealing with it until this padt year when I saw a CNP who specializes in FMS, but it it was an acknowledgement of the issue only.”
“It is horrible, I was a home health nurse, I didRural areas of south dakota. My fog was so bad I would get lost not knowing how I got where I was at or how to get where I was supposed to go. Frightening. I was also having difficulty filling pill boxes, making mistakes and trying to fix them was hard too.I say words I dont mean or cant find the right one to say. I can’t remember diseases and how we treat them or not remembeing little steps in procedures I had done millions of times. I quit the job and let go of my licenceI couldn’t risk hurting someone. With reducing stress it helped alittle I still do things and not remember them. Or words finding the right word to say is really bad and I cant remember names or new people. I think docs dont say anything because they dont know how to treat it. Oh I don’t drive unless someone is with me now which is rare as I dont leave my house much. Life altering.”
“hi I have fibromyalgia tmj cfs ME and degenerative disc disese ibs ius acid reflux & colitis titinitus my specialist has told me that having all these conditions at once has caused a scensory over load to my system giving me brain fog I get blurred vision head aches & then the memory loss forgetting words or what im doin starts I also get confussed & forgetfull & can become disorientated when I get the brain fog I cant stand moise its as tho I have a bubble over my head and every sound is exaggerated 10 times louder this causes a creeping tingling sensation that creeps up the back of my head towards my forehead and gives me a pressure headache that fills like my head wants to explode all I can do when its like this is to lay down in a quiet darkend room when this isn’t possible & you are around people im sure they must all think im very ignorant as I cant seem to focus or follow one conversation at a time I tend to avoid large groups n places that are moisy or if I do go I can only tolerate it for a while & have to leave I no longer can drive due to relapses in my thinking process what if I was to switch of or have a blank moment whilst driving ,,, im hoping once I start getting treatment for some of my conditions & they become managble the brain fog will start to reduce or inhope stop all together my specialist couldn’t give me any indications as to wether or not this will be the case I just have to go through tratments & wait & hope this will get better xxxx”
”
| I’m really in tune with my body, so when I started forgetting things, I grew a little concerned. I’m only 43, so I don’t want to hear “it’s just part of getting older”. I knew it wasn’t normal. As the brain fog progressed, I would wander around in circles forgetting that I was looking for something but feeling like I forgot something that I forgot. I’d forget which house on the block was my best friends’ house. I’d be behind the wheel and forget I was driving. I’d “snap to” and realize I was on my way home from work….and driving on the freeway. As it progressed further, I found myself frustrated and terrified. It was affecting my job. I get little ‘blips’ in my head like someone hitting a reset button. At least once, I would become disoriented standing on the front porch of the home where I lived for 13 years. I had to search for my phone and my keys SEVERAL times a day and it was making consistently late for work, even when I made it a point to put those things in the same place every time I used them. I couldn’t’ remember NOT putting them back where they go. I was forgetting names of people I have known for years! There was always a vague feeling of unease. I would burst into tears out of fear and frustration. My husband thought I was just making excuses. Sometimes, it feels like daydreaming but I don’t know it was fog until after I ‘snap out of it’. I never said to myself “hey, I’m having brain fog” it’s always “hey, that was brain fog”. When I described all the symptoms to my doctor, she gave me a simple test for dementia. Then she started labs. I was reading up on everything I could. Even though there is too much information out there and I’m no doctor, you do know your own body. Menopause gives you brain fog. So does Diabetes. So does Celiac. So do vitamin deficiencies. Quadruple whammy. I’m slowly but surely getting the ball of yarn untangled with the help of my Lord and my doctor but I thought I was going insane for a while. I think what has helped the most besides prayer is the vitamin B1. When the labs came back, the thiamine reading was so low, the equipment couldn’t detect it.” |
“1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog?
Short term memory, can’t think forget my words, cannot focus or pay attention for long periods
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog?
Chemotherapy and being put to sleep too much due to having several surgeries
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle?
Caused severe depression and issue with my previous diagnosis of PTSD, Lost my JOB
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success?
Take it day by day and so far nothing has helped
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog?
Unfortunately not
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals? If, on the other hand you feel that it is well covered by your medical support please tell us a bit more.
I believe most people think it’s an excuse”
“mine started almost 4 years ago. i have cfs and fibromyalgia. but i thought it was alzheimer’s starting at an early age (i’m 53). i gave away my car. i would get lost on streets i grew up driving on. didn’t recognize where i was, and panic and tears would overwhelm me to the point that i thought i was having a heart attack. i started isolating because i was embarrassed that i couldn’t speak a whole sentence without losing my words. i still can’t speak a whole sentence. i get aggravated when i can’t find a word and people get impatient and are no longer interested in what i have to say. i feel unimportant. i want to finish my sentence! my friends have now all fallen away. i can’t cook a dinner without panic. total confusion in the kitchen. when i’m alone, it’s fruit or frozen veggies, mostly. maybe a piece of meat. one thing only, or i lose it. i feel stupid when someone tries to show me new things. it’s like it goes in one ear and out the other. i can’t take ‘focus’ meds, as they make me nervous. i have recurring major depression and anxiety disorder and ‘agoraphobia’…i think that comes from isolating because i don’t want anyone to see what i’ve become. i take the meds and hope for better days. i’m not so sure, though. i just want help. the only person who listens is my shrink, and that’s only because she’s paid to. and even then, i’m not so sure she does. if you only knew how long it took to write this. i need someone to listen and help :'(“
Hey there.. how are you feeling now.. are you got any better.. please share.. I’m going through the same
Angela2020
My mom had a very similar experience while she was going for her MBA in nursing with MS. She eventually had to drop her courses. I believe she did finish thru correspondence courses when she was ready, so just know that there are options. I’m also in a group for chronology ill women and it seems the trick is to carry a load you can balance when you’re at your worst, according to the ones who are in school. Maybe a hiatus is in order. My hiatus from work is now spanning 3 years, but I know that I’ll get it figured out at some point. Best of luck to you & please feel free to reach out if you need to talk. Also, I have some experience with term papers, editing in AMA format & whatnot. My grammar & structure analysis is still fairly proficient.
I’m sorry you’re going through this. I too am experiencing everything you had described. I’m a college student myself and when I am going through a flare up (usually lasts about 5 weeks) I start failing my exams and my professors comment on how disappointed they are. Concentrating in lectures is definitely impossible during a flare up. It’s as if I’m having an out of body experience, like I’m there in the classroom but I can’t understand why I’m there. absorbing information seems like an impossible task, and to be able to use that information during the exams is not going to happen. I study so much that one would think I’d surely get an A…nope, try a D or an F. When i take my exams, its like im reading the material for the first time.
Sadly, I will have all the information stored in my head but it doesn’t surface again again weeks or months later.
I have yet to find anything that helps me. I just tell my professors that I’m not well and their teaching methods are fine, its just a bad time for me in my personal life and I’ll try harder next time.
I hope you find some material that explains this brain fog you’re having to go through and show it to your parents so maybe they’ll see its a medical issue not an excuse.
IN MY CASE, THE BRIAN FOG INCRESE AFTER TO BROTE SEVERAL MS , DIURING DAYS IS VERY STRONG DONT REMEMBER WHEN STAY,,,WERE ARE YOU,,,OR MAKE TWO TIMES ANYTHING,,IN MY STYLEÑIFE MORE DANGERUS,,BECAUSE TEH PERSONALITY FOR TO BE ACCOUNTED MANAGER IS VERY DIFICUL TELL OR EXPLEINTED ANYTHING
sorry i just followed each question
1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog? I can be in the middle of speaking and stop mid sentence and forget what I am talking about. Often. I have problems word finding. I cant remember simple things. I cant remember any names whatsoever. even if i have known someone for 20 years. I cant problem solve as well as I used too. I have a bit of delay when people say things to me often. Sometimes I remember a random childhood event out of nowhere. I try to write it down because im so afraid i wont think of it again and that i will loose memory. I can not recall things. That is one of the hardest things for me to do is recall things. Whether it be a date, number, person, event. Anything. It is awful. I hate it.
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog? Fibromyalgia. and ptsd
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle? It is horrible. It has gotten worse this past year and truly affects me daily. I struggle to do things at work that I used to do with ease. I feel way to young to have these issues.
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success? I write EVERYTHING. I write every single thing i can down. i have so many notebooks. I do not have any other treatments really other then trying to reduce stress which is an ongoing task.
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog? no but it would be nice to find something.
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals? If, on the other hand you feel that it is well covered by your medical support please tell us a bit more.
I feel that brain fog is often ignored by health care professionals for a few reasons. Personally, I feel that they just dont believe me. I am only 24 and try to tell them how bad it is. I feel like it hasnt been taken seriously for a long time. Many misdiagnose it seems. Yes Depression is a nasty thing and causes similar symptoms, but this is different.
My brain fog started yrs ago..I couldn’t remember what day it was…how to get to places..didn’t realize we were taking a test in one of my classes in college. I would leave somewhere to go home..and a couple hours later would finally make it home..not realizing those hours had passed. Scarey stuff. Now..I seem to blank out in the middle of conversations…can’t remember how to spell words…and there are times when people are talking to me on the phone or even face to face that it seems completely garbled. I’m on medication called topamax that has been known to cause brain fog..but to this extreme? I also have chiari malformation with mind splitting headaches and fibromyalgea. I can remember in detail things from 10 yrs go…but I can’t remember if I ate breakfast usually. None of my drs have an answer.
@cmubfly
In Nov. 2009 I was Dx with Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. In June 2011 I began having problems with my eyes (optic neuritis) cognitive problems and issues with memory (could not think my brain into my work and was swapping words around and losing words) along with numbness and tingling and periods where my thighs and sides would go completely numb. The eye doctor told me to go immediately to a neurologist as he saw that I had optic neuritis. After many MRIs and spinal tap and bloodwork I was told that I have MS. In addition in the past six months my ANA protein has been high and I am developing a rash on my face and midsection of my body… Possibly systematic lupus! If anyone has a reason to feel doomed sweetheart it’s me. I have over 29 brain lesions that’s where the neurologist stopped counting. We are facing the problem of finding a medication that will help with MS and RA because the doctors do not want to impede my immune system with two biologic medications. So far the Techfidera; officially a treatment for MS (in Europe also helped with psoriatic arthritis which is also an immune associated chronic illness) is helping with the MS but because of the scar tissue the brain fog will not go away as well as I have some permanent numbness and it does not help with the pain in the small bones of my feet and hands and my thigh bones. However it is keeping the swelling/C-reactive protein at an acceptable level. I have been referred to the MS Center of Atlanta with the possibility of having systematically best RA and en masse I believe that my neurologist and rheumatologist have hit the end of their right with me. I am currently looking for a support group that will have members battling these particular chronic diseases together with no luck. I too am feeling very down and very hard on myself. But I have great faith in God that there is a reason I am going through this and at the end of the day he will get the glory by leading me to the people who can help me… Such as this blog. Just the fact that the introduction page mentions all of the things I’m going through makes me feel I am not alone. Do not give up. Make a conscious decision that this disease will not conquer you!! You WILL win!
I also wanted to suggest a diet my daughter found and we are trying it together I have copied a link to the page below and go to the testimonials to see everything that it helps. It is not a diet necessarily to lose weight, however if you follow it you will lose weight because you will be eating better and taking in the correct types of fats and vitamins (my vitamin D, folic acid and vitamin B12 are always low but since starting this diet they have began to rise) and that is important to brain function.
The diet is called the Whole30. If you decide to try this diet depend on smoothies for an energy booster, I blend all of my supplements and drink them in the smoothly. Be sure that if you are doing smoothies along with that you are doing vegetables and not only fruit smoothies because you could end up gaining weight from the sugars and the fruits. They will also help you get the number of fruits and vegetables you need each day. The most important thing to remember with this “new way of eating” is to cut out granulated white sugar completely. I had such a problem with this because I love my cream and sugar in my coffee but I found that vanilla coconut creamer (not coconut MILK but ‘cream’) found in the dairy section works wonderful as a sweetener to coffee. You will find when you purchase the food on this diet that you will be able to throw together very easy meals …my daughter and I have made up some great recipes that only take 10 to 15 minutes to prepare. It will take some dedication and planning on your part however I began to see and feel benefits after only 10 days and normally it takes 30 to get toxins and sugars out of your body. My daughter has CSOD and is trying to get her ovaries back in working order so that she can someday become pregnant. It would be great if you could find someone to do the diet with as support but you can also do it alone and be successful!
God be with you and bless you!
Here is the link: (these are the testimonials. After reading just click on ‘Home’ to learn more about the diet)
http://whole30.com/2011/06/the-whole30-a-z-real-life-testimonials
@clairefrench-
As the mother of a formerly bulimic daughter (7th-10th grade, now a mom herself). I can assure you that if you also tell your parents everything they will take you seriously. My daughter was taking diet supplements and I know that she was purging but for the life of me could not get her to stop. She denied it and denied it until she began having health problems. She has a twin sister and I do not know if I would have ever learned about this had her twin sister not told me. The advice the other lady gave you is only partially correct. If you are doing something to harm your self the doctor is obligated to discuss this with your parents. Would you not rather this information come from yourself? And this is only true if you are below the age of 17 and from what I understand you should be. Your parents are not listening to you because all they are seeing is that your your grades have dropped and the fact that you were previously a straight a student SHOULD tell them something is wrong. However parents are not perfect and sometimes they get wrapped up in their own lives and preferred to push an issue under the rod until it is staring them right in the face.
Trust your parents sweetheart. They love you and only want what’s best for you even if they have been blind to the situation. I fully believe that if you are completely honest about EVERYTHING; with your parents doctor or whomever you choose to tell, that no one is going to tell you that it is just in your head.
If you need help speaking to your parents prior going to see a doctor I suggest going to your assigned school counselor and speaking to them first. Ask him or her to sit in on a conference with your parents. This will also show the parents that you feel like you have not been heard. Because you went to the counselor first they will also understand the gravity of the situation and take you very seriously. I’m sure they want to get you the help you need but they do not have knowledge of just how serious the issue is because you are only telling them about the symptoms but not what is causing those symptoms. Because of the way who told your story I believe you know deep down why you are experiencing Brain Fog. Zoning out and not being able to remember where you are or what you’re doing is a black out and if you are driving during this time, you could not only take your own life but someone else’s as well and I know you don’t want to hurt anyone.
If I remember reading correctly, I believe you said your aunt gave you food. Maybe you can have your aunt sit down with you and your parents while you tell them about your dieting; if you do not feel comfortable with the school counselor. However, as a parent I just feel like it would show a little more gravity to the situation if it were to involve the school counselor. It was a call from a school counselor telling me they noticed differences in my daughters behavior and what they suspected which first brought my attention to it, then her sister confirmed what she knew when I asked her if she had noticed. I knew both of them had been losing weight. But they had joined the swim team and I just assumed it was because of that.
Understand there is only a certain amount of information that any doctor can share with a parent; a medical doctor that is. If you were to go to counseling after all tests have been ran and ruled out any other medical problem with your brain …don’t be afraid that those sessions would be discussed with your parents. I never learned anything that was discussed in my daughters counseling sessions; but she did get better. I will be praying for you and for God to lead you and guide you to get the help you need. You are to young and to smart to be going through this. I’m proud of you for reaching out on this blog now the rest is up to you.
God be with You!
Lady Quinn Oh my god thank-you for your answer, I really do appreciate it, but how do I tell my doctor all this? What if she doesn’t take it seriously and says that everyone goes through this phase? So it’s not me right that’s being stupid I really do need to see a doctor right?
Sweetheart. I get it. I was bulemic for years. Please Google the symptoms of “starvation” b/c that’s what’s happenning. Please ask your parents to take you to a doctor. Tell them you have blinding headaches or something so they will be concerned. A doctor can help you in your quest to stay thin but get enough nutrients to function. Otherwise you’ll end up hospitalized and waste several years trying to get well enough to function again. Also check out an overeaters anonymous meeting (most people there eat too little btw). Your brain cannot work without enough nourishment. Check out ensure shakes too. It may help get your brain straight. You really need to see a doctor as soon as you can tho. They have to keep what you tell them confidential so don’t be afraid to tell them what’s going on. You may also have something going on with your brain, starvation aside. So tell your parents blinding headaches & blackouts & they will have to take you to get checked out! Good luck
So I’m a sophomore and I started to feel that my brain has
started feeling fuzzy in the end of eighth grade.I was on this diet where I only ate salad and
eventually stopped eating for days at times.I barely drank water.One day, I
was about to take a shower in the morning when all of a sudden my eyes starting
going all black and my head was spinning and I felt like I was going to go
blind.I started screaming and my aunt quickly
fed me cereal.Then over the summer I
started to feel faint again.My eyes
became like they did before and my stomach hurt and my head kept spinning but I
never went to the doctor in the end.My
parents started to make me eat but while all this was going on I was taking a
summer course, Geometry.Every day I
would go to class and come home and study geometry every day and night.I had to pass the class with an 85 or higher
and I was doing so badly.I got so many
D’s and C’s that I didn’t know what to do.I was in all advanced classes in middle school and used to getting not
only A’s but A+ as well.So I was under
so much stress.Then I started high
school.Freshman year I started to feel
like my brain was kind of fuzzy and I couldn’t really understand things.I felt like it had something to do with the
fact that I was wearing contacts every day because my eyes were also kind of
hazy.Then I started sophomore
year.In the beginning I wasn’t so out
of it but now it’s like I can’t think straight my brain is always fuzzy.Whenever my teachers give lectures I try so
hard to concentrate but I can’t.I only
see their mouth moving and their words don’t register in my brain.Whenever I try and focus my brain wanders off
and starts to imagine different realities for me.A reality where I’m smart and perfect and I
don’t know how to stop these imaginations.I have been getting such bad grades and my parents are so upset.I feel so dumb and feel like I’m
floating.Sometimes I think I’m dead and
sometimes I think that I just woke from a coma and I’m living life again.When I look in the mirror I can’t register
myself it’s as if my body and my brain are two different things.I don’t remember anything I always forget
everything.Just yesterday I forgot my
friend’s names.I keep trying to tell my
parents but they don’t listen.They tell
me that it’s because I don’t work hard and up to my potential.And I used to believe them.But now, I know for certain something is
wrong with me.I can’t understand words
or concepts and always forget everything and that really sucks when I take
tests.I just don’t know what to do and
I know that it is somehow linked to this disease.Please give me advice!
cmubfly know the feeling my mom did to
ThomasRaphaelHyle DeeDeeLee one day I tried to get into someone else’s truck..then I put a special marker dangling from my rear view mirror
In addition to my post below, here is my response
1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog?
i used to feel very cloudy and almost like a headache. my brain just felt fragmented like the computer definition. It felft like a struggle to apply myself cognitively
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog?
a variety of factors, including poor digestion, definitely poor sleep but my current hypothesis is that I didnt have the right ‘brain stimulation’ ie my brain was very ‘unfit’
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle?
It stopped me progressing at work. I stuggled to apply myself in challenging tasks. I was also quite miserable.
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success?
Two things had major success for me. 1. Properly engineered brainwave entrainment – particularly the key track off WorkSharp from ActiveMindsGlobal.com; and 2. the right nutrients, specifically a bio-active b vitamin complex, omega 3 fish oil and magnesium.
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog?
Two key resources:
http://www.activemindsglobal.com/
http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Brain_fog_-_poor_memory,_difficulty_thinking_clearly_etc
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals?
Because it’s very hard to quantify or qualify the symptoms. Even a slight change in your energy output through diet, stress, lifestyle factors, poor sleep etc can substantially affect cognitive function. Also Neurologists would be the only doctors that come close but they don’t seem to focus on subjective symptoms such as clarity of thought, memory recall, cognitive processing speed etc.
1. Can’t read a book, can’t recall what’s happened in a tv series/soap, feel slightly detached from reality… a bit ‘cotton woolly’….
2. Stress, depression, menopause, hereditary.
3. Loss of feelings, don’t enjoy anything anymore, worry unnecessarily about things, tearful and anxious, feel vulnerable, upset at forgetting things.
4. Just try to work through it, try different diets, avoid situations where I feel vulnerable/stressed.
5. I write down important things
6. I have never been to Drs about it as I don’t think they would take it seriously!
1. Flustered, irritable, impatient with self for not remembering
2. Fatigue, Heat, Medication, Sensory Overload
3. Conflict, Lowers Self Worth, Second-guess oneself, automatically believe YOU must be at fault
4. REST and maintain an ambient temperature
5. No, I have ONE place where I write my “reminders” – I have RRMS for 14 years
6. The embarrassment of admitting you have brain fog and not wanting to know about it
Not sure if there are any sources for assistance with brain fog, brain seem to have some memory loss as a symptom of ms. I’ll be discussing this with my neurologist on my next visit.
You are not alone!
There are many reasons for brain fog and age is certainly not one of them! I’ve known people and have relatives that are well into their 80’s and even 90’s who are sharp as a tack. What we eat (nutrition) has a lot to do with brain function. Being overweight as so many are doesn’t help. There are studies and research being conducted that suggest that toxins being released through our intestinal wall enters our blood stream and can damage not only our body but our brain. Exercise and diet have a lot to do with being healthy in body and mind. Avoiding all the GMO and contaminants certainly can’t hurt. I have Celiac Disease, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia along with brain fog. I’ve discovered changing my diet, becoming way more health conscience regarding exercise and diet and shedding a few pounds has made a huge difference for me. At 55 I’m not ready to concede. Age is only a number! Dementia and MS took it’s toll on my mother in her latter years, I don’t want to burden my children with what we had to go through with my mom. Eat right and exercise!
Thank You! My husband has been experiencing this since his Chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma–2010. No Doctor has given us any reason or diagnosis other than “You have a really sick husband! I live with him, I know he’s not well! Thank-You!
He also has chronic fatigue resulting from a severe case of mononucleosis! You certainly have given me “Food for Thought and Hope.”
I too am like this all of the time. I am 65 so that is to be expected I suppose. The problem is that I have been that way since I was in my thirty’s….I even went to a physiatrist about it. She suggested keeping a notebook with me all of the time. Writing down where I parked , what I came to the store for,etc. That along with having a GPS has saved my life. I have to wonder if we try to overload our brains to the point nothing sticks there permanently . I know when people are talking to me I am thinking of other things at the same time and do not hear all they are saying. I have found by writing down a lot of the things I need to remember that I am no longer thinking of them subconsciously and am able to focus better …It is worth a try ! It makes me so much less stressed.
Most of the time people have to repeat they say because I forgot that they had already told me the story The other day at the doctors she told me to raise my eyebrows and I simply opened my eyes bigger until she told me I was doing it wrong.
Brain fog: those days when I can’t think my way out of a wet paper bag.
I mix the order of my words up. eg (get your feet off the table) “get the table off your feet!” Very frustrating especially when you are correcting young children who are always ready to answer back. I also have episodes that I blank out, I’d be discussing in a group and can’t remember what I was talking about. Or I move from one room to another to do something and by the time I get to the other room I can’t remember what I went there for! I also go to the grocery store and can’t remember what I went for.
Brain Fog ~Scary. Got lost driving to my regular hair appointment. Had to call my husband to help me find my way there. Came out of the grocery store and could not remember where I had parked. Had to think of which entrance I came it to help me find my car. My husband will talk about some things that have happened and I have no memory of some of it. Gotten to point were I’ve just given up trying to remember it. I have these types of experiences on my bad days. Have terrible short term memory loss.
DeeDeeLee I get that grocery store effect almost every time
Brain fog – Good word and nice to know that I am not the only one who suffers from this. To sum it up for me: embarrassing; humilitating; frustrating; depressing and most of all so damn scary! It has got to the point where I make excuses not to drive because I fear losing my boundaries begind the wheel. Typing – forget it – so many errors. Fingers just do not want to go where they are suppose to. The more I try to concentrate, the worse it gets. I also get told that I am very hot-headed. Well for those of us who suffer from any symptom of MS we know that pain is a daily thing we face and generally we have to face it alone . We do not have”tempers” we just have a difficult time trying to convey our messages.
Main issues:
I cannot keep track of anything that has to do with numbers ei. dates, times, simple math, addresses, and phone numbers. My children find themselves frustrated at me because they have to repeat most of what they say to me at least twice. Depression. Can’t get a job with benefits due to pre-existing condition.
Underlying cause:
Very poor nutritional values.
Impact on lifestyle:
Unable to obtain a job.
Very low self esteem due to depression.
How do I deal:
The Wahls Protocol by Dr. Terry Wahls
I try to improve my lifestyle.
I stop and try to think of what I want to say. May not always come out the way I want but something does lol
Your not doomed jusy stay active and don’t let it win.
I was just diagnosed with M.S. two months ago, and i have “mild” brain fog, forgetting, losing concentration, can’t find words, stuttering… before my diagnosis i really worried and still do because my father died recently from Alheimer’s/Lewy Body dementia and it’s also on my mom’s side and she has mental health issues as well, as does my sister. I’m doomed any way I look at it.
cmubfly No, you’re not. You’re forwarned, and that means you’re forearmed. Just because your dad had Alzheimers has shown up in your family doesn’t mean with certainty you will get it; mental health issues — the same thing. MS is something entirely different from those. MS is an auto-immune disorder. Has the doc told you where the lesions are on your brain/spinal cord? Because where they are can definitely affect your speech, memory, and give you the brain fog. I suggest you get intouch with your local MS Society and get on their mailing list and a local support group so you can stay informed and get some questions answered. Ask your doc to clarify where those lesions are and what the impact might possibly be on your function and if these symptoms are related. Don’t go down that dark road of “i’m dooomed.” Information and education is your best friend — you’re in a bit of shock right now — getting a diagnosis is overwhelming and frightening. Know you are not alone! But you can handle it with accurate information and support. Some of the new meds will help, too. Good luck! You can take action and be more in control of what is going on.
cmubfly this is a recent discovery but the fatty tissue that is eaten away from ms is very much like what happens with Alzheimer’s Disease and it is being looked into that it is replaced with coconut oil, I eat a small tablespoon daily. I could see it being offered in gel caps soon like fish oil which is also good to fight Alzheimer’s, and it must be raw and never cooked. before ms, I was a professional chef and the molecular properties of oil change with heat, that is what extra virgin means, no heat was used in the extraction process. I have ataxia from my ms and I thought I had a stroke
You are not doomed! Please grab the reins and don’t give up! It’s not hopeless! Please try better nutrition and get as much exercise as you possibly can on the good days! Find a good Psychiatrist, M.D. And counseling!
You are not doomed! Try the exercise on your good days and try and eat better! Find a good Psychiatrist, M.D. ! You don’t have to feel this way! Take a hold of the reins and please DO NOT Give up!
You are Not Doomed! Take back your power! Try better nutrition and exercise on your good days! Find a good Psychiatrist, M.D. Good Luck! You can do this!
BUENO EMPIEZO POR EL FINAL,,NO NO ME AYUDAN LO MEDICOS CON ESTOS SINTOMAS,,SOLO ME ESCUCHAN Y DICEN ES NORMAL,,,PERO CADA VES ES PEOR,,,HACE 20 DIAS TUVE UNA RECAIDA Y HASTA HOY NO PUEDO ACLARAR NADA,,ESTOY MUY CONFUNDIDA,,HASTA EN TIEMPO ANDO MAL,,YO ME CONCIDERABA UN GPS ,,AHORA TODO ANDA MUY MAL,MUY CONFUSO,,CALLES SE ME OLVIDA,LO Q DEBE HACER O COMPRAR,,BUENO FATAL,,ES COMO ESTAR Y NO ESTAR,,COMO SABERLO Y NO,,ME ESTOY DESSESPERANDO,,EL NEUROLOGO ME MANDO CON LA DE EPILEPCIA Y ELLA ME DIJO Q SON CRISIS CONVULSIBAS,,COSA Q NO DOY CREDITO,,,HASTA PARA DEIR PALABRAS,,AGHHH Y Q DIGO ESCRIBIR PEOR
srboe1959 I feel the exact same way but I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at first considering the same type of symptoms occur with both illness. I have legions now in my spinal cord as well but i feel and have the same problems that you have with brain fog. It is really starting to frustrate me. Leaving the stove on cooking is something I loved to do now Im scared to do it. leaving my car doors open. Staying to long in the car with my heater on while driving makes me forget where i am or going. I feel like this is an early form of dementia any suggestions?
YolandaHenderson srboe1959 First, don’t panic! I hardly think this is an early sign of dementia! MS lesions can affect the brain and cause cognitive issues, but it sounds like you have lesions like I do, on the spine. In all the research I’ve done, it’s quite common for anyone with an auto-immune disorder to have the fatigue and brain-fog. Personally I think it’s because our bodies have to work so much harder to keep us going through normal life! It’s maintaining us while also coping with a disease. So, number one on my list is to get enough rest. Eat a healthy diet. Get enough moderate — not intense — exercise — and make lots of lists so I don’t forget important stuff. I laughed when I saw your note about leaving car doors open. I did that just recently. This is pretty minor — and it isn’t just those of us with chronic illness that do that — anyone over 50 will tell you they do this, too. Forgetfulness is a fact of aging as well. I am 54. A lot of my friends laugh when I tell them what I do and they say, yeah, I do that and I do not have MS. So they are helpful to me in giving me some perspective. Be kind to yourself. We have more to cope with than most people. If you can cut back on what you have to do on a daily basis, I find that limiting the number of things I have to do each day helps me not be so forgetful. Write stuff down. Take naps. Do one activity before starting another. Try not to be put in situations where you are multi-tasking. I get some helpful supplements from my naturopath that support me energetically. That might be worth a try for you, too. Avoid alchohol — drink sparingly because it will tire you. I limit caffeine, too, because of the post-caffeine let-down. But I use it in the morning. Hope that helps.
Brain fog hits me when I am fatigued, and fatigue often accompanies an increase in MS symptoms, not necessarily a flare, but an aggravation of symptoms either because of stress, not enough sleep or too much hot weather. Obviously, an exacerbation makes it come on, too. But my worst brain fog is when I have a migraine, which I get more during the change of spring and fall season. When I have a migraine I am not functional. I can’t think straight, I don’t remember things, and if it’s bad enough, i can’t drive, either. Not because of visual disturbance but because my reflexes are slow. After a migraine is resolved, I am exhausted and fatigued and again I am mentally slow. I know that since my diagnosis (my lesions are in my spinal cord) my husband tells me I am forgetful about little things — I don’t close cupboard doors, I leave the stove on, I don’t close the refrigerator, I sometimes put refrigerator items in the pantry and vice versa. I have learned I need to write things down if they are important, I make lists or I won’t remember when I need to get certain things done. In my nonprofit which I run, I tell people EMAIL me don’t tell me, or I will never remember. It’s important to get enough sleep — that does help. My staff knows there are days I have to stop and just go take a nap. And when I get up, I am usually much more focused.
Yes i definitely have this. Never knew how to explain it
I have MS – Word recall is a fun adventure in my life. My husband had pneumonia and I continually told people that he had lasagna. I asked my husband for a pancake turner but i said pencil cleaver. My doctor notes my issues in my chart but doesn’t really say anything about it except – Does it cause you to not be able to work? I causes a great deal of comic relief in my house and classroom but otherwise I am good.
Heather Hoag I love it. I always make up words, use wrong words. Luckily, whoever I’m talking to usually knows what I mean. The only person I worry about is my boss. I managed to find a part-time job that isn’t so rushy. She doesn’t seem to get it if or when I would forget something or someone. I’d hate to mess up a word in front of her. Anyway, carry on. Don’t you wonder how lasagna got in the middle of it all? 🙂
Drs. Are full of nothing!
Heather Hoag LOL I totally understand that language!!
Heather Hoag I usually wait until the other person guesses the correct word..
jaxx0505 Heather Hoag That is AWESOME!
No one ever mentioned brain fog or chemo brain this whole time!
My husband age 63 (now ). In 2007 he started having periods of forgetfulness, extremely poor memory, hand tremors (slight), falling, bumping into things short term memory loss, slurred speech! In 1999 he stated chemo. For Non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He tolerated it pretty well and even worked a little. 2007 he got mono after the flu. He was in bed, ate & bed. He was diagnosed with chronic fatigue,2009 chemo. For B cell non- Hodgkin’s . It took care of the CA. But he has not be well since! We started going to all types so specialists. He has had brain fog since 2007 but it has progressed! He doesn’t ‘t do anything. He won’t shower! He eats sleeps, watches T.V. Then the cycle starts over again! The neurologist ruled out Parkinson’s .he has sleep apnea, uses a C Pap with oxygen but has interrupted sleep. The Geriatric psychiatrist had him straighted out for awhile. He changed his depression meds. Around and he started doing better. Now, after several surgeries (general anesthetic and three procedures for nerve impingements (lidocaine) and some dental work (novacaine) he started going through brain fog, tripping and everything is a mess again! Any Comments…..I am tired! I want to help him! My daughter came up with Caine allergy! We have yet to speak to the Dr. He has upcoming appointments. GB
Just an update. Now that I have my blood sugar completely regulated with diet and exercise and taking the vitamins my doctor prescribed, I’m feeling way more normal and not having the brain fog like I was. I’m still more forgetful than I’d like to be but it seems to be a normal range of forgetfulness and not that desperate, panicky, frantic, lost feeling. I hope others are experiencing some type of relief, as well.
i have been dealing with brain fog since 98 after i was in a car crush . i will be in the middle of doing something and forget what i was doing or be talking to someone and forget was i was going to say . i always joke and say i had a brain fart or must not been important or i would not have forgotten it
Yes, I battle Brain Fog!
I get lost in the middle of conversations because my mind seems to literally go blank. I can’t remember what I was saying, and I can’t remember what we were even talking about. Sometimes I realize in the middle of someone talking to me that I lost track of the conversation and I have no idea what they are saying to me. I have a very hard time pulling out names, even of my own children. Often times I will rotate through four or five names before I get the right one, and thats if I get the right one; sometimes I just give up. I have a hard time focusing on what I am doing, but again, this is particularly bad with conversations. At work, I have a hard time completing tasks if people interrupt me in the middle of what I am doing because I get side tracked. Just the other day I had a particularly emotional(angry) outburst at a coworker because she kept interrupting me and repeating herself so I snapped and just said forget it, that isn’t what Im saying and Im done trying to rephrase it. It’s very frustrating and it affects my daily life. I am constantly struggling for words, struggling for names, and struggling to recollect memories from my short term memory.
KrystalGiles and of course it is very necessary to conceal this if you want to keep working, meanwhile.
Cognitive issues are hard to hide. I got fired from my job of 6 years for lack of attendance & poor performance on the job. They said that if they hadn’t known about the meds that I was taking, they would’ve assumed that I was drunk. I didn’t hear this directly, but thru gossip after the fact. I am mortified to think of what I may have done or said that I now do not remember. I had started on Savella then been switched to my arch-nemesis Lyrica while I was still working. I cannot tolerate the AD drugs at all, they make me extra crazy. And neither helped with the cognitive issues, but instead exacerbated them. But I guess it doesn’t matter, since I can’t really remember it very well anyhow.
😉
I have got a brain cell or two, I write all that I can on here(facebook) because this happens to me.
cog fog and a combo wlth PBA is frlghtenlng for ME, but for the person I am inyeravting with jst wrltes me off as a lost cause—–hence, why l cannot get a job lt seems that eveytlme l have an lntervlew no matter how mch l prepare for lt and try to relax l end up wlth extreme emotional affect, l.e. random crylng, laughlng for absolutely no reason-thus maklng me look very bad and or cog fog where l get my words mixed up….so very embarasslng, so very unemployeed…. l am 34 years old wlth 2 klds l’ve had MS slce l was 18 years old. my lafe ended before lt began. l wlll never own a home,or marry or be financially secure.
‘Brain Fog’…more like Brain Blizzard
1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog?
A) Memory retention and concentration/focus problems.
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog?
A) Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle?
A) I tend to stay home most days; when there’s a job interview, I usually panic and either go or ditch the entire uncomfortable experience.
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success?
A) How does anyone ‘deal’ with this? There are currently no treatments for this ‘brain fog’.
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog?
A) No.
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals? If, on the other hand you feel that it is well covered by your medical support please tell us a bit more.
A) I often wonder this same thing…if there’s a secret among the medical team, I’m feeling mighty ripped off at this point :/
chantaldawn RRMS since 2005 unoffical (Was told possible 2 mini-strokes) 5 years later MRI coparisons proved MS. Brain Fogs Were probably going on longer. Still not how I drove myself to & from MO the summer after my Dad died! I sleep most days it hits bad! Was on Co-paxone, but got lumps @ injection sites, now just B-12, D-3, Cod-Liver Oil, Fish Oil Turamic on most foods & Nutra-Bullet smoothies for MS!
I take some plus several others. I feel decent mostly but hasn’t helped much with the brain fog. Going to be starting protandim and mitoQ with my LDN in hopes of noticeable differences. Sorry, can’t remember what else I was gonna say. 😉
An antidepressant doesn’t make it go away. It’s just … there. Mine is MS related.
I have it for sure. I am 24 and have been suffering severe depression for years. My therapist said she thinks my fog is due to poor sleep caused by depression and put me on an anti depressant called Mirtazapine, but it hasn’t gone away. I really think I need to see a neurologist or something but nobody will listen to me,
charlotte_vicsAn antidepressant doesn’t make it go away. It’s just … there. Mine is MS related.
I have Fibro, Chronic Fatigue, Myofascial Pain Syndroms, and several autoimmune issues, among other annoying (and boring) deseases. Brain fog has been a major contributing factor to my inability to function and live as independently as I did when I was less ill.
I used to be in software and systems engineering and management, which required a lot of math and statistics, quick strategic thinking and decision making and NO mistakes. I was very successful, very well paid and well respected in my industry. I ended up going from working no less than a 60 hour week to having to go on Disability because I could no longer complete a simple algrorythm, let alone add two numbers. Multitasking was impossible, and I couldn’t stay awake or sit at my desk for more than a 10 minute stretch without having to get up and move.
1. I have all the symptoms listed above. The worst is not being able to recall words or people’s names or the names of things/places. It’s as if there’s a backfire happening in my brain like car, and I just sputter. 2. Lack of REM sleep, too much sugar or other poor dietary choices, increased pain and stress. 3. People often think I have a selective memory, which is maddening. When I find myself lost in places where I know I should know where I am, I can get panicky. Maps don’t make sense to me, and right becomes left, etc. I get angry and frustrated with myself, at times, but mostly I find myself feeling fearful when I cannot remember words or people’s names or I find myself suddenly lost. And forget about learning anything new! I can’t retain anything!Reading books is no longer enjoyable, as a result. 4. and 5. I am not able to provide you with anything that’s useful, I’m sorry to say. 6. Brain fog has never been addressed by any of my specialists in the 20-25 years I have been dealing with it until this padt year when I saw a CNP who specializes in FMS, but it it was an acknowledgement of the issue only.
MaggieHepner You just described everything that I go thru… haven’t addressed it with my team of neurologists yet since I am newly diagnosed RRMS and we’re still addressing other issues.. but out of everything the brain fog is the most frightening
1. All the symptoms mentioned above. Can’t single out one being worse than the other.
2. Pain, lack of proper sleep and stress.
3. Embarrissing at times and I feel stupid. Especially when I’m in a new situation, around people that don’t know me. Feel very insecure when it comes to learning something new. Can’t read books anymore, as I can’t remember what I’ve read. I hear, but at the same time I don’t hear what people say to me sometimes.
4. No treatments. Trying to do things that keeps my brain going; crosswords, strategic games etc
5. Sorry, no.
6. I feel like it is not taken seriously, as if they just see one of the above mentioned symptoms and don’t see the whole picture.
Thank you,
Elli, Sweden
Sound and light sensitive to. I have other symptoms to just drawing a blank right now
Imagine that
SusanBerndt I have a very hard time responding to things ‘right now’. I must think on things and go back to it. What symptoms do I have relating to brain fog? Umm, brain fog! Let me get back to you on that!
It is horrible, I was a home health nurse, I didRural areas of south dakota. My fog was so bad I would get lost not knowing how I got where I was at or how to get where I was supposed to go. Frightening. I was also having difficulty filling pill boxes, making mistakes and trying to fix them was hard too.I say words I dont mean or cant find the right one to say. I can’t remember diseases and how we treat them or not remembeing little steps in procedures I had done millions of times. I quit the job and let go of my licenceI couldn’t risk hurting someone. With reducing stress it helped alittle I still do things and not remember them. Or words finding the right word to say is really bad and I cant remember names or new people. I think docs dont say anything because they dont know how to treat it. Oh I don’t drive unless someone is with me now which is rare as I dont leave my house much. Life altering.
I have epilepsy and every time I have had a seizure my brain fog gets worse its like knowing life is going on around you but your not part of it .
i have hepc and get brain fog, been for eeg and it showed nothing. my own dr dismisses it as just me being daft,
ColinBrowne1 He should experience it once and see how “daft” he feels. It’s not fun. When it takes (what feels like) forever to get out the words you’re searching desperately for, people you don’t know give you odd looks. It’s hardly good for building self-confidence. Mine is due to MS.
Hi I’m 20 years old and lived the party life style from 17 to 19. I drank almost every day, experimented with drugs and smoked weed habitually. constantly putting unneeded stress on myself. I gained about 40 pounds and destroyed my body. I got sick after a night of drinking and over eating and went to see a doctor and he prescribed me on Cipro and some other drug. It did its job although my shins swelled up and turned purple while taking these medicines which I thought was strange. I QUIT my partying and 3 or 4 months later (January 2013) one evening I had about 4 or 5 slices of greasy ass pizza and the brain fog kicked into effect hours after that. I got brain fog, literally over night. It was one of the Scariest things I had ever experienced I literally thought I was dying. I quickly ran to the toilet to throw up because I thought I had been poisoned. I felt as if I was in a dream. My vision changed almost as if it is 2D, I became suddenly sensitive to light, I became forgetful and felt like I couldn’t function almost as if my IQ had dropped to caveman status. I feel lost and almost like i don’t have any personally connections with people Ive known all my life. Its extremely hard to explain and I would not wish this feeling on anybody. for the next couple of days I constantly pinched myself to make sure I was still alive. I was scared to tell anybody what I had for a while because I didn’t even know what was wrong with me. Finally I told my parents and researched it online. Sure enough here I am 8 months later still with brain fog. I’m getting ready to go into basic training for the NAVY in 3 months and I am terrified it will effect me. I went on an extreme health kick and lost 50 pounds hoping I would feel the same again but I still have this stupid brain fog. I miss the way I used to feel about life sooooooo bad i almost want to cry. BRAIN FOG SUCKS!!
“my mind is like a steel trap! (rusty, dangerous, and illegal in 8 states)” LOL
hi I have fibromyalgia tmj cfs ME and degenerative disc disese ibs ius acid reflux & colitis titinitus my specialist has told me that having all these conditions at once has caused a scensory over load to my system giving me brain fog I get blurred vision head aches & then the memory loss forgetting words or what im doin starts I also get confussed & forgetfull & can become disorientated when I get the brain fog I cant stand moise its as tho I have a bubble over my head and every sound is exaggerated 10 times louder this causes a creeping tingling sensation that creeps up the back of my head towards my forehead and gives me a pressure headache that fills like my head wants to explode all I can do when its like this is to lay down in a quiet darkend room when this isn’t possible & you are around people im sure they must all think im very ignorant as I cant seem to focus or follow one conversation at a time I tend to avoid large groups n places that are moisy or if I do go I can only tolerate it for a while & have to leave I no longer can drive due to relapses in my thinking process what if I was to switch of or have a blank moment whilst driving ,,, im hoping once I start getting treatment for some of my conditions & they become managble the brain fog will start to reduce or inhope stop all together my specialist couldn’t give me any indications as to wether or not this will be the case I just have to go through tratments & wait & hope this will get better xxxx
sandra may wow! so many hardships there are for some of us; “some are born to sweet delight, and some are born to endless night.”
ThomasRaphaelHyle sandra may I was ok & coping 6 months ago & then quadruple whammy of conditions amazing how fast ones life can change
ThomasRaphaelHyle im in the uk & here we are years behind on fibromyalia M.E & many other conditions the doctors ate very slow in diagnosing you & even slower with treatment im 6 months in & still no pain management ive printed a few things off from American web sites & taken them to show my g.p & finely got my rheumatolical & msk refural but now still waiting on my plan of action physio & meds & pain clinic to even be sorted let alone started just more waiting I guess xxxxxxx
I have had fibro for 7 years , I went for test for rheumatoid athritis as mum mum has it and oste too,I was diagnosed with fibro, and that was it, my own GP understands it’s a real thing, it hurts like hell effects you life so damn much, but I would say 70% of our doctors here think it is all in our heads it needs to recognised as a proper medical condition
I get so angry no one knows till they got it
Fibro is a diagnosis! Very few Drs. Think it is real! I hope none of them get it! It is funny how things turn on a dime! You never think it will happen to you! But it does and it sucks!
I’ve been a Nurse for 21 years and I’ve taken care of people who have had all the symptoms of Brain Fog but they were never treated for it. It was always diagnosed as Dementia, Pre-Alzheimer’s, and Alzheimer’s. And for the life of me, I never thought I’d have something like this, but I do. In June 2012 I went to see a regular Neurologist because I was having a bit of Short-term Memory Loss. I had a MRI of my head and a large Menigioma was found above my left ear. For those of you who don’t know what a Menigioma is, it is a tumor that grows on the INSIDE of the skull, not on the brain. I didn’t get to have an immediate surgery done. The Neurologist Surgeon I had was also a Professor at a Medical School, but he said he wanted to closely monitor me to see if I truly needed an immediate surgery. By December, the Menigioma above my ear had increased its size and was just too large to stay in there, so on December 19, 2012, I underwent a Craniotomy Surgery to remove it. Apparently during the surgery, they decided to take a look around the inside of my skull and found 3 other Meningomas that were in row on the front inside of my skull! After they were removed and frozen and tested and seriously assessed, they were Benign. No Cancer, Thank God. I don’t remember my hospital stay. And what I do remember of Christmas is that I was dreadfully ill and not healing in a good way. BUT, I started have worse Memory Loss. Anyone remember the movie, “50 First Dates” with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore? She had the car accident that injured the right side of her head/brain that was above her ear and she had Memory Loss every time she went to sleep. Well, mine is almost like that!! Plus I can’t remember words when I’m in a conversation. I can’t understand directions. I get lost driving. I can’t remember things I absolutely have to do unless I write everything down on Post-It Notes and place them all over my home to remind me to do things. I’m forgetting who people are, even relatives! And when I am tired, things are worse. People look at me like I am crazy while I am trying to have a conservation when I am tired. And last, but not lease, I can barely type any longer. It took me 30 minutes just to type this out! I’ve told all of my doctors of what I am suffering and not any one of them really could think of anything to prescribe me or if I need some other kind of testing or another surgery to take another look around! I was told by my regular Neurologist that studies have been done and the Medicine for ADHD, Adderall, has been tested on folks with Alzheimer’s and some of them have had great Memory improvements! So, they are prescribing it for folks with Memory Loss, Pre-Alzheimer’s, and Alzheimer’s. I refused the medication because it is simply Amphetamine. A Narcotic. Nope, not another Narcotic. I’ve got 2 I take. I don’t want anything more that is going to make my Brain worse than it already is!
JenniAbrams Adderall may really help. A NP to nurse here. It’s worth a shot and a month or two is very unlikely to cause any dependence. HTH, I have MS and am floating in my own boat in your ocean.
I seem to have it a lot just now. Sometimes during a bout of brain fog I get really anxious especially at work where I have been in the past judged very harshly for mistakes, or forgetfulness. I am clinging on to my job by my broken crappy fingernails at present. I have been asked to quit so many times over the years because they say the job is just ‘too much’ for me. My self esteem and confidence in my abilities has taken quite a beating.
AnnMarieMartin I have the same problem, compounded by Dyscalculia (just like Dyslexia, only it’s numbers you transpose). I work for Building Inspection and the bulk of my job is to sort papers in numerical order. Nightmare.
They haven’t been asking me to quit, but they are going to put me out to pasture in another office where the workload is way easier. A blessing in disguise. I may not be able to calculate large numbers, but I am good for something lol
With or without brain fog, everybody isn’t excellent at everything. We all have limitations. You may be way happier finding another job or another line of work.
AnnMarieMartin yeah; as both a cook and as a woodworker I have had a very hard time keeping up mentally with the mass of details some days; the pain has worn down my once iron will, too, to where I can no longer do it without pills 🙁
Anybody involved in any research studies for the pain/fatigue/forgetfulness?
notice how many of us have lost jobs, which were legally required to make reasonable accommodation to our illness. There is zero meaningful enforcement of labor laws in USA in my experience.
ThomasRaphaelHyle Couldn’t agree more. We have to be able to communicate what’s going on with a doctor and get them to understand enough to write a report you can take to work. Sometimes, that doesn’t help. At my job, if you go out on leave or end up with modified duty for whatever reason, a lot of the time, they try to ‘reassign’ you to Siberia.
ThomasRaphaelHyle This happened to me. I had worked for a Drs.office for 15yrs. I became VERY ill with my autoimmune disorders. I had turned in my FMLA paper work and long story short I was terminated! Sadly, EEOC was of NO help. PLEASE help to get laws passed to make this life threatening treatment of good people (employees) illegal !
*Help stop workplace Bullying! *Please like our page and SIGN our petition ! YOU can help make this world a better place ! One signature at a time….http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.change.org%2Fpetitions%2Ftennessee-state-legislators-pass-the-anti-bullying-healthy-workplace-bill&h=3AQEbdpev&s=1
jusbeenme ThomasRaphaelHyle I’m happy enough to sign the petition, but the truth is, this already is illegal and the EEOC and others refuse to do their clear-cut jobs. This is the American way, and may be familiar to you from working in a doctor’s office; one Yuppie refuses to enforce on another, and an eyeroll is as good as a valid argument when dismissing and rolling over a person who is unusual, or has an unusual problem, especially if they are speaking about something invisible, especially especially if it has not been properly diagnosed.
Cranio Sacral therapy cured me of this. Had Brain fog following a “near concussion” from an assault.
BodyMind Centre in Thunder Bay Ontario does the cranio sacral thing. And they got me back to work with only two treatments (!) , after six weeks of living with the Brain fog and being unable to return to work.
http://www.bodymindcentre.com/
or look for a Cranio Sacral practitioner near you. (They’re rare.)
I’m really in tune with my body, so when I started forgetting things, I grew a little concerned. I’m only 43, so I don’t want to hear “it’s just part of getting older”. I knew it wasn’t normal.
As the brain fog progressed, I would wander around in circles forgetting that I was looking for something but feeling like I forgot something that I forgot.
I’d forget which house on the block was my best friends’ house. I’d be behind the wheel and forget I was driving. I’d “snap to” and realize I was on my way home from work….and driving on the freeway.
As it progressed further, I found myself frustrated and terrified. It was affecting my job. I get little ‘blips’ in my head like someone hitting a reset button. At least once, I would become disoriented standing on the front porch of the home where I lived for 13 years. I had to search for my phone and my keys SEVERAL times a day and it was making consistently late for work, even when I made it a point to put those things in the same place every time I used them. I couldn’t’ remember NOT putting them back where they go. I was forgetting names of people I have known for years! There was always a vague feeling of unease. I would burst into tears out of fear and frustration. My husband thought I was just making excuses.
Sometimes, it feels like daydreaming but I don’t know it was fog until after I ‘snap out of it’. I never said to myself “hey, I’m having brain fog” it’s always “hey, that was brain fog”.
When I described all the symptoms to my doctor, she gave me a simple test for dementia. Then she started labs. I was reading up on everything I could. Even though there is too much information out there and I’m no doctor, you do know your own body.
Menopause gives you brain fog. So does Diabetes. So does Celiac. So do vitamin deficiencies. Quadruple whammy.
I’m slowly but surely getting the ball of yarn untangled with the help of my Lord and my doctor but I thought I was going insane for a while. I think what has helped the most besides prayer is the vitamin B1. When the labs came back, the thiamine reading was so low, the equipment couldn’t detect it.
MicheleLPerry that “reset button” effect sounds very familiar to something that happens to me when I’m running on painkillers in order to be able to work. It is terrifying when it happens while driving on the freeway.
ThomasRaphaelHyle MicheleLPerry I saw that a couple more people have that brain blip. It made me feel better to know that I’m not alone in that. How the hell do you FORGET you’re behind the wheel on the freeway? Hmmmm…..painkillers. Maybe there’s something about the brain and pain/fatigue that causes that ‘reset’ effect.
Oh my! I’ve had the same issue for a few years & thought I was just loosing my mind. It’s scary driving & then spacing out only to snap out of it and not know where you are where you’re going or how you got there. Needless to say I hardly drive any more……sorry for you but glad I’m not the only one
MicheleLPerry Have you ever tried adding coconut oil to your diet yet? There are several reports of it really helping people reverse some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s…
This is an excerpt from one of the articles…
” Dr Mary Newport, a pediatrician who began using coconut oil to treat her husband, Harry, four years ago. He had been suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s for eight years. She claims the results after he started taking the oil were remarkable. ‘He began to get his short-term memory back,’ says Dr Newport.
‘His depression lifted, he became more like his old self. The problem he’d had with walking improved. An MRI scan showed his brain had stopped shrinking.’
So what prompted her to use the oil in the first place?
‘Some years ago, I came across a small study suggesting that Alzheimer’s patients had a problem using glucose in the brain and that ketones could be an alternative source of fuel. The study suggested a patented drink that boosted ketone levels improved memory and thinking skills in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.’
A follow-up paper on this was published in the journal BMC Neuroscience in 2008. Dr Newport found out the patented drink contained MCT oil extracted from coconuts. ‘The patented product still wasn’t on the market, so I thought it would be worth trying coconut oil itself,’ she says. ”
http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/can-coconut-oil-reverse-alzheimers
Anyway, hope it’s helpful… I haven’t been diagnosed with anything, but have had brain fog for years… people who don’t have it don’t understand at all… I know that I should probably start working on the paleo diet, but I have such a sweet tooth… lol… I do try to eat healthy fruits, vegetables & meats (organic as much as possible)… I filter my water, almost never drink any sodas (usually only sprite, 7-up and only every couple of months or so)… just trying to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible… 🙂
Now, something we really haven’t discussed is irritability. I have irritability related to my health problems, and it affects my interactions and relationships. First, and no doctor and no book told me this; I had to figure it out; when you are in pain you get adrenylized. when you are in pain all the time you are adrenylized all the time, and that makes you fighty-or-flighty, all the time; all the time; all the time, and no one tells you, and no one is trained to deal with it, and no one knows or allows for it. Second, dealing with the insane troll logic used by medical and insurance providers to deny you help you desperately need that they are legally required to provide, that makes you irritable. Third, when you’re trying to keep track of a bunch of different things that you NEED just to survive or live at all half decently, and you can’t because of pain or pills or brain fog or whatelsenot, and someone comes to you with something new, it feels like it’s bumping out something needed that you already had a tenuous hold upon, and especially if the new thing is trivial, like my Mom asking me for the 11,000,000th time do I wan apple sauce with everything, it gets rather irritating though you try not to let it, Fourth; there was a fourth thing, but of course, I forgot it. 🙂
Unfortunately, I was a bit of a wise-ass before I got sick and it’s not a quality that translates well in this capacity… And even my more well meaning bits, when written out, sound pretty snarky. Doesn’t help that putting my thoughts into words is pretty exhausting & sort of frustrating too, for obvious reasons. I must admit tho, I am an irritable girl. I continually apologize to my family for snapping at them. But seriously, I hurt and am so tired, and clearly it doesn’t take Scotland Yard to find the damn cheese, that I can’t eat mind you, in our meager and ancient fridge… I also have remorse, after the fact, that I have been none too kind to strangers and seemed to have lost whatever polite filter that keeps people from speaking honestly. I meditate & it has helped some. I try to talk less too. I know that the more irratable I am, the sadder I feel too. It’s hard not to be grouchy tho when irony is always happening to you.
Lady Quinn
lady quinn, i get like that some days…i don’t know what turns my filter on or off. some days i just stay quiet and not a word comes out of my mouth. others, my words will rip your soul out and shred it right before your eyes. and then the crying starts. that’s not me. that’s not who i am. i think it happens more when the doctors change my meds. i hate when they change my meds. my mind just seems to explode and nobody wants to be near me. i’m left alone in a vacuum of colors and pain that are all in my head.
Thank you! My back pain and osteo/degenerative arthritis leaves me being mean, short, exhausted and mad at night! I’m glad I am not the only one! I just wish no one had to experience any of this!
I have s real problem driving now because I cant
Pay attention. I get somewhere and don’t remember how I even got there scary huh! what do you do about that when you have so many appointments that you can’t miss but have no one to drive you?
slmenc1966 I pray. If you don’t want to hear that, I certainly understand and apologize. I’m just relating to you what helps me. All I really have is my faith. “Lord, please get me there and back ok”
Looking for help PLEASE!!!! I am looking for a new MS Neuro in the Houston, TX area. When I do find one, I want to be able to explain my symptoms. I have said that it feels like my brain “Jumps” in my head, From the left to the right every time. I also feel like I am processing things through a cheese cloth that covers my brain. I loose words and my trains of thought jump the track more often than not. It is really the jumping or zapping in my brain that makes me the craziest. Does anyone else have this issue and if so, how do you explain it to your Doctor so that he/she gets what you are talking about? I think me saying “it’s like the Doppler effect” or “My brain feels like it jumps and zaps” is not adequately explaining what is going on because they all look at me like they are trying to figure out which mental hospital to lock me into. IDK what to do, but any help (and any referrals in the Houston area would be MOST appreciated!) Thanks and blessings to you all!
HollyEmerson as you value your freedom and health, do not go to Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital no matter what else you do!!!!!!!
ThomasRaphaelHyle HollyEmerson Thank you so much for the advice. I just moved from NC and I have no idea where to go. I lived in TX 6 years ago, but it was in the DFW area. I know no one here
1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog?
Short term memory, can’t think forget my words, cannot focus or pay attention for long periods
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog?
Chemotherapy and being put to sleep too much due to having several surgeries
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle?
Caused severe depression and issue with my previous diagnosis of PTSD, Lost my JOB
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success?
Take it day by day and so far nothing has helped
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog?
Unfortunately not
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by healthcare professionals? If, on the other hand you feel that it is well covered by your medical support please tell us a bit more.
I believe most people think it’s an excuse
I have short-term memory loss that is getting worse. I’ve had a sleep study to rule out sleep deprivation (since I have a hard time staying asleep / wake up exhausted) or RLS as the cause; now my PCP wants to rule out Cymbalta as the cause.
There was a detour on my way home last week; I couldn’t remember any other way to get home and had to use GPS. Then I “forgot” my Dad was having surgery.
My iPhone is my hero – I program everything into the calendar and set reminders; I have my GPS too.
I could not keep up with life without my iPhone too! Expensive little devil is the best gadget that ever happened to me.
SamanthaMcKay I don’t have an iPhone but I do have MetroPCS and they have GPS. If my GPS signal goes down, I have to pull over and reset my phone unless I’m going somewhere within 10 miles of home.
What sucks is when I forget to set the reminders. If I don’t do it on the spot, it just evaporates out of my head.
I have a hard time finding a word I want. I feel like I need a thesaurus to get it, but don’t even know which word to use as the starting word. Frustrating. That just makes it worse.
KarenBlohm I use a lot of words to describe what I know one word could, IF I could remember that one word. My family is often frustrated with me but now 2 of my 3 children are having problems finding the right word when they want to use it. Makes me wonder if it’s like an environmental poisoning, like corporate chemical waste in drinking water.
Brain fog is not recognized by professionals I believe because they can’t see it or measure it by any current medical test. BUT it effects my brain greatly. My life also. At times I feel like a computer that somebody shut down and I have no control over my brain. It’s an awfull side effect to live with.
I don’t leave home without my GPS or I would get lost daily. I make list of things I need to do. I have started using my IPhone as my back up brain. I have all my meds in a free app called Mango Health or I would forget to take. I use notes to write notes and calendar for everything!!
I searched for mango health but it didn’t come up. Is it called something else? Thanks. Sue
SueRudov It’s an iPhone app not on android 🙁
SueRudov try Dosecast – Medication Reminder
MangoHealth
I have an iPhone and typed it exactly as you showed but nothing … could it be that I’m in Australia? 🙁
mine started almost 4 years ago. i have cfs and fibromyalgia. but i thought it was alzheimer’s starting at an early age (i’m 53). i gave away my car. i would get lost on streets i grew up driving on. didn’t recognize where i was, and panic and tears would overwhelm me to the point that i thought i was having a heart attack. i started isolating because i was embarrassed that i couldn’t speak a whole sentence without losing my words. i still can’t speak a whole sentence. i get aggravated when i can’t find a word and people get impatient and are no longer interested in what i have to say. i feel unimportant. i want to finish my sentence! my friends have now all fallen away. i can’t cook a dinner without panic. total confusion in the kitchen. when i’m alone, it’s fruit or frozen veggies, mostly. maybe a piece of meat. one thing only, or i lose it. i feel stupid when someone tries to show me new things. it’s like it goes in one ear and out the other. i can’t take ‘focus’ meds, as they make me nervous. i have recurring major depression and anxiety disorder and ‘agoraphobia’…i think that comes from isolating because i don’t want anyone to see what i’ve become. i take the meds and hope for better days. i’m not so sure, though. i just want help. the only person who listens is my shrink, and that’s only because she’s paid to. and even then, i’m not so sure she does. if you only knew how long it took to write this. i need someone to listen and help :'(
almostgone sigh; the judgement of the ignorant and spoiled is so often much more damaging than the thing they are judging one over.
ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone
i try to get my family, my only support system, to read up on these things to better understand and help and give me better support and be patient with me. but they don’t. it’s a shame, because if a child were born with some physical defect, they would read up on that. but nobody wants to be bothered with mental illness. it’s a burden to everyone involved, even the patient. we’re not well tolerated 🙁
almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle me much the same; my family abused me as a child in ways I now know are typical behaviors of neurotypical people toward autistics, and most of them still roll right over and back any authority figure who wants to condemn or abuse me.
ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone
even though i’m on meds that have worked the best since i started taking them in the early ’80s, i still have my bouts with depression…in fact, i feel the darkness right around the corner. i wonder if i’ll spend the rest of my life in a state-run facility. i’m constantly terrified of one thing or another. i want to be the happy person i used to be so long ago. i’m tired of being afraid and crying all the time and constantly confused. will no one help us?
almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle of course; because at best those meds are for people who have a chemical imbalance, while your depression is caused by your situation instead. In the middle those meds are addictive happy pills, and you’d likely be better of smoking marijuana. At worst those meds are zombie pills to make society more comfortable with you, which likely increase your brain fog, and can cause suicidal and homicidal thoughts.
ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone
ohh, yes. that’s EXACTLY what i said. when i first got to the shrink, i had thc in my system. they wouldn’t prescribe anything until the thc was out. i “get that natural stuff out of your system so we can fill you up with these prescription drugs and their side effects that will give you all kinds of cancers and make you suicidal and feel like your brain is exploding in psychedelic electric colors!” but now i’m “in the system” since i lost my job and i HAVE to quit smoking until i’m out. i cannot tell you how much i don’t want to be here anymore 🙁
ThomasRaphaelHyle
and actually, i’ve been depressed since i was a child. i tried to tell my mother, but never knew the words to say. as i got older, she became very ill, near death, and i didn’t have the heart to tell her. instead, i became the ‘little mama’, taking care of my younger sister and brother while she was gravely ill. do you know what i did to show her i was sick when i was young? i would do things like face everybody’s tooth brush in one direction, and mine in the opposite direction. that was my plea for help.
almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle I have much the same problem. I was really surprised by it because I have a wonderful partner who will research EVERYTHING! We don’t buy a microwave without 3 reviews and she checks and re-checks, but when I was diagnosed with MS, she didn’t even look it up. NOTHING! I was shocked! I really had thought she would have read up on it and been able to offer me help and understand my symptoms. I purchased “MS for dummies” and gave it to my whole family, and not one of them has cracked the cover (well it’s a kindle version but you get the idea) I understand that my Mom or Sisters didn’t read up on it, they are not readers, but my partner!?!?
I have to wonder if part of this is not denial? I don’t know what to do to get her to help or understand. She is very understanding when I say, this may be an “MS thing” and she is VERY supportive in that regard, but why will no one read up on it? If she had a chronic illness, I would damn near get my PHD in the subject to help her. I don’t know what to do. I could not ask for better support in my limitations, but I really want someone to hold my hand as I take this journey.
almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle I honestly believe that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the only benefit comes from a placebo effect. I have even heard a doctor say “It will make you feel better to take something.”
If you haven’t watched it yet, there’s a documentary called The Marketing of Madness. A real eye opener about the pill mill here in America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFkivsEy3CI
MicheleLPerry almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle
it won’t let me watch it…i even tried to copy/paste the url into another browser. try again, please?
almostgone MicheleLPerry ThomasRaphaelHyle Sure. brb
almostgone MicheleLPerry ThomasRaphaelHyle
http://youtu.be/uFkivsEy3CI
Do you live in the U.S.?
I’ve found that in the UK, there’s limited access to YouTube
MicheleLPerry almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle
yes, i live in the US…and no, i still can’t see it 🙁
but thanks for trying again.
almostgone MicheleLPerry ThomasRaphaelHyle Try going to YouTube and typing in “The Marketing of Madness”. Look for the full movie, or else it will come up in 18 parts of ten minutes each, but if you watch nothing else, watch the first 10 minutes. Eye opener
HollyEmerson almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle My kids are 26 and 31. They will not read anything about my illnesses either. It does hurt. I also believe a lot of it has to do with denial !
MicheleLPerry almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle I have to disagree with a lot of this. I can say unequivocally that antidepressants have and do make a difference in my life ! I’m still here….
almostgone Try Straterra, it’s a non stimulating Rx. It should help you focus 😉
Due to mine, I get very upset and frustrated. The main symptoms of mine is forgetfulness, seeing people talk but can’t really hear or understand what they are saying. I feel “loopy” like I am walking around trying to do something but can get my brain to work to do it. Most of the time people are asking me, did you hear what I said, why are you just sitting there and not answering me? I really don’t have an answer to that question, I just can put my thoughts in to words. I am not being treated for it, but wish there was a treatment to help. I hate to be in a crowd of people, it seems like it makes it worse. I think many doctors do not address this condition, they just tell you to take the medication for the other problems and it will work its self out. Please help if you can,
My response will be short and to the point. Most physical ailments today are caused by malnourishment. I suggest that anyone feeling ‘brain fog’ watch a documentary called Food Matters. It flipped a switch for me that has changed my life and health. Juicing is the answer. Fresh juice made from organic produce. Every day. Apart from that, eat raw and stop eating packaged wanna-be ‘food’. Juice ….juice….juice. Very easy.
treenyjo
you don’t seem like you belong here. we know these things. we do what we can. we’re not well. you seem fine and are here to either taunt us or try to sell us something. you’re making ME feel stupid for not taking care of my body when in fact there are medical issues going on. juice doesn’t fix everything. i tried a holistic approach in my 20s and nearly died from it. juice is good, but don’t come here with your healthy mind and make us feel like WE are the ones that broke ourselves by eating trash. you don’t know us.
Almostgone, I apologize if I seemed insensitive or unhelpful. Perhaps I did ‘stumble’ upon this blog, as a fb friend shared it under the topic “brain fog” and not under the topic of any of the diseases people have mentioned here. When I think “brain fog,” I think of lack of ability to concentrate, focus, remember little things, and lack of clear mental connectivity. My original post had the intended audience of people who are not inflicted with disease but malnourishment. I am sorry to have offended you and wish you well.
treenyjo
apology accepted 🙂
Improving nutrition is always good advice. For many people, it is the cure; however, it cannot cure all that ails us, especially people with serious neurological based illnesses. The flip side, juicing can get pretty expensive and if it got served for dinner every night, my family would lynch me. Great breakfast tho. Too bad my CFS keeps me so tired that washing up the juicer is too much effort. I eat gluten free, dairy free, whey free, low sodium, non processed, no preservative, and very little meat diet. Has it helped? I can’t say it hasn’t, but the results are marginal. I’m still sick. Still have fibro & CFS & possibly lymes. I still hurt so bad daily that getting shot in the head might hurt less. Life continues to fall to pieces around me. My improved nutrition has not saved my life. So stuff it. It’s one thing to give advice & promote general wellness, but it’s awful American of you to blame the victim. I get disabilty too, you want to call me a welfare queen next?
Lady Quinn lol @ my family would lynch me.
I feel you.
It’s really difficult at best to navigate an illness and work towards wellness when you have to make choices like that.
Just getting my husband to EAT more veggies is just one more thing on my list of obstacles.
almostgone treenyjo You will have to trust me when I say that I am in NO WAY Malnourished! I eat well, exercise and take supplements. I don’t think that you have a cure-all answer here. If it were that easy, no one would be sick. It may have worked for you, and if it did, that is WONDERFUL! However, I am sadly SURE it would not work for me. For one thing, juice of ANY kind, makes me sick. Sorry.. I am glad it worked for you and I am glad you are telling folks about it, but you may have more luck if you go at it in a slightly more approachable manner as in… “This worked for me…”
HollyEmerson almostgone treenyjo
one thing that has worked for me, not like a miracle, but made me feel better and a little more clear headed, was vitamin D. the sun, not the pill. my very first shrink told me about this. so ever since, i have my morning coffee every day outside. i live in the country, so it’s bearable for me. like i said, not a miracle, but i did notice a difference.
treenyjo Couldn’t agree more that almost every disorder and disease known to man (including psychiatric) is caused by the poison environment we live in . The food, air, water and soil are poisoned for profit and it’s making us all sick and crazy.
I just started juicing. Soon, I’ll be growing my own veggies so I KNOW I’m buying organic. They lie even about that.
Your discriptions are to the T. I’ve been there with my MS. One time, I was walking 2 blocks from home when it started to rain. I just wanted home, but I didn’t know where home or where I was. I sat to rest and cry a minute.
Beyond embasrressment, I went to a door to ask for help. Then I couldn’t remember my phone number or how to use my cell. I gave it to the man and he called husband with directions to come get me.
I could never explain to my husband so he could understand what happened or how I felt. All my emotions took ALL my faculties away.
What cog fog does to your life, and to all associated with you in all degrees, makes that symptom a major health concern of it’s own; a condition mostly ignored by health care. I find even MS specialists rarely accept the symptom or know how to help.
I have FMS/CFS & brain fog is one part of the trifecta that keeps me from leading a normal life (the trifecta:pain,fatigue,& brain fog). I have short term memory loss, confusion, the inability to articulate, inability to concentrate, and general dumbness. I don’t know what causes it, pain maybe, but I still get the fog even when my pain levels are low. It is so bad sometimes it’s quite worrisome. I have to write everything down & hope I don’t forget where I’ve written it. I pay bills late, forget appointments & appt times. I read books & forget them immediately. My work suffered so severely that I was fired. I get lost driving locally. I forget where I’ve parked my car, I forget why I’ve come to the grocery store, I forget what I’m talking about mid_sentence, I ask my kids the same questions over & over. I just try to put appointments on my iPhone, & check my accounts weekly, & make lists & plan out my driving routes. Nothing really works. I do puzzles & things to help my brain retain logical thinking skills. I’d love to find a free site to help with my obvious neurological issues. I think doctors ate glorified pill pushers that don’t really care about patients that don’t improve through their stupid drugs. If they can’t see it & their drugs can’t fix it, then they’re not interested b/c they have a million other patients who do improve through chemistry & are far more satisfying patients to treat. They know so little about our condition that it should be illegal for most to treat us. May as well drink snake oil… Hopefully someone cares enough to put some real research into this subject to come up with answers at least, whether its treatable or not, just so the medical community can address it with understanding & compassion, rather than acting like we’re hysterical over stressed fakers!
Lady Quinn
do you have a fear of being committed to an institution for your forgetfulness? i know i do. i’m terrified. another reason i isolate. i, too, write things down, but i can never find the papers i write them down on. it’s a miserable life, painful on so many levels.
almostgone Lady Quinn Dunno where you live, but USA is a veeeeery dangerous society to be weak or different in any way in, and society’s “help” is often actually just torment from more bigots; ones with every trained reason to know better, but who often act like any other ignorant person, with the addition of an arrogant sense of entitlement to boss, dominate, drug, detain, or restrain us. 🙁
ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn
i’ve been detained twice in a mental hospital. the first one was helpful, tho they thought i was suicidal. i wasn’t. i was just depressed and confused. so they basically treated me for the wrong thing. the second time, i had no insurance, so i was put in a state facility where i got NO therapy the entire time i was there. i was beaten by other patients, my life was threatened by these same patients, i was miserable and terrified the entire time. the doctors claimed i did well sitting quietly and discharged me after a week. of COURSE i did well. i was afraid for my life, and with no structured therapy (only meal time and bed time) i was safer to just sit in the same spot all day.
almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle Lady Quinn I too have been in two looney bins (I don’t believe in calling them hospitals), taken in for another time, but I stayed super calm and the doc let me go in hours, sought another time for it, but evaded the police. I was treated better in the state looney bin, worse in a fancy expensive private one. Advice; never ever sign ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING when they are looneybinning you; NEVER. If they want to know why say “my lawyer said if I sign something it implies consent for treatment, and I do not consent to treatment here at this time.” It does not matter if you don’t have a lawyer; they don’t know that, and A/the word scares them, and B/they can’t call what a lawyer told you a paranoid delusion. I did this and I think it’s why they released me; they couldn’t get paid to hold me because I had no insurance and would not sign welfare papers. NEVER SIGN ANYTHING when being looney binned or at the looney bin. NEVER ANYTHING.
ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn Thank you! I read and re-read this and I really appreciate the words to live by! Hopefully I will never have cause to use the words, but I am going to do my BEST to remember them! Blessing to you! I am SO sorry to hear that this happened!
almostgone ThomasRaphaelHyle Lady Quinn Oh no! We are so stupid when it comes to stuff we don’t understand. I’m really sorry you’ve had the experiences you have. Nobody should have to have experienced what you did.
almostgone Lady Quinn I don’t know if it qualifies as brain fog, but I am autistic, have brain damage (traumatic), and often have to live on heavy drugs for pain, and I know any time I get sick enough or injured enough to seek medical care they try to misdiagnose my textbook autism as psychosis, abuse, refuse, and/or lock me up, to where I would absolutely rather crawl under a bush and die than seek medical care without a strong advocate/witness by my side; a thing I usually cannot count on having.
ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn
christ…i accidentally overdosed on cymbalta one time (i have migraines and in low lighting mistook the bottle of cymbalta for fiorinol)…so i was taking 8 cymbalta a day, for a week before i realized what was happening. i couldn’t walk anymore, slurred speech, etch. when i called my dr, she never returned my calls. calls to my pharmacist said call my dr.. i finally went to the hospital, and when they found thc in my system, away i went to the state mental institution (for the criminally insane!) — because i had no insurance. you can’t always depend on anyone to be there with/for you. they shoo them away at a certain point.
ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn
This breaks my heart to read! What a hellish experience to feel like you can’t seek medical care because they would lock you up! I AM SO SORRY that you have to experience this. Does the state that you live in offer any type of advocacy program? Maybe even a volunteer to go with you. If you live near Houston, let me know and I would be HAPPY to help out! That is just unacceptable! I am broken hearted to think that you would rather crawl under a bush than get help, but sadly, I understand ALL TOO WELL! If I ever have to go to the ER (God forbid!) then I am treated like an addict who is only looking for drugs. I would rather suffer!
HollyEmerson ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn when I went to the ER in Houston at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital with severe black mold poisoning and told them I was autistic and wanted a (legally required to be provided at request) social worker “to help me with the hospital process” the doctor laughed at my request; laughed. (Yuppies seem to like to laugh at the “mentally ill” I’ve had a lot of being laughed at by those who are supposed to help) I would not have gone even then (about 2~3 years ago) but I was very delirious and suggestible and when my sister refused to take me to a doctor she said “call 911; go to the ER” and because I was delirious with fever, dehydration, and mycotoxins I was not as fearful and distrusting as I should have been.
HollyEmerson ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn I appreciate your sentiment but I would not rely on anyone who’s courage, loyalty, and determination I was not personally familiar with, certainly not any type of official person, government, volunteer, or otherwise, other than a high paid lawyer or professional personal medical advocate (who do exist for the rich, but not for the downtrodden who need them)
HollyEmerson almostgone Lady Quinn (lesson learned)
HollyEmerson ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn When I complained later, BTW their damage control person told me they were satisfied with their internal investigation, which consisted of checking to see if any of the multiple staff who severely abused me that day spontaneously reported themselves or each other for it, and that “we think we have excellent ethics” the TX state hospital board, complained to of all this, told me they think it is a matter that does not call for their attention and is best handled by an internal investigation by the hospital. I kid you not.
ThomasRaphaelHyle HollyEmerson almostgone Lady Quinn I am so sorry this happened to you and I cannot blame you for your fears and distrust. Not everyone is that way and it is worth it to keep up the fight. I remember going to the hospital in Denton, TX and I heard them talking about me on the other side of the curtain. They said “Room one is a broken arm, room two is a DUI and room three (my room) is a drug seeker” I really just wanted to know what was going on with my brain (later learned I had MS). I should have known something was wrong when they came back in with a referral to a Methadone clinic like I was a druggie! I was married to the Pastor of a large church! I was devastated! I honestly do understand the mistrust, but I KNOW that there are people who would be wonderful advocates for you (and not charge you a penny for it) I can’t say it would be with the Government, although I KNOW there are some good people, but they are limited in what they can say and do. I so hope you will please keep trying! I don’t like to think of anyone in pain, either physically or mentally, pain is pain! One Doctor actually told me that he has never had a patient “Die from pain” Doctors can be stupid and insensitive but there are good one’s out there too. It is worth the fight! I am serious when I say if I can ever help you, I will be there, but I also understand trusting your own well being to someone that you hardly know. Please keep seeking help. Please don’t give up!
HollyEmerson ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn they think they are so clever when they leap to a baseless, wrong, standardized, bigoted, insulting position that prevents a desperate patient getting the treatment he needs, too. “I spotted another junkie; what a clever boy am I” they go and post on facebook how “I can spot a druggie from a real pain patient in an instant” no, they can’t, and they’re assholes to endulge their egos by making some sort of vanity-driven game out of trying (while glorifying how they’re in too big a hurry to do their job correctly).
HollyEmerson ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady QuinnAlso, if you want to know how certain Cy-Fair really was that what I said happened like I said (not like they had the security video of it anyway) THEY NEVER BILLED ME. Because a bill becomes the basis for assigning value in a lawsuit, you see.
Yeah I also have drug seeking behavior. I’m addicted to not hurting so bad that I want to die. The only way I will go back into an ER is unconscious. Far be it from me to waste the time of a respectable and well educated medical professional with my invisible ailments and subjective issues.
Lady Quinn I hear you friend; I hear you! 🙂
HollyEmerson ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone Lady Quinn
i, too, was told that nobody ‘dies from pain’ when i went in for a shoulder injury i suffered a year ago! they kept taking x-rays…i knew it was deeper than that and kept asking for an mri, but nobody would listen. i was taking seroquel, and it was making me pass out. i finally went to the hospital one night after passing out and falling down the stairs outside on the porch, and all they did was keep me from dying and send me home. nobody thought to check to see if i’d injured any other body parts. now i’m in physical therapy and still no pain medication and every day i want to die with the pain i suffer. i’m afraid to even ASK, tho, for fear of being labeled a ‘drug seeker’. when i go to the the ER when i can’t stand it anymore, tho, the doctors are shocked that i’m not on pain meds. i don’t know what to do. and it just feeds the anxiety and depression.
almostgone HollyEmerson ThomasRaphaelHyle Lady Quinn SMH There’s also a thing called”quality of life.” Plos, people DO actually die of pain; it can strain the heart and wear it out, plus there’s th suicide from the despair over the lack of quality of life. SMH evil Yuppie scum doctors.
ThomasRaphaelHyle almostgone HollyEmerson Lady Quinn
i can surely see how the despair & suicide could happen 🙁
almostgone Lady Quinn
I fear daily that someone will think I have lost my mind and commit me. I too isolate myself. I am only around people that I can trust, and that is very few.
If my family didn’t rely on me for being “mom” they’d lock me up quick. Who cares tho? I’m pretty worthless these days so it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I do try to avoid people so that they can’t see the crazy and confused and vulnerable person inside me. I isolate & complain that I’m lonely. Twisted
Lady Quinn
i know how you feel. i’ve isolated for so long, i feel like people only have to LOOK at me to see that i’m crazy. and when i speak, the crazy just flows right out. there is nowhere for me to be. i don’t belong in this world of ‘normals’.
Lady Quinn at least you can write quite clearly; I have much the same power, but it’s hard to get people to read; it’s even a common reaction that the fact that you wrote something out means you’re “mentally ill” and to be condemned and avoided (the talk of decreased stigma in the modern era makes me laugh bitterly).
I find that doctors, in spoiled arrogance, declare nothing is wrong with you if they can’t figure out what’s wrong with you; it salves their ego; it ruins our lives, and then the next doctor just reads what they said, and is preset to dismiss us.
and as you say, even supposing we were delusional or psychosomatic, many to most doctors and nurses do not seem to grasp the difference between that and, as they sneer, “faking” or “medseeking” (“of course I’m seeking medicine, you jerk! why else would I come to you?” I want to tell them, but dare not, as they’ll say I threatened them; assertiveness from an autistic is always called aggression.)
1) What are the main symptoms of your brain fog?
~My fatigue really contributes to how “much” my fog interferes with my daily activities. The more exhausted I am, the more confused, forgetful and irritable I am. I have a very difficult time concentrating on the simplest of things.
2) What do you think is the underlying cause of your brain fog?
~All of the lesions is the only thing that I can possibly think of for my foggy issues.
3) Please can you describe the impact of brain fog upon your lifestyle?
~My family doesn’t understand how they can tell me something and I constantly forget important dates or plans that we have made. I can’t remember things that I knew before and have a hard time even helping my kids with their homework. I feel stupid sometimes. I don’t like to talk much to people anymore for fear that they will see how forgetful I have become.
4) How do you deal with brain fog? What if any treatments do you use? Have they had any success?
~For a long time there seemed to be nothing that worked in helping me with my fog. There were really no medications that I wanted to take. I do a lot of brain games like crossword puzzles, soduko puzzles and even use my Nintendo DS Brain Age games to help keep my brain active. That has seemed to be the most helpful.
5) Can you suggest any useful online resources for people with brain fog?I
~I often look to the National MS Society website for answers. There are a lot of helpful sites out there, it would be hard to narrow down just a few.
6) Why do you think little attention is paid to brain fog by
healthcare professionals? If, on the other hand you feel that it is
well covered by your medical support please tell us a bit more.
~My neurologist has been a very good provider of information for me AND the brain fog, he explained everything to me along with what could possibly happen when the fogginess got bad at times. He’s the one that suggested all of the brain puzzles to me actually. He suggested keeping a daily log & pretty much making a “grocery list” of daily activities that needed to be done.
I think that part of the reason it’s so hard for healthcare professionals to really pay attention and or treat the brain fog issue is because it’s so difficult to prove and it’s not a constant issue for a lot of us. There is nothing normal about MS, nobody is the same as another person so there is nothing to compare.
OneSlyWolf they routinely accept, even insist on things they can’t prove, like me being bipolar with no bipolar symptoms, or that because bipolar people “can” have delusions, everything I say, no matter how reasonable or obvious, IS a delusion (I told one of em during intake interview about health problems “my kidneys are shot” and she made an elaborate show of looking for bullet wounds; I told an EMS I had sewer gas poisoning, but he insisted six time I had said “sarin gas” until my friend shut him down; a crowd of nurses, techs and EMTs stood around laughing at how I was “faking” as I vomited and gasped and horked out snot and as rivulets of cold sweat poured down me……), or they insist that taking marijuana for nausea and so I can sleep because the painkillers keep me up (“no they don’t; you’re manic” SMH) means it causes my problems, some of them dating to earliest childhood when I didn’t know what marijuana even was. They’re the delusional ones; they see what they want to see; it’s not about proof.
Is savella good for fibro? Does it make you gain any weight? Is anyone out there taking it? Any comments or suggestions?
Thank you donnalou. I was diagnosed in 2004 and I had manage to bare the pain until now. I can’t hardly walk now is been a month now since I have this new symptoms. I dealt with arm,hand and finger pain and weakness for a year and a half now. With just over the counter to take the edge off. But now I’m desperate I need to feel better and the taught off not been able to walk has me scare. Fibro fog? I feel like I have Alzheimer’s because I forget so many stuff. I feel like crawling in to bed and never getting up. My rheumatologist gave me prednisone and it help me with the leg problems. it helped a lot. That was last month but this is coming back again and the dr doesn’t want to give me anymore because it affects my diabetes. I’m having a MRI to ruled out MS next wk. But I’m afraid if it is positive or even negative. Because I feel like the Dr’s don’t care if I walk or not. Is like they just don’t know the answered to my problems and they brush me off. I want to give up in like. I’m 38yrs old and I feel like 90. Thank you for ur suggestion I will look into it.
I was not suggesting drugs to help; I was suggesting that drugs are (very clearly) one of the causes.
I’ve been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia for 5 yrs now, but haven’t really noticed the increase in brain fog until the past few months. At first I didn’t attribute it to fibro, but to just forgetfulness. But now the blanking out, and outright forgetting is an everyday occurrence. Sometimes I can’t go from one room to the next w/o forgetting what I’m doing. And forget about asking me to remember to do or get something w/o writing it down! I have yet to bring it to my rheumatologist attention. If anyone has any advice on how to do that I’m all ears.
I think drugs would be of little to no help, while creating additional
unwanted issues. It took my neighbors telling me of my improvements due to exercising. Thinking and speaking greatly improved. I stopped pausing to word search. Memory is better but still an issue. My biggest improvements are overall mental. I’m less depressed ,laugh frequently. I have MS w/o pain, so exercising is relatively easy, but hard work. it gets easier in time, but constant difficulty considering my severe heat intolerance.
I also play online brain games, which show where your weaknesses and strengths are. They score your play and show any improvements made in attention, spatial, memory, etc. Google brain games. I like Lumosity and Mindboggle.
I hope you find what can help you soon. Faith
I too was diagnosed 5yrs ago, after seeing multiple doctors to treat my various symptoms. I’ve been on SAVELLA, but that only gave minimal relief. GABAPENTIN just gave me hot flashes & nausea with NO relief. I am on Cymbalta which seems to work the “best” but doesn’t stop all symptoms. Now dr thinks it may be contributing to my fog getting worse and wants to wean me off. The only other Fibro med is Lyrica which my Rheumatologist says only has a 50% success rate & my Rx plan doesn’t cover it. So do I deal with the pain or with dementia-like memory loss??
depression? Drugs? It hardly seems very mysterious.
My thoughts are more like usual to me. I still think I’m more obsessive when I try to focus. It’ difficult to reason with simplicity.
For me, a regular exercise regime has improve my mental and cognitive abilities more than I thought possible. The also regress when exercising decreases.
I also experienced adverse side effects from drugs which I missed from assuming they were effects from MS. Symptoms/effects must be considered before grouped as another MS
OOPs. I err too often. Another must oversee when I, pay bills, make apps, make personal business decisions, etc. I start, then forget to cleaning, laundry, etc. I can’t mentally react well enough to drive, cook, use sewing machine, ride tricycle safely. Brain slower to make sense of words heard.
Since exercising, I’m told I converse fuller and clearly w/o search pauses.
I stopped pt care after one memory lapse. I retired after 6 months at a desk after it took days to do what had taken hours. I had concentration or obsession. Later, co-workers told me how lacking I was, and thought I was a drunk. I was unaware of my symptoms for yrs. I learned online. MS Neuro never spoke of it.
Memory failed, lost words in conversation, thoughts vague/jumbled,
I don’t go to a smart phone since I’m less smart now
Everyone thought I was addled or on drugs too! Treated me like a moron. So embarrassing since I had always been pretty damn smart & efficient. I simply can’t put myself in those situations anymore b/c it gives me such overwhelming anxiety. Wish I were just a drunk sometimes as it seems that people tolerate it much better than something they can’t see & don’t understand. Some days I feel like I’m in Flowers for Algenon!
Lady Quinn you describe it so well!
Lady Quinn
i was fired from a job i held for nearly 9 years, because i was suddenly screwing everything up, my mind was never ‘on the job’ … they thought i had a drug problem!
I was diagnosed with MS in 2007 and frequently experience “brain fog” especially when I am overtired and/or have been overdoing it. Often if I give myself a “time out” for even 5 or 10 minutes I can return to what is “normal” for me. Another trigger can be when I get overly warm. As with many people with MS (so I hear) I can be very sensitive to getting overheated which magnifies many of my symptoms.
When I experience brain fog I have trouble remembering what I am doing. One time recently it was so bad it took me over an hour to fix a simple supper that should only have taken about 20 minutes. I just couldn’t remember how to clean and slice the fresh vegetables, even how to use the peeler! I was so frustrated it brought me to tears.
I also frequently “word fish” and sometimes I have to – as someone mentioned earlier – describe what I am trying to say rather than come up with the simple word. It makes me feel foolish. Fortunately I have a very understanding husband who has learned to patiently wait for me to try to say what I need to instead of distracting me by providing a list of words that may not be what I’m trying to say.
BarbKentLarson Overheating & overexertion does play a BIG role in the brain fog department for me as well. I also get very frustrated when I can’t think of a simple word & can’t explain what it is that I’m trying to say. I think we may have the same husband lol, mine is also very understanding and does the same for me. It’s so nice to have someone that honestly and truly cares about you & is standing beside you every step of the way.
OneSlyWolf BarbKentLarson I thank the Lord every day for my husband. He has been my rock through this new adventure and has been with me every step of the way.
He’s getting pretty good at knowing when to step in and help me when I really need it, and when to let me just do it myself, whatever “it” is myself.
I know it’s hard on the other people in our lives, more so I think sometimes than it is for us.
I didn’t know that I had “brain fog” until I read a posting about firbomyalgia. My former primary care physician (whom I worked for) did not think it was an acceptable condition and had actually said that his patient (not me) needed a psych eval. I didn’t tell me my symptoms for that reason. I had started having problems with my memory after my hyserectomy and I thought that was what was causing my problems. It was many years later that I did research and decided to go to a rheumetologist and get an official diagnosis. He prescribed Lyrica but after taking one pill, I was “loopy” for 2 days and decided to wait until the pain was unbearable. It has been about 8 years since I was diagnosed and I still do not take meds. I must have a high tolerance for pain.
Anyway, I noticed that I was not able to say words that were in my mind but I could describe the object I was talking about and the person to whom I was talking would supply the word for me. It is frustrating and embarrassing when you are trying to portray that you know what you are talking about and instead look like an idiot.
Now after several years, I have realized that I was fired from my job because it was too stressful and fast-paced and I couldn’t remember to do simple things that were required. If I knew then what I know now, I could have fought for my job. As a result I have a low paying, mundane, part time job and can’t find anything else to help support my husband and myself. I am 61 and no one wants to hire people of that age.
Brain Fog is a real symptom and many doctors need to realize that we are suffering from a REAL problem. It is NOT imaginary! I have problems doing ordinary things that I should be able to remember how to do! I have a million sticky notes everywhere and I have to make lists that I never had to do before. It is so depressing at times that I just sit and cry.
The fatigue is something that I have just recently experienced or acknowledged, I am not sure which. Most days I just want to sit and watch tv. I have no ambition to do anything. I love doing crafting but can’t seem to get motivated to do any. I sure do wish there was a MAGIC pill to help us.
I have fibro and the brain fog is terrible. You said exactly how i feel. It is si embarassing when you go to ask someone to pass the salt and you cant even remember the name salt. I take lyrica and it doest do anything for the fog. I have noticed that it is getting worse though. Thank you for sharing your story because it sounds just like me
I agree, it is real. And the preferred drugs just make it worse. I can’t work at all. Can’t hardly function between the fog, the exhaustion,& pain. My partner treats me like a child sometimes, which is frustrating & conversely helpful. I often wonder why not have killede in a car crash than make me a pain addled, narcoleptic imbecile… Wish there was more awareness.
I frequently suffer from brain fog. As well as the symptoms mentioned above, I also find it difficult to make decisions, to prioritise things, and just to get going. I have excessive daytime fatigue, but can’t be diagnosed as having CFS as I also have heart disease, a number of sleep disorders and some other issues, and I take a lot of medication.
I have been regarding brain fog as part of the fatigue, but it’s very helpful to have a phrase to describe it.
I have always been the type of person who never had to study. If I listened, I would learn what was being presented. A few years ago, I became a casino dealer and shortly afterwards went into craps class. I have always wanted to be a craps dealer and was the only woman to make it through the entire class. There is a lot of information but suddenly, learning was a struggle for me. I was so frustrated!!!!! Why was my brain blocking this information? I suddenly had to work harder to process less information and basic functions. Nothing came easy anymore, even stuff that I KNEW!
Then I started feeling the “Zaps” This is what actually got me diagnosed with MS. I would sit still for a moment and get the sensation that a large truck just went past me. I explained to the first few doctors that it made a sounds like the Doppler effect and actually FELT like my brain jumped from the left to the right inside my head.
The first doctor said “That is crazy, your brain has no nerves or muscles and cannot Jump. I think you have an ear infection” Of course, that did not explain the arm paralysis that I had suffered. He thought that was due to me sleeping on my arm. I left there and went to the ER. The doctor there said that I was probably looking for drugs!
I finally went to a primary care physician who took the time to listen to me. She IMMEDIATELY got me in for an MRI. When the results came back, she hooked me up with a Neuro. I found out that many of the doctors that I talked to had no idea what the “Doppler effect” is (the sound a truck makes as the air changes when it gets closer and then passes you is the Doppler effect) thus my explanation meant NOTHING to them and they didn’t bother to ask more questions.
I don’t have a word to adequately describe the sensation of “brain jumping” but I would really like to know if other people experience it as well. Thanks!
-Holly
I have M.S. diagnosed Jan. 2010. I have a lot of what u call “brain fog”. My memory is nothing. I have to write everything down immediately when it is necc. It is very hard to concentrate on one thing. I can’t remember where I put my keys 5 min. ago. Some days. Especially if i am in a hurry..I can’t find anything. Long term memory is gone with the solu medrol treatments I did when I first found out I had M.S. I also had a small stroke at this time..so this does not help. Learning new things takes me a very long time. I have to take a lot of notes and study real hard…hands on learner not a book learner. My ability to concentrate is zero. Concentration takes complete silence, no interruptions or I have to start all over. I do not like this feeling at all!! I usually need to rest, nap or eat at this point. I also look for a flare..wether it is a weather flare (false flare) happens a lot, or a real one.
I’m 66 years old now but when I was in my late 40’s and going through menopause, I had bouts of brain fog for about 1 year. I worked in a bank as a teller, and all of a sudden I could not for the life of me remember how to process transactions that I had previously done without even a second thought. I felt so stupid, but my mind just went BLANK!! It was a terrible thing to experience!
Since I have lived with ADHD all my life, I have been able to manage with the brain fog. Although, it does make me have to work even harder than I have in the past. Also, I have diabetes now…so , actually, I can’t tell the difference most of the time. All I can say is…I feel as though I have altziemer’s most days.
I keep notes of everything I need to do or remember. I have an iphone, so I keep my schedule, all my contacts, medicine list, doctor list on the phone. I also have a calendar on the wall I also write all my appointments on. And I live by post it notes also. I’ve been through all the drugs that were supposed to help the fatigue and brain fog, and nothing helped.
DrewTaylor yes, it is a great invention, the cell phone. My phone however is faulty, has too many mess ups. I NEED a reliable phone! ya know what I mean? Is there such a thing these days? Anyway, I agree with the keeping track of everything. I have a daily agenda that, when I am using it regularly, works like a charm. I write everything in it. It helps with memory also.
sandarlene DrewTaylor
i cried and slept for days when my kids tried to show me how to use an i-phone 🙁
I seem to experience the most occurrances when I am overly tired or over heated. Some times just stopping helps and other times I just go to sleep. (after I’ve laid down) Some times I seem to just check out of myself, and get lost in my brain. Positive stimulation seems to help bring me back, conversation, having to concentrate on an act. I just know I hate having that fuzzy, muddled head feeling. I think that the focus of brain fog is so underrated by doctor concern because it is immediatly life threatening, and most of the fogs have a fix and a direct cause. So back to basics, if it causes a problem when you do it, don’t do it.
oops left out a word. It is NOT immediately life threatening. There that’s better
pjdoll I concur with everything you said. Although, I have ADHD along with it all. It can become life threatening when one’s mind is in a fog and trying to act normal ,like, cooking or baking and forget what one is doing. I leave the iron, coffee pot, stove, bbq etc on. Even a tap running by times. I could have burnt the home down a couple times! Very upsetting.
But you know it could be. Maybe we’re not in the position that we could forget something important, like a baby or something, but I bet lots of people are. It seems important to get this figured out, even for the sake of our sanity. It’s so frustrating & has the power to cause serious problems in people’s lives. I’m not even 40 yet & I can’t work & have lost any foreseeable future. It sucks
i’m much like you, lady quinn…but i’m 53, cannot work, a burden on my kids who themselves are stuggling. this is not good. not good on my mind, and my kids are always afraid i’m suicidal. this is the most hurtful thing.
I work as a nurse in the hospital setting and due to my experience I can tell you that in the hospital setting brain fog will get placed shoved to the back burner because it’s a non-life threatening injury. Also, since rounding doctors only spend about five to ten minutes in a patient’s room it’s more often than not nurses who are the ones that give more attention to this issue. The reason for that is because they spend a greater time interacting with patients than doctors do.
In my area of expertise brain fog is also common in the acute phases of trauma and stroke. We work on helping patients to write things down when multi-tasking and teaching them to focus on the task at hand as opposed to trying to do many things at once. Since issues like these are often left up to a patient’s primary care physician, I would imagine brain memory exercises would be beneficial to a person.
Brain Fog is for me, the short circuit in the brain to engage properly; thought escapes conscious memory in performing simple tasks, words in conversation won’t form fluidly or at all, feeling of cotton clouds stuffed within the brain blanketing its ability to hear and respond as it use to before lesions appeared and diagnosis of MS was confirmed.
The effects of brain fog in my life has caused me to slow down and repeat to myself, ONE item at a time to get it accompolished. I can no longer multi-task as if tried, confusion and inability to accompolish tasks takes place, thus fustration happens….back to slowing down & doing ONE thought at a time; get dressed. Get teeth brushed. Get face washed. Get hair brushed. Put shoes on. Take medication. Eat. None of these use to be considered Tasks, however, when brain fog is present, a person imparred can only do One Item at One Time to accompolish. Let me say also, that it takes an enormous amount of time to get these so called simple tasks performed that when finaly done, you are exhausted.
I have learned in order to handle Brain Fog, I must simply slow down, no rush, no hurry, and rest a bit afterwards. Only medication consumed that is taken is to control the tremors/seizures that give you great relief in energy. I say, “Steady as she goes, one thing at a time, step by step, we’ll get it done”.
Thank you for listening regarding my experience of brain-fog.
Catherineann2010 pretty much how I feel
Just trying to manage symptoms & assimilate normality is an all day job for me. Forget the real job, it’s gone, I couldn’t hack it. It takes all day just to get up, brush teeth, pick up, meditate, do some yoga, try to eat something nutritious, groom, and make dinner for my family & many days I don’t get even half of it done. I don’t know how people can work or organize or do normal things. I feel like a selfish ass just concentrating on myself all the time & I wonder, what’s it all for?