Dealing With Brain Fog

[issie]

The neuro at Mayo is now giving some Guaifacine. It is being advertised on TV as something for ADD. It didn't work well for me - but it is something being tried for POTS.

[Chaos]

I often can't sleep when I lay down for bed because my mind is significantly clearer and I start thinking (of course, this is near impossible to do while reading, writing or studying).

Elfie-Maybe this is why (in part) we have such a hard time sleeping. Brilliant! I have noticed that my mind is much clearer when I'm lying down and I'm frequently kicking myself for not thinking of something earlier when I was "up". Maybe this explains it. I had never made the connection before with the position. I just figured it was because I wasn't as distracted by everything else going on around me that my mind was more clear to process info.

Serbo- for me brain fog feels like just what the name says. Like I have a fog or cotton balls in my brain that literally keep the synapses from connecting. At it's worst, I do incredibly stupid things that are potentially dangerous because I'm not thinking clearly and it, literally, almost hurts to try to think. At times, I can't process info (like all these studies on POTS etc) and have to read things over and over and over and it still doesn't make sense. I can't remember names, words and past events. I find myself saying the wrong words when I'm speaking...like substituting "arm" for "knee" or something equally unrelated. (When I was teaching yoga it was really getting bad! I mean...I know yoga can get you into some interesting positions but when you mistakenly say 'put your elbow here, instead of put your foot here" it can get REALLY ridiculous. LOL)

Then every so often the "fog" clears and I have a sense of how I used to be when I was "smart" and "on top of things" and a "star student" etc. Then everything flows easily and I can come up with info quickly and process info and make sense when I talk. And then....just like London...the fog settles again and I never know when I'll see the "star" again.

[issie]

Chaos, makes sense - could be our bodies position too. We have our feet up and probably our head a little elevated - could be better blood flow.

I just read a very interesting article in the new Life Extension that I got today about a form of magnesium called magnesium-l-threonate (MgT) it boost brain magnesium and helps with brain function. It is the only magnesium known to cross the brain barrier and also go into the spinal cord. It works on the NMDA pathway. (Which I've figured out, in me, is wonky.) It boost animal function of memory by 100% in older animals and 122% in younger ones. Not only did it increase short-term memory, but really boosted long term memory. It is being used in post traumatic stress syndrome and helps blocks bad memories by blocking the return of old fear memories in the pre-frontal region of the brain. It helps with synaptic density and plasticity in the brain.

I think I have to place an order - tomorrow. I'll let you know if it helps.

Issie

[Serbo]

Does caffeine or liquirice help with the fog or allow one to think more clearly?

I had a ton of salt yesterday which kind of helped but mainly it resulted in my body getting rid of a ton of fluid and me having to take more DDAVP to keep fluid on board and not pass out!

Chaos - Lol on doing Yoga with the fog, must be so hard. Do you still do Yoga? I imagine it'd be good exercise for POTS.