Oh! Tell Me About Brain Fog, Please!

[Friedbrain]

I've read posters comment about brain fog from dysautonomia, but I kinda assumed it was like walking around fuzzy all the time, which I certainly have never experienced. I've had over 8 years of neurological problems and can't say I've ever had problems with my memory (well, except for the time I woke up from having status seizures, but that's different).

I DID today, and I was shocked when I realized what was going on! And scared a bit, I guess, because it seems like a whole different level when my brain is slipping some gears and I can't control it. So here's what happened, and you can tell me if it sounds like anything you recognize.

I woke up from a heavy sleep and turned off my alarm, thinking it was the weekend. Son woke me up. Made it to work and, like I have for EVERY workday for the last three years, went to make coffee. Went to get some coffee, only to realize I hadn't added any water. Mystified, I went and got water and poured it in.... Then at some point realized I hadn't cleaned my coffee cup, which I ALWAYS do when I get water (I just realized I must not've even gone to the bathroom with the coffee pot at all, but at the time I was confused because I thought I had gone to the bathroom with the coffee pot). Cleaned the cup and went for coffee....only to realize I hadn't turned the coffee pot back on. At that point, I was like "What the heck is WRONG with me!!!!" in a rhetorical sense because I was just being so spacey. Then two hours later, I was shaking which proceeded for hours. Highly unusual. Right before leaving for my neuro appt around 2:30, I went upstairs to do one last thing, and found myself walking down the wrong hallway. It was then that I realized that something was wrong with my mind. And in hindsite, I think I've been doing smaller things (like walking into a room and forgetting why I was there) all week. Doing the "doh" thing, thinking I was just too busy or something and 'not thinking', but today's mistakes were really glaringly Wrong.

I asked my neuro about these things, because it occurred to me that maybe they were absence seizures (because I have a seizure disorder). My neuro said no because that would mean Lost Time, which I didn't have. I was moving, like on autopilot without my brain engaged somehow. He didn't bother telling me what he thought they COULD be, though (can you tell it was a worthless visit! )

Thanks for thoughts!!!

[kclynn]

My son has had very scary episodes of memory loss. You could tell him we are going to the store, then a minute later he would ask where are we going. Or mention someone he knows very well and he would have no idea who that person was, or ask about a paper he spent an hour working on and he wouldn't remember it. But he always would recall/know things later. He also had some absense like episodes. He said it was like he was paralyze, couldn't move or respond but could hear us asking him things. They were about 10 seconds or so. It was happening when all his POTS symptoms were really really bad. When we figured out it was temporary, it was still scary, but not so much. The phase seems to have passed now.

[Chaos]

My "brain fog" has been episodes like you described. At times it's been so bad that I've caught myself doing really stupid/scary things and thinking "what the ???" At those times I stop driving and have my kids or husband take me anywhere I really need to go. Other times it's more like my head if full of cotton or clouds or FOG ...like there is something surrounding all the little neurons so they don't connect well and it takes SO MUCH ENERGY to think or do even the normal everyday things. And then of course I have to RE-do them because I did them wrong...no matter how hard I try to concentrate to make sure I don't make a mistake.

[Sarah4444]

I have lots of trouble with this and it is so frustrating. Yesterday I took my son to the park and told him we had to bring milk for the fish - I meant bread for the ducks. Then I looked all over for my watch and it was on my wrist. He thinks this is all hilarious, but I feel like this all the time to some degree at least and it's incredibly annoying and debilitating. My neurologist believes it results from cerebral hypoperfusion. Because of OI I couldn't last long at the park and we had to come home before he wanted to, disappointing him as usual. I have been very sick with this for most of his life and feel terrible about what it has cost him as well as me.

[HopeSprings]

"Because of OI I couldn't last long at the park and we had to come home before he wanted to, disappointing him as usual. I have been very sick with this for most of his life and feel terrible about what it has cost him as well as me."

Oh, I can so relate to these feelings.

"Other times it's more like my head if full of cotton or clouds or FOG ...like there is something surrounding all the little neurons so they don't connect well and it takes SO MUCH ENERGY to think or do even the normal everyday things."

Yup, exactly.

I have a really tough time with short term memory and cognitive function. It's like the information is there, but it takes a ton of effort to access.

[Chrissy]

I have episodes where I will sit down on the couch to take my pills and then realize I've been staring into space for an hour. Sometimes my mom will have me help her with simple clerical work (filing, sorting taxes, etc) and I find myself staring into space or have "OCD moments" triple check every paper I place. I can't read books, because by the second or third page I've already forgot what I just read. I'm always losing my train of thought mid-sentence. I'll be talking and then nothing and my mom will be like "did you forget what you were saying or is something wrong?". I'm always going in rooms and have no idea why I'm there. And those are actually good days. A bad day is when I'm in such a fog I'm am not sure what's going on around me. I hear people talking or the tv is on, but my brain doesn't want to process the info. I've been talking to doctors about this since 2005 and they've said it was the chronic fatigue and tried to put me on Provigil (a strong stay awake drug that most insurance companies won't pay for unless you have sleep apnea), I declined. And at one point they were treating me for ADD with Strattera, but when it didn't help after 6 months or a year they took me off it. Coffee doesn't help. I try drinking extra fluids on my foggy days, if that's possible I feel like I'm drowning as is, and that doesn't help. Listening to music tends to keep my brain semi-focused to do minor tasks, but I still get alittle distracted or have to take breaks cause I'm getting too frustrated.

[RockiesGirl]

At least I now have an answer for all of this. My ex mother-in-law who passed a few years back said I had some of the most interesting vocabulary she had ever heard. She was an awesome Woman!!! It all became a joke when I was in my twenties. For the life of me, I can't think of a word...a simple word. I can describe the items ie; "go get the thing that pays for stuff" or "can you start the thing that washes the dishes" or "we need to get into the thing that drives us places". Now that I am on my Meds (beta-blocker)sometimes it feels like time passes very quickly. Example: I was at a Lacrosse game the other night & I wasn't too stoked about being there. The room seemed to be smokey but when I asked about it, of course it was just me. Before I know it, the game was over and I was asking about the 3rd an 4th Quarter...but they had already been played And like several others I stop mid-sentance and the topic I was talking about goes away. It comes back usually, but it takes a while ;o) And like everyone else it seems I go into a room and for the life of me, sometimes I can't remember why I am in there.....

[icesktr189]

My ssri has been helping with this. I can already tell after 2 days.

This symptom was why I could no longer do college. I couldnt focus on anything it was horrible

[Friedbrain]

Oh, goodness, I'm scared about this! KCmom, I'm glad to know it passed for your son! You guys described what the last two days have been like, the two different kinds of cognitive problems Yesterday was more of doing stuff on autopilot and not knowing what I'm doing and then realizing I don't know what I've done.... I thought I was feeling better last night, but today I've been having trouble remembering stuff, and it's kinda freaking me out! And believe me, I know freaking out will NOT do me any good, so I'm trying really hard to stay calm, take slow breaths, not think about it (haha)... But several times today, in talking with my dh over the phone, I've forgotten what I was going to say and when I tried to think of it, I started feeling an autonomic response. It felt like it wasn't from fear but from effort, if that makes sense. Just simply trying would make me start feeling warm with butterflies in my stomach. And of course, I couldn't remember.

I hope this goes away!!!! I'm hoping it's because it's before my period, and that it will get better as soon as my period comes!

Thank you for sharing your experiences, though. I'd rather know I'm not alone and that this makes sense than to think I'm going crazy or imagining it (haha! At least I haven't lost my sense of humor)

[enko]

I agree with so many things written here.. I also catch myself staring at empty space, can't remember things or words, or do some things and don't remember doing them afterward. Can't memorize names, numbers and some usually simple info. That's why I ask people to write down data for me, not to just tell me because I'll forget it. I can't stand drinking coffee, and black/green tea don't help. I've managed to finish college but was totally tortured after.. 90% of my days are like that I'm floating in space and don't really understand what is happening around me. Sometimes I don't even remember how did I manage to get home..

[Sarah4444]

I don't know if this is any consolation, but I was 15 when I first remember thinking to myself "Man, why is it so hard to concentrate right now?", and it's only been the last few years that the brain fog has gotten extremely severe (I'm 41). I was able to make it through university and grad school (now I know why those years were so hard!) and for me the decline has been relatively gradual, again except for the past 3-4 years. It seems to take different courses for different people. And I have no idea why, but brain fog is the one symptom I really notice seems helped by my avoiding gluten - I might be wrong with all these different things going on, but when I have tried eating gluten again, it does seem to worsen dramatically. It will take a lot to keep me away from cakes and pies, but keeping some degree of cognitive function would be worth it. Hope you're feeling better today.

[faint factory]

Yeah, it's definitely one of those things where you know it when you experience it that first time. For me, it's like I space out and can't snap myself out of it, but I'm aware that I'm spaced out. I can feel that I am noticeably dumber, which is really frustrating. I notice it a lot in conversations with my boyfriend. I am constantly asking him to repeat himself or he's asking me if I heard what he just said.

Midodrine has helped me a lot. I take it an hour before I need to drive or do anything else requiring intelligence/alertness.

[Steve]

It feels like... .... .... I'll get back to yo-- what was the question?

[enko]

It feels like... .... .... I'll get back to yo-- what was the question?

Exactly

[Guest tearose]

Yes, this happens.

You had me laughing with understanding when you told your son to "get milk for the fish"...I get that your brain was trying to pick out the word for the white stuff you wanted to feed the animals in the pond...bread for the ducks...

I don't know why this happens but rest, hydration and a "good hense of sumor" helps!!

[Brassmuse]

Yep get into the car with my husband - turn to him and ask, "remind me where are we going?" What did I watch on TV last night...sorry could not tell you without reaaaaallllly concentrating and then maybe success. At least you made a connection that you the animals being fed were in the water

[comfortzone]

You explained things pretty darn perfectly --- however I've only had courage to mention this once to a doctor. For me it's losing simply everything and anything all day long. You should see the number of calls I make to my cell phone in order to find it - now that's concrete proof. I used to be afraid to live alone!

One doctor told me that what we deal with causes an awful lot of stress and we feel lousy an awful lot of the time - and this was his explanation....stating things will likely improve when you get to feeling a bit better.

I don't really want to waste insurance dollars or my own money for neuro-psych testing for cognitive memory issues - but I sense I'll know when I have to insist on that. Lately the more I try to accept it and not get all upset, tearful, or downright angry about it the better I cope with it.

I'm just to tired to 'deal' with it on a formal level with doctors and such. But it can be certainly disruptive and make you feel like you are losing your sanity sometimes...

I keep trying to work on routines to help out with this...

[louloutinks]

Mine seems to come and go (thankfully) but leads to things such as typing words wrong (right letters but wrong cleap ((PLACE lol)...I love spell check now!)

I tend to lose complete track of what I am talking about .....like my mind wanders - where I do not know!

Tend to repeat things without realising that I have already said things.

Tend to repeat things without realising that I have already said things.

Hehe!

Word recall - have trouble with thinking of words, and nowadays they are not even on the tip of my tongue, as I completely forget about what I was talking about or what I am trying to remember!

My left hand is now my diary as I completely forget to look in my diary - woe betide if I am not careful enough when I wash my hands and wash the writing off(if I remember the list is written on my hand in the first place!)

Find it very difficult to concentrate on things and keep my mind on track, esp if there is other distractions ie noisy son just got back form school.

Spelling simple words sometimes gets me - I wracked my brain over the word 'does' as I could not work out how to spell it (I am not daft but I sure felt it).

Forgetting what I went to the kitchen for.

Throughout my life I have had all this but very basically - but now I have ANSD it is not basic - it is a complete blank...a void...not just on the tip of my tongue, or I'll remember in a minute...it's completely washed away!!!!