badhbt Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 I have been off of work for 3 months. I just returned to work last week, and it is wearing me out.What does your brain fog feel like? Does it get worse as the day progresses?I literally feel spacey....almost to the point of confusion. I walk around work hoping that nobody can tell. It is a horrible feeling. I feel like if I took a IQ test I wouldn't score very well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Your not alone! I feel like for me my brain fog gets worse as the day goes on based off of how worn out or tired I am. Some days I find myself not being able to remember the simplest things, the right word( like I will say another word when I met something entirely different), when it is really bad it is like being in a black hole I can't get out of. Some days it makes me laugh at myself as I spent a good 15 mins the other morning looking for my cell phone only to realize I had it in my hand, or opening the fridge to find something to make for dinner only to realize I have everything already set out on the counter for dinner.....and some days it plain scares me, like going to numb up a patients for a filling and not being able to remember what tooth #28 was and what side I needed to numb (I had to walk out of the room it made me shake) or driving somewhere and arriving not knowing how I made it there....brain fog for me is probably one of my top 5 most consistent symptoms and yes I am sure on my really bad brain foggy days I wouldn't score well on an IQ test either ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobiano Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 I can relate. It’s hard to describe… spacey and dopey are the best words I can think of right now. I catch myself staring off into space at times. I feel like I am moving slowly and that the world around me is moving slowly as well. It takes me longer to process information e.g., I will read the same line over and over again. Sometimes I am slower to respond. E.g, I type meeting minutes . Because I have difficulty with multi-sensory processing, I digitally record the meetings and then type the minutes later. I remember listening to a recording of a meeting I attended during a massive brain fog episode and thinking… wow where was I??? I hardly contributed a thing, which is very unlike me.I hope you find some more brain fog relief soon. It can be very frustrating to experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mydoggielovesme2 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 I too can relate. Sometimes this can be one of my more embarrassing symptoms. When you are trying to have a conversation, and you either just go blank, or say the wrong word, soooo frustrating! I even tried one of those web sights to "exercise your brain" no help. My friends and family are used to it somewhat, but having it happen in public is just awful. When I was still driving, I would so often wonder how I got from one place to another. Another symptom I have is complete memory loss. Long term and short. So many thing I just dont remember ever happening. I get so tired of people saying, " Don't you remember, we just talked about that,"or that just happened a couple days ago." Or grandma can't you remember, I made that for you". This just makes me sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopeSprings Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Spacey, foggy, drugged, drunk, off balance, hard to focus my eyes, trouble with cognition, trouble processing what I'm seeing or reading, sometimes hearing, memory loss, feelings of confusion. I really think I could deal with the rest of the symptoms - but these brain problems are what make this illness debilitating for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badhbt Posted February 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 It is nice to know you are not alone. Naomi I think you nailed it on the head. Those are all my symptoms. I am with you on desperate to find a cure...so I can have my life back!Ash I have done the same things. I have spent a lot of time looking for something that is right in front of me. I like that you laugh at yourself, but I understand the scary part too. I have been doing the same job for 13 years and I went to explain a procedure to a patient and went totally blank. I had to walk away and collect myself...it was very scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Everything Naomi said, plus, I can't remember common words, I sometimes say the wrong word even though my brain is thinking the right word, I don't remember having whole conversations people swear I had with them, my reflexes feel like they are behind my thought processes, I will feel like I have been day dreaming but not remember the day dream, if I am typing or writing I will re-arrange letters in words or the order of words in a sentence (even though I'm not dyslexic) and I won't even catch the mistake on the proof read. I have said many times that it feels like I am in a Salvador Dali painting where everything is all oozy and warped. Very scary when it's happening and it does get worse for me the more fatigued I get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jknh9 Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 I have word issues too. I'm bilingual, but when the brain fog is really bad I will only be able to recall parts of both languages. So I'll be able to say part of a sentence in English and maybe the other part in Japanese @_@ Really simple stuff, too, like I couldn't remember how to say "because" in English the other day, but I couldn't figure out how to say the rest of the sentence in Japanese. Argh!The brain fog is one of the biggest reasons I quit grad school. I could not think coherently enough or linearly (is that a real word? lol) enough to continue to do research, do interviews, give presentations, participate in academic discussion etc. When teaching, if a student asked me a question I wasn't expecting, it was horribly embarrassing to have to stop and really think hard about a concept I mastered years ago. I used to have an incredible memory, but now it's like I can't access half of what I KNOW I used to have down pat.One other thing for me is that my dreams are incredibly vivid, often just as vivid as memories. Sometimes I'll have to think about whether something was a dream or a real memory. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 I have the dream thing too where I have to think about whether something was a dream or a real memory. I also sometimes wake up during dreams or nightmares not knowing if I was dreaming or if the dream has really been happening. (Good or bad.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E Soskis Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 Wow - can't believe I just found this post. I'm sitting here with my ears ringing so loud, I can't hear simple conversation. My mind is drawing a complete blank - I feel half in this world and half out in space somewhere. Attempting to recall certain events from past few days is futile - tried to study my Sunday School lesson with no success - I can't even determine if I am hungry or not - I just don't know what to think! -my mind has gone "kaputz"... this is my "brain fog" - Not too intrusive if it happens here at home but, sure makes my job a lot harder when it hits at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badhbt Posted February 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 E Soskis,You describe me today! I can't remember much from this past week. I have little sticky notes all over about things I need to do next week, or things I need to bring. I started back at work and was amazed at how hard normal tasks...tasks that I have done for years. I found myself double and triple checking myself. I am ready for the fog to lift!Anyone have a brain fog cure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boymommy3 Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 I have days that I just can't concentrate on any one thing at all (not great when you are trying to homeschool). Also, on bad days, I feel like my reaction time to things is much slower than normal. I almost feel like my hands move in slow motion. I also find myself staring into space often, it is especially hard to focus when I drive sometimes. I don't drive very much at all right now because of that and dizziness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E Soskis Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 The only way I have learned to cope with the fog is simply to "go with the flow" - recognize it for what it is and the limitations it places on me. If I can first identify that it is a "foggy" day, I can then deal with it appropriately. I don't beat myself up over it, I don't place unreasonable expectations on myself, and I can forwarn my coworkers that I may be a little more spacier than usual and require a bit more time to pull together a thought or two. It is still extremely frustrating to know I have deadlines looming and I can't quite grasp the concepts required to meet those deadlines. It does not help, however, to become so distsraught over the brain fog that I can't even perform basic functions. So, I slow down, take a deep breath, and move forward one step at a time - I'm not as swift as I once was but, after 30+ years of dealing with life and death decisions, I am entitled to a little brain fog and a slower pace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badhbt Posted February 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 E soskisI like your take on that. I think I haven't come to terms with my illness, so I end up fighting it and fretting about it. I KNOW I should let go and stop trying to control the situation. It makes me restless knowing that this could be a secondary thing....I keep thinking I better figure it out ( I am in healthcare)It is hard because it was only a few months ago that I was swift, and healthy. I really took it for granted. Thank you everyone for sharing, it is nice to know you are not alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerrik1 Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Thank-you jkn9h and Katybug for posting. I can't believe there are others out there like me with the DREAM problem. I thought it was just stupid me. Or that I was going crazy. I am having more and more trouble realizing if a dream is a real memory or a dream. I was in the hospital a week and a half ago and was trying to discribe this to my MD and she just looked at me like I was crazy. So glad I'm not and that there are others out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jknh9 Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Gerrik1-- maybe you are crazy, but at least we're all crazy together! Honestly, I was really happy to see others have that experience as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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