Decreasing I Q

[Chrissy]

I feel like my IQ is decreasing. I completed 10th grade before I got too sick to finish school. I have the usual brain fog, cognitive issues, and concentration problems. On a good day I'm lucky if I have the mental capacity of a middle schooler and on a bad day I have trouble doing stuff I learned in grade school. I've failed at helping my mom with simple filing, I struggle to make simple change ($20 - $5.50), I can't balance a check book even with a calculator, and I struggle to read teen chapter books. Is this just me or is it common with POTS.

[Guest tearose]

Oh, I hope it is just POTS! If it is reassuring to know...after a rough spell, I had trouble signing my name to a check!!!

I had to work very hard with an occupational therapist after surgery too...I had trouble turning doorknobs, doing math, making a shopping list..

My pcp and my Mayo neurologist clearly see how the ANS can be set back from certain stressors like surgery or illness.

Just don't let yourself be a mush and not make use of your brain. Sing, write, make a 3-D friend you can spend real time with and laugh and cry and talk....don't let yourself be out of touch with the outside world.

Your brain probably is just in deep freeze. It will thaw out, just make yourself a cup of hot cocoa and start reading, even a comic book!

Make goals, take small steps and you will, hopefully, see improvement.

best regards,

tearose

[smatuszak]

I don't know if this will help, but I try to take life one minute at a time. I know it sounds outrageous--impossible to do, but it works most of the time for me. I used to hear people say that and I would laugh to myself.

I used to lead a very productive life. I had everything that I had hoped for: a great husband, three kids, a nice home. I was able to stay home my the kids. When I was 38, my husband had a seizure. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He lived for 4 months and one day. I just went into this mode--I don't know how to explain it, but I slowly learned how to cope with the hear and now. Things seemed to fall into place. I know it sounds stange.

Two and a half years ago was when my dysautomonia became disabling. It has been a very frustrating time. I was just dianosed a few weeks ago. I know what you're talking about--I feel like I have lost so much of what I had and who I am. But, I realizaed that I am still the same person iside. It may take me longer to do things. I make a lot of mistakes, I'm not as active as I used to be. But; I still feel, I still love and I'm still a mom to me kids--just differently than I was before.

Venting is a great thing. Putting things down in print or saying them out loud really helps. I hope this helps you.

Sincerely,

Sue

[pat57]

pacer, thats called mindfulness. Living in the present moment.

Not strange at all!

Buddhists call it enlightened. Not kidding.

[Maxine]

I think when I crashed really hard with POTS, I couldn't think straight period. I don't think it was an issue with IQ, it was just an issue of being scared out of my mind, and having no answers. When the adrenaline finally calmed down, I was able to think straighter, but it took a while, as I was really wiped out too. If I'm haivng a bad spell, I can't even talk right. I think a lot of things go haywire, and it does affect us cognitively.

I think we have ups and downs with cognitive function that correlate with the ups and downs of our symptoms.

When my symptoms calmed after having cervical spine surgery, I was able to go back into college courses, and did very well.

I was given steroids during the surgery, and after, and I truly think it helped my symptoms significantly. My symptoms started to worsen in about 6 months to a year, but it progressed more slowly, and I was eventually diagnosed with other health problems. My cognitive function is Ok, but sometimes it's really hard to focus, especially if I'm having a hyper adrengic spell, or I'm in a lot of pain.

I think you'll be OK, just keep your mind as active as you can. I like your advice Tearose.

Maxine :0)

[runningshoe]

When I am potsy I have trouble processing multiple things. I had 30 files to organize and I basically just shuffled paper until I realized that I really couldn't keep track of what I was doing. When the pots flare calmed down, I was able to complete the task (weeks later). It is very hard to feel like you are not as smart as you used to be but forgive youself and don't waste any more brain cells on feeling badly about it. I am sure things will get better.

[Mrs. Burschman]

I've been feeling kind of dumb lately. I've had stuffy sinuses, which always makes me feel like my head is full of oatmeal.

When I was really bad POTS-wise, I was basically worthless at work. Or I felt worthless, anyway. But I'm much better now.

I seriously doubt you've become stupid all of a sudden!

Amy

[Chrissy]

Thanks all! I try to use my mind as often as I can. I'm not really depressed or worried about "getting stupid" I just was wondering if it was part of pots or should I bring it to my neuro's attention.

[flop]

I think it is always woth discussing new symptoms with a doctor, just so that they have a proper view of all the things you are dealing with.

I find that my concentration / cognitive function when standing up is dreadful - I can't even follow a conversation properly. However when I have had my meds, wearing compression and sitting down I don't do too badly. For this reason I use a wheelchair at work to let me concentrate (and to avoif the danger of me blacking out at work). Don't think that I'm advocating using a wheelchair to help with cognition because I'm not, but you may find certain situations where your brain seems to work better than others.

I like to try to think why sumptoms might happen. I think that to work the brain needs oxygen and sugar, it gets both of those from blood supply, with POTS the blood supply is not regulated properly. I say to myself that if there is not enough blood getting to my brain when I am standing, then it is perfectly logical that my brain wouldn't work well.

I know that it a gross over simplification, and I think if doctors understood exactly how these things happen there may be more specific treatments available to us.

I find that doing things that use the brain and keeping it working help, like working out in the gym but for your brain. Do simple things to start that need concentration - read kids books / comics / magazines, do jigsaw puzzles, play simple computer games, play card games, do simple math (eg 7+2 = ?). The more you do these things the easier it should be to get your brain to work when you want it to, and you can progress to more demanding tasks.

Don't worry!

Flop

[Lukkychrm42]

I read Italian and understand it, and then when I'm not feeling well, a sentence will come out of my mouth that sounds like a beginner's- it's so embarrassing, especially when other times I sound completely normal!

At Vanderbilt one of the tests they sometimes did was making the patient do arithmetic in their head while standing.

Believe me, it's probably not about LOSING knowledge- finding it might be tough when there's not enough oxygen up there, too!

[Mrs. Burschman]

Arithmetic while standing? Ugh! I can't do arithmetic while laying flat on my back!

Amy

[doctorguest]

Chrissy,

As others have said, POTS can probably cause problems with attention and concentration, rather than the actual IQ decline, during a bad flare-up. However, a brain is like a muscle - it has to be exercised on a regular basis or else, your cognitive abilities and skills will decline. If you haven't completed high school education, I urge you to enroll in an on-line program to do so. You absolutely need to read, study and take tests to challenge yourself cognitively. It may be very difficult at first, but you need to struggle through it to build a higher level of cognitive function. You are still very young, and your brain is capable of things that an older brain is not. Set goals for yourself, challenge yourself, and it would be extremely beneficial not only for your cognitive abilities, but for your overall mental health. Good luck!

[mkoven]

Over the summer I was worried that I was getting "dumber," and felt like my memory was sliding. I'm a lot older than you-40. (I'm on an academic calendar, and even if I work in the summer, work is definitely slower). Anyway, once the semester started, and I had to learn student names and be able to think on my feet in the classroom (metaphorically! I actually sit to teach), it's improved. I'm with the "use-it-or-lose-it" principle. I treat it as a challenging game to learn the names of all the students in my class quickly, since they are used to being in anonymous big lectures.

[deucykub]

Hi, Chrissy:

I wanted to echo what doctorguest said. If you can at all finish your high school education, absolutely do it! In fact, don't stop there. You can conquer the world - but maybe just a little more slowly. I had to finish my high school education from home through a program called "home bound" because I was too sick to go to school. Then, I finished my bachelor's degree. It took me 7 years and LOTS of medical withdrawals, but eventually, it was done! Later on, I went on to complete a master's degree online, again, slowly but surely... baby steps. POTS doesn't have to win. It does change our lives - in a big way. There's no denying that. But it doesn't have to RULE our lives. Ya know?

Now, to answer your initial question... I agree with the others on here. POTS doesn't decrease our IQ, but it does cause problems with our thinking processes because of the lack of blood reaching our brains. This happened to me just the other day. I was in an interview on Thursday and completely blanked on anwering a question, that I KNEW from years of experience in the field. I even tried stopping and saying "let me try that again," but nope, I could not explain how I would do the work. The answer was... poof... gone.

You are not alone on this one. Just remember to take it easy on yourself and not to get too frustrated. Sl-o-o-o-o-w and steady seem to be the trick in this race.

[Maxine]

I also agree with DG-----go get your GED---

When I was in high school I was lost. I had ADHD also, but I didn't really have POTs symptoms yet, other then a fast HR.

My confidence was really low, and I felt like a failure when I dropped out of HS. (They didin't help kids with ADHD back in the 70s. I had decided it was easier to be with the "cool" people and party.

I grew up, and decided to use my brain. I found out I had nothing wrong with my ability to learn, I just had to learn a different way, and taking classes for my GED gave me more freedom to learn in my own creative way. I found a way to comprehend-----one good way is to review immediately after class to help you retain what the instructor/professor went over in class. I really works! One of my first college classes was communications, and the instructor taught us this little trick, among many other tricks. This was the perfect class for me to take as a "first" class. This was after my GED when I started taking college courses for business in a private college. My employer paid 100% for an A, 80% for Bs ect. My GPA was 3.8. My employer still paid 100% for the one B I received.-- I got sick, and was never able to complete my degree.

When I had some improvement in my health in 2002/2003, I went back to school to take a medical coding program for 1 year. I completed the program with a 4.0. Although I never completed my full degree, my confidence grew a lot just knowing I wasn't "dumb". To tell you the truth, I knew I wasn't really "dumb", I just didn't know what I could accomplish until I tried. I was surprised on how well I did. I found out that READING was a big help. Reading is hard for me, because it's difficult to comprehend, but I'll do what it takes----even if it means reading the same page over and over again. It depends on the material, sometimes I pick it up quickly.

I love biographies, and when I crashed really hard, all I could do was sit on the couch for a month. I read about Lucille Ball, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, HARRISON FORD--- my favorite, Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara Walters, Walter Cronkite--(spelling?),All the Katharine Hepburn Books/Bio's I could get my hands on, The POPE John Paul, Carol Burnett, Alan Alda, David Brinkley, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Gene Wilder, Oprah, Pres Bill Clinton, and Bob Schieffer.

Believe it or not I find the research on dysautonomia interesting to read--- , I am a nerd of sorts with that. I haven't read much on EDS, but what I have read is pretty interesting. when I was in high school, science, and health came easy to me, and one of my teachers told me to go into the health field. I wasted a lot of time, and now I'm sorry for it. However, I'm comfortable in my skin now---I feel more confident because I kept pushing my brain. If you don't use it, you lose it.

My spelling is atrocious---I need to find a way to fix that---LOL=======

Maxine :0)

[Mrs. Burschman]

Maxine,

You spelled atrocious right, so it must not be!

Amy

[Dawg Tired]

I agree with the "deep freeze" theory. For the first couple years my mind was mush. My fine motor skills went down BAD too. Had times when I had trouble spelling my name.

But I kept trying. Even - very slowly - wrote a book.

Now I do pilot studies for a company that does CEU's for medical professionals. It's only once a year or so, but I look forward to it!

[mom4cem]

There are days when I think for sure I'm going senile. Go to the computer, sit down and forget what I was going to do. Words come out backwards etc. Then there are days when I'm sharp as a whip... Between allergies and perpetually stuffy head, forget about when I am really sick,,then I can't remember what I did an hour ago, seriously. Simple tasks I can't do.

I play Brain Age on Nintendo DS, to try to help keep my brain from turning to mush.

If I start to think about it too much, I really get myself in a tizzy and worry that I am losing it, but I come back