Brain just shutting down, zombie state - Desperate for help.

Hi Chris,

I was intrigued by this post as I was just randomly google searching for symptoms like yours during a study period for final exams . I have been getting brain fog for awhile, and it has impeded on my academics. Not it is mostly passed as I got tired of my doctors unable to find anything and so instead went to my local naturopathic clinic in my city. She understood my complications as well I was having spells of depressive episodes that were just random. I got blood tests done by her standards. So, the results that came back identified that I have a gluten/egg/dairy allergy or sensitivity. So basically it is types of food that my brain cannot handle or process as well as by body b/c I also noticed a bit of weight gain and sluggishness. Also to note that food sensitivities impair thyroid function (weight gain for me) resulting in symptoms of depression for me. For your instance, since you say you are almost underweight, so I would say possibly change the quality of food you ingest. Though, firstly you should consider taking a visit to a naturopathic doctor first. They tend to listen to what you have to say more and understand what you want to achieve. 

Hello Chris, it has been a year since you posted so you may have sorted out this dreadful problem. If not - may I suggest you see a neurologist and endocrinologist as fast as possible. Wait times for NHS are up to 18 weeks for non-urgent but as this problem is interfering in your daily life, I call that urgent. If you go privately it will be very expensive and you cannot be sure what type of treatment or duration of treatment may be needed so you will be facing a big bill. You must demand a referral and be very persistent! Make a note of when it all started and what you experienced, also keep a daily health diary. This will be invaluable when you see the consultant. As much as the symptoms are difficult to diagnose, the faster you get seen the better. Once the tests start inc an MRI you will be moving closer to an answer. You don't have to live like this and you definitely need to see a neurologist and endocrinologist, (ideally at the same hospital as these symptoms need a team approach)  I am talking from experience but won't give you my story as it's best the consultants work out what is going on for you as it may be different. Dont give up hope of getting better, do listen to your own instincts, don't accept any professional, friend, family member, colleague telling you it will pass, you need a vitamin, you are stressed, try a different pillow, try xyz and lets see if it helps! Dont let anyone minimise your experience as it only serves to distract from the root cause. Best of luck...

Chris,

I hope you have figured this out by now but if not I have something for you to try. I had intense brain fog, chronic short term memory loss, inability to focus, and overall congnitive impairment. Everyday my skeleten felt like it was trying to escape from my body, sore joints, and overall fatigue. I experimented with my diet for two years and finally narrowed it down to gluten. I would suggest cutting gluten out of your diet for a few weeks and see how you feel mentally and physically. I stopped ingesting gluten completely in August of 2016. Now I can be present and contribute to conversations again. Before I went gluten free it was like I was watching my life from the outside and always in the moment because I couldn't remember anything. I hope this helps. It really takes a few months to feel the real effects of going gluten free but you should notice a substainal difference after 1-3 weeks.

I am still seeing doctors to try and figure out what happened or what is happening. I tested negative for Celiac's, diabetes and everything else so far.

Good luck,

I know this is a year after you posting, but I am just hoping to give you an answer of my experience. I am not a medical professional but I do get depression. I used to get that disassociative feeling when suffering a bout of long term depression. I was also very thin and felt better for being so during that time. I have found that it stopped since I started taking two different antidepressants simultanously. I still get a little bit of depression (it never goes away) but that disconnected zombie like feeling has never returned.

There is the also the possibility you might have epilepsy, as not all types involve being unconcious and physical fits, so get your doctor to refer you to get it confirmed, basically they hook you up to monitors and can work out that you having frequent seizures. If it is narcolepsy, this can also be confirmed at the same time.

I think not eating is not going to help, you have to be careful with that. Maybe eating soup in small doses when it is at its worst to make sure you are maintaining your body. It is easy to starve yourself when getting such bad symptoms from eating, but in the long term you will get much iller from lack of nutrients.

I really hope that you are ok.

Hi,

I have narcolepsy and you are describing exactly what I go through all day every day while "awake. It's called "brain fog" and it's very debilitating. The blanking out and zoning on the TV or (I can no longer read because of this) trying to read a book or anything is called "microsleeps". I'm not saying you have narcolepsy but you should definitely have a sleep study done (as long as you aren't on any mind altering medications including and especially antidepressants).

After meals is the worst. In fact a very famous scientist (George Church) who has narcolepsy gets through his day by not eating at all until he's finished and can relax and let the fog roll in...or for me I will have the brain fog and then a sleep attack and I also have cataplexy (a symptom of narcolepsy) which for me can be triggered by being woken up (if I'm at the table) and assisted out of the restaurant or to the couch or my bed. Everyone is different but what you are describing definitely sounds exactly like narcolepsy to me.

Feel free to email me if you would like any more information about my disorder and how I've handled it.

If all of your tests are coming back normal, there's a good chance you are dealing with the same thing I am. It's very difficult to live with. I'm sorry you're going through it. I know exactly how you feel. Exactly.

Hugs

Six

Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.

http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages

Chris, I can't believe what you have written. It is as if I wrote it myself. I have suffered serverly for 3 years now and class myself as a zombie and almost brain dead. I can't drive a car any more and rely on my wife to help with most things I do. I have seen almost every specialist and had every blood test including bone marrow biopsies. 6 years ago I suddenly found that I had mialodisplastic syndrome with RARS. RARS means that every red blood cell I produce has a ring of iron surrounding it which means that every week I have to have blood transfusions. 2 years ago I woke up completely deaf in

my right ear. Specialists can't explain why. I don't eat normal meals in fact I seem to have forgotten what all food tastes like. Most meals are very small, I don't eat lunch and don't look forward to evening meals, even take away meals. Watching TV is just that, I don't absorb anything. I was recently told to try vitamin B6 and B12 these have made no difference. I feel that I am loosing any strength in my arms and legs. I can't walk very far without some assistance. I fall over quite often, but the most damage has been a few broken ribs and cuts to my head and arms. i used to be able to do some housework but find it very difficult now. Some days are much worse than others. The bad days I wish I would die. It makes me vfeel better that there are other people suffering the same as me because most time I feel that people don't believe me. Although I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Hey there,

I am going through something similar and its been happening since last two years. Before that, I was this perfect 'in the moment' girl and had no problem whatsoever anywhere. But in these years, I have been zoning out and forgetting what I have to do. I feel like my mind is slowing down or at least not working in situations it should. And I haven't had any tests except for the regular blood ones.

But I think it has got something to do with me. I am in college right now, so twoo years back when it started I actually voluntarily zoned out of classes because I didn't know what was going on as I didn't study everyday. So instead of using my brain to understand it, I generally just shut my brain up. That was my defense mechanism. After that, it mostly became a habit. If I didn't want to be anywhere I would just zone out and slowly I developed this mind foggy thing. So my deductions are we are the ones who let ourselves zone out and then slowly our mind goes into a shell. But I ain't too sure because even as a kid, I wasn't good at somethings.

But what I want to tell you is I have been recovering (or at least I think so) and not through some meds or anything, I try to meditate and try my best to be in the moment by trying to look around, taking in little details to get my mind working. I am in one of the best colleges where too many bright kids are there, but due to the mind foggy thing, many people just think I am dumb. I think instead of thinking you need meds or anything, its better to have trust in yourself and try your best to be in the moment.

I also have small attention span. If I don't wanna be somewhere, my brain would just shut off. So I try not to be somewhere for too long and that is what happens with you when you watch movies. We can't concentrate on a single thing for too long. And I too have good and bad days. Some days where I am alert af and others where I am slower than a turtle, like a potato. 

So what you can do is do your thing, not do one thing for too long and condition your brain to concentrate wherever it is. I mean you get a habit if you do one thing for more than 21 days, right? There must be a time period when we get completely normal with our brains in our control!