Debilitating symptoms. Brain fog...extreme memory loss...spacey 24/7!

Im 23 and reading your story hit me really hard as i relate to every single sentence of your story including the relationship part. i don't understand what this is at one point my life was fine, it only took one day for my life to turn upside down i too had spoke to doctors twice a week and been in and out hospitals and had loads of blood tests done. everyone else seem to think i am fine but my head is constantly in a zombie like state from when wake up and till i fall asleep. I be surprised how i manage to even wake up from sleep. I do hope you find a way out of this because its not something anyone can live with all their life.

Hi i feel like I am going thru the same, its been a while for me , i feel confused at times, tired dont feel like going out as i need to converse alot if i meet people

Brain fog or what I have no clue what it is?

I have all these symptoms too, I feel like I'm going crazy! I've had a ton of testing done too and they never find anything. I've been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, then the next doctor says NOPE IT'S ADHD. No one knows what to do with me. I'm 35 and this is just slowly killing me. Has any obe

Sounds similar to some problems I've been having. The juggle of working full time, 3 kids (one with special needs) and this pandemic caused me to have a major anxiety attack a few weeks ago. It all came to a head. I was holding back tears at work all day, burst into tears the moment I left work, felt super nauseous, strated hyperventilating, and then went into a full attack with a very rapid heartbeat and I almost passed out. I almost called 911 but I knew I was having an anxiety attack, the worst one I've ever had. When I get this way I get extreme IBS, and two weeks later, I'm still having digestive issues. I have noticed I am absent minded and forgetting everything. I'm making ridiculously stupid mistakes at work (I'm an administrative assistant for a MH and CD counseling agency) and today I even got in my head so much on lunch break that I was 20 mins late getting back from lunch because I forgot I was ON my lunch break (I drive home for lunch). I need to find a better pcp (I don't like mine) and get on meds for anxiety, as well as ADD that I've had since I was a child, but the thought of missing work to go to an appointment gives me even MORE anxiety. I have also been extremely tired, though I've always been a tired person. I have been coming home from work, doing bare minimum, and going to bed straight after we put the kids to bed, leaving the house in whatever state its in only to have to take care of it in the morning which causes more stress. I'd like to know if this is depression on top of anxiety or just lingering symptoms from the extreme anxiety I have been having.

HI!!!! i just turned 30 but first began having these symptoms in my early 20s. i was always a very sharp, quick-witted and creative person. in my 20s i began getting severe cystic acne on my cheeks (of which i never even had a pimple other than puberty acne at 12 years old) along with this, severe gut issues (bloating, persistent acid reflux) and neck aches) brain fog came next, and a complete detachment from "myself" my symptoms seem to evolve as the years go by. i was gluten free for 8 years, i was vegan for a year, symptoms didnt go away. now at 30 severe dizziness has begun, worsening brain fog, constant ears ringing, random numbness, worsening neck aches ans stiffness. ill get a RANDOM DAY where im all the sudden myself... clear mind, funny, energized, and it makes me depressed knowing thats how i used to be all the time. i did a 3 day bone broth cleanse a few years ago, WOW first two days were brutal but bu the end of the third day i literallt felt the best id felt in a long time, clear mind, energized, MYSELF, but after about a week all my symptoms came back. I AM CONVINCED this is a bacteria, fungus or parasite issue. i believe in my soul that this is the reason for all of this. has ANYONE gotten ANY relief or figured ANYTHING out on how to kick this?

OMG this is the first thread Ive found anywhere that describes my symptoms clearly! I'm so glad, and so sad too... if this lasts for years... gulp

The extreme brain fog, panic attacks (I don't feel anxious or worried so much anymore, but my face gets very prickly), depressive moods (very dark, like falling into a deep well). Fatigue, so it's hard to make it to them gym more than once a week (apparently exercise is essential for brain health). Very hard to focus of concentrate and my memory is shot... especially the short term and working memory. Anxiety causing heart palpitations. And that heavy feeling in my head, like what people describe - hot and heavy, like the brain is inflamed.

I think its related to deep, chronic stress and anxiety. For me, the stress really started 2.5 years ago, when my ex husband and I separated. 2019 was stressful, I was doing a PhD, living on a miserly stipend, and trying to deal with grief - divorce, and my Dad passed away, we were distant for a long time, but I still loved him. Then, about 18 months after the separation, I dated a guy for a few months, and it didn't go well - nasty break up, lots of anxiety. Bad insomnia, too. 2020 started ok, then the Covid hit and the stress went off the scale... I had really rough 6 months, my research suffered massively. All kinds of stress stuff. I was super emotional, and didn't recognise it.

Then 4 months ago another major stressor hit, and I had a meltdown. Next two days were horrible, and then it was anxiety central for a month. The doctor tried putting me on escilopram, that escalated my panic attacks. Over the next 3 months I tried several different SSRIs, all with nasty side effects... in the end, the severe anxiety stopped, but this brain fog just won't lift.

I am now on Valdoxan, it's helping somewhat. The sleep is improving. Vitamins B12, D, magnesium. Meditation really helps, also relaxation and everything / anything that keeps the anxiety down. Sheer willpower. Buddhism. Walks in nature.

Because if I let this go, I feel suicidal. If i surrender, it only gets worse. I have to work, maybe start a new job soon (in a couple of months), probably relocate to another city, and my state is so bad I don't even know if I can do it... It's so frustrating. Some days are better and I remember things clearly. Then the cotton wool descends.

Honestly, if I died from a stroke now, I wouldn't be sorry... if this thing doesn't lift soon, its going to ruin my career and my life. 😦

But mainly its what my therapist said, "well, you can't keep on pumping cortisol into the system, something will give." It just sucks that this seems to be a very long term condition...

Hi everyone,

(Skip to the bottom if you just want to see what I recommend, but I wanted to tell my story to show I've been there)

I guess I will start off with saying that thanks to this thread I managed to get to 23 which was something I honestly didn't think would happen.

My Brainfog came on around four years ago and at first I brushed it off as the late nights and alcohol since I just started Uni. I had the same spaced-out feeling, poor concentration, short and long-term memory was awful, developed the neck stiffness and borderline Insomnia.

Needless to say, my studies were heavily affected and I slowly started to lose myself. After many blood tests, MRI Brain scan, full body scan, sleep tablets and some physiotherapy (Someone thought my neck my be the issue behind Brainfog).

Nothing came back and then Lockdown hit and my situation just deteriorated. I remember it was literally a cycle of wake up, brain fog all day then struggle to sleep. I felt like a robot and just wished to go back to normal.

Then finally, one day came where I woke up and didn't even recognise myself in the mirror and I was scared. I couldn't talk to anyone because I didn't even understand brainfog. That same night I simply had enough and well I tried to end my own life. I managed to talk myself down from doing it simply because I believed there must be help.

From that point I kept it all inside and finally decided to talk to my Uni's mental health service. At first it was nice to just vent and set a plan up to at least finish my degree. However, I realised it became more of an annoyance when I kept getting told "It will get better". (I get its to make people feel better but anyone can say that and it didn't help me)

Finally I finished my course and left Uni and went home to my family to rest. I would say three months went by with my trying to get help from a doctors in my home area. We done the same things I done before and finally got recommend Greenwich Time to Talk. As you could imagine I was very reluctant to try it and long story short it was making believe I had some sort of mental health issue when I knew it was brainfog. Just before Christmas I finished a unit and it said that "I need to stop thinking about brainfog and my symptoms and just let it go".

That was my last straw, I finally had enough I was angry that I got something so stupid said to me and then I searched online for days to find anything on brainfog. I finally found this thread and someone said about "silent migraine" with this new term I went to my doctor and told him about this page and SM and he straight away recommended "Amitriptyline 25mg tablets".

Within two weeks the spaced out feeling of Brainfog went and I felt started to feel alive again. I was given two packs of the 25mg which contained 28 tablets per pack which I took one tablet a night. Now I'm going to speak to my doctor to see what's next but I'm so happy with life. Since the brainfog stopped I've appreciated even the littlest things in life and comeback here to hopefully help you guys.

I'm not an expert and I still have a few issues with my head. For example, I notice headaches come and go quite frequently but are manageable and could be to do with SM. I also have the neck stiffness but not as bad as when I was experiencing brainfog. I've noticed my posture is a bit bad but when the brainfig was on it just made the stiffness feel worse.

I've got back my confidence to work and overall am always happy. Brainfog caused me to have some dark times and all I can do now is appreciate that I'm here today.

(Apologies this was very long and I can only hope this can help. I've been there and I understand how dark times can get. I'm not gonna hit you guys with that "It will get better". But instead just say playing games and watching anime helped save me even if it sounds silly.)

All the best going forward,

My best regards

i have been googling on same sort of symptoms from 5 years. Now thought to share my 20 cents.

it seems to me like a nasty form of anxiety. For me it started when i became too ambitious. Started putting lot of efforts in achieving my goals. When it started (almost all the symptoms mentioned in this thread) , i started googling. Apart from rest , i became victim of chronic GOOGL-itis 😃

I am still suffering from multiple symptoms which dominates my days.

my take is that it happens when change in emotional state (often triggered by some event).

Anxiety is very harsh. If your doctor are not able to identify cause, most probably anxiety is culprit.

I have understood that medication makes it even worst as it hides the symptoms without fixing the root cause ( emotions).

Acceptance is the best approach. It is easier said than done! But nothing else will help!

Being brave, finding right social surrounding and managing through it is the best approach.