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

Posted , 640 users are following.

The last year of my life has been a brutal one. At the age of 22, I am in the lowest of lows and I desperately need some help!

Here’s my tale:

About a year ago, a couple months after an extremely strenuous relationship, I began noticing that I was tired all the time…and all around, I wasn’t really satisfied. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed my friends, and activities…but life just wasn’t as bright and vibrant anymore after a month of noticing this ever-present fatigue, it got a bit stronger. I would wake up each morning completely zombie-mode…and that feeling would remain throughout the entirety of my day, until my head hit my pillow that evening.

Initially, I suspected some form of sleeping disorder. I set up a sleep study, got my thyroid checked, ferritin levels, all the basics. Sleep study revealed I sleep just fine and all my other blood tests came back negative.

The fatigue and the weight of the world slowly got worse over the next handful of months, UNTIL I woke up one morning and everything escalated greatly. I felt completely stoned. I couldn’t think right. I couldn’t concentrate. I felt inebriated. I felt totally disconnected and spacey. I felt as though I had no control over myself. I lost drive and motivation. I lost a lot of confidence.  I always had an incredibly sharp memory. It was actually something well known about me to those in my family and friend circles. Yet, on this morning, almost all new information could not be retained. Things that happened earlier in the day, by evening, I felt they happened a day or two before. I could no longer recount the activities I took part in. This is possibly the worst of all the symptoms. The extreme short term memory. I have no context for time and I sort of feel like I’m just floating through life suffering.

For months I visited doctors getting tested by specialists. I visited a neurologist, infectious disease, I had an MRI, & I had about 20 different blood tests. NOTHING. My doctor literally said “I have no idea what this could be. I am beside myself” TOTES reassuring! I tried altering my diet entirely to organic and all natural. I continued my workouts and ran 15 miles a week. I tried sleeping even earlier. I tried all I could think of .

I have scoured the message boards and found a few people suffering from the same, but without answers.

I’m not sure if depression is the culprit, but depression sure has found its nasty venom-coated fangs into my veins. Tired, depressed, failed memory, no drive, scared…it’s no way to live. I want my life back.

PLEASE OFFER INSIGHT! I will be so grateful J

Sincerely,

Taylorsaurus Rex

54 likes, 1428 replies

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  • Posted

    Acupuncture (Five Elements) is pinpointing far more what Western medicine doesn't...my digestive system is a mess and am in process of completely overhauling my diet. No improvement yet though..!
  • Posted

    Hi. I feel exactly like this. My story is identical. I noticed that I began feeling very tired for a couple weeks, then one morning I woke up with this awful foggyness in my head and I've been this way for two years. My memory is so bad now I can barely remember things from like an hour ago. I actually feel like I'm going demented, and I'm only 25. I never want to go out anywhere or do things because I'm just in a constant daze.
    • Posted

      I searched Google for these symptoms and found this thread- I feel exactly the same!!!!! Been on 20mg of Paxil/seroxat for 10 days now- I feel about 20% better - but that even comes and goes- this is so frustrating!! Also I didn't get the fog until the day after I started the medication- doc said I might get worse before I get better- I also have horrible rining in my ears!!
    • Posted

      Maybe you should go out? Do u get head aches? This sounds crazy but smoke some weed see if it helps...I'm only saying this because I used to feel foggy and have head aches then I started leaving the house as a preteen and smoking pot and it went away. Now it's back...I have kids now can't go out and I can't smoke but if this don't go away by June I'm setting a weekend away and I'm going to get high and see if it helps...
  • Posted

    I am having the exact same symptoms + pretty bad and constant headaches, dizziness and lightheadedness, anxiety and depression and vision problems (acommodative error). However mine were most probably caused by a traumatic brain injury - I suffered a concussion 6 months ago. I was diagnosed with a post-concussion syndrome just today by a neurologist who also ordered me an MRI scan. She said that my concussion was mild to very mild but that sometimes brain reacts more severely to a minor damage than a big one and therefore someone who was knocked out for a while may recover in a week, but someone who wasn't even knocked out can have debilitating consequences for a long time. F*** YOU BRAIN. And I am even younger than you, I am 19, and I also had a pretty good memory before, I graduated in the top 1% of my country. I guess my point is that brain is funny. And brain can do things to you, you would never imagine. And since anxiety and depression happen in the brain, your brain doesn't work properly anymore. Your brain is either too tired to process things at a normal speed (often with anxiety because of constant worrying) or is over-working all the time and is too distracted with worries to process any other information (sometimes you may not even be aware of it). With depression a lack of serotonin or dopamin may be to blame for the brain fog. The worse your anxiety or depression is, the worse your brain fog, etc will be. And depersonalization has many varieties of symptoms; feeling "stoned" is one of them. I saw someone posting about fibromyalgia (with the best intent of course) however the worst thing you can do for yourself and your health is to think about diseases such as fibromyalgia, MS.... Yes you might have them, you might also have a brain tumour or metal poisoning or god knows what... IT IS POSSIBLE. But it is also very much possible that these things are caused by depression/anxiety. Especialy if they started with a stressful/ traumatic event or period of life (as was the case with you and me) Example: I was healing well after my cocnussion for a while, but then my anxiety and later on depression kicked in and I started getting worse again. Now I am at the lowest of all low, and I believe it is mainly due to my health anxiety, I don't even think my TBI has much to do with it anymore. I am soo tired of googling symptoms and finding out the causes for my ill-being and yet I can't stop. Fungus poisoning (due to mold in our house) is now the current topic of my concern eventhough I lived with mold in my house my entire life. The more I think about it, the worse the brain fog, memory loss,which in turn makes me more convinced that I do have that terrible thing and that mold is now eating my brain and so on.. It is a neverending cycle. That's why anxiety is so hard to cure. Anyway, hope we find a light at the end of a tunnel, in fact I am sure we will. Maybe you did already. xx
    • Posted

      Hey,

      I've had simalar symptoms to everyone here. I also have had five concussions over the past 3 years from surfing and soccer. I have been experiencing this debilitating brain fog as well. I used to be very active. I would run 5k everyday and then hit the gym after. I also had a fairly healthy diet. It wasn't wasn't till about a month after my last concussion that I started feeling this brain fog. I heard some people describe this feeling as a bad marijuana high. I will be honest and say that I have smoked a few times and the last time I did it I started getting this brain fog and then having an awful anxiety attack. I haven't smoked since and don't plan on ever doing it again. It all lasted an hour or two then I was fine. Then I slowly started getting the brain fog during the day without smoking pot. Now it's a constant thing and It's destroying my once happy, healthy lifestyle. I understand that this can be anxiety but I don't ever feel stressed out. I have a fairly easy life and I don't see what could be causing my anxiety.

  • Posted

    sounds to me like anxiety and depression, which I also suffer with myself it's amazing how much these two things can effect your life so much!

    You need to stay positive try doing things that make you happy, and uplift your mood I know it's easier said than done but unfortunately only we can make our self's better

    hope your feeling okay, take care

  • Edited

    Taylor,

    Similar to the others who have responded, I too have suffered from debilitating "brain fog" as well as a plethora of other terrifying and life altering symptoms. It has been about 8 years, somewhere between 2006 and 2008, however it all seems to be a blur. What really set the alarms off for me where the intense episodes that I now know where anxiety attacks yet at the time I thought I was dying. This evolved into a sense of complete disconnection from reality and the world around me, yet I appeared normal to those around me.

    The good news is the anxiety attacks DO subside after a couple of years. The bad news is the brain fog and accompanying symptoms do not. In my research I have found that the anxiety attacks are almost a sort of transition period into this new chronic state of cognitive debility. Additional symptoms I have experienced include: severe fatigue, memory impairment, lack of ability to focus or concentrate, a complete dullness of all sensory input while at the same time being sensitive to certain, smells, sounds, and lights that induce and I'll feeling, stiff neck, muscle weakness, eye floaters, stuffy nose and ears, and an emotional numbness that makes human connections almost impossible.

    Despite all of this though, I am very determined to find a cause and a cure. What strikes me in my years of research is the overwhelming prevalence of this occurring to HIGHLY INTELLIGENT individuals. It seems almost everyone suffering from this mysterious ailment expresses that they were previously "very sharp" "top of the class" "exceptionally intellectual" etc. Out of all symptoms the most devastating one across the board is the diminished mental abilities and clarity.

    Perhaps this may be a significant clue. Please let me know if anyone else agrees with this.

    My best wishes to all. We will find a cause and a cure!

    Erica

    • Posted

      Hi,

      I have the exact same symptoms as the author of this topic. I can tell that I am intelligent (Mensa member). After getting married I noticed that my mood was becoming worse and worse. Then my mood was stabilised on a constant low level. I have a terrible brain fog. I can feel that my brain works like an engine with some sand inside. It drives me crazy. I can do my intelectual demanding work but it is not the same as before. I do not feel any passion in it. I contacted the psychiatrist and I was diagnosed with depression. I take Cital (citalopram). Right now I am on 10mg dose. After some days of taking that drug I felt normal for a while. However, then everything was back - I mean that brain fog. I wonder if I should increase the dose to 20mg. I am on that drug for about 2 weeks.

      What you all think?

      I can do everything to get rid of that terrible brain fog. Please contact me if you want to talk privately.

    • Posted

      Did u incase the dose ? I find mine goes for awhile but then returns. I always get a honeymoon period on antidepressants where I feel ok but then fall back. Iv had this 16 months now sad
    • Posted

      You said that anxiety attackts "DO" subside after a couple of years.  That is not the case, perhaps just yours.  But for a different approach to anxiety attacks, and it's socio-political in nature,  I highly recommend an out-of-print book titled, Women Who Marry Houses by Robert Seidenberg and Karen DeCrow, for men as well as women, and whether or not you have agoraphobia.  It's about control.
    • Posted

      I totally agreed what you wrote. I am used to be an A student in college and worked in a top-notch company. All of a sudden (just a night), I turned to be a dull person and things just got worse day by day. 

      I DO hope that all the side-effects could go away one day. Are you researching for the cure? Is there anything I could help or contribute?

       

    • Posted

      Hi Findingacure

       I am suffering from the same symptoms. I am thinking that we should form a group and contact neuroscientists who might find our group useful for their research to understand this condition more. They might not even know about us and if we make ourselves visible as a group rather than a few individuals, they could learn a lot by studying us and maybe one day help us. It is worth trying it. What do you think?

    • Posted

      Erica

      Astute point regarding this seeming to occurr in higher intelligent people.

      Putting my name in the list as someone dealing with original poster's symptoms.

      On and off symptoms for 2-3 years. Had a few weeks of clarity recently and now back in hell. 35 years old.

      Clean diet, no alcohol, no sugar or processed foods. Have exercised aerobically and with resistance training for prolonged times to no avail. Drug use limited to caffeine and nicotine...both in excess; looking to pull these out of life this week.

      Good luck all. I will post if I ever figure anything out.

    • Edited

      I would join! I'm a 20 year old female with the exact same symptoms. I was a pre-med biology major with a 4.0 and I feel like I've lost my mind. I'm always exhausted, in a daze/brain fog, can't sleep or if I can sleep I wake up in the middle of the night, pressure headaches in the temples, floaters in my vision to light, shortness of breath and lower back pain. All of my symptoms are pretty dull, but it's the brain fog I cannot escape. I had to drop all of my classes; I honestly feel like I gained a learning disability overnight. I've had chest x-rays, sonograms, EKG, HIDA tests, urine analysis', and all the blood work in the books - all came back normal. I'm desperate at this point. I don't know how I'm supposed to finish my degree if I feel like this! Adderall can't even help me.

    • Posted

      Hi,

      As a student set to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in Spring 2019 and with the finish line nearing, it would mean the world to me to share my experiences with another in the same situation. I would love to discuss possible causes and symptoms. Feel free to message me any time; I’m an English major with a 3.8 GPA, and whatever this is is slowly killing me. Hope you’re able to get back to school, love and support from TX

    • Posted

      You described it perfectly. I was always a 4.0 student all the way through college, until my senior year when I felt like I suddenly developed some kind of learning disorder out of nowhere. My GPA dropped bigtime, but luckily not enough to fail any classes or keep me from graduating. I'm 25 now and it is still as bad as ever. The exhaustion, sleeplessness, and most oppressively, the brain fog! I constantly feel like I'm kinda drunk, or like I've smoked a bunch of weed. I don't know what causes what, or if some are causes and others are symptoms, or if the symptoms are all just so co-morbid that it is a never-ending cycle (i.e. something keeps me from getting quality sleep, which makes me feel foggy and depressed, which gives me worry and anxiety, which makes my sleep even worse, which makes the fogginess and exhaustion worse, which makes me worry more, and so on...). When the fog is at its worst, someone can be talking to me face to face, one on one, and I am looking at them straight in the face and listening, but cannot keep up with what they are saying. It's like as soon as they say a word, I've forgotten it; I cannot follow a simple conversation, and it is so embarrassing and pretty scary, and it even happens at work (I'm an IT professional and I cannot afford to be "stupid"wink.

      Maybe it would be helpful to message each other and discuss lifestyles, histories, and stuff like that to identify possible similarities. I'm so ready to find a solution. 

    • Posted

      Dear Erica, I wrote about a year ago as a reply to Taylor. I know two more ladies who suffer from this. One is 50, one is 30 and I am 37. I was thinking that maybe we should start a document eg spreadsheet and list all the symptoms and then send it to all of us to fill it in to see a profile of each patient. Then with this set of data we could contact a Neuroscientist. What do you think? Thank you 
    • Posted

      Great idea. I've been silently contemplating the same idea for quite some time now. Personally, my brain fog (accompanied by tinnitus) commenced at the age of 17 after stressing out over an English exam I had the following day. Being naturally curious, I would love to help co-ordinate an answer-seeking effort on this front. If this was to go ahead I would personally prefer communicating through Reddit or Facebook. On that note, there's already a Reddit group dedicated to identifying the cause and potential remedy / remedies, which can be found here (https://www.reddit.com/r/BrainFog/). If you can PM me and we can try to organise things from there. 

    • Posted

      Hi AWishForHealth!! I'd also like to know. I have the same exact symptoms

    • Posted

      Its' a combination of your diet, adrenals, blood sugar, hormones and pineal gland. All this works together to throw your brain chemistry out of whack, a little bit of depression is enough to send it all toppling down because depression affects the whole endocrine system. It is the result of a broken spirit and giving up on life. And autoimmune disease lol. If you're incredibly smart and decide to give up on life, who is your body to question? It then stops adjusting for the foreign intruders in our processed environment and let them have their way and wreck havoc on your body. I had the symptoms to where I could barely drive for years and beaten them to where I feel like a kid again and everything is exciting and I feel almost superhumanly intelligent. I am currently on the path to Law School. STEP 1: Cut out inflammatory foods that irritate your gut lining: all artificial anything, fried foods, low quality meat, sugar, (fruit or otherwise), all grains, all dairy, soy, caffeine and alcohol. incorporate fiber in your diet. Drink nothing but water. Go full paleo and MAKE SURE to EAT 2,000 calories a day of real organic food. STEP 2: Get fluoride out of your system and use fluoride free toothpaste. You won't need the fluoride for tooth health anymore with that diet. Use boron supplements to detox. STEP 3: Be active to encourage gut bacteria growth. Go running once a day and do bodyweight exercises. Do something physically involved, do something that you've always been to scared to do, like go white water kayaking or rock climbing or skiing (positive things of course, don't ever do anything that you might regret). All this will work together to remind your body and mind that you are alive and it is a precious gift and to WAKE UP lol. STEP 4: Consider volunteering or finding a new or renewed passion. Whatever you feel strongly about, do it, you are here for a reason. Reach out to God. Find a higher purpose and live for others. I hope this helps, God bless. I know how you feel.

    • Posted

      How long did it take for things to change and turn around once you implemented these steps? 

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