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

Hi Taylor, I was reading your post and have so many of your symptoms. I was wondering if you found anything that helped you get your life back ?

i dont know if i can take it any longer i feel so off like im not here like i cant think i cant talk i just feel really awful like im gonna die any minute i wish i could just end my life so i dont have to keep feeling like this anymore i just want to do things like go places or make friends i have no friends . im am i here still to live like this it feels like god is punishing me. i just feel like yelling just kill me already i hate my life!

i think i am having the same thing.... but does anyone get the tingling in your head and the feeling like you aren't comprehending what is going on for about 10-20 seconds? i believe i am also going through peri-menopause

hi all,

i began following this forum when i first encountered all of these same symptoms myself back in the summer of 2017. for two years, i visited countless doctors and have received multiple diagnoses.

well today i was informed that my bloodwork came back positive for lupus. now, i don't think you all have lupus, but i recommend you all get tested for it. i don't experience any of the skin flare ups, so i never thought it could be the culprit. it could explain the head and face pressure, as it causes inflammation. can't believe it took two years to figure it out, but at least i have an answer.

over the last two years, adderall 15 mg and evekeo 5 mg has worked for me. the depression was a result of not being able to live the active life i was used to living, so instead of treating the depression, we treated the fatigue. it helped. it made me so productive and energetic, i almost felt normal. the depression and anxiety subsided. actual anti-depressants simply made me crazy.

it's been quite the journey and ive learned a lot about myself and this collective condition/symptoms/management of it all these last two years. i managed to still graduate college a year early and im planning on going back for my masters. if you guys ever need someone to talk to about this, please send me a message. i remember how hopeless i once felt, and i'd like to help.

i wish you all the best of luck,

esme454

Hi everyone. I understand that everyone here has some kind of brain fog issue or they would not have found this forum. I myself have been suffering from the same issue, I gave it the name "brain fog" before I knew that other people used it too.

Before you skip over this post let me say that I found something that worked for me, this may sound like a pitch, but it's true. I'm not selling anything and it cheap to try it for yourself...but first, a little history to show that I'm serious that I had this. If you don't care about me, skip to the end.

I'm a 50 year old white male, no major illnesses, some anxiety (mostly freeway driving based) I'm pretty sure I've been suffering from 'brain fog' for the last 5-7 years. My symptoms were: can't think straight, can't finish sentences without stuttering, can't find the right word to explain things so I would simplify my speech like a child, forgetting names, places, appointments etc. I was having trouble getting a full nights sleep 5 out of 7 days of the week, waking up multiple times (I assumed this was normal for my age) ...and tinnitus, occasional dizziness and mild vertigo.

Every once in a while I got a reprieve from the symptoms for a day here and there and felt like myself again but couldn't find a common link in sleep/diet/alcohol consumption/activity level. (the fog rolls in/the fog rolls out)

Next part of the story. My mother had dementia for the last 6 years or so. My step father was trying all the normal medicines plus exercise, diet, whatever, it didn't matter, it never does. When she passed away he gave away all her things to the family, one of the things he gave me was her expensive CBD gummies. I assumed they were a joke like most "super cure-all's" you see in the heath isle of whatever hip store you shop at. I ate one here and there because they really did taste good and they were sitting next to the Motrin.

One night I had some back pain (shoulder stress from hunching, deskjob) so I hit the motrin and ate a tasty gummy (one of four left). I noticed the next morning that I had slept ALL NIGHT in the same position, my brain candle was fully lit and I was totally functional/conversational all day at work. I wanted to try it again so I did the same thing (ate one before bed, cut out the Motrin) with the same results. I ran out of gummies so I went to local hip grocery store and got some liquid stuff (tastes kinda gamey, but whatever) , put one dropper full in my mouth before bed and have been fog free for the last three weeks.

So thats it....as far as I can tell, CBD worked for me. At some point I will run a control test and go a week without it. It's cheap, no side effects and available everywhere.

I hope, I really do, that this helps someone.

Best regards-Mr Church

@findingacure

I know it has been a while but I am getting very similar symptoms and want to help find out what it is. Have you made much progress?

Any one else?

do you still feel this way ? What did you do to fix it ??

I am going through excatky the same now

taylor,

idk if youre still dealing with your symptoms, considering this post is 5 yrs old, but i feel your pain. its been 13 yrs for me dealing with alot of the same brain fog symptoms you had. i too was sharp mentally, had a vivid memory all throughout school, as soon as i became a nurse everything changed, without going thru the whole speal, ive had everything done, tested, everything normal. my psychologist told me i had adjustment disorder.... i do have some worry issues and anxiety, im curious as to if yours went away? its debilitating and frustrating

For about twoish weeks I've been suffering from the same symptoms. Really, really confusing, on top of it with myself I've lost much of my ability to visually imagine and write creatively, which is horrible for a writer like myself. I hope you find out what happened! Right now I'm feeling very hopeless about getting my ability to write back, I can't imagine it continuing for so long.

Hey Taylor,

Sorry read about your troubles. Your story sounds very much like the beginning of mine. I have neither found a solution but I thought I might just give my 2 cents. Maybe you or somebody else will find this useful. Also sorry, this turned out to be a longer text than I intended.

I used to be quite sharp, have an excellent memory and did very well in school and university. Then 11 years ago I got a burn out during an extremely stressful period in uni. I had way too many courses, which I took too seriously, I was in the process of writing my bachelor's thesis and my spare time was spent partying. Then after the exam of an insanely difficult course I just woke up feeling like I'd been kicked in the head. Brain fog, anxiety, short term memory problems, no concentration, head feeling heavy, the world like observed from under water. It was like my body just gave up. I took a long holiday and drastically cut my work load but it has stayed like that ever since.

Metaphorically I like to think about it as a fuse being blown up or a spring having been stretched so far that it can no longer recover. Physiologically I think my brain or body as a larger dynamical system went into an another stable state (there is an approachable wikipedia article about these). Being mathematically oriented this made the most sense and my understanding is that it is not very far fetched. There is evidence that the brain and the endocrinological system at least can exhibit such states. The point is that even if you eliminate the original reason for your fatigue, the body may not recover without being taken far enough to ”the other direction.” This means that any restoration efforts should be done with commitment. I really do not believe there is a quick fix, at least in my situation. And even if there was a single solution it would take time before my brain starts functioning properly again.

I refuse to accept that this is merely a psychological and will keep on looking at different things until I find a solution. At the same time I have learned to accept the situation. This is my life right now but I try not to take it too personally.

Ok, but the things I have tried or am going to look into:

Medication. Brintellix took me to ~80% of my former cognitive level (from ~25%). It helped in about 2 hours after taking the first pill. I used it for 2.5 years but recently quit (gradually, a few months ago) because I thought that I’d found The cure (gluten, see below). My cognition is back to very low and I’m seriously considering starting the medication again. The side effects are relatively manageable: nausea and reduction in creativity which makes me feel I’m a boring person. But at least I was functional and could work. I have used other anti-depressants but they were of no help.

Psychotherapy. After extensive psychological tests the psychologist didn’t find a reason for my issues (adhd, prodromal symptoms, psycho-neurological conditions etc. were ruled out) and recommended therapy. I have gone there for about a year and it has basically done nothing to my mind. I feel like we really don’t even have anything to discuss any more. My therapist suspects that my problems don’t have a psychological root cause.

Labs. Vitamin levels, iron, ferritin, thyroid and other usual suspects have been checked multiple times, nothing wrong ever. I also went to the leading specialist in my country to have my testosterone and related hormone levels checked. They were perfectly fine.

Posture. I have had a bad posture for two decades. Still in process of fixing it. Went to chiro for a while. No effect on brain fog so far, but I’m still a believer in this.

Chronically stuffy nose. This is the newest thing I’m looking into. So, apparently mouth-breathing can be bad for you and correlates with adhd. My nose has been stuffy for a years and I remember experiencing a decrease in my sense of smell when I was about 18. Never thought much of it until now. Went to a generalist yesterday who laughed at me but did agree I have anatomically narrow airways and a minor polyp. So we’ll see what becomes out of this.

Acupuncture/dry needling. Haven’t tried but it should be legit for certain things. Mind and body are in connection. I have chronic tension head ache so figured it might help to take care of it. I have also considered botox to paralyze my temporal and masseter muscles but haven’t taken that road yet.

Physical exercise. Lifting always gives me a cognitive boost. I got so much into it last year that I’m still recovering from overtraining..

Cutting screen time. Very difficult for me but helps.

Meditation. Huge help with anxiety, depression and dealing with the situation. I think this is a no-brainer for everyone regardless of health status or life situation (as long as you are relatively ok). Even if it will not fix the problem, it will help you direct the cognitive resources you have more effectively. There are loads of books and youtube material.

Diet. Another no-brainer but not as straight-forward as the previous one. Science is constantly learning more about the gut and its role in overall health. There are anecdotes about people recovering from depression and other conditions with specific diets. For instance, Jordan Peterson claims to have fixed his depression with the carnivore diet. However, people have different bodies and react differently to different foods. I felt a major improvement when I quit gluten and though that it was the solution to everything so I quit my medication (gluten wasn’t the solution). There are other sensitivities as well, which may be difficult to detect. I have tried vegetarian diet, low fat, high fat, no red meat, a lot of red meat, intermittent fasting, eating a lot and often, mediterranean, all-organic, milk-free etc. IF and ketogenic did help but are difficult to maintain and I again notice I’m eating more carbs and in the morning.

Supplements. MCT-oil: gives me a clear boost in concentration. Lion’s Mane mushroom: noticed a huge effect in the beginning but the effects seem to have diminished. Vitamins: B comlex and D, no noticable effect. Fish: no noticable effect. I take these every day.

Drugs (obviously don’t recommend these). I started smoking weed a year after my burn-out. I definitely helped me to chill a bit and appreciate things in life besides work. After a few years the effects turned against me, just a lot of negativity and felt it was holding me back it life, so I quite. Magic mushrooms: A few trips over the years. Some philosophical and psychological ephiphanies that have stayed with me but no effect on brain fog. LSD: A few proper trips and a some microdosing. In the after glow of trip life is good for about 2 weeks. No effect on brain fog. Microdosing helps with concentration but don’t really want to make a habit out of it. Also didn’t mix well with brintellix. Ayahuasca/dmt: 4 times, scary stuff, took me a bit too deep, no effect on brain fog.