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

What you just described has been hunting me for over 6+ years and I don't what to do anymore more. I have seen a neurologist, I cannot think properly and was prescribed several different medications. some i have used and other i just cannot take it anymore. I constantly feel exhausted, low motivation, sleepy and have had migraines for years. There was a time when I would go to ER with stomach problems and literally nothing and I mean nothing showing on CT scans. I recently did a sleep study and I have severe sleep apnea. The doctor said I would go to sleep without knowing in would wake up and have 167 sleep disturbances a night. So I got on CPAP and it has been better with headaches, and feeling rested but a lot of times I still feel down and tired and go to sleep at times still. Sometimes I feel like i can't think properly. I used to be soooooo good at different things and going through this is insane. I feel like I am no longer the same person. Best thing I realized is when I go on vacation I feel soooooo good. the mood thing has also affected me greatly, and sometimes I have sweats just cankot listen to what anyone is talking about and the worst at work having meetings. This really sucks as if I have a demon in me literally that does.not want to go away. I have lost interest in so many things. I have taken some classes to get my thoughts away but I cannot pass the exam. worse thing I at work I have a crazy co workers who is so negative at things and dies not want to do anything.

Taylor, in reading your post here are comments you made that jumped right off the page for me:

• a couple of months after an extremely strenuous relationship
• tired all the time
• ever-present fatigue
• wake up each morning completely zombie-mode
• 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.
• almost all new information could not be retained.
• 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 had an MRI, & I had about 20 different blood tests. NOTHING.

You may have some Depression and/or Anxiety. But is it a primary or a secondary part of your condition?

Hell, who wouldn't get depressed or anxious given what you have experienced so far! Your imaging and tests so far are all normal. That's not unusual either for some medical conditions, like a couple of mine.

Here is my theory of what happens to people resulting in medical conditions like we (may) have.

** Please note that this is only my opinion, and should not be taken as professional medical advice:**

My theory is that when our defenses are down, due to things like infection, illness, trauma, extreme emotional stress, etc., this allows opportunists (e.g. viruses) to enter the body, take advantage of our compromised immune systems, causing the body to react to this foreign "invasion". Viruses, bacteria, fungi and things like other environmental sources can cause similar medical conditions, but viruses can be particularly "good" at finding places to hide, or exist in a latent state until the next time your body's autoimmune defenses are low again, triggering a relapse of your symptoms.

I recommend you look into "Post-Viral" conditions, more specifically ME/CFS. This would be a good place to start: https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/index.html

Please be aware that there may be "scientific and/or professional differences" in how the UK and US

view, diagnose and treat ME/CFS, or other Post-Viral conditions. Much more focus is being put on ME/CFS in the U.S. at this time, due to it's similarity of symptoms for thousands of patients with "Long/Long-term COVID-19".

I wish you all the best in your search for a diagnosis, treatment and support.

I had a concussion back in December 2020, my doctor had me on thyroid meds and Metformin (blood sugar med) for weight loss…and xanax for occasional anxiety. Healing from my concussion, I had these same “attacks” of mental fog…sometimes it would last a few hours, sometimes days. When I would wake up, it could be better or worse. I was teetering between the normal old me and the new me…it changed my personality. I’d say things I’d never normally say…was more carefree…but never felt “present” in my own body. I felt like perhaps it was the blood sugar meds and the thyroid med because I didn’t actually need them! My blood sugar/thyroid was never an issue. I stopped them cold Turkey, I know I shouldn’t have, but I was so desperate to shake that weird feeling of not being my normal self. I felt no anxiety, not like I used to...no jittery nervous feeling…but I took a Xanax just to see…it helped a little bit…but ultimately I went back into a bad 3 day stretch of brain fog!! I went to the gym every morning of these last 3 days…I decided not to take any meds not even Ibuprofen…or eat…just water for today. Felt off all day…then all of a sudden at 9pm, it was like a light switch. I went back to feeling present, and normal like I always felt. I’m afraid to go to sleep because I want this feeling of the normal me to stay…when I sleep, it’s not guaranteed I’ll wake up feeling the same. This truly has me so distraught and perplexed!!! When I’m having the fog, I know what I’m doing and I’m aware, I can work, but I’m not…me. I truly can’t put it into words. I read prolonged use of Xanax can cause depersonalization…so I’m not gonna touch them for awhile. My neurologist is testing me for b12 deficiency, Lyme disease, and a spinal fluid leak. I don’t know if any of this could help anyone…but I thought maybe if I put my story out there, it could help piece things together possibly? I wish someone could give a clear answer what this is cos I don’t want to live this way. My concussion has changed my life drastically. I should also add that during my healing from my concussion, I was dealing with someone who put me through extreme mental and emotional strain…who definitely triggered my anxiety horribly. I don’t know if the constant state of anxiety just pushed my brain over the edge or what…but I pray someone can get the answer for this mysterious condition. I can definitely live with it, but for me, I’m not living cos it’s not really me. When these attacks happen my personality changes to “blah whatever, who cares”…that’s not me at all!!

it’s so hard to explain to people what you’re thinking and feeling too, you sound bizarre…but it’s such a real thing…I hope my neurologist can help me…so I can possibly help others with any information I get!! 🤞🏻

I have been dealing with similar issues as well more of a light headed feeling 24/7. Going on a year and a half now. Doctors cant fig out whats going on as well. Have you found any relief yet?

Does anyone here know the difference between brain fog and depersonalization and brain fog and cognitive impairment?

I feel detached,disconnected and spacey I feel like I live in a bubble like I am drunk all the time it is also very difficult for me to concentrate so reading a book is very annoying to me. I also have fatigue and lack of energy and my vision is very blurred. My memory is poor. It's not like forgetting names and dates. It's like my perception of time has a problem. If anyone knows the main difference between these three feelings, please respond

WOW Taylor I swear our stories are are literally identical.

Doctors were already starting think I'm crazy or some type of hypochondriac the way I was asking for tests.

Have you found anything helps?

any chance its mini seizures?

I came across this post and its the first time ive ever experienced anyone get what im experiencing myself. I even thought I wrote this somehow lol! Ive been experiencing this for about two years now. Ive had EVERY blood test you can imagine, and even took a sleep study which they said was "normal". honestly, I was p****d when that result came back. I'm desperate at this point for help. Im in therapy and on psych meds. Its not going away. I don't think ill be able to hold a job, or even get my license. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

Hi,

Exactly same issue with me. I was lost completely in terms of memory 2 years back.

Right now I am almost recovered from the trauma.

Firstly I will give a brief background why it happened .

I am a graduate now, during my college days I had been pushing myself to the extreme to prepare for an exam. I used to think about the exam a lot.

Exam was giving me enormous amount of pressure n it was very hard to handle.

On top of stress for exam I was having superiority complex, wherein from my childhood i needed to feel myself superior all the time n in everything i do.

Gradually my feat for superiority became a intense traumatic reality for me. I started feeling threatened n scary even when somewhen talked about me.

I was so afraid about everything that even a knocking sound can wake me up like someone has come to kill me.

I was filled with extreme fear. I could not sleep at night at all.

The whole night my mind used to work without any moment of calm. I could not sleep properly.

All my motor controls were also hit keeping aside my concentration and memory.

I was not able to feel my hands. If i am in the open air, I was not able to feel the air.

All I could do is to fear with these kind thoughts- what if something happens to me later someday.

In terms of memory, I could not arrange things in the order as they happened because when things used to happen i was busy thinking something more fearful.

I lost my concentration as well, even if I am at party I wasn't really enjoyed I was worried all the time for things that never happened.

After losing my motor controls, my concentration, my memory - I took a break from the exam that I was preparing for last 3 years.

I needed help, I am grateful enough to find a name of a self help book (written in comments on a website i cannot recall)

The book name was Power of Now.

I cannot actually tell in words how grateful I am that I found this book.

Maybe this book will not work for u my frnd.

But,

I am sure for one thing but what will work is your own breath.

The solution to this problem is very simple but harder to actually perform it because of lack of confidence and lack of will power.

You dont have to spend thousands of dollars when your breath can heal you in free.

Just try it for a year and let me know if it works for you.

What you have to do is:

Remind urself all the time whenever possible to take a deep breath.

But remember one thing , you have to inhale slowly n exhale even slower than inhale.

Dont try to put pressure on urself or ur breath.

Gradually u will find a pace of breath where you will feel relaxed n calm.

Once u find that right flow of breath, ur work is done.

Be in that pace of breath as long as you can. It will give you so much peace n calmness n stillness that even no anxiety killer med can give.

This practice will actually show u some results after some months. So be patient n calm.

Breath is the key to this memory problem my frnd.

Taylor, I can relate to your memory concerns. I had a head injury pitching batting practice in high school and a line drive hit me in the head. I got a concussion and needed to be hospitalized to relieve a bleed. For a few weeks after I had trouble recalling information or thinking of the correct words to say when speaking - to put it lightly, it freaked me out! Fast forward some 30 years later I am a college educated, successful dad of two girls. Happily married. Yet for many years after my injury I was plagued by self-doubt about my ability to recall info and "think on my feet". I labled myself as "less than" and compared myself to others with brutal self-judgment. The message I gave myself was (in various forms) "your memory is messed up - you are broken". I developed an insidious hypervigilance to monitor my mental processing...trying to store, remember, etc. information. When I caught myself forgetting something, the inner critic swooped in to validate the "horrible memory" narrative.

Don't do this to yourself! The mind is powerful and overanalyzing can cripple a perfectly normal brain. This is reversible. You are suffering from the anxiety loop - your brain's CPU cycles are getting divided between what is actually occurring through your 5 senses and the inside monitor that keeps watching and validating every "screw up". The challenge with anxiety of any kind is that once you fall in to its grasp, it is quite difficult to get back to how you felt before it reared its ugly head. You can't try to remove anxiety or the worry about memory - it just gets stronger. In a way, you must learn to accept these thoughts as part of thinking....and realize you are NOT your thoughts. You are not confused or having memory loss. The real you is watching and realizing the MIND is confused, anxious. So it can't perform like it used to. How can confusion realize it is confused? It cannot - you are able to see the confusion but are then mistakenly identifying with it.

ive discovered it to b a spiritual awakening ya know ive been in a deep fog for a year unable to think clearly cant sleep during the day up all jight and it was because i wasnt accepting the truth ya know because i couldnt accept things for what they are but what it is.incant speak for u but literally a few days ago i devided to look outsife of my self and look at what was really holding me bavk and what i wasnt acknowledging and its the first time ive seen the sun in years okay