HELP! Brain fog, fatigue, extreme short term memory loss, feeling spacey 24/7.

Posted , 89 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

8 likes, 92 replies

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  • Posted

    Have you asked your doctor if it could be cfs because these symptoms sound very similar to my husbands and he has cfs he gets servere brain fog where he just can't focus on anything let alone remember anything and he is tired all the time no matter how much he sleeps 
    • Posted

      Hey! Thanks so much for your reply. Means a lot!

      CFS was one of my earlier fears. Tho, I'm not sure I quite fit the bill. I hear with this syndrome often comes headaches and gnarly joint and muscle pain. 

      How does he manage life? 

    • Posted

      CFS is chronic fatigue syndrome, also called ME. It causes a wide range of problems including extreme fatigue ( often after the slightest exercise), muscle aches, concentration problems, and a lot more besides. It tends to be what doctors diagnose after tests have ruled out everything else it could be! I've had it to varying degrees for 30 years, possibly after a virus infection, I don't know.
    • Posted

      I have episodes of feeling like you described. It happens for about a week at a time then I snap out of it. It's happened to me three times now. I literally just started feeling normally again today after another week of sleeping excessively not really having an appetite and feeling out of touch with reality like kind of zombified like you said. My whole family can tell something is wrong with me when it happens. I'm 18 so I still live with them. I just would really like to know the cause. Maybe stress or depression?? My mom did just die 2 days before my 18th birthday and I moved home away from my boyfriend who is currently in a mental hospital. So maybe extreme stress? I just want an explanation and I don't feel like stress is a good explanation

    • Posted

      Did u ever figure out what it is? Bc mine last a week too!!! For the last 5 years now happens every year around the same time.
  • Posted

    He takes quite a few different health supplements to help with the symptoms rests when not working,  it's not easy but tries to keep going best he can 
  • Posted

    I've had CFS for a long time, and I have to say - if you are still able to do workouts and runs, it doesn't sound like what I've experienced . I tend to FEEL as if I've had a workout or a 15mile run when all I've done is walk to the shops and back! I also get muscle pain, which is like what you get when you've exercised after a break. I also get the brain fogs and poor memory when I hit a bad patch, usually when I've done too much. But it's a difficult syndrome to pin down- it tends to be what the doctors diagnose when they admit you are sick but they can't find anything else. It sounds like you are very anxious about the situation and that can exhaust you. Could you try relaxation exercises to calm yourself down, and see if that helps? I do understand what it's like to feel desperate and not know which way to turn but sometimes just doing SOMETHING can help you feel more in control. You could be reassured by all the tests showing what's NOT wrong. I've been having loads of tests because I'm thirsty all the time and urinating excessively but they've all come back normal so I tell myself all the things it CAN'T be. These forum sites are useful for sharing your concerns. I wish you well. 
    • Posted

      Have they tested your Antidiuretic Hormone levels ? 

       

    • Posted

      Hey . I have suffering from same things .. i was googling my symtoms i found this post and your comment about antidiuretic hormone ... from childhood i used to feel extreme thirsty .. i have a lot of symtoms n i am suffring from last one year .. i am a 18 year old .. please help
  • Posted

    I was almost in tears reading ur post because I am going through the exact same things you are describing. Have you found any answers? Because to he honest, it's scaring me. I need answers asap. Thanks in advance for any findings u have come up with.
    • Posted

      I am going thru the same thing right now too! I agree that it is very scary ! I don't know what it is and I have tried to get a family doctor forever now but haven't had any luck, so no blood tests, nor doagnosing can be done... I feel very heavy and agitated most times, depressed (undiagnosed) and stressed & anxious AND fatigue, most likely CFS (undiagnosed) ... What a terrible terrible combination... I really need a doc... How are you now? Have you had any help?

  • Posted

    Have you tried modafinil?  It might help some of your symptoms.

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