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
dan17756 TaylorMason
Posted
Have you looked into "brain inflammation"?
CFS etc all have a cause.. same with brain inflammation which gives you all the symptoms you mentioned. I suffer from the same symptoms as you just not as severe. For me it's caused by brain inflammation which in turn is caused by food allergy that I wasnt aware of until recently.
Hope that helps
DurangoGerald TaylorMason
Posted
Sorry to hear about your struggles. I just recovered from MCI, here are my thoughts for you (I have multiple severe heavy metal toxicities that apparently caused or activated DNA methylation defects that left me unable to appropriately process vitamin B12, and B12 problems are the major cause of reversible dementia):
1. You've probably had your B12 level checked. Means nothing. If your homocysteine levels are high you probably have a B12 problem.
2. Heavy metals are not the only root cause associated with methylation problems - lots of the virus and parasite infections have the same effect. While you eventually want to treat the root cause, if your methylation is broken you can get rid of the cognitive symptoms in a couple of months of appropriate supplements.
3. Find a good naturopath.
Best of luck - Gerald
iOnlyExist13 TaylorMason
Posted
Ok. I have read some of these comments and more people than I would have thought are having the same EXACT symptoms. I'm starting to think it has a lot to do with the government. Such as; what is put in our food, energy drinks, shampoos, conditioners, hair products, supplements, etc. I think it's also in the air, whatever it is to cause us all the pain and suffering we have been going through. I have EVERY SINGLE SYMPTOM, plus more of all of these and it's actually starting to get scary.. I was in an abusive relationship on and off and I have thought for a while that maybe the abuse he put me through just ended up making me numb and hardened. I am 22 years old. I should NOT be sleeping most of (not even my "life"
my existence away.. I've always had a foggy memory, but here lately and in the last year, it's increased about 800%.. literally. For example: I called my therapist about a week ago and asked her what time my appointment was the next day and as soon as I got off the phone, I completely forget and have to ask my 11 year old what time she said my appointment was.. how embarrassing. I'm 22 years old.. I shouldn't wake up (when I do wake up) with aches and pains and my balance be off like an 80 year old woman's.. I should be healthy. Yes, I smoke. Yes, I am an addict, but I don't do anything anymore, except for smoke my cigarettes and drink occasionally. I am 22 years old.. and I used to be a very smart and intelligent person.. not anymore and I'm clueless on what has happened to me! I get these weird senses and I have an extra sense that nobody else does. I hear a song, either for the first time, or one of my favorites (which have become my least favorite) and get them stuck in my head for a week at a time.. and sometimes WEEKS. My communication skills are terrible and my conversation sucks.. I literally cannot speak sometimes and it's not really even anxiety, even tho I do have anxiety, but it's not as bad as it could be. My muscles and bones hurt all the time. I get these weird twitches in my eyes and skin. I'm paranoid ALL the time. I hate talking to people, because of the way I've become and even my own therapist had given up on me last week after I missed my appointment for the UMPTEEN BILLIONTH TIME! I don't know what it could be, but every single symptom and more that you just posted, I have been experiencing for about a year now. It was bad for the last 3 years, but it's been like I said about 800% WORSE than it has ever been. I was also diagnosed with mental disorders, but I haven't been reevaluated in years and I don't know if my physical symptoms would have anything to do with the mental disorders I've been "diagnosed" with in the past. I could go on and on, but my battery is running very low and I have to charge my phone. I also have to be up in 2 hours.. GO FIGURE and I hope I an actually get up. Feedback is appreciated. I would love to give you advice, but I am just as lost as you.
dan17756 iOnlyExist13
Posted
Hey.. Im sorry ur experiencing all this but i think you need to get some help. The way you typed your story is full of red flags for your mental health. Sorry but just how it looks to me. Such as when you say you are 22 but then you say you have an 11 yr old? Im assuming you are talking about the age of your child? But that doesn't make sense if you are talking about your child being 11 yrs old unless you had a child when you were 11 yourself? If so then please excuse my ignorance but that would just prove that you most likely do need some kind of regular mental/emotional support or counselling.
And also you say that you always sleep but then at the end you say you needed to be up in 2 hours which implies ur writing this in the early hours of the morning when you should be sleeping.
Contradictory? I don't know and this isnt really the place to have a discussion but you sound like you are in bad shape. Have you been for physical tests with a doctor? You haven't mentioned getting blood tests or seeing a doctor.. You have only mentioned seeing a therapist.. Who has given up on you? I think you should keep going. Have you considered asking your therapist to send you a text message or email with your session times and also would like to suggest you set up alarms on your phone if you can't remember or ask a friend to support you and remind you of important things until you get better. Or ask your therapist to remind you?
Look, i dont know you but if you care about yourself i suggest you starting actually doing things that are good for you. Stop smoking and drinking.. Eat fruit and vegetables and no fast food, sleep as much as you need and make sure you go to sleep early and... for your own sake... Go see a doctor and get tested!! Also learning meditation or yoga will help with your brain obsessing over songs and doing things like that.
You need to take control of your life and also, stop blaming the government for poisoning you. Its your choice to drink horribly unhealthy energy drinks or use chemical based shampoos etc when there are more natural alternatives and you can get lovely clean air in forests, nature or even some city parks.
I wish you luck but you need to take control of your life. Victim mentality gets you nowhere unless you actually want to stay sick - which unfortunately many people do unconsciously. And get a sponsor.. You shouldn't be drinking if you know you are an addict!
c72545 TaylorMason
Posted
Hi Taylor,
My symptoms started out very similar to what you described.
Both I, my my Mother, and Uncle developed very similar symptoms at about the same time, Approx. 20 years ago. My Mother was finally diagnosed with CFS., she was then diagnosed with Alzhiemer's about 10 years later, and is now in the late stages of the disease. My Uncle was diagnosed with Alzhimers and then passed away shortly after his diagnosis. As far as I know he wasn't diagnosed with CFS prior, but I believe that he likely had the symptoms of CFS. I currently have not been diagnosed with either CFS or Alzhiemers but believe their is a coorilation. Currently, I manage my symptoms through diet, and believe it or not, work. I force myself to get up, do, and think as best I can. I drink coffee to help clear the brain fog in the morning and attack the symptoms every day. I keep my heart rate up by moving constantly.
I eat small meals frequently, and stay away from all sugar. which makes my symptoms worse. (and my teeth too). I see a doctor regularly who listens to me, and lets me bounce ideas off him. I'm 53 years old, and am doing better (most of the time) I'm avoiding the CFS diagnosis if I can because it's a syndrome, not a diagnosis. I'm going to keep fighting and not give up, so don't you. Thanks for the Blog
Taylor. I usually don't respond to these but as you can see from the responses above we are not alone, and it helps to know that.
FYI-My best guess at this point is that there is a retro-virus in my gut that feeds off of my intestinal bacterial flora periodically, but thats just a guess.
Medical science is just beginning to understand this kind of stuff.
anaita75 TaylorMason
Posted
I have the same issue , but I also can't exercise at all
samantha70490 TaylorMason
Posted
armydog5135 TaylorMason
Posted
alex38752 TaylorMason
Posted
Hi, I've been crying while reading this post because I've been going through the same thing last eight months.Some days it gets so bad that I can't go to school and if I do I can't function. I am 17 and I am scared for my future.I have done all the possible test(blood,urine,MRI,anemia test,heart test..).
Doctors don't know what us wrong, I fear for my future and for my mental health. I really hope you will replay if you find the answer. Thanks for help and sorry for wasting your time reading my comment.
jayocaine alex38752
Posted
Hey, i've been living with this for around 5-6 years. Finally found out what it was through a process of elimination. It's anxiety, generalized anxiety. Not the type of anxiety everyone thinks about (panic attacks, freaking out, heart racing) It's a constant, chronic anxiety.
Cognitive therapy is the only thing that helps me, SSRI's could help take a tiny tiny bit of edge off, but it's certainly not a cure.
Jsutherly jayocaine
Posted
ben40246 TaylorMason
Posted
Hey everybody, I've felt like I've figured this dang mystery disease out (atleast my version) and I told myself I'd report back here because it was a low point when I 1st read this site. To start off I was a healthy 31y/o male that started to feel not right in early summer. It escalated slowly to full blown lifestyle shutting down levels by October. I had some similar symptoms As the original poster and I gotta say it scared the hell out of me at the time because the only thing googling the symptoms did was lead to more confusion and fear. I ended up quitting my job in early October because I couldn't function in a work environment anymore and decided to focus totally on getting better through total rest. During the next month I was hitting up the Drs hard and got every test under the sun done. Also during this time my symptoms of fatigue, headaches, anxiety, etc only got worse which sucked because I was taking it suuuuper easy. I had convinced myself I had contracted some mystery virus that was working me over. All the tests were coming back normal and the Drs were baffled. The were thinking it's probably CFS and they wanted to put me on anti-depressants. For me those are a no-go since I'm not a fan of meds. My last resort was to go to a naturopath and pay out of pocket. Holy hell thank god I did. I told her all my symptoms and instead of baffling her she was nodding along saying she's pretty sure what the problems are. Just hearing that alone made me feel better. Apparently burnout is for real! It kinds of make sense now looking back over the past couple of years with a new kid, relationship stuff, career crap, and my constant home improvement projects. Guess I was burning the candle at both ends. Everybody can only handle digging deep and so much stress in their life. I had a neurotransmitter and cortisol level test done and it did in fact show I was spent, all levels low which can lead to all kinds of these symptoms people are throwing out. The fix is supplements or meds, and acupuncture. I'm just starting to feel better now in early December for the first time. Still got a ways to go. Hope this helps some people out there, this society and culture can run you into the ground. You don't need a handful of f-ed up meds to feel better. Western medicine is not designed to even sniff the causes or cures for stuff like this.
ben40246
Posted
Hey, Ben here again.
It's been about 14 months since I made the above post, and about 20 months since I really first noticed something was off with me. It's pretty cute rereading my post and seeing how I was "feeling better" in December 2016. I might of been feeling a little better, but I would definitely consider that time to be in the "dark period" of what I've been going through. Now that I've gotten some real time under my belt with dealing with this condition I feel like I can throw out some real advice and knowledge. I'm doing this because when I first started researching what I was experiencing I didn't find much in first hand accounts of what this mystery life sucking condition was. So I read sites like this where all kinds of crazy scary diseases and theories get brought up with no real answer or follow up. I started a journal about when I made the above post and that helped alot with keeping track of how I was feeling day to day giving me real historical context instead of just going memory.
Here's the symptoms I noticed in order of how they showed up:
Fatigue, bags under eyes, slightly bloodshot eyes, increased urination, increased need for water, eye socket soreness, intolerance to cold, decreasing balance, long term mild sore throat, unusual sore muscles (particularly in thighs and hands), loss of spark of personality, cognitive and memory impairment, trouble socializing/reclusiveness, right testicle soreness and retraction, same sore spot in gum would flare up periodically, back of head/base of skull pressure, soreness in pelvis/tailbone, trouble falling/staying asleep, red dots on index fingers, soreness in muscle/tendons/joints, short fuse/ diminished handling of stress
I actually went to the doctors twice (once in Nov 2016 and again in Nov 2017) to get the full lab work up so I could get a second opinion because when I was feeling bad, it felt worse than any "burnout" could have been in my opinion. Both times though everything came back within range and the dr's were baffled. Both times they suggested anti-depressants, but luckily my gut said no to those, and now that I've researched them I know now to STAY AWAY! Those things would take a person that is down and really screw their system all to hell. So I was stuck with the diagnosis from the naturopath of adrenal fatigue, which I guess is fairly common according to her. I've never heard of anyone that I know of go down as hard I have, but it has been the only thing that has consistently sort of make sense. She gave me the option of A) anti-depressants or B) supplements. Naturally I chose B, but now I wish I would have chosen C, which would have been rest and healthy eating. It makes business sense that they would push these crazy expensive supplements on people, but in all honesty I think they hurt rather than helped. In addition to costing a small fortune I swear my mental state detiorated some, and I became dependant on them. Not dependant like I needed a fix, it was that I would feel kinda crummy on them, but reaally crummy without them. It took me 10-11 months to slowly wean off these devil supplements. I didn't like the idea of taking supplements for elements that your body was supposed to be producing. I also spent alot on accupuncture that I cannot say helped or not. The naturopath wasn't an immediate cure all but kind of a good experience after going through the mechanism of western medicine.
I'm still far from being back to normal, but have come a long ways since my last post. Here's what I noticed has helped:
Don't drink! I've relearned this lesson about 15 times now.
Eat well. I have been on the "whole 30" diet for about 13 months now. It's not gonna cure you, but it seems to give me an edge in recovery. It's also badass and I'm borderline thankful for this condition to force me to turn away from processed foods. The one take away from the naturopath that I think was really important is that everything in your life revolves around you gut. If it ain't healthy pretty everything else will go to hell.
REST! I don't know how many times I thought I was feeling better than ran out and started building a fence in my back yard just to collapse for 2 weeks after that.
Patience. From my research it seems like recovery from deep adrenal fatigue is measured in years.
davidjoseph TaylorMason
Posted
Hey TaylorMason, sorry to hear that. I'm having those exact same symptoms for only a month now, and thinking that they could last years scares me.
I have a question - was there a specific event that started it? (For me it was a very bad weed trip).
I imagine it has something to do with high anxiety levels, did you try ssri or other medications?
rene_18923 davidjoseph
Posted