How would you describe your brain fog?

W

Wishful

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Alberta
Mostly a lack of mental energy: sometimes there's something I want to think of, but it feels like such a struggle that I just give up. It's 'Just not worth the effort.'. Trying to think of a correct word is also like searching through fog.

One simile I used in a different discussion is that it felt like I was wearing a slightly too-small helmet. Not too bad at first, but after a while, it feels like pressure, and after a bit longer, I'm DESPERATE TO GET IT OFF!!!! ...and there's no way to take it off.

A good definition of brainfog, and other ME/CFS symptoms would be useful. I'd like to see the criteria 'unrefreshing sleep' changed to 'lack of energy that isn't restored by sleep'. The former sounds like a change in sleep patterns, while the latter clearly is a symptom not involved with sleep.
 
Misfit Toy

Misfit Toy

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USA
When it hits it's like being in quicksand. I would say it's very difficult and I feel wiped out. Inability to think, rationalize or deal with stress. Hard to find words or talk..can't think...leave ATM cards in machine, leave car door open..that kind of thing.

@Mollymolly -what you describe sounds like POTS. Brainfog is different.
 
Mollymolly

Mollymolly

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56
Thank you for responding, Yes I see , I also experience lack of focus. And it is difficult to find words or follow conversation, feels like if somebody start talking and say Hi how are you ?I have enough I don't have the mental strength to continue. , I am searching for words but I am only retrieving them from past memories, so to learn something new is very dificult ... Hope that make sense...
 
F

FinRinTin

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52
It's never the same feeling but I know that's the same manifestation: it's fluctuating.
Sometimes it's just a light-headedness and then - if it's bad- it feels more like something is sucking at my mental capacity and renders me intelectually 30 years older.
Instead of working I sit at my work-desk and stare at the monitor.
 
A

Alvin2

The good news is patients don't die the bad news..
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3,114
I couldn't articulate how to reply to this thread till now, today my brain is all messed up, its like i have a brain flu :ill:
That may not make any sense to anyone but me but i can't explain it any better, my head hurts, i can't think straight, my head is throbbing, i feel sluggish and i have other symptoms i just can't describe.

@Hip That CCC is a good description, sometimes i am a bit better then that, sometimes much worse
 
rosie26

rosie26

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NZ
I get all the above.

Another thing I get is unsteadiness on my feet when I walk into a building. I think it is change of space. I don't seem to be able to adjust to it. I don't know if this is a POTS symptom? Does anyone else get this.
 
pattismith

pattismith

Senior Member
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3,990
The problem is that when I have a brain fog (which is frequent), I cannot functionnate enought to explain how it is, and when I feel better, my poor memory doesn't allow me to explain how it was...:D

Usually I describe it as 'my brain pedals into semolina"...

When I am in it and try to force my brain to operate, it is usually a disaster....:rolleyes:
 
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C

char47

Senior Member
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151
pattismith said:
The problem is that when I have a brain fog (which is frequent), I cannot functionnate enought to explain how it is, and when I feel better, my poor memory doesn't allow me to axplain how it was...:D

Usually I explain it as 'my brain pedals into semolina"...

When I am in it and try to force my brain to operate, it is usually a disaster....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

That makes such sense to me, the disasters caused by trying to operate as normal when I'm bad.

I never call it 'fog'. ... 'Foggy' is what i experienced when i was healthy but sleep deprived, or when I oveslept & woke up with a start all clumsy & goofy. Or after smoking a joint.
And when people describe 'difficulty concentrating' i find it exasperating too.... 'difficulty concentrating' is when you cant keep yr mind on 1 thing at once, when you're so distracted that you read every word on the page of a book but are so distracted that you dont know what it said.

Cognitive dysfunction that comes with ME is like being drugged out of my mind. Absolutely stoned into stupidity.... When i look at a paragraph of text it's like looking at a foreign language, or i can understand a few words but not the meaning of a full sentence.
It's like having one's abilities lowered to the extent of becoming severely learning disabled, where I used to be able to understand something intellectually dense & explain it to someone else, now, on a bad day my carer has to split questions into short words only. - So if she wants to ask me if i'm thirsty & whether i want a hot drink or just water, i simply cannot understand that whole sentence because i cant hold on to the concept of a hot drink whilst also conceiving of water, let alone compare & contrast the 2 items. So she has to ask "thirsty?" & if i say yes then "hot?" & then wait my reply & so on. She used to work for severe learning disability charity & has described my difficulties as being just like that, but drs still persist in writing 'difficulty concentrating'.

I cant speak or communicate coherently & dont even know what i need never mind be able to ask for it. And when i'm bad like that i have trouble assessing how bad i am & whether I should be resting, because in order to be able to tell that i'm bad my cognitive function would have to be better. But adrenaline from anxiety improves it drastically so no dr has ever seen it. I was never good at maths but now i often dont know how to count out the correct amount of change for the taxi driver its all just coins & i dont know what 50p plus 20p makes. It's truly bizzare. And horrible. Thank God there are people here who understand.
 
Martin aka paused||M.E.

Martin aka paused||M.E.

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2,291
Feels like smoked a lot of weed... just without the positive effects ;-) Plus as if I needed glasses. Have to zoom in the whole time while reading...
 
ljimbo423

ljimbo423

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4,705
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United States, New Hampshire
How would you describe your brain fog?

Foggy.:D I think the best way I can explain it, is it feels like I have a head cold or the brain fog that comes with the flu. Actually getting a cold or a flu, just magnifies my brain fog that much more.

Jim
 
Fogbuster

Fogbuster

Senior Member
Messages
269
Like a 24/7 continuous mind blank. Very little ability to see thoughts. I also get head pressure around forehead and nose area, which varies depending on what triggers I've consumed.

It seems my cognitive impairment is intertwined with my chronic sinusitis, ear fullness and head pressure. When those reduce, so does the fog!! I sometimes get this gentle ticking noise behind my nose when things are releasing/going back in kilter. So weird. If anyone has any idea what that that could be, I'd be very keen to know! :thumbsup:
 
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S

soti

Senior Member
Messages
109
like my skull has been skinned and cracked open so that my brain is left open to every stimulus from the outside, and my mental muscles needed to grasp a thought are cramping so there is no grasping.
 
perchance dreamer

perchance dreamer

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1,775
When I am really tired, I occasionally transpose numbers, but never letters. I don't think I have true dyslexia because I'm an avid reader and have no problem with that. But I do occasionally have this odd little brain quirk. This is in addition to my usual brain fog.
 
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