Brain not working???

[heapsreal]

Hi all, every so often i go through these periods where i reckon only half my brain is working, lol, seems to happen for a few months every year. Its not brain fog, or maybe its a form of brain fog, but i find myself just gazing into the distance not focusing on anything or even thinking, my wife will say 'what are u looking at', i tell her im not looking at anything. I think she knows when its happening now as she will say, your looking at nothing arent u, lol, yes. It feels different to being tired, it just feels like my brain is doing nothing. I can concentrate on things when i need to but when i dont im off, like a day dream but not dreaming. I know i have a hard time trying to recall peoples names, even people i work with and know quite well, lucky i can get away with calling my wife darl or mum, lol.

What i have done in the past and have just done today was take a small dose of zoloft 1/4tab, 12.5mg and within a few hours my brain is switched on. I usually stay on this for a few months then i can go off and Im right until the next episode which can be 12 months away.

Anyone else get this, i wonder if its just damage from cfs. I suppose its a neurological illness and its just one of those crazy type of symptoms that we get.

 

[cfs since 1998]

That's interesting. I don't think I can help you however staring/zoning/spacing out is something I've done pretty much my whole life...

 

[leaves]

Hehe I have had this since I was very small.. Hibernation I call it... I only recently found out that it isn't normal. Goud you found something that helps you!!

 

[Stuart]

Petite Mal seizure, "staring spell," or "absense seizure."

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000696.htm

You can Google ME and find many symptoms lists with this type of neurological effects.

 

[Victoria]

I think my brain does an automatic "shut-down" when it wants to rewind the tape.

You see, it's like this, I am not real.

I am a robot.

I run on tapes.

When my brain gets to the end of the tape, it stops, it rewinds, and then brain function starts back at the beginning again. Takes a few minutes for the re-wind & that is usually the few minutes when I get that vacant look on my face (like yours).

Unfortunately, the tape got so worn out from re-winding, that it eventually broke (when I retired 2 1/2 months ago)

I've had the devil of a time, waiting for the Big Boss to pop in a bran new tape & press the button. I've had a few hiccups & tape jams recently. Hopefully, next time the Big Boss will buy superior quality tapes (instead of the cheapies).................

Sorry, to say, Heapsreal, I think your wife is putting cheap tapes in your slot too - ask her to buy the more expensive kind - they don't get that "tape jam" problem half way through......

 

[heapsreal]

i think we both need to move onto cd's now, the sound quality is so much better. Its a shame with all those records i have, man i was a good dancer with those records playing, lol

 

[lululowry]

Blanking in the middle of a sentence is something that has been driving my husband crazy (less so since my diagnosis 6 weeks ago but still...). I find it unnerving myself. When I am alone during the day, I have no idea what I have spent my time doing some of those days. Sitting. My mind is just on pause. It scares me.

 

[HopingSince88]

Vegitating

Heapsreal,

Wow ! I do this too!

It is NOT daydreaming at all. I can empty my mind in an instant, and stay that way for an extended period of time. Sometimes I am aware of the passage of time while in this state, and sometimes I am not, and I "lose time."

It is almost like stage 2 sleep but with my eyes open. I am only minimally aware of whatever is going on around me, but will snap out of it quickly if something comes into my awareness.

I tell myself that millions of folks out there practice meditation in order to achieve this state, and many have trouble achieving it, and I can do it without any meditation at all.

 

[dancer]

Something fundamental changed in the way my brain functions (or doesn't) since mono and then CFS/ME. Stopping mid-sentence, struggling to find words, "dead air" - long stretches where I'm just existing, but not thinking or able to hold on to a thought.

I used to joke with my husband that I admired his ability to "turn off" his brain, because mine was always so lively. Now I long for the lost imagination, creativity, daydreams, ability to plan, focus, multi-task, etc.

 

[BEG]

Heapsreal,Wow ! I do this too!It is NOT daydreaming at all. I can empty my mind in an instant, and stay that way for an extended period of time. Sometimes I am aware of the passage of time while in this state, and sometimes I am not, and I "lose time."It is almost like stage 2 sleep but with my eyes open. I am only minimally aware of whatever is going on around me, but will snap out of it quickly if something comes into my awareness. I tell myself that millions of folks out there practice meditation in order to achieve this state, and many have trouble achieving it, and I can do it without any meditation at all.

That is exactly what happens to me. Well said HopingSince88. My husband will ask me what I'm staring at. Then I slowly come to attention. Perhaps it's our brains resting from the excitability around us. If I don't provide a rest break for my brain, it will take one on its own. It's really a comfort to know I'm not alone in this.

Thanks for starting this, heapsreal.

 

[Resting]

I can only speak to my experiences but I get that lost in space feeling for long periods. My husband says that I look comatose while it occurs. I was checked for seizures and did not have any in a 24 hour EEG. One of my doctor said they are pseudo-seizures. He is not saying it is in anyway psychological (he's not one of "those" doctors). He says it is just an occurrence that happens with this illness that no one really understands. I know that there are those who do have seizures. So it might be worth checking out in case you do. Because there is treatment for that. I wonder if it isn't just the brain's way of coping with the overload. It goes on hiatus for a bit. Much like Victoria so creative put it!

Some of the other things that have been mentioned having to do with, trouble coming up with the right word, generalized memory problems, concentration issues and just overall problems with thinking and the physical act of speaking. Most are well documented cognitive problems that a large number of people including myself, face. The problem with physical speech is neuro-motor. This is a Neurological illness so there can be a whole host of various brain issues. I was asked for my phone number today by my doctors office (for a call back) and .....nothing...I completely blanked out...but since I know this happens I keep my info written down and handy.

If only doctors could experience for a time what we do, then they would realize just how heinous this illness truly is.

 

[rebecca1995]

heapsreal: "brain not working" is the exact phrase I use. I append it to email: "Sorry to be short--brain not working." I tell it to friends: "Can't talk today--brain not working." When someone wants me to do something: "Later--brain not working."

What amazes me is that after all this time I can experience new varieties of cognitive dysfunction. Like, I've had sensory hypersensitivity before; and I've had lightheadedness; and I've had plenty confusion and disorientation--but never in this exact, unique combination!

If only I could bottle it and dispense a few drops to my MD to wipe that skeptical look off her face! :Retro mad:

Edit:

If only doctors could experience for a time what we do, then they would realize just how heinous this illness truly is.

Yeah, Resting, what you said!

 

[heapsreal]

i had an episode today at work while a collegue was talking to me, she repeated herself a couple of times and then said i had a look on my face like i didnt understand, which i did understand and i could tell i was having a 'brain fart'. Im not sure whether to tell my doc, as i dont usually tell him all my symptoms as they chop and change so much but this symptom has been slowly progressing and i dont think theres much they can do about it anyway, but think i will let him know so we can both keep an eye on it. I find it strange how my energy levels have improved with av's but some cognitive things are slowly worsening and sleep is a forever ending search lol