How to objectify brain fog / cognitive dysfunction?

[Centime Tara]

I agree. But it was interesting, if not enlightening, to see how I scored three years apart. Maybe someday they’ll invent testing designed to uncover what ails us!

 

[Alvin2]

I have been tested for dementia multiple times, which all came back negative.
I don't have so much word finding issues as i do working memory issues, i can't find information in an article or wash dishes (cognitively) or watch TV or read a menu and make a decision. Or sort things or keep a conversation going for long.

It sucks that modern science can;t measure these things becasue its never had to put together a testing package for them. All that seems available is dementia testing and IQ testing. Oh and Briggs Meyer which is a crock.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I have been tested for dementia multiple times, which all came back negative.

I would never willingly agree to take such a test, at this point in my life.

 

[Alvin2]

I would never willingly agree to take such a test, at this point in my life.

Why?

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Why?

Well its really big deal for me turning 69 in June with these types of cognitive issues I already have, to be labelled demented is simply a mistake and I won't tolerate it.

I'd take something that measures, that lacks judgement, and labels.

But people seem to want a grade, dont' they?

Much goes on in the human interior which does not necessarily translate outward into something called a Test which measures...how you can't remember shit.

so Mostly I have a big charge on this demented stuff because its used to dismiss the experience your having.
Which varies tremendously, with everyone.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I'm interested in how we characterize what brain fog feels like, how it operates, how it intensifies, backs down again etc.

I find the whole topic fascinating/how to describe these interior shifts.

If we had better descriptive terms for aspects of it, that might be helpful in coping.

I had to give myself permission to drop the idea of having the correct answer, spelling it right, details I'm sure of Im not actually that sure about.

This sounds a bit like what reality actually is according to the physicists. Lots of observer effects.

 

[SlamDancin]

i think the fact I'm more or less coerced into taking 15 mg of Abilify is adding to brain fog. It's not helpful for anything because I'm not psychotic

 

[Centime Tara]

i think the fact I'm more or less coerced into taking 15 mg of Abilify is adding to brain fog. It's not helpful for anything because I'm not psychotic

I took antipsychotics for a few months when I was misdiagnosed with Bipolar 2. I’ve never been sicker in my entire life. Maybe those drugs work for people with certain mental illnesses, but they scared the daylights out of me. I have a friend who’s a shrink, and when he was in med school, one of his teachers made them all take every one of the drugs they’d be prescribing. He said it made him extremely cautious about prescribing antipsychotics because if you’re not psychotic, they make you psychotic!

 

[SlamDancin]

@Centime Tara Thanks for the response, yeah, my current shrink acts as though there's no side effects if you aren't actually psychotic. I think that's bullshit. Antagonizing dopamine receptors seems extremely counter productive.

 

[Alvin2]

Well its really big deal for me turning 69 in June with these types of cognitive issues I already have, to be labelled demented is simply a mistake and I won't tolerate it.

I'd take something that measures, that lacks judgement, and labels.

But people seem to want a grade, dont' they?

Much goes on in the human interior which does not necessarily translate outward into something called a Test which measures...how you can't remember shit.

so Mostly I have a big charge on this demented stuff because its used to dismiss the experience your having.
Which varies tremendously, with everyone.

In my case labels don't matter, the state can't do much unless i harm myself or someone else.
That said i have many labels that are preposterous but as long as they can't harm me i just ignore them and keep going. Its a game, in order to get testing done and treatment you need to kiss lots of frogs to find a prince.
At least thats how i look at it and finally got the ME/CFS diagnosis.

That said when i was applying for disability i laid low on the testing so i would not get contradictory diagnoses which could be used to deny benefits.
If i had one doctor say i have MS and another say i have narcolepsy then i could have denied as they both could lead to disability but if they don't have a clear explanation then they just deny.

 

[pattismith]

A person's overall IQ score isn't terribly valuable and doesn't tell you much (don't tell the folks at Mensa I said that, but it's true). You gain more helpful information about your cognition by looking at the relative highs and lows of your subtest scores, and also where your scores have changed over time.

And also bear in mind that a neuropsych test score can only reflect your ability to take that one test in one setting at one moment in time, not your ability to perform similar tasks in the real world when you're not necessarily concentrating on them in the same way. There's a big difference between being able to recite ever-longer strings of numbers while sitting in a doctor's office and actually remembering where in the world you put your keys.

I completely agree. It's important to look into the detailed QI index.

I just did a Neuropsy test and I got high results in VCI and POI index while WMI and PSI where much less elevated.

WMI and PSI are indices that are interconnected and they are commonly altered in ADHD.

My feeling is that heterogeneity between lower WMI/PSI on one hand and higher VCI/POI on the other hand may be responsible for mental exhaustion and brain fog.

23 points between the two extreme indices is sometimes considered significant for heterogeneity detection.

I do have 25 points between VCI and WMI and 20 points between POI and PSI, and 31 points between the highest and the lowest indices...

Homogeneous or Heterogeneous I.Q Profile: Some Clinical Characteristics to Differentiate High Intellectual Potential and Asperger's Syndrome in Children (fortunejournals.com)

Heterogeneity in ADHD: Neurocognitive Predictors of Peer, Family, and Academic Functioning - PMC (nih.gov)