Long COVID "brain numbness" versus ME/CFS brain fog

[Hip]

Since catching COVID just over a year ago and developing some long COVID on top of existing ME/CFS, I've found that whilst ME/CFS gives me brain fog, long COVID for me seems to produce what you might call "brain numbness".

This brain numbness feels like having your brain mildly anaesthetised: I mean there is less focus on thoughts, less emotions, less intensity of ideas, less interest in doing things, just a placid but feeble state of consciousness.

This brain numbness I developed after COVID seems different to my ME/CFS brain fog. With brain fog, there is still an intensity of ideas and constructive thinking, but the thought processes are hampered by the constant presence of the "fog" in your brain. Brain fog is like driving a car in the fog: you know where you want to get to, but your journey is made slower and more difficult because of the fog.

But with brain numbness, the intensity of thoughts and ideas have vanished at source, or at least become lessened. This is like not really knowing where you want to drive to in the first place.


Can anyone else who already had ME/CFS and then later developed long COVID relate to this?

 

[pattismith]

I didn't get covid, but the post covid state you describe makes me think of my own state when I take SNRI drugs.

I think my state is related to a syndrome that has already been described with SSRI:

https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...t-associated-apathy-lack-of-motivation.86924/

 

[Osaca]

Can anyone else who already had ME/CFS and then later developed long COVID relate to this?

I can't answer this question, but from my personal experience the long Covid brain fog is similar to the acute Covid brain fog, just that the long Covid one is a lot worse. Since a large set of patients also get brainfog from acute Covid, at least from the earlier variants (it doesn't seem to be the case anymore), the sample size should be much bigger. It would be interesting to know why some people get brainfog from acute Covid and why others don't, especially since there's a lot of research on acute Covid (and also why earlier variants caused it, but not anymore).

 

[Consul]

I have the brain numbness as well, everything is numbed down. Intensity, thoughts, feelings etc. My mecfs was triggered by stress though where all these things had been in hyperdrive for a long time. For example my thoughts used to be a blitzing chaos but when i got mecfs it suddenly got very calm in there. I had some version of brain fog as well the first few years or so but that waned off (and so did the joint pain). So im left mostly with the PEM, fatigue, noise and screen oversensivity, some minor immune symptoms, and brain numbness now.

The numbness makes me able to look towards the sun though without feeling much intensity, it should feel more intense. Are you able to look towards the sun without feeling much intensity @Hip ? Im not staring at it but i just remember having eyes toward the sun direction used to be very intense in general.

 

[Hip]

Are you able to look towards the sun without feeling much intensity @Hip

I don't generally get light sensitivity, though I do have sound sensitivity.

 

[Murph]

paradoxically I find the acute perception and razor-sharp description in your post argues against the idea that your brain has turned to mush @Hip!

 

[Ansilde]

That's interesting. I didn't have lasting effects from Covid, but a couple of years after I first got ME I had a sudden onset of new cognitive symptoms. Part of it feels exactly like you're describing yours post-Covid. Anaesthetised is the perfect way to describe it. My consciousness feels very low, very vague. I'd say it was more than just the brain fog even before that, but I don't ever remember feeling less conscious, or that feeling of almost emptiness in your brain.