What has helped with your brain fog?

[livingwithcfids]

This is one of my most debilitating symptoms so I would like to hear from others what has helped.

Also, is it just me or does time fly when you have a chronic illness? Months go by like weeks.

 

[allyann]

Getting pregnant. Just hoping it lasts after the baby is born!

I wonder it it is related to increased blood volume. Apparently you have an extra two litres of blood in your body when you are pregnant

 

[Sushi]

This is one of my most debilitating symptoms so I would like to hear from others what has helped.

GcMAF

Sushi

 

[Nielk]

Very temporary improvement with caffeine.

 

[Sallysblooms]

Carniclear! lcarnitine. Alpha Lipoic Acid also

 

[rydra_wong]

Salt, when having adrenal trouble.
TMG on occasion.
I rarely get brain fog. But the people at the other site say brain fog is usually caused by thyroid trouble (their experience is with hypothyroid) and cured when you get your thyroid working right. TSH is not a good measure of thyroid function - there are other substances more important to diagnosing your thyroid. See www.stopthethyroidmadness.com (for a list of required tests and also info on adrenal interaction) or www.lef.org (for ranges).

When I was hyperthyroid I had a buzzing in my head like someone was taking a belt sander to my brain. It made it very hard to concentrate and figure out my problem since I could only retain about a sentence in my head at a time. I used to have to print out the papers that sounded like they might help and go over them with highlighter. But it wasn't fog.

 

[rydra_wong]

Getting pregnant. Just hoping it lasts after the baby is born!

I wonder it it is related to increased blood volume. Apparently you have an extra two litres of blood in your body when you are pregnant

Your hormones also change when you are pregnant. Hormones have a huge effect on me.

 

[Ocean]

Yes, I have the same experience with time flying. No advice for getting rid of brain fog. I have it daily. I have a few strategies (basic organizational stuff, list making and things like that) that occasionally help with adapting to it, but nothing to minimize it.

 

[SOC]

When I had really bad brain fog, I couldn't keep track of time. I'd think I'd been doing something for 30 minutes and discover several hours had passed. Very weird and disconcerting.

My best treatment for brain fog was Valcyte. Second best was the Pall Protocol supplements -- I couldn't say which part in particular was most responsible for the improvement in brain fog, or if it was the combination.

 

[rydra_wong]

When I had really bad brain fog, I couldn't keep track of time. I'd think I'd been doing something for 30 minutes and discover several hours had passed. Very weird and disconcerting.

My best treatment for brain fog was Valcyte. Second best was the Pall Protocol supplements -- I couldn't say which part in particular was most responsible for the improvement in brain fog, or if it was the combination.

I've had that "inability to keep track of time" thing my whole life! I think it's a symptom of autism. No brain fog. Very focussed on whatever.
My Dad has it also but he'll never admit it. He will start talking about some bug on the computer and we'll all tell him we don't know what causes it. So he'll be quite for half an hour and the conversation moves on to many other things and the next time he says something, it will be "I wonder if it could be caused by..." (By which time no one knows what "it" is!) If you ever figure out how to plug back in to the passage of time, I would dearly like to know it!

 

[blue sky]

I've used molybdenum drops to help with headaches and brain fog. If you have problems with increased sulfite (due to cbs snp mutation common for many with me/cfs), then the sulfur is toxic and is not converted to the non-toxic sulfate.

 

[ixchelkali]

Yes, I've noticed that "time flies" phenomenon, too. And, um, what was the other question?

 

[Ocean]

I've had that "inability to keep track of time" thing my whole life! I think it's a symptom of autism. No brain fog. Very focused on whatever.

Rydra,

Also a symptom of ADD/ADHD. I view it as part of my brain fog. It does involve hyperfocus but I see that as one element of my brain fog, not separate from it. I have a hard time separating from CFS brain fog from some of my ADHD symptoms.

 

[u&iraok]

Neurotrophin PMG from Standard Process, PhosphatidylSerine (this works the best), high potency B vitamins, especially B12, CoQ10 initially, adequate protein, Standard Process PMG for endocrine system, green tea, anti-oxidants.

My brain problems are pretty bad, I think, compared to other PWCs, thanks to a series of flu shots, getting a amalgam out incorrectly and an intense, unexpected mercury detox which really affected my brain. My brain fog gets worse when my hormones are out of whack or if I get too tired, or if I use my brain too much, which about translates into 'if I use my brain at all'.

I don't take anything for energy, it makes me too wired and nervous. I can't tolerate caffeine, often not even in green tea.

 

[SOC]

Also a symptom of ADD/ADHD. I view it as part of my brain fog. It does involve hyperfocus but I see that as one element of my brain fog, not separate from it. I have a hard time separating from CFS brain fog from some of my ADHD symptoms.

I have always been able to focus intensely, but my "time flies" thing with ME is definitely not hyperfocus. Mine is much more of a la-la land kind of thing. I can be doing nothing in particular, in fact I usually am, when the "time flies" thing is happening. It's not so much a losing track of time as a disconnect from time.

 

[u&iraok]

Rydra,

Also a symptom of ADD/ADHD. I view it as part of my brain fog. It does involve hyperfocus but I see that as one element of my brain fog, not separate from it. I have a hard time separating from CFS brain fog from some of my ADHD symptoms.

I don't have the time flies thing, but I have a problem with time in that I can't remember if something happened yesterday, the day before yesterday, one week, two weeks or a month ago.

Ocean, I have a hard time separating brain fog from some of my ADHD sypmtoms, too.

 

[penny]

PhosphatidylSerine and L-glutamine.

I think I'm more like u&iraok, my time perception is bad and I have no idea where in time I am or a particular event was. This was not the case for me before becoming ill.

 

[Bob]

What has helped with your brain fog?
This is one of my most debilitating symptoms so I would like to hear from others what has helped.

I've just discovered that L-glutamine 250mg can help my brain a lot.
But I've only tried it when i'm relatively well, and it is very activating, so it might possibly be harmful when the illness is in an unstable place.
When it works, it kick-starts my brain into action, and my brain feels about 5 times as efficient and motivated.
I only discovered it relatively recently, so I haven't been able to experiment with it much yet.
I'm not sure if it would help brain fog when I'm at my worse, but when mild, it seems to speed up my brain without any problematic pay-back.
I've had a flu-like virus for about 6 weeks, and possibly mild bronchitis, and it hasn't helped me during this period.

Also, clonazepam helps my brain, and my general symptoms, a lot... It's been the only thing that I've continued to use throughout my illness.
Very small doses calm down my brain, and helps it recover from fatigue, tiredness and agitation. It also helps reduce a negative reaction to activity.

Also, is it just me or does time fly when you have a chronic illness? Months go by like weeks.

Yes, my life stopped dead when I got ill about 8 years ago, and it only seems like a year ago. It does seem very weird at times.
I think it's partly to do with not doing anything exciting for 8 years, and partly due to not having a memory... I can't remember time passing, so it doesn't seem like much time has passed!

 

[heapsreal]

I use tramadol for chronic back problems, i find it helps brain fog and energy. I cant use it too late at night as it worsens my sleep. As well as its effects on opiod receptors , it also works on serotonin and noradrenaline which i think is what helps me with energy. The good thing about tramadol is it has a short 1/2 life so its out of my system come night time, as ad's have longer 1/2 lives so stay in your system too long and cause sleep problems, plus i also think build up to higher levels in our system too.

Pregnenolone in very small doses (5mg) is also helping me alot, it helps with increasing most hormones especially cortisol, dhea etc. Also said to be good for memory etc.

cheers!!!

 

[Bob]

I rarely get brain fog. But the people at the other site say brain fog is usually caused by thyroid trouble (their experience is with hypothyroid) and cured when you get your thyroid working right. TSH is not a good measure of thyroid function - there are other substances more important to diagnosing your thyroid. See www.stopthethyroidmadness.com (for a list of required tests and also info on adrenal interaction) or www.lef.org (for ranges).

I've had a clinically low thyroid function during the course of my ME, but my severe brain fog was definitely a symptom of my ME, without any doubt.
But a low thyroid function definitely has very similar symptoms to ME - fatigue, weakness, sluggishness, and serious cognitive issues, probably including brain fog for many people.
But strangely enough, I got my imagination back for a while when I had a low thyroid, which might have been because the low metabolism caused by a low thyroid was helping to ease the ME symptoms. But there were cognitive issues, and there may well be brain fog associated with hypo-thyroidism for most people.

When I was hyperthyroid I had a buzzing in my head like someone was taking a belt sander to my brain. It made it very hard to concentrate and figure out my problem since I could only retain about a sentence in my head at a time. I used to have to print out the papers that sounded like they might help and go over them with highlighter. But it wasn't fog.

Yes, I had the same thing when my thyroid went high. A 'belt sander' on the brain describes the feeling well! It's horrible.
I took small doses of cod liver oil, some B12 and clonazepam to help ease it, which I thought all helped a bit.