brain fog

My only symptom is these random, intermittent episodes of losing all concentration and staring off into space like a catatonic. I go through stretches of a few days when they don't happen at all and, at the other extreme, stretches of a few days when they're nearly constant. The last three days have been the latter, and today has been horrible. It's an intractable problem that I just have to live with, but sometimes it makes me get sick and tired of being me and want to jump out of my skin.

Sounds like you could do with trying some Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Mindfulness training, to help your brain calmly and comfortably deal with whatever life throws at you and makes you feel more at ease and focussed. There are lots of Mindfulness resources online, which include exercises and breathing techniques. Just put Mindfulness into Google and have a look.

One thing to bare in mind, it might be worth seeing a doctor as "absences" like that are a sign of neurological conditions like Epilepsy so it's worth getting it checked out if it's worrying you.

mickey, you're so smart that you probably already figured this out, but h3donist is right about seeing a doctor. It could be seizure related. Or maybe you've already been?

While I can't diagnose your condition, I can sympathise with your feelings. Brain fog can be a horrible experience to suffer, with the loss of concentration both distressing and depressing. I'd certainly echo what others have said about going to see a doctor to find the root of the problem.

My current brain fog is down to chemotherapy which should hopefully wear off within the next few days but prior to this, I was on extremely strong medication for my brain tumour that turned me into a zombie for months. I still can't believe how much time I've wasted just staring off into space or looking at a blank wall, while my brain struggled to form thoughts or communicate with the rest of my body. Even now I still have moments due to the brain damage (I have a decent chunk of my brain missing).

This makes me depressed because as a podcaster I was known for my fast jokes and my articles were popular for possessing sharp wit. Now I'm slow to develop thoughts, people think I'm dumb when I talk because it takes a little longer than normal for me to put what I want to say into words. I also struggle to maintain concentration on difficult tasks and can feel my head going blank during the middle of conversations.

Hopefully you won't be as bad but if you ever want to vent about brain fog, by all means I totally understand.

Lost Drifter said:

While I can't diagnose your condition, I can sympathise with your feelings. Brain fog can be a horrible experience to suffer, with the loss of concentration both distressing and depressing. I'd certainly echo what others have said about going to see a doctor to find the root of the problem.

My current brain fog is down to chemotherapy which should hopefully wear off within the next few days but prior to this, I was on extremely strong medication for my brain tumour that turned me into a zombie for months. I still can't believe how much time I've wasted just staring off into space or looking at a blank wall, while my brain struggled to form thoughts or communicate with the rest of my body. Even now I still have moments due to the brain damage (I have a decent chunk of my brain missing).

This makes me depressed because as a podcaster I was known for my fast jokes and my articles were popular for possessing sharp wit. Now I'm slow to develop thoughts, people think I'm dumb when I talk because it takes a little longer than normal for me to put what I want to say into words. I also struggle to maintain concentration on difficult tasks and can feel my head going blank during the middle of conversations.

Hopefully you won't be as bad but if you ever want to vent about brain fog, by all means I totally understand.

Click to expand...

You and I sorta have something in common, because I also have what appears to be a minor injury in my frontal lobe. As far as I know it's a gap in the white matter of my frontal lobe that is filled with cerebrospinal fluid rather than brain tissue. It probably dates back to 1976, when I was hit by a car while crossing the street, hit my head on the pavement, broke a blood vessel under my dura, and had emergency head surgery to save my life. In 2012 I had a seizure that led to MRIs that revealed the injury. But I had been (mis) diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1991, and the surgeon who had operated on me in 1976 was a young hotshot back then but is a senior hospital executive now. So my neurologist and family physician, are covering everything up out of fear for their careers. The joke is that I am grateful to that surgeon for saving my life and would never take legal steps against him no matter how greedy any lawyer were for contingency fees. (But given my diagnosis you'll probably dismiss out of hand this as paranoid ranting, so I just wasted my breath.)

There is a fictionalized account of my experience with medicine in my deviantart account, but it's autobiographical only up to but not including the point where the protag gets cut off disability. The rest is entirely imaginary. Here's the link if you're interested (I have been unable to turn off the mature content filter so you'll need an account to read it):

http://mickeykocic.deviantart.com/art/The-Mute-515277108

mickey said:

... (But given my diagnosis you'll probably dismiss out of hand this as paranoid ranting, so I just wasted my breath.)
...

Click to expand...

Nuh - uh. I'm sure you're being truthful. I know others who have experienced that closing of ranks and cya in the medical establishment.

Sometimes said:

mickey said:

... (But given my diagnosis you'll probably dismiss out of hand this as paranoid ranting, so I just wasted my breath.)
...

Click to expand...

Nuh - uh. I'm sure you're being truthful. I know others who have experienced that closing of ranks and cya in the medical establishment.

Click to expand...

I'm grateful to you for acknowledging my humanity despite my diagnosis. It's kinda sad that anyone would be grateful for that, but the real world is what it is.

mickey said:

My only symptom is these random, intermittent episodes of losing all concentration and staring off into space like a catatonic. I go through stretches of a few days when they don't happen at all and, at the other extreme, stretches of a few days when they're nearly constant. The last three days have been the latter, and today has been horrible. It's an intractable problem that I just have to live with, but sometimes it makes me get sick and tired of being me and want to jump out of my skin.

Click to expand...

Hey mickey,

I've been in your shoes. Things that helped me get through that are getting enough physical activity, finding something to occupy the mind, and eating well.

It's simple, but not easy if you're lethargic. How to get rid of lethargy...? Things that I just listed!