Fibro Fog?

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Joined
Jan 22, 2016
Messages
16
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
11/2015
Country
US
State
Iowa
Does anyone experience "fibro fog"? What is it like?

For the last few years, I keep forgetting the words I need, or what I was about to say, or what I needed to do. Sometimes, I feel "slow", like normal conversation has turned into a lecture about quantum physics.
 
lol that is exactly how it feels for me too! i can't find the words that i need, train of thought is easily distracted, and i too feel incredibly slow. i can't retain information and keep focus for too long. for example getting directions, if it's more than 1 turn, i have to write it down. i write down EVERYTHING now. i don't even remember what i did the day before without first forming a complete blank for a while.
 
As I mentioned in another thread, nicotine gum can help, although I would take it with caution. It has been proven an effective treatment to some symptoms of alzeihmers, so it is clearly positive for brain function. I take no more than 2 gums per day and have yet to experience cravings, I also have the occasional cigar too, but wouldn't recommend that (although the effects are the same) when you can get gum.
 
I also have this issue. It's worse when I try to focus more than one thing at a time. Sometimes I have to point to the object and then my husband knows what I'm trying to say. It's very frustrating when I'm talking with someone and in the middle of a sentence I forget what I'm talking about.
 
It feels like someone took out your brain shook it for 30 minutes ,shoved it in the wash then shrunk it in the dryer before popping it back and hoping u didn't notice.
 
Does this go any further? Is this the worst it will be?

I'm finding that I'm constantly messing up at work, because I forgot to turn in a document, or report data on a student, or tweak my lesson plans, invite a counselor to a meeting.... It really never stops, and I can't seem to explain to my admins why this keeps happening. My students and I have a running joke, that I have the memory of a goldfish, and thankfully they're much more forgiving when I forget that I was going to do something with individual students, or for the class; however, I'm sure this isn't what my students deserve.

Even at home, my husband asks me to do things, or I want to complete certain tasks after work, but when it's time for me to do whatever I planned, I can't remember what it was I needed to do. I downloaded a great app for my phone, a checklist for things I need to do, but by the time the app opens, I forgot what I needed to do.
 
We use a dry erase board and a calendar to remind both of us about appointments and other important things. :) I also keep a note pad and pen handy.
 
Work is more challenging for me now. I keep extra check lists now of things I used to keep track of in my head. I deal with a lot of detail oriented stuff like numerical data, test design, process procedures and problem solving. I've always double checked my work, now I need to more than ever. And I really need that checklist. If there is something I need to do, I write it down in my notebook right away.

It had helped me to just accept that this is my new normal and try to manage the effects as well as I can.
 
I'm no longer sure if what I am experiencing is fibro fog or it's the CM in my brain. But since I was younger I suddenly suffered from weird episodes, in which I felt completely confused as where I was... or how to find the way back home or the place where I was going. I still have trouble remembering words, specially when I need them. Some people say: ''oh but you speak 3 languages, you can't have memory issues''. I have stopped trying to explain that memory and learning capacity are not the same thing... and can't be used interchangeably.
 
Sorry, haven't been on for a long time!

What is CM, if you don't mind me asking?

Also, I empathize with you, when you said people don't believe you're capable of having memory issues. One of my admins once told me, "You're so organized and intelligent, I can't believe you'd just forget to do [whatever it was he was on about]". We're complex creatures, with a complex nervous system. Nothing about us, or the way we function, is black-and-white. Thankfully, he's leaving, and being replaced with a much more understanding person.
 
Sorry, haven't been on for a long time!

What is CM, if you don't mind me asking?

Also, I empathize with you, when you said people don't believe you're capable of having memory issues. One of my admins once told me, "You're so organized and intelligent, I can't believe you'd just forget to do [whatever it was he was on about]". We're complex creatures, with a complex nervous system. Nothing about us, or the way we function, is black-and-white. Thankfully, he's leaving, and being replaced with a much more understanding person.

No problem, I always write ''CM'' instead of saying ''cavernoma''. It's hard to explain, but it's basically a vascular malformation or a slow growing tumor (the medical community is not so sure). I was told it's very likely I was born with it :( I was diagnosed back in 2014, until then I thought it was just fibro fog, because I started to experience disorientation and memory issues since I was little. I am at a point in which is very hard for me to recognize and remember new people's faces... unless I see them in the same place weekly (ie: people working at restaurants and such).

So to be honest I'm not sure how much is fibro and how much is the CM :(

I'm very glad to hear you are going to work with someone more understanding soon. I just hate it when people make that kind of comments... specially about my CM. They think that because we look ok outside (not having seizures every 30 minutes) they think we are making everything up :(
 
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