I wonder if anyone could please share with me what brain fog feels like for them? Or what you believe it to be?
I have a very stuffy head at the moment, almost as though I am dizzy but not quite and like I’m off balance, though not staggering about or anything ( i first thought sinus was dodgy as it kind of feels like that kind of stuffy ) i also feel like I’m a bit all over the place , like Iif I have just done something I can’t remember myself actually doing it. Feel a bit silly saying that but it’s the only way I can describe the feeling. I have been occasionally stuck on words too and am assuming its to do with this overall woozy feeling . Is this what ‘brain fog’ can be like?
any experiences and/or thoughts on this is much appreciated
Brain fog is probably better described as cognitive fog. Really is where your cognitive mechanism is fuzzy. So you have trouble finding words, short term memory may be a bit (or a lot) impaired, problem solving is difficult and processing information is slow and difficult. People can experience some of the symptoms of ‘cog fog’, or a lot of them. It may be that during a relapse, cognition is badly affected and then remits. Some drugs can cause cognition problems. I had a very bad reaction to Avonex when I was first diagnosed. But I couldn’t even explain what was wrong because I couldn’t get my brain to work it out, or to explain it to the neurologist. Needless to say, once I worked it out for myself, I didn’t take the drug one week in order to be able to explain what was going on. The neuro straight away stopped the drug! Up until that point, I had no idea MS could do that to my brain. Now I live with it daily.
What helps is writing things down, keeping a diary, writing notes for myself, concentrating on one thing at a time, (no more multitasking), not worrying when I can’t remember things, using a different word when I can’t remember the one I want to use, plus not getting stressed about it. And above all, trying to keep my brain working by using it.
I hope this helps a bit.
Obviously, on the Everyday Living forum, we have a thread called Brain Fog. This is a very long running thread, most of the posters on this thread have experience of the Fog. It’s a tongue in cheek friendly place. And actually, I’m pretty sure it’s helped a lot of us with our cognitive issues as we’ve been quite creative. But, it’s not really the place to go for help or answers, more a place to let your hair down and not worry if you forget things, can’t come up with the right words, or just want to express yourself in a safe environment.