I just wanna know or am I losing it ? I mean yesterday, I misparked my car, at least 3 times. Never once thinking to hit the alarm button. I go in a store and come out with a bunch of stuff but not what I was supposed to. Half the time I can’t tell you what day of the week it is. And the sad part is I am a really intelligent person. So is this the fibro, or am I rapidly losing brain cells ?
I have not lost the car but I am a very forgetful person and get distracted by all kinds of things.
I used to be insanely sharp. 158 tested IQ but I cant remember 4 things from the store without a list.
Lol I have, or should I say had photographic memory. Now I walk out into a parking lot, and I feel like I’m playing where’s Waldo !!
These are almost the most common symptoms we all share with fibro. Welcome to fibro-fog! Due to the distraction from pain and from lack of stage 4 restorative sleep, and after many years with fibro, blood fails to get to all of the areas of the brain, so our brain has to learn to compensate for the lack of blood flow to the brain.
Below a picture of a SPECT brain scan, the dark parts are parts that should be lit up and active like the other parts that are lit up. These are fibro or CFS patients. Good thing the brain is able to use other parts to make up for parts that are not working so well. The brain adapts. I started playing brain games at a site called www.Lumosity.com yesterday. You tell them on a questionnaire which brain functions you want to improve, then you are given games to make your brain have more connections and faster connections inside..
Our brains should look like the bottom pictures, but they look like the top ones. No wonder we forget what we're doing, right? I swear I've developed ADD due to fibro. Vitamin D and B complex help these long term and Ginseng and/or Gingko Biloba help day by day. I sure notice when I forget my Ginseng! There is a supplement called Memory FX that has both of those herbs, but it's expensive, so I just buy them separately and take them. It's better than just one or the other, but I still notice an improvement if I run out of one and just take the other.
Yes I am ADD always have been. I take 40 mg of adderal twice a day. I don’t think it can fight this lol
Oh my, yes yes, my memory has gone blooey and I end up doing eccentric things as a result. Just today, I was taking a pain med while giving one of my dogs his. So instead of going for mine, I almost bit into the dog treat where I'd hid his! I could taste it on my lip, I came that close!
What can ya do???
I find that resting/sleeping helps.
I'm like that too! And then I lose the list! Or forget the last item on the list. But I've always been ADD; fibro has only made it worse.
My gosh, we're literally using only half of our brainpower! No wonder we feel so fatigued and lacking in memory! It's like the lights are on but nobody's home.
And speaking of which, Sheila I apologize for the time I didn't even recognize you when you asked about the post I moderated. I was exhausted and in bad pain. That's just not a combo that I handle well.
Hi Robyn,
Oh yes, you will get a huge response to this post! I discussed this with my Rheumatologist, and he answered it all with "It's from chronic pain, Susan, that and the lack of proper sleep due to chronic pain"!
It's all of the Substance P flooding our brains on a constant basis.
Hi Robyn, Not only am I always misplacing my car but I have a record for locking my keys in it as well. (3x In 5 days lol) If it's not one thing I misplace it's another. I am always having to leave myself notes as well. You are not in this alone... My hubby is always laughing at me for something because of the Fibro...
Lol well it’s good to know I’m not alone. Haha
Agreed fibro has made it ten times worse. I cannot imagine myself without the adderall. And I’m honestly becoming scared to drive my attention span is so bad. I should be pulled over for a DWI, and what am I gonna say ? Sorry officer I have fibro fog ? Yeah right, in Louisiana. Y’all will see me on one of those backwards redneck shows. And I am far from a redneck !
HI Robyn - don't feel so bad about 'losing it'.....I am too! LOL I used to wander all over the parking lot looking for my car and FINALLY got smart enough to pick a landmark which my car is close to and solved this problem! However, I am notorious for leaving my keys IN the ignition with the motor running. Jeez! Thankfully, I always have an extra set of keys with me. If I didn't, believe me, I would be paying a fortune to AAA!! Going into another room to get something and then forget what I am getting??? Famous!! I used to be able to backtrack and then remember - not anymore. Hugs! Laurie
Like I mentioned before, there are herbs and supplements and rain training that all improve your brain's performance.
Gosh Petunia no need to apologize. I now have HUNDREDS of comments in my email that I have to get through and very little strength to do it, so I miss more than I want to miss.
Fortunately my husband drives and remembers where the car is. When he suggests I meet him at the car, I just look at him with raised eye brows, like really. If I don’t take a list (put on iphone so normally I don’t lose it) can’t even remember 3 to 4 items. Besides if you lose your cell phone you can always phone yourself and listen for it to ring. Been known to have a list and still miss things.Sometimes I think I spend 1/2 my time searching for something I just had in my hand. Once you realize you’re not going crazy, it can get rather amusing. Better to laugh at yourself than get stressed over it.
I'm in the same boat, Robyn, and it's scary. The fibro fog drives me nuts. It's not as bad as it was, thanks to my CPAP machine but if I'm really tired, forget it! And, like you, i'm becoming scared to drive but I HAVE to until and unless I get SSDI.
This isn't a very fun illness, is it?
Robyn,
I am right there with you. If it weren’t for lists and reminders on my cell phone I would be lost. I can’t remember from A to B most of the time. From what I have read it is all a part of it.
Gentle Hugs,
Jrratis
This is FIBRO! (I feel like it should be the answer to a Jeopardy question and Alex Trebec would get to call it out.)
Fibro makes us forgetful, to the point of wanting to pull our hair and cry. It's embarrassing, frightening and maddening. And I've noticed that fibro people do tend to be an intelligent bunch, which is a bit odd in itself, since fibro seems to attack type A people. Who are intelligent. And no, I don't think we're losing brain cells. Believe it or not the pain is what causes fatigue and fatigue causes the brain fog. So maybe it's a reminder that you're doing too much and need to slow down and take a break? Rest really does help the fatigue and fog, at least for me.
Oh my, the old "I locked myself out of the car," eh? I've done that too. A lot of times. Once with my sister's car, while out at a restaurant that was far from home, where the spare key was. Ooh and was my sister FURIOUS! I searched every inch of that parking lot (in the dark) until a friend got the idea to buy one of those little light up animals that are min-flashlights. Once we got one, I could just see into sis's car. The keys were sitting in the middle space between driver and passenger. Had to call AAA (Bless them!)