Guest guest Posted October 17, 2002 Report Share Posted October 17, 2002 Hi everyone, I just wanted to share this message (sorry for cross posting) from the hashimotos group I recently joined. This discussion on brain fog is just like I experienced. I wonder how long I have had Hashimoto's and didn't know it? Make sure you get your thyroid thoroughly checked out if you have this brain fog. Patty ----- Original Message ----- From: Debbie hashimotos Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 12:43 PM Subject: [hashimotos] Looking for ideas To everybody in this group I'd like to ask for some help or input about something I've been trying to figure out how to explain to the endo that I will see next week and to other people in my life. I've been trying to put words together to explain "brain fog" and being in this state at this time, this has been really driving me nuts! I work in a position that I have to communicate clearly by talking to clients on the phone and/or in writing and this is the main reason why I've had to be off work these last, almost five weeks, is because my mind is not functioning right. (Just trying to post something in here, I have to read and re-read everything over and over to see if it makes any sense.)Last evening I ventured out by myself just to go to the grocery store a few blocks away. I knew what I needed to get, which was just a few things, and I knew I should have wrote them down but figured I could remember four little items...yea right! I came home with the one thing I needed most, which I know we all do this kind of stuff but then I had the worse feeling when it was time to checkout. I had put my few items on the belt and got to the terminal to use my ATM card. I had this awful feeling when I went to use my card, something I do all the time, you know when you do something so much it just becomes like a habit and you don't really think about the task. Well it was like I was doing something for the very first time in my life. I felt nervous, my eyes kind of blurred when I went to punch in my pin. I've only been able to come up with the feeling of being out in public when you've had too much to drink and you're trying to act sober but your mind and body are under the influence. I had a hard time driving home because it seemed like my windshield was so dirty that it was hard to see. Just going to the grocery store seemed like it had been an adventure I'd hardly ever done before! I ran into a co-worker when I was at the store. Trying to find the words to explain to somebody that your mind just isn't working right is really hard and it made me feel worse, emotionally, after she told me how much everybody missed me. How they'd always been able to give me something and know that it would be taken care of, done right, and wouldn't have to worry about the problem coming up again.What words can really describe "brain fog" to somebody that has never had to deal with this kind of thing before? What kind of situations can you give to people to help them understand what this is like? Is it kind of like having had too much to drink? Or maybe to some that have taken medications that caused them to be able to not think clearly? I'd really appreciate it if any of you would try to give me some idea as to how you've tried to explain this feeling to others and would like to thank you in advance for your help.Debbie ----- Original Message ----- From: aznativ@... hashimotos Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 3:33 PM Subject: Re: [hashimotos] Looking for ideas To Debbie: Here's how I explained similar problems to my doctor. 1. Many times I use incorrect words in my sentences. Example I am speaking to someone and I am looking at an item and I place that word in my sentence instead of the correct word I should have used. "That is a great purse (when it was really a hat I was talking about) you have on" 2. I am very forgetgetful and have short term memory problems. Normal tasks need more than normal concentration. Remembering messages, where I placed items, where I am supposed to be at a certain time. This was not a slow progression but something that suddenly started happening frequently. 3. It is difficult to pull up some information I had committed to my memory and frequently used. Example: my calling card numbers, my bank account numbers. There are increasing numbers of times I completely cannot recall this information. I found using description and a real example helped the doctor move from talking about "brain fog" to real examples of my problem. We were able to perform standard congnitive tests they use to make sure there was not some other issue going on. As I have been improving this problem is getting better. I think the overwhelming fatigue I had was also contributing to this and clumsiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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