What cures Brain Fog?

[peter4685]

I am posting on behalf of my wife. We have been dealing with this "Brain Fog" for a year now. At first, we thought it was due to my wife's Thyroid medication. The doses were changed over the last few months but my wife was either to high or low. We have finally got the dose correct. This was what started the "Brain Fog"

She kept telling me about the feelings of dizziness and like being in a dream world. I could never relate to the description of the issue. It has affected our lives recently. My wife is afraid to drive (scared of crashing or passing out), and no longer is able to drive our son to school. She has also had to stop working. Last week she felt like fainting, so we went to the hospital emergency, they ran all the tests and sure enough they were all good.  We spoke with our family doctor today and he diagnosed my wife with GAD. At first I didn't take him seriously, but he did have 30 years of experience. We will be making a Psychologist appointment to tackle this issue. Today I found this forum. After reading all the posts I am now convinced my wife has an anxiety problem that is causing this "Brain Fog". I feel today is the first step in the resolution of the problem. I will post updates on this page documenting our journey. At this point my wife just stays home watching TV, afraid to go outside, scared to drive, scared to be alone while I am at work etc.

List of tests and doctors seen:

Chiropractor (did help in reducing headaches and diarrhea)
Eye Doctor (confirmed my wife's eyes are OK, she was worried she had an eye issue due to fogginess)
Endocrinologist (got my wife's Thyroid dose under control finally)
CAT scan (all good)
All Bloodwork tests (all good)
Eye Ear and Nose specialist (no issue found)
Sinus X-ray (all good)
ECG scheduled (probably will show ok, but will check anyways) 

Anyone able to provide feedback on how to get rid of the "fog"??

[oneworld2010]

Its anxiety alright.

Only times i have been 'cured' of brain for i have never been able to put my finger on exactly one treatment/ingredient that cured it. Once when it was terrible i was put on 'Amitriptyline' (this was like 15 years ago its an old medication) and thought that made it temporarily worse, within 10 days it was gone. I guees the fact that for first time i started eating properly and had medication to help me sleep so i could be active during day all combined to lift it. I seem to lapse into GAD like every 5 years. Last serious episode i was on Paxil and with same combination it lifted again. like 1o days after. Now Im kinda used to the fog. It slows me down but doesnt ground me. Im on xanax from time to time but with excercise and positive thinking i manage, but i do hope that in time it will go completely. Hope that helps...

[peter4685]

Thanks for the response.

I asked my wife the last time she had the brain fog was about 8 years ago after she took the radioactive iodine to treat her overactive thyroid. She then went hypothyroid until the dose was balanced. The brain fog then went away. It seems to be a very common symptom of anxiety as well. Some of the symptoms my wife describes is as if the world is spinning, feel like in a dreamworld, ditzy. One day she thought she had a cloud over her eyes. Like a fogginess. She says sometimes everything get spotty.

[peter4685]

After doing some reading, I think it is safe to say the medical term for "Brain Fog", is "Derealization". Does anyone agree with this? Here is a Wikipedia link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derealization

[oneworld2010]

very true. see depersonalization as well.

[peter4685]

Some more info

http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/symptoms/a/DeperDereal.htm

This may also lead to Agoraphobia. http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/agoraphobia/a/WhatIsAgora.htm

My wife has progressed to this point. She was scared to go into Wal-Mart yesterday. I've never seen her this bad. She won't even go out for dinner at a restaurant. Psychologist appointment on Wednesday. I'll post here afterward.

[peter4685]

Best article ever. This guy was cured. Check it out!

http://www.derealization.org/my-experience/derealization-cured-my-story

[joycicle]

Oh Peter, Bless your wife's heart ! It is soooo scary when it first comes and especially if you don't know what it is . I applaud you for taking the initiative to join up here and look into it. You'll be a far better partner in helping her once you understand it all.

[tk37]

This sounds like depersonalization. It's usually brought on by high stress levels. The only way to really "cure" it is to relieve stress as much as possible and do not focus on it. If your mind is always focused on the feelings, you will feel it. She has to ignore it and focus on life and not the feelings.

[peter4685]

Thanks for your replies. The support is appreciated. 

Yes, I think you are correct. The diagnosis should probably be Depersonalization Disorder......but with more of the Derealization symptoms caused by Anxiety.

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec07/ch106/ch106b.html


Another interesting note.....my wife stated these feeling also started about a year ago when my son started 1st grade. My wife was at home alone for most of the day.  It's interesting she mentioned this fact....may be some underlying issues??? Does this happen sometimes with stay at home moms when their kids are in school for the full day?

I think the anxiety got really bad 2 months ago due to the Thyroid imbalance. It's almost like she is traumatized to do anything or go anywhere.

[peter4685]

Good video explaining derealization.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkOwXQe3M5k

[joycicle]

Peter TKS for that video. It explains sowell, the nerves being highly sensitized , etc. Often when i'm in full blown twitching mode I am sensitive to light and my skin feels a touch 'crawly'. This guy has summed it up .

[emma09]

i so feel for your wife its a terrible place to be in its good she has your support, i have brain fog at this precise minute only started half hour ago i know mine will go tho once i get watching telly in bed and get distracted. Best thing what helped me was distraction getting out doing stuff forgetting anxiety and al the crap what comes along with it, harder done then said if your wife is scared of doing her normal things, try little steps keep us updated xx

[peter4685]

Thanks for the support. My wife's Psychologist appointment is this week. She doesn't think it's an anxiety issue though.....hopefully the Psychologist will shed some light.

I will post updates after the appointment.

Thanks

[bababel]

It is definitely anxiety that your wife is experiencing.  I know first hand because I get it too.  It's so scary.  You feel like you're in a dream and that you're about to pass out at any moment.  I've been to a psychiatrist who told me that all of my symptoms were anxiety.  She was especially sure of the diagnosis because I've also had a slew of medical tests done and they all came back fine.

The only "cure" I've ever had was going back to work.  Keeping busy and having people to talk to made all the difference.  I am now a housewife and my brain fog and other anxiety symptoms act up like crazy, especially when I am home alone with nothing to do. 

I hope your wife can find some comfort from the psychologist and I am very happy for her for having such a supportive husband!

[Cuz]

Dont feed the symptoms with fear/worry and they can dramatically subside.. I suffered for over 25 years and also had brain fog but I turned it around by learning CBT and combined that with a small dosage of Klonopin.. Pick of a copy of Claire Weekes audios titled "Pass Through Panic" and "Going on Holiday".. I prefer the audios because you can take them anywhere and you will need constant reminder while your out and about so the audios will work best.. I too had a hard time just driving my son to school but that doesnt bother me anymore.. Its also a good idea when a spouse listens to the audios and helps remind the sufferer what to do in time of need because its goes against everything our mind/thoughts naturally wants to do like running back to our safe place.. Studies have shown that practicing CBT, combined with a small dosage of medication such as a Benzo had the greatest results for success over anything else.

Good luck!!

[bryan3000]

Quickly and simply... brain-fog is relieved by accepting and letting time pass. (Dr. Claire Weekes.)

She's right. As always, I recommend her books to anyone who hasn't read them. Read them all, and download the audio book, too.
They'll change the way you approach your anxiety. They can be life-changing, and it's all conceptually very simple.

[peter4685]

Thanks again for the support. I will look into Dr. Claire Weekes books.

I just arrived at home after seeing the Psychologist with my wife. The Psychologist said her gut feeling is that my wife is not suffering from anxiety....but suspects a chemical side affect from Thyroid medication. I then explained the panic attacks my wife had 3 weeks ago when we went to the mall. My wife did admit to the panic attacks. I feel my wife is in denial about the problem.....The Psychologist said she will research the derealization symptoms. She said derealization symptoms usually come and go away after a while. My wife says it has been constant for a year. She said the "brain fog" caused the panic attacks.

 We have an EKG test and heart halter monitor or something tomorrow.....I'm sure it will show she is fine....I want to tell her to face the facts....but I know she will totally deny the facts...and I want to be supportive and let the docs handle the facts....

Is it hard to admit to the problem??

Thanks again...

[peter4685]

Just got EKG done with wife. She was anxious all day today. She wanted me to stay home with her until the appointment....we will have the results in 10 days.

[Cuz]

Its very comon to keep the feelings and thoughts bottled up because you know knowone else will understand them anyways. And you end up spending alot of time trying to sort it out yourself (dwelling on them), which surely doesnt help matters either. The best advice I can give is gaining as much knowledge about it as possible so you learn that whats happening is not life threatening, even though it feels like it.. Your basically being bluffed into thinking something bad is going to happen and there are even symptoms there to back it up, which makes its even harder to believe that nothing bad will really happen.

The key to dealing with it is learning not to "react" to the feelings and thoughts with tension (fear and worry).. When a symptom or thought pops up you have to learn to relax, go with it and allow it to be there (no tensing against it) no matter how bad or teriffying it is or feels.. It goes agaisnt everything you mind/body was designed to do and thats why it can be so difficult and why you need constant reminder..

God luck!!

[peter4685]

Went to see the family doctor today. It seems like he still thinks she has some anxiety. We told him what the Psychologist thought about the cause being related to medication side effect.

We changed my wife's dose from 125mg Synthroid to 125mg L-Thyroxin. Both are synthetic Thyroxin.

Wife really felt sad today....almost like an anxiety/depressed mood....she says she's sick of having to deal with all of this.....Psychologist appointment next Wednesday.

No word on the heart tests yet.

[oneworld2010]

Hi.

its advisable that you talk to both your wife and the doctor about the possibility of her having depression alongside the anxiety. The two often go hand in hand. In some people depression leads to anxiety and vice versa. Also many of the medications for depression also have a ingredient to alleviate depression. the two depression and anxiety can often  be misdiagnosed (in that depression is diagnosed as anxiety). It would seem from what your saying that your wife may just be going the depressed way. believing that there is a problem with your mind and still waiting for the tests results from heart can do that. so much as it may aggravate the situation. Maybe you should think about that. the good news is that in so far as there are no issues with the heart, there are many medications that would give her relief from anxiety/depression not to mention therapy.

all best.

[peter4685]

Update on wife...

Things are going great.

After being mis-diagnosed for so long...it appears the vision fog was caused by Blepharitis....(this described the fog she was seeing)..she was misdiagnosed by 2 doctors, finally the 3rd discovered this. During the last 3 years my wife developed some sort of depression ...which was very scary... we ended up separating and she was dating online....but were back together now.

She is working and driving again!!!

It's been the worst 3 yrs of my life...but bright days ahead. All those supportive spouses: DON'T GIVE UP LOVING YOUR PARTNER!!! IT COULD BACKFIRE.

READ THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES, and give unconditional love in your partners language. It will help them.

[Hip]

After doing some reading, I think it is safe to say the medical term for "Brain Fog", is "Derealization". Does anyone agree with this? Here is a Wikipedia link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derealization

I don't think that is right.

Brain fog is the colloquial name for cognitive dysfunction.

Brain fog is a major symptom in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, celiac disease, untreated hypothyroidism, and also occurs during chemotherapy.

A good description of brain fog symptoms is found here:

http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/symptoms/a/brainfog.htm