Brain Fog

[lyndsaylee]

I have had PsA for nearly 10 years. Besides all the pain, one of the hardest things to cope with is the brain fog. I used to be fairly articulate, and could remember most everything. Now, it’s difficult to remember what I did yesterday and I often find it difficult to “get words out”. It’s very embarrassing and stressful at work and even sometimes in my personal life. I sound slow and it sometimes takes way too much time to do simple things like compose a simple email message. Not infrequently I can’t remember conversations I have had or it takes me a bit to recall them. Yesterday evening I found a bag at my home that had some supplies in it that I purchased for work weeks before. People had asked if I had purchased them and I said yes, of course. When asked where they were I couldn’t recall where I put them. I knew I had bought them and had myself convinced that I actually brought them to work. But alas! they were still at home. 😯 I feel so stupid. I have to bring them in to work today and what will I say?

My job is a very busy one – lots of detail and I frequently have to multi-task. It takes everything in me to try to stay on top of it like I used to. But the biggest problem is remembering things. My current boss is not very sympathetic. She says she understands – her sister has lupus – but she makes rude comments and shows her disgust when it’s obvious I’ve had another memory lapse. It’s understandable that she might feel annoyed but I want to shout “you don’t understand – this is not how I am!”

I lose a lot of sleep due to pain and insomnia so I know that doesn’t help. Also, just so you know, I have recently switched medications – I was on Minocycline for years but now am on Clarithromycin twice a day every day and Flagyl 3 times a week.I take Etodolac twice daily. I have greatly modified my diet – no gluten, dairy, sugar, or nightshades. I do eat rice and some corn and beans because I am so underweight and keep losing. Presently I am 90 pounds. I have started taking supplements, including 10,000 IU’s Vit. D. (prescribed by AP doc) I am careful to take it and B vitamins in the morning.I’ve been on this new protocol for close to a month and have had some wowie herxing.

From reading other websites this morning, I know I am not alone with this brain fog problem. I would greatly appreciate it if you who can relate will share your experiences and what helped you. I need some encouragement. (ps – it took me over an hour to write this – case in point) 🙄

Laura

[Todd WI]

Hi Laura,

Did you notice any increase in brain fog when you switched your meds? I ask because I had a very hard time with Flagyl. People sometimes accuse me of being a bit dopey but when I was on Flagyl there was no doubt, any natural tendencies toward dopiness were greatly magnified. Slow speech, brain fog, forgetfulness, confusion… I had it all.

Potential Flagyl side effects include:
* changes in speech patterns
* confusion
* slurred speech
* trouble speaking
among others

Todd

[lyndsaylee]

I have had this problem for some time now. But it does seem to have gotten worse since the new medication. I haven’t been able to figure out if it’s from the PsA itself or the medications I have and am presently taking. Also, like I said, I lose a lot of sleep and the present herxing isn’t helping the situation. I do feel a bit better when I get a good night’s sleep. So, Todd, what did you do?

[Todd WI]

I had to stop taking Flagyl. That got me back to my normal level of dopiness, which is probably still somewhat magnified by my PsA and associated energy and sleep issues.

[jasregadoo]

Regarding your serious herxing, I had a lot of pain when I increased my Vit D to 5,000 mg. I know that low vit d is a common problem with people with autoimmune issues, but these high doses cause some of us problems. Others tolerate it fine.

I now take 1000 mg of D, and am in much less pain.

[lyndsaylee]

Thanks for the info, jasregadoo. I guess it’s going to take some time for me to figure out what’s what. I love that you’re off Aleve – Yay! I would love to get off the Etodolac but presently that’s not an option. I am going to seriously try the diet at least for a while to see if I have any results. Dr. said eat as much meat as I want and include liver once a week which I thought was rather odd since many say vegetarian diet helped them. I don’t love meat but I eat some and I must admit I haven’t been able to get myself to buy liver, much less eat it!! 😀

I’ll give it a little more time before I start experimenting with Vit. D and Flagyl and of course, do them one at a time to see which – if either – is the culprit. So long as I can handle the herxing with Etodolac I’m thinking the herx is actually a good thing. ?? Comments, please.

[jasregadoo]

How long have you been on this diet? I know that some people do find great benefit from doing just as you are doing, but your weight seems very low and without any of those items, it seems difficult to get some of it back. (I’d happily send you 20lbs if I could!)

So if you see some benefit from it, perhaps try to narrow down the problem foods by adding something back. Dairy first maybe, and see if that causes problems. If it doesn’t, then there’s likely no need to stay off of dairy. Lots of calories and protein in milk and cheese!

Good luck to you.

[A Friend]

@lyndsaylee wrote:

Thanks for the info, jasregadoo. I guess it’s going to take some time for me to figure out what’s what. I love that you’re off Aleve – Yay! I would love to get off the Etodolac but presently that’s not an option. I am going to seriously try the diet at least for a while to see if I have any results. Dr. said eat as much meat as I want and include liver once a week which I thought was rather odd since many say vegetarian diet helped them. I don’t love meat but I eat some and I must admit I haven’t been able to get myself to buy liver, much less eat it!! 😀

I’ll give it a little more time before I start experimenting with Vit. D and Flagyl and of course, do them one at a time to see which – if either – is the culprit. So long as I can handle the herxing with Etodolac I’m thinking the herx is actually a good thing. ?? Comments, please.

Lyndsaylee — and Jasregadoo,
About your doctor’s comment about eating meat, and including liver once a week. Especially if you are Blood Type A (known to have difficulty digesting protein), or not, you could possibly already have a problem digesting meat… plus we who have chronic illnesses are very likely to have overly acidic bodies and lack magnesium and other minerals for adequate detoxification. When the body doesn’t have enough minerals (and especially too much calcium and not enough magnesium), the liver cannot cleanse the body during its nightly liver detoxification, and ends up having to store those acidic wastes in the body (most often in the hands and feet, which are further away from vital organs). This additional storing of acidic wastes can cause further pain and toxicity in the body.

It’s a balancing act to keep our pH in the slightly alkaline range it needs to be in to be healthy. If you do a search at the top of the Bulletin Board on the first page of it in the little search box, using any of these words or conditions, you will probably find much written about this, along with links to read more.

Along with what I”ve shared, many of us very probably have problems with adequate lymph detoxification. This subject was not on my radar at all… ever. Until recently, when my physicians and I had ruled out the usual things, with problems still existing. I had overt problems of serious things, but the tests kept coming back normal; but the proof existed and was chronic. Finally, there was a telltale “little beacon light” that pointed to the culprit… and that was the lymph system. With the cause of my longterm chronic illness discovered in spring of 2014, and surgery done to correct the problems, things improved greatly… but the previous acute culprit (IBS) somewhat returned 2 to 3 months ago. That’s when I had to work on (and solve) this latest “mind bender.” [It is good for us to study and learn all we can. If I hadn’t recently set about to educate myself on the lymph system, and how it works, I would not have learned how it uniquely detoxes two sides of our body and more, (plus I had a bit of luck with a telltale small gristle-type lesion), I would still be in the dark.

Again, good luck to you both and everyone.

AF

[PhilC]

Hi Laura,
@lyndsaylee wrote:

I have started taking supplements, including 10,000 IU’s Vit. D. (prescribed by AP doc) I am careful to take it and B vitamins in the morning.

Are you taking of 10,000 IU of vitamin D once a day, or once a week?

@lyndsaylee wrote:

From reading other websites this morning, I know I am not alone with this brain fog problem. I would greatly appreciate it if you who can relate will share your experiences and what helped you.

I found that supplementing with magnesium is very helpful. But not just any magnesium — some forms are next to worthless.

I take two different kinds of magnesium:
NOW Foods Magnesium Citrate (200 mg of magnesium per tablet)
Source Naturals Magnesium Malate (142 mg of magnesium per tablet)

I take one tablet of magnesium citrate with breakfast, and a tablet of magnesium malate with dinner. I use that combo because when I tried taking just one kind of magnesium (citrate or malate) I experienced insomnia and/or muscle cramps in my feet.

By the way, I also had insomnia. Supplementing with good-quality magnesium cured it. The cheap magnesium (i.e., magnesium oxide) I had been taking did nothing for my insomnia.

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[lyndsaylee]

Thanks Phil and Friend for your replies. Phil, I will try both kinds of Magnesium. I have only been taking Magnesium Citrate and sometimes take an Epsom Salt bath (magnesium sulfate.) I will get the Magnesium Malate and see if that helps. Thanks! I am taking that amount of Vit. D every day. I know – seems like a lot, right? But I’m trying to follow AP doctor’s advice. (I might not be getting exactly that much because the dosage is 1 dropperful = 5000 IU’s and my dropper doesn’t fill all the way.)

Friend, I am type O – which from my research is supposed to do ok with meat. Not only ok, but great. I don’t love meat as I said before. But I do eat it – mainly chicken and turkey. Rarely beef. I will have to get some ph strips and see where I’m at.

I’ve stopped taking calcium supplements at the advice of AP doctor. She said just take magnesium. So I haven’t taken Calcium for about a month. I’ll have to search the forum for lymph detox and read up on it. What did you do to detox? I don’t know what you mean by “it detoxes two sides of our body.”

[A Friend]

@lyndsaylee wrote:

Thanks Phil and Friend for your replies. …… I’ll have to search the forum for lymph detox and read up on it. What did you do to detox? I don’t know what you mean by “it detoxes two sides of our body.”

This is one of the links I found informative/interesting. I’m rushing, and will send another or two later, if this doesn’t have the information that tells about the lymph system addressing our body on two sides. It was interesting about the differences… and I’m remembering the left side especially got my attention.

http://www.diagnose-me.com/symptoms-of/lymphatic-congestion.html
Lymphatic Congestion: Overview
The Lymphatic System is a drainage network of fluid, organs and vessels that is responsible for the removal of cellular debris, large proteins, foreign bodies, pathogenic agents (bacteria, viruses, toxins etc.) and excess fluid from the extracellular spaces. The lymph moves through the lymph nodes, which act as active purification centers.
(Article continues..)

AF

[PhilC]

Hi Laura,

Avoiding all nightshade vegetables and all foods that contain them could be very helpful. They are: eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers of all kinds (e.g., cayenne, chili peppers, paprika, pimento, green peppers, bell peppers, sweet peppers, etc.). Foods that typically contain nightshade vegetables are catsup/ketchup (of course), barbeque sauce (of course), salad dressing, “spice,” and mayonnaise (usually contains paprika). A few brands of mayonnaise do not contain paprika, so reading a bunch of labels can sometimes pay off.

Some additional reading material:
The “No Nightshades” Diet

Avoiding all nightshade vegetables may not do much for your brain fog, but it could have a major effect on your pain. I am almost 100% pain-free, but if I accidentally eat some food that contains a nightshade (like red pepper), my joints will start aching within hours.

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[lyndsaylee]

Thanks, Phil. I am nightshade free (started a month ago) but sheesh, pepper is in everything! And if not pepper, potato starch! I am gluten free, dairy free, sugar free and nightshade free. Thanks for the link for the nightshade free diet. Maybe it will give me some good ideas for snacks.

The other night I had a chicken taco on corn tortilla. Not the best I know, but I was visiting my daughter and we needed to eat something. I could tell from the first bite it had pepper in it and who knows what else. I only ate one but boy did I ache that night.

Being on so many “free” diets, it seems like there’s not a lot left, especially in the snack department – and oh, on top of it I am supposed to gain weight! 😆 So it’s been challenging, but little by little I am finding things I can eat and adapting to this new diet. If anyone has any good ideas/recipes, please chime in.

[Author]

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