Brain Fog

Ah, brain fog. It is a common issue with many chronic illnesses. It is hard to explain until you have experienced it. I like to call it the “reverse Phenomenon”.

Update- 06/2020– Since I wrote this several months ago, my brain fog has significantly improved. I asked my husband if he would concur and he says, “Yes, you have been downgraded from a brain fog to a brain haze”. He cracks me up. I’ll take it! There hasn’t been any one thing that I could put my finger on and say “Aha! That’s the magic bullet”. It has taken a lot of intention to consistently do the things that I mention in this post.

The Reverse Phenomenon

Do you remember that movie Phenomenon with John Travolta? He was a small-town bumpkin who stumbles out of a bar, witnesses a cosmic flash of light, and wakes up with newfound intelligence and abilities. Brain fog is the reverse of that. Let me draw the parallels for you.

First of all, the main character wakes up and is suddenly a genius. With brain fog, you wake up one day upon the onset of illness and find out someone stole 99.9% of your brain cells.

John Travolta’s character learns Portugese in 15 minutes. With brain fog, you feel like this guy trying to spit out a sentence in English.

John Travolta’s character solves complex scientific problems. Meanwhile, this is me trying to get the kids ready for school.

What causes brain fog?

Dysautonomia International states that brain fog could be due to a lack of blood flow to the brain or the hyperadrenergic state of POTS. This would make sense. When I am more “potsy” (more lightheaded when I stand indicating a lack of blood flow to the brain), my brain fog is worse. These are just theories, though. The cause of brain fog is unknown and there are very few specific and meaningful studies so far.

The Mayo Clinic believes brain fog is the result of fatigue, pain, and stress- not disease or injury. They also recognize that there is frontal brain atrophy in patients with ME. Their thought is that this atrophy occurs because of a lack of stimuli from being sick.

I think Mayo’s opinion is partially valid, meaning they address part of the issue. There is no doubt that being sick and sick behaviors perpetuate brain fog. However, many of us had brain fog before illness ever slowed us down. I woke up one day and was like “WTH is wrong with my brain?”. It was a dramatic overnight situation. I think many others can relate.

How to treat brain fog

• Steady nutrition– If you are running on E from blood sugar crashes, that will just exacerbate brain fog. Maintaining a steady blood sugar means eating filling, nutrient-dense meals. You may need to eat salty/mineral-rich snacks in between as well if you have POTS. These will keep your body and brain on more of an even keel.
• Healthy fats– My nutritionist says that Omega-3 fatty acids are useful for brain fog. I can’t remember why anymore, which is ironic. I asked her about MCT oils like Brain Octane Oil. She said I would probably get more mileage from Omega-3’s. I still like Brain Octane and put it in the smoothies I make for breakfast. I also will add flax, hemp, or chia seeds, which are all rich in Omega-3’s.
• Ginseng– Ginseng helps energy, and more energy means less brain fog.
• Reading– Reading is excellent for stimulating our brains. You may find reading to be harder than it used to be. Don’t sweat it, just start where you can. I have gotten into biographies for this reason, they are easy to read and interesting. I like to read while I do the recumbent bicycle. If reading is a no-go, trying Podcasts or audio books, you can expand your mind through those as well.
• Learning new things– This stimulates brain activity and helps with brain fog. I had this in mind when I started this blog. I was on a steep learning curve because I am not the most tech-savvy person. The writing and idea organization involved in this blog has also been brain stimulating.
• Socialization– Reverses frontal lobe atrophy.
• Brain stimulating activities like Sudoku, coloring, puzzles, crosswords, logic puzzles, etc. These stimulate the frontal lobe of the brain. I have not been proactive about doing these lately. I had a 1000 piece puzzle started months ago with my sister-in-law. My older son was throwing himself a touchdown pass and dove into the puzzle table. RIP, puzzle. I have little motivation to redo the parts with 46,758 microscopic trees.

• Exercise– Exercise stimulates the brain. However, if you have ME, be aware exercise may actually worsen brain fog due to post-exertional fatigue.
• Caffeine– My neurologist recommends this for brain fog. Take caution, though, because everyone reacts to it differently. For me, caffeine just causes the jitters. For some others, it is significantly useful for cognition.
• Language learning– I don’t have any hard facts to back this up, but based on the benefits I have heard of learning a new language, this could be useful to stimulate the brain to improve brain fog. I was a Spanish minor in college, but have become very rusty. So, I listen to podcasts in Spanish such as the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. The Duolingo one is perfect if you’re rusty, it is slow and someone chimes in in English for context.
• Avoiding crashes– I discuss this in my post on Working Within Your Energy Envelope. In my experience, avoiding crashes as much as possible helps me avoid the worst brain fog.

Self-consciousness

Brain fog can make you feel like you are at a deficit and make you self-conscious in social situations. Here is what I have learned along the way that has helped me be at ease about it:

• People are generally too busy worrying about their own faux pas to notice your flubs.
• Most of the time, brain fog is undetectable. Usually the only ones who can tell are those closest to you, and they certainly aren’t going to be judgmental because they know your situation. We are our own worst critics.
• It can be a positive as you relate to others. For example, my friend who is pregnant was telling me about something and she lost her train of thought and said, “Ugh, sorry, I have the worst pregnancy brain this go around.” She was funny and real about it and it made me like her even more. Likewise, if we are real and lighthearted about it, we will relate well to others.
• No one sits around after an interaction and ponders how weird you are. It’s just not a realistic scenario. Can you imagine anyone wasting their time doing this?
• Have a sense of humor about it. If you laugh, they will laugh.

So, be kind and patient with yourself. Nearly every one you encounter will be patient and kind about it. And if they aren’t… is that really someone you need to concern yourself with anyway?

What helps you with “brain fog”?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.