Coping Strategies for Brain Fog?

[Restorer]

Since I've been on hemo for more than a year, my concentration, memory, and energy have been getting worse and worse. After a few months, I got off regular clonidine and metoprolol, and that really helped my energy, but my brain fog has slowly gotten worse.

The last time I did anything significantly brainy (a coding project) was when I was still on PD. Now, when I try to learn anything new, it just doesn't "click." I have the hardest time remembering things. My mind goes blank so often that I have to write everything down. If I don't write things down when I need to ask the doctor, nurse, or social worker about something, they slip my mind and I miss my chance to ask.

All of my labs are good. Hemoglobin last month was 11.6 (I'd prefer if it were 13+, but the range is 11 to 12 now, I guess). I usually sleep well. I'm eating more now than I used to.

Has anyone had severe brain fog and gotten past it without a miracle like a transplant? Is there anything I should try?

Has anyone had this and gotten over it (without an obvious fix like a transplant)?

[jbeany]

What about all the non-d labs, like vitamin levels?  Are there any that could use supplements?  Can you push for better than acceptable dialysis results?  Push up your run time, etc?  I know I did better when I pushed for as much as I could get.

Other than that - I bought post-it notes by the cart load.

[jeannea]

I feel the brain fog too. I got off of my seizure med but that didn't help. I used to read books constantly. I had all this scientific info in my head from work. Now I have trouble concentrating long enough to read a magazine article.  I would love to hear solutions but I suspect there aren't many.

[Riki]

I have noticed something lately that I think goes along with the brain fog.. I've found that when talking to people, mostly my mom, that my mouth goes faster than my brain does, and I start to stutter, as I try to remember what it was I was trying to say

I'm thinking I should probably mention this to somebody

[Restorer]

What about all the non-d labs, like vitamin levels?  Are there any that could use supplements?  Can you push for better than acceptable dialysis results?  Push up your run time, etc?  I know I did better when I pushed for as much as I could get.

Other than that - I bought post-it notes by the cart load.

I haven't seen my labs that aren't charted on my "report card" since I've been on PD. I have an appointment for a physical on Thursday, so if additional labs are taken then, I'll ask about making sure they're okay (and maybe ask for a copy?).

I have plenty of Post-It Notes and I type everything into my computer. 

I have noticed something lately that I think goes along with the brain fog.. I've found that when talking to people, mostly my mom, that my mouth goes faster than my brain does, and I start to stutter, as I try to remember what it was I was trying to say

That happens to me too. I end up talking very slowly, with lots of long pauses.

I get to dialysis, get my weight, they ask how much I want to take off... and my brain stops. I can't get the numbers to go together to get the weight difference plus the rinseback in my head, it's all just blank. I have to stand there going uhhhhh for a long time before I can come up with a number, and sometimes it's not quite right even then.

[MooseMom]

I have noticed something lately that I think goes along with the brain fog.. I've found that when talking to people, mostly my mom, that my mouth goes faster than my brain does, and I start to stutter, as I try to remember what it was I was trying to say

I'm thinking I should probably mention this to somebody

I had major surgery almost 3 years ago (nothing renal related), and I spent several nights in intensive care because I just wouldn't wake up.  The anesthesiologist was baffled and, frankly, frightened (according to my husband).  After that episode, I started having the opposite problem...my brain speeds up and my mouth doesn't keep up, particularly if I am tired or upset.  I have to will my thoughts to slow down.  It's a sort of aphasia, it seems.  And I used to be astonishingly good at identifying actors and actresses 30 years after I had seen them in some show when I was a kid, but now I seem to have lost that ability to some degree.  It's really embarrassing and frustrating.  But I know it is not just my imagination because even my husband has noticed it.  I sometimes can't find the word I'm looking for, and I swear I can feel my brain going through its files, trying to find just the right word.

I KNOW the anesthesia is to blame, and it does make me wonder if what happened to me was caused by something that is recreated by the dialysis process.  I will be interested to see if it gets worse once I am on dialysis.  I'm going to mention this to my doc...if I remember.

One thing that occurs to me though; there is so much to think about when it comes to CKD/dialysis.  I know that I spend an inordinate amount of time on the miles of red tape that come with arranging appts, ordering meds, renewing prescriptions, and I sometimes think there is just no brain room for anything else.

[Riki]

My best friend was brain injured years ago, not sure when, but before I met her.  She has a similar problem.  If she can't get the word she wants, she will stop speaking entirely.  She gets rather frustrated with herself over it, as she believes it hinders her professionally as an actor, although, in the few of her performances I've seen, I never saw her having this problem while performing. *G*  One of the first times I met her, I saw this happen to her, and she got so angry with herself.  I took her hand and told her to relax, and she was able to continue with the conversation after that

It wasn't until after I posted the last time, describing what it was, that I saw how similar her speech problem was to mine, even if it's caused by different things

[Poppylicious]

This is completely unhelpful for Restorer (sorry!), but I suffer from 'brain fog', from my brain going too fast for my mouth and from my mouth going too fast for my brain. Like Riki's friend I will often have to stop talking if I can't say the word which exists on the tip of my tongue.  I can, and do, forget what I'm talking about half-way through a sentence. VERY frustrating.   

I have never had a brain injury (although I allegedly suffered a fractured skull after falling off my bike aged six, but when they re-x-rayed me the next day it had miraculously healed itself) and I don't have any kidney reated issues.  I have never had an operation.  I actually think it's to do with how tired/stressed I am.

*shrug*

Thankfully Blokey doesn't seem to suffer from it.

I hope you find some sort of solution Restorer.

[Ranman]

I felt to chime in on this subject since I do identify with this.  For starters I appreciate the comments concerning the post it notes because it helps me understand my mother-in-law’s desire to keep notes in front of her for reminders.  I will be supplying her room with a pad of Post Its tomorrow.  She does need reminder cues quite a bit due to her brain fog.  When she was being challenged to find her dry weight the crashes from blood pressure dips were disconcerting to say the least.  The effect those crashes had on her I have pondered a lot.  She was also having low blood sugar levels until she began snacking in mid session.

My wife functions with reminder notes a lot, since she is visually oriented with her memory.  I too have the word lapse moments in mid sentence.  I could share my excuse for that which would get me off the hook but I usually don’t.  Back in 1990 I was in a horrific accident  which put me in ICU for 3 weeks with no memory of any of those 3 weeks.  I wore the gearshift lever of the vehicle in my head until surgery.  I must say that by the grace of God when my cerebral “computer” rebooted I could recall the date of my accident which a nurse had informed me of the previous day.  I was also adapting to the loss of an eye and months of sinus infection since the 1” knob of the gearshift lever had passed through the sinus cavity. 

Saying all that to say this… Yes, I’ve had some brain fog myself.  When I struggle to get the right word in a conversation I’m still learning to keep trusting God for that right word to come because it’s like you need that specific word for clarity.  I know my account on this is not brought about by dialysis but this may help explain my compassion for my mother-in-law and you all who deal with so many detours on your roads of life.
Ranman

[MooseMom]

Well, Ranman, I think you have a very good "excuse" for your brain fog.

I have foggy brain, like I said, and I haven't even started D yet.  Gosh, once I do, I hope I can remember my name.

One thing I will say, though, is while it is true my mouth can't always keep up with my brain, it also seems the case that my reading speed has increased.  I've always been a fast reader, but nowadays I read so quickly that watching subtitled films (I love foreign films, NOT dubbed!) has become annoying because the subtitles are so SLOW!  The brain is strange.

My ex-husband sends me a slim leather bound Lloyd's of London diary each year; I have a diary from each year since 1985.  I use the diary to keep myself reminded of important things.