HELP! Brain fog, fatigue, extreme short term memory loss, feeling spacey 24/7.

Mental health
1

The last year of my life has been a brutal one. At the age of 22, I am in the lowest of lows and I desperately need some help!

Here’s my tale:

About a year ago, a couple months after an extremely strenuous relationship, I began noticing that I was tired all the time…and all around, I wasn’t really satisfied. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed my friends, and activities…but life just wasn’t as bright and vibrant anymore after a month of noticing this ever-present fatigue, it got a bit stronger. I would wake up each morning completely zombie-mode…and that feeling would remain throughout the entirety of my day, until my head hit my pillow that evening.

Initially, I suspected some form of sleeping disorder. I set up a sleep study, got my thyroid checked, ferritin levels, all the basics. Sleep study revealed I sleep just fine and all my other blood tests came back negative.

The fatigue and the weight of the world slowly got worse over the next handful of months, UNTIL I woke up one morning and everything escalated greatly. I felt completely stoned. I couldn’t think right. I couldn’t concentrate. I felt inebriated. I felt totally disconnected and spacey. I felt as though I had no control over myself. I lost drive and motivation. I lost a lot of confidence.  I always had an incredibly sharp memory. It was actually something well known about me to those in my family and friend circles. Yet, on this morning, almost all new information could not be retained. Things that happened earlier in the day, by evening, I felt they happened a day or two before. I could no longer recount the activities I took part in. This is possibly the worst of all the symptoms. The extreme short term memory. I have no context for time and I sort of feel like I’m just floating through life suffering.

For months I visited doctors getting tested by specialists. I visited a neurologist, infectious disease, I had an MRI, & I had about 20 different blood tests. NOTHING. My doctor literally said “I have no idea what this could be. I am beside myself” TOTES reassuring! I tried altering my diet entirely to organic and all natural. I continued my workouts and ran 15 miles a week. I tried sleeping even earlier. I tried all I could think of .

I have scoured the message boards and found a few people suffering from the same, but without answers.

I’m not sure if depression is the culprit, but depression sure has found its nasty venom-coated fangs into my veins. Tired, depressed, failed memory, no drive, scared…it’s no way to live. I want my life back.

PLEASE OFFER INSIGHT! I will be so grateful J

Sincerely,

Taylorsaurus Rex

2

Have you asked your doctor if it could be cfs because these symptoms sound very similar to my husbands and he has cfs he gets servere brain fog where he just can't focus on anything let alone remember anything and he is tired all the time no matter how much he sleeps 

3

Hey! Thanks so much for your reply. Means a lot!

CFS was one of my earlier fears. Tho, I'm not sure I quite fit the bill. I hear with this syndrome often comes headaches and gnarly joint and muscle pain. 

How does he manage life? 

4

He takes quite a few different health supplements to help with the symptoms rests when not working,  it's not easy but tries to keep going best he can 

5

I've had CFS for a long time, and I have to say - if you are still able to do workouts and runs, it doesn't sound like what I've experienced . I tend to FEEL as if I've had a workout or a 15mile run when all I've done is walk to the shops and back! I also get muscle pain, which is like what you get when you've exercised after a break. I also get the brain fogs and poor memory when I hit a bad patch, usually when I've done too much. But it's a difficult syndrome to pin down- it tends to be what the doctors diagnose when they admit you are sick but they can't find anything else. It sounds like you are very anxious about the situation and that can exhaust you. Could you try relaxation exercises to calm yourself down, and see if that helps? I do understand what it's like to feel desperate and not know which way to turn but sometimes just doing SOMETHING can help you feel more in control. You could be reassured by all the tests showing what's NOT wrong. I've been having loads of tests because I'm thirsty all the time and urinating excessively but they've all come back normal so I tell myself all the things it CAN'T be. These forum sites are useful for sharing your concerns. I wish you well. 

6

I was almost in tears reading ur post because I am going through the exact same things you are describing. Have you found any answers? Because to he honest, it's scaring me. I need answers asap. Thanks in advance for any findings u have come up with.

7

Have you tried modafinil?  It might help some of your symptoms.

8

Hi

i was diagnosed with CFS around 12 years ago.

i can still remember the onset as I'd been feeling tired for a couple of years before this which was mostly due to under active thyroid and early menopause which started at age 39 and finish 1 year later.

i seemed to be up and down for a while until I was taking HRT and thyroxin and was prescribed citalapram.

Id bought an old run down Victorian building which needed a lot of work, had 2 small children and ran a business so I put it down to over stretching myself. 

Id fallen over in the street a few times and just didn't feel right, I couldn't gauge how high the stairs were and many times I'd tripped.resulting in being tested for vertigo which was negative but I'd say I struggled on for a few more months before I crashed and it was bad.

id woken up one morning but couldn't get out of bed, the light hurt my eyes and I was so tired my speech was slurred and my voice was croaky, when I got up to use the bathroom I was disoriented and fell back into bed sleeping on and off for the next 6 days. I couldn't remember anything then I went back to normal the next day as if it hadn't happened.

I was fine the next few days but concerned that I had the start of Parkinson's disease.

id suffered from RLS from aged 18 and the Meds I was taking treated Parkinson's so that was my initial worry.

A couple of days later I crashed again and this went on and off for around 6 Years in which time I was diagnosed with CFS.

My specialist told me to treat every attack as a flu and wait for it to subside.

It was a living nightmare but I had no answers as to what or why it was happening.

Ive read over the years other sufferers symptoms and light  excersises etc but can honestly say for me when an attack hit I couldnt get out of bed.

Brain fog, watering eyes, aversion to light and noise, I didn't have the energy to pronounce my words, I'd been unplugged from my energy source and there was nothing I could do but drift in and out of sleep dreaming bad dreams until it passed.

I would know when I woke on a morning if it was still there simply by moving my eyes. I could actually hear it, like an old fashioned camera shutter speed. I didn't believe I would ever recover and was in a very dark place.

I can't say I had any trigger factors except maybe stress but after about 7 years the attacks got less and less and I've not had a bad attack for over 3 years now. No one knows why I got better but I'd never take this contrition for granted.

I take vitamin b12 and everyday I take a 50 billion probiotic capsule which I swear by....

If I'm anything to go by people do get better

9

Hey TaylorMason!

I'm sorry i cant offer any insight, but in the past few months i have been feeling exactly the same way as you described!

I'm wondering if your haziness has cleared or lessened since your last post?

I considered CFS however i also havent really had any physical symptoms except for sensitivity to lights. Its like my body can keep going but my head is in the clouds.

Some days are okay, some days i wake up okay but then it sets in. But its been going for a while now and im really worried im getting early onset alzheimers or something haha.

I was working crazy hour weeks for some time so it could have been mental fatigue. But it still comes and goes even after a few months off from a holiday.

Basically, i have no idea what this could be and as much as it sucks, im glad theres someone else out there that understands how frustrating this is!

Please let me know how this has gone for you?

Thanks,

Amelia smile

10

Hi Taylor, I have been experiencing the exact symptoms you have been for about 1.5 years now. But I have experienced extreme headaches along with those symptoms.. I have been to the doctor countless times since and when I had an CT scan they found I had a polyp in my sinus, a deviated septum and about 3 other things wrong with my nose. I figured that was surely the cause of all these symptoms I've been having cause it was an obvious problem apparently. Anyways I had a surgery to correct those problems and I'm 2 months post op and still experiencing the same things before hand. I was told it can take up to a year to heal completely, but honestly I feel my nose has nothing to do with these symptoms I'm having.. Especially after reading your post. My doctors now recommended me to see a neurologist as you said you've already gone through so I really don't have much hope. Any who please update me if you figure anything out or if there is anything that seems to make you feel more "normal" thank you. -Christian

11

Hi. I had these symptoms and more for nearly 5years. Looked for answers everywhere. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with me. I was frustrated and very very depressed. Anyway to make a long story short I found out I was getting sick from silicone poisoning and the Mirena IUD was the cause of it. I had it removed instantly and within a few months nearly all my problems had disappeared. I still had to do a lot of detoxing for nearly two years after tho to get my silicone levels down. So I don't know if this applies to anyone here but if you have an IUD or breast implants and have these symptoms you should google Silicone poisoning from Mirena or implants. 

12

Hello guys

I'm experience something similar and have been managing it for the past 7-8 years. Do you all find that your dog comes and goes or is it constantly there? If it comes and goes, how long between episodes?

Thanks smile

13

What is CFS? Thanks

14

CFS is chronic fatigue syndrome, also called ME. It causes a wide range of problems including extreme fatigue ( often after the slightest exercise), muscle aches, concentration problems, and a lot more besides. It tends to be what doctors diagnose after tests have ruled out everything else it could be! I've had it to varying degrees for 30 years, possibly after a virus infection, I don't know.

15

Did you have mono recently? Epstein barr virus makes a mess. Even if it was a year ago it can linger and wont show on a test. You would need to revisit your diet. Go on and stay on the earth diet or clean diet. Learn juicing. That would be the start.

16

Thank you pixie!

17

I know I'm late with this but I've had the same symptoms for a long while and the drs I've seen have just passed me around. My PCP thinks it's Fibromyalgia. Starting to wonder if it's this CFS that's been mentioned in this post or are they the same thing??

18

Hey, I know this was well over a year ago But has any of this subsided? Have you come to a conclusion?

19

I have same exact symptoms! It is actually comforting to read all these other people are plagued with these same symptoms, with no related medical diagnosis. I am so frustrated with it, and it is effecting all facets of my life. I am now working with a naturopath, and we believe it's toxins in food, all the Round Up we eat, the stuff in pesticides binds to your neurotransmitters, also I get Keritin hair smoothing treatment, that is full of formaldehyde, inhaling it and letting it soak on you head goes directly into you bloodstream, yet another toxin that is going to bind to your neurotransmitters. Be very carefully what your eating and getting near you.

20

I'm so glad I found this thread!! I'm 21 and I've been having these symptoms for at least 3 or 4 years. I'm constantly hazy/foggy but it does seem to be worse at times. I've had various tests done on my heart which were all fine, blood tests were fine and didn't show diabetes, and generally I'm an active man. I spoke to the doctor about candida as I seem to match most of the symptoms associated with that, the doctor dismissed it and said "candida is a load of rubbish". I've now been referred to a neurologist, but will have to wait 3-4 months for an appointment, and that's if he agrees to see me!! other than the brain fog, I have an AWFUL MEMORY, long and short term, I'm often stressed and depressed, and lots of things play on my mind. I sometimes have trouble with balance, I haven't fallen over but sometimes I'm not 100% steady, and sometimes I struggle to pronounce words fully in a sentence, and words will come out in the wrong order or I'll slur the odd word slightly. I'm active, play sport (sometimes the brain fog is very sever during exercise) I get 8/9 hours sleep most nights and I don't drink much alcohol. I'd say I'm pretty much an average 21 year old man, but I'm having these awful symptoms, every minute I'm awake. I just want it to end!!!