brain fog?
 

I'm having a hard time describing this to my neurologist. She tells me that the brain fog is just a symptom of my headaches, but I think it's something different, brought on by movement among other things. The fog is a fuzzy state of consciousness where I'm able to go about my day, but in a haze. Other effects are dizziness, nausea, and headaches but generally the pain isn't terrible compared to normal migraines. Another side effect is a sensitive brain, meaning that if I jolt my head around at all, it intensifies all of the above mentioned effects.

This goes back to a concussion from a collision playing sports two years ago. I had headaches and brain fog for three or four months and a host of other symptoms, especially in the month or two immediately after the injury. The next year I was pretty much OK, but then I got another concussion on a much milder incident on the basketball court. Actually, I probably received the concussion but played again the following week not realizing that my light headed state that week was head injury related, especially after not having any major trauma that I could remember that would have caused it.

That led to another few months of dizziness and fog. A few months later I was ok aside from the occasional bad headache, but they generally were quick and sharp and something I could deal with. Driving at night would be an example of when those would kick in.

Another few months pass and then about 5 weeks ago...the brain fog is back. It started with a week or two with the migraine like headaches, but then it happened...the brain fog came back. The only thing I can point to is a return from my vacation for a month to work. Is it possible that simply working and using my brain and handling stress brought on what feel like the beginning symptoms of a concussion again?

The big question is, do you know about the brain fog? It's like I just got another concussion when it kicks in. It can happen drying my hair with a towel after showering. It can happen when driving over a bumpy road. Turning my head too quickly and ever so slightly bumping my head. I feel dizzy, lightheaded, and just fuzzy when I have these symptoms which can last for several hours at a time. Another way to trigger this is to manipulate my eyes, like keeping my head still and watching a finger go past my face each way. Doing this for a few seconds can leave me nauseous and dizzy for the rest of the day.

Back to the original point, the doc says this is just part of my headaches, but it's not like the headaches I also get that are just intense head pain. That pain is terrible, but I can take a sumatripton and that generally helps. At least when I'm feeling those headaches, my head is relatively clear, unlike with the brain fog which feels kind of like the bad end of a hangover.

Doc just put me on Topamax for the headaches. We'll see how that works, but will this have any effect on the fog or will just resting and trying to stay as stable with my head as I can for a long time until it's not quite as sensitive be the only thing I can do?

What about alternative therapies to these brain drugs? Acupunture?

ll44,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Wow, you sensitivity to head movement sounds just like mine. Do you ever get a strange taste in your mouth when you move your head too fast? I get a taste of chewing aluminum foil. I learned long ago how to towel my hair. It was a miserable experience. I have the same problem with bumpy roads. I have found a partial solution. When the road is rough, lean forward so your back does not touch the back of the seat. If your shoulders are hunched forward, it helps absorb the shock.

Your fog and other symptoms are classic Post Concussion Syndrome. You may have reached the critical mass of cumulative concussions and sub-concussive impacts to cause Multiple Impact Syndrome. MIP is a condition where some of the symptoms may last a long time. At my age and after 14 impacts, my symptoms have remained constant for 12 years.

Younger people have a better chance of recovery. I had to start making changes to my life in my mid 20's. I had to reduce stress and start a nutrition regimen. I recovered many normal conditions but not all.

The best way to help your brain recover is with quiet rest. That means cognitive rest in a low stress and low stimulation environment. Minimal noise/sound/voices and minimal visual stimulation/lights/moving objects, etc.

Any of the above stressors or cognitive effort can bring on fog, nausea, head aches, etc. It helps to learn how to keep stress and cognitive loads low so as to not trigger symptoms.

It takes work to track the triggers but it is worth it.

Feel free to ask questions and tell us more about your struggles.

My best to you.

I have the exact same symptoms regarding brain fog and tingling.

When I don't have the brain fog or tingling I am able to think clearly (i.e. 99% of what I used to be). However if I exert myself in any way, usually physically, I feel a strange tingling feeling in the left side of my head followed immediately by the brain fog. The tingling becomes quite prominent when I do physical work (even move), concentrate, or speak. Unfortunately it makes speaking very difficult for me and people at work have noticed. This fuzzy state lasts for 24-48 hours then, if I am mostly still, I am almost back to normal. I suppose this means that the condition might be temporary.

I have experienced this for almost 2 years now and I'm afraid to admit it is becoming worse.

Physical and cognitive rest do not appear to help.

It is extremely unlikely there will be a 'magic cure' to this problem either and, to be honest, reading these forums has only increased my anxiety.

Whilst taking time off work may promote recovery, this is not a practical solution unless we all start a personal fundraising enterprise. The majority of my colleagues suffer from standard headaches and, in the real world, we can't all just indefinitely take off work because of this.

My only suggestion is to accept the way things are for the time being (which is extremely upsetting I know) and keep trying to get rest and recover, however long that might take. Years in my case.

Stay strong.

There are plenty of ways to reduce stress and cognitive load. There are work-arounds to help get things done that are a struggle. The acceptance of the current symptoms and limitations starts the process. It does not mean you accept the struggles as permanent. It just means you accept them for now. Then, you can work to find work-arounds. As you learn work-arounds, your stress will be reduced. Eventually, you may realize that you have recovered many of your lost functions.

Those who have a long track record of head injuries have to seriously consider their long term options to reduce further injury and to promote best function.

Thanks for the response. It's good to know that this fogginess thing is a real thing and not just in my head. *Cough cough. It's pretty damn hard to describe this sensation and even the doctor doesn't quite get it.

So here's a question as my world starts to spin a bit just from looking at this computer screen. When I jar my head just a bit to get back in foggy spinny mode, am I reinjuring my brain? I swear it feels like I've just received another concussion and another and another when this happens, pretty much daily right now. Tell me that I'm not so sensitive that these are new concussions but rather just symptoms.

My next task is to figure out if making a big deal about getting off work would be worth it. I'd hate to ask for a week or two off if that's going to do little but make me even more of a hermit and get the work folks all mad at me. Then again, if taking time off could get me past this foggy baseline and back to the improved state where my biggest worry is migraines, I'd be thrilled.

But yeah, that hair drying, what a trip! That's the one thing I could pretty much count on in this two years, even when I thought I was better. If I slipped up and was just a little too rough with my head, it was lala land for me.

Let me add that no, I don't have the weird taste or even the tingling.

One of the big things about this foggy feeling, however, is that it feels like my braining is bouncing around in my head. If I move my head around just a little, it feels like the brains moves into my skull, creating pain. Not migraine pain, but braining bouncing around in my head pain. Does this sound familiar?

I have the same head movement/fog issues as you do AND I feel like my brain is bouncing around in my head. If I move my head down then back up I swear I feel my brain move coupled with pain.

I had my first physiotherapy appointment last week . I had to turn my head curtain ways and keep my eyes in fixed positions...after each exercise I was dizzy, nauseous and seeing black clouds. When I got home I had to take painkillers an sleep it off for almost 2 days. Sometimes it feels like somebody is pushing down on the top of my skull with their palm. :(

I almost feel like its having really bad flu all of the time or something.

I had the same experience with the neurologist last week. She made me follow her finger with my eyes, then all night I felt like I had been spinning in circles and was feeling the after effects.

Do you all find that there's medication that helps with the foggy spinny thing? I have sumatriptin to take for migraines, but I haven't tried it with the fog.

Xanax works well for me especially dizziness, panic attacks, head pressure, sound sensitivity, IBS, driving decently and some other issues. I am on lowest dosage .25 mg daily and quit all other meds. Next step for me is to find something to get that symptom reduction without Xanax :) Doctor prescribed Trazadone but right now I am just tired of trying any other new meds.

Cheers!

I know that finger test. I felt so ill afterwards!

Sometimes I take 2 paracetamol and go to bed. If in lucky i'll wake up not spinning but it's hit and miss. I don't really find anything helps with the fog., though haven't tried any specific medicine. I like to lie in the bath with candles and classical music, that's about the clearest head I get. But I have to be very careful not to have the water too warm or let it get too steamy otherwise I'll get dizzy all over again :cool:

I think that there's something about warmth that helps. It takes my mind off the pain, if i lay down with a hot water bottle. Also, lying on your back with one foot on the groud helps stop the room spin. It's all worth a try !

The neuro prescribed me topamax because she thinks the fogginess and dizziness is related to migraines. I'm at a point where I'm not really having migraines. I'm lethargic, dizzy, feeling a sense of nausea, and it's wearing on me. The constant endless grind of feeling poorly is taking a toll on my emotions as I'm sure many of you can understand and I'm feeling somewhat hopeless.

I'm two weeks or so into my Topamax regimen which I never really thought was right, but I was willing to try. As I look further and further into what it is, it appears the greatest side effects are exactly what I'm suffering from most. Dizziness, general malaise, and lack of clarity.

My question is now, what has Topamax done for you? If I'm not experiencing migraines, how can this be an effective treatment for me? If clearing the fog is what I need, why would a drug that seems to make one foggy be the choice of action? I'm about to stop and go back to nothing. At least that way I may be feeling foggy, but not crazy. Experience?

It sounds like your neuro is doing the "Try this and tell me if it helps." method of treatment. There is no consensus about using Topamax for Post Concussion Syndrome symptoms. Treating the migraines should be done with the concussion being serious consideration.

It is not uncommon for doctors to treat concussion symptoms as if they are not related to a concussion. Since very few doctors understand concussion, they tend to treat the PCS patient as a head ache patient only.

It is what makes PCS such a struggle.

I couldn't agree with the last statement more. I tried to make it clear on my latest visit to the neuro that my biggest problems recently have been with fog and ringing and spinning sensations, not with migraines. She didn't miss a beat and suggested that these symptoms were all related to my migraines. I tried to tell her again that migraines aren't a big problem for me right now as they were in the past, but these secondary symptoms are actually worse in my mind.

To that, I took the Topamax for two weeks and I started forgetting little things that I shouldn't. I missed a dentist appointment which I would never do. I kept missing the turn home from work. I'd leave something out all night that I wouldn't normally do. Spelling became more difficult. The dizziness may have gotten worse.

Maybe all of these symptoms were in my head, but after researching the drug and the condition more, it seems that a migraine drug isn't appropriate for somebody having my symptoms. In many people, like what I experienced, the other symptoms actually seemed to worsen a bit if not stay the same. The killer, however, was the forgetfulness. I've had shaky memory days since the injuries occurred, but in just two weeks on this drug, I felt like an Alzheimer's patient. Needless to say, the tradeoff, if there was one, just wasn't worth it.

I'll also note that I had the good fortune of being rear ended about ten days ago. It wasn't too serious, but was just another whip I didn't need. Now I'm getting three mailers a day from lawyers wanting to file suit on my behalf. Insane.

My main symptoms has been brain fog and after my 1st acupuncture session, am really amazed at how much the fog has lifted. It's still there slightly, but not nearly as bad as it was. It really is like seeing the world through a new set of eyes. And this is just from 1 session of acupuncture. I'd highly recommend it.

I have brain fog and also feel like I can feel my brain move when I drive over bumps in the road. I find this is coupled with all my other symptoms.

As you haven't already done it, why don't you try taking a couple of weeks off work and getting as much sensory and cognitive rest as possible?

It helped me but you have to plan it, otherwise you'll end up having an hour with nothing planned and end up re-calculating your finances, or something equally taxing :-)

" ... end up re-calculating your finances, or something equally taxing "
 

[QUOTE=Uk PCS Accountant;920758]
"As you haven't already done it, why don't you try taking a couple of weeks off work and getting as much sensory and cognitive rest as possible?" "It helped me but[U][COLOR="Blue"] you have to plan it, otherwise you'll end up having an hour with nothing planned and you'll end up recalculating your finances, or something equally taxing. :) "
__________________________________________________ ___________________________
Thank you, UkPCS accountant, for your subtle and dry Brit humor here.
I had to laugh at myself.
You helped me to 'see myself' as I may often end up frazzled, spinning my wheels, in the effort to 'mend my life' as it were.

and after having a decent couple of months where i even started getting back into decent shape, out of nowhere, the light headedness and fog have returned.

the best way i can describe my major symptom is like this...

hold your breath for as long as you can. that lightheaded dizzyish feeling is what i'm feeling, along with a bit of a headache all day when i'm up and about. of course as these symptoms persist, i start to battle with the frustration, depression, impatience, and all the rest that many of you know.

anyway, there was no trigger. no trauma. not much of anything as far as i know other than about three weeks ago it started slowly and has hit me full force. i haven't worked out or done much of anything other than work the last two weeks and nothing has helped.


anybody have any non chemical suggestions? i tried the seizure meds in the fall but they made it so i couldn't even remember how to get home. tried some anti depressant as well but they gave me a rash. any magic tricks like staying really hydrated or something i should consider? again, it's not so much the headaches, although they are there, but the feeling like i'm not getting quite enough oxygen to my brain that's bothering me the most. i'm afraid this may never ever end.