Cognitive Fatigue
 

I've noticed that when I overwork my muscles that my thinking abilities dwindle. For instance last night I was cooking dinner and by the end I was walking in circles trying to figure out what to do next. After I took my Mestinon and sat down I gradually recovered. It made me think about a documentary I saw about how cold affects brain function. I don't remember the name of the documentary but it was determined that being exposed to low temperatures can cause a person to became mentally impaired because the body is too busy trying to keep the body warm that the brain doesn't get the resources it needs. I was wondering if that's why my brain seems to take a detour for a while. Maybe my body is trying to take care of the muscles and puts the brain on hold. I'm not a doctor or a scientist -- I'm just speculating.

This is an interesting question.

In the early stages of my MG, I suffered from severe cognitive dysfunction.

I had severe memory issues and I had illogical thinking. My neurologist thinks that I was on too many drugs. I think that my reaction to these drugs (ambien, clonezepam) was so severe because they caused respiratory suppression. I think that I must have been a little bit crazy to listen to the doctor that prescribed them.

I guess that it is also possible that the cognitive problems were caused by the MG.

I had cognitive fog during my early symptoms too, I think it was because I had to concentrate so hard just to walk, talk or chew. I still have to concentrate hard to do these task, but I think my brain is used to it now


kathie

The only medication I'm taking right now is Mestinon, and I was having problems with cognitive fatigue before I started the Mestinon.

I think your explanation is correct.
MG takes us from doing things in autopilot mode to manual mode.
Our brain has to adjust to that.
Our ability to do multi-tasking is compromised, because we are already occupied in the seemingly trivial tasks of daily living healthy people don't even thing about.

That's a good way of putting it. When I cook dinner now, I can only do one thing at a time. If I have to cut vegetables, then I chop first and then do the cooking, because I will burn whatever I'm cooking on the stove top while trying to cut the veggies. It frustrates me because I used to spend a lot less time in the kitchen because I used to be able to multi-task without any problems.

Don't forget to sit when you do things. It does help. Think about saving as much energy while you are doing things you have to so that you can do things you WANT to. ;)

I wouldn't assume that all the cognitive issues are with MG, though. A vitamin B12 deficiency can be very insidious and damaging. And it's common. I had early dementia before mine was diagnosed back in 1999. If you get any sensations like numbness or tingling in your hands/feet/face or any hypersensitive nerve feelings, see your doctor!

I used to multitask too. I've simplified my life and what I do to adapt to MG. On those days when you're worse, have some paper plates around so that you don't have to do dishes! Or have "picnic" type food in your fridge that doesn't need cooking. Or take that extra nap to fill up your muscle tank a little more.

I don't function well if I don't have enough sleep or enough good food. I think with MG, we have to take meticulous care of ourselves in all aspects of our lives in order to simply function.

Annie

I sit down for everything. I have a kitchen stool and sit to cut vegetables or prepare dinner. I lower the ironing board and sit to iron. When I cook it is always for 2 or 3 meals. I put one in the fridge for later in the week and 1 in the freezer. So I end up cooking only about 2 days a week. This conserves a lot of my energy. The dishes are my daughters job!

I have simplified my life. I go shopping only once a week or every other week. I buy a lot of prepared food for the nights I am too fatigued to cook. I do all the shopping I can online.

I go up & down the stairs only once a day, very, very slowly. If I forget something upstairs, I make do without it.

I have made a lot of accomodations in my life.
kathie