...DEFEAT Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: ...............................................................You don't have to live with it
  • Home
  • About
    • This Site
    • Martha
  • Participate
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Submissions
  • Links
  • Book
  • Further Lessons
  • Thanks

ME/CFS Brain Fog – Write It Down

6/5/2012

4 Comments

 
Picture
In the last two weeks I have been on a whirlwind of travel:  A wedding, a graduation, an engagement party, a baby shower, an annual family gathering, a retreat for my daughters friends and finally some quality time together for my immediate family.  When I finally sat down at my computer on Sunday, it all seemed like a blur.  I could hardly recount the details of the elapsed time.  And of course I began to think about the ever present brain fog that plagued me when I was struggling with ME/CFS. 

During that time, my brain felt like a thick brick on the verge of succumbing to a two week flu.  But I just remained in that state for month after month until a year had passed and more.  My agility with numbers was lost.  My train of thought in conversations was non existent.  And most importantly my sense of time, of lost hours, of routine, of reality was fiction.  I came to realize that I couldn’t count on my recall of even the past few days let alone weeks or months.  After spending a lot of time in denial of this, I finally admitted to my lack of reliable memory.  This realization came at about the same time that I decided that the only way for me to get better was to figure it out myself – a case study of one.  So I began, at first reluctantly, to write things down.  But as the data grew, day by day, into weeks and then months, it was hard to deny.  There it was on the page.  A life that I knew was a correct description but not one that I could have remembered on my own.

Writing it all down in a daily health record was the beginning of my return to health.  And also the end of my denial that my brain fog was a hindrance.  How does your brain fog affect your struggle with ME/CFS?  What are your strategies?  Please COMMENT or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them.  You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays.  And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,

Martha


4 Comments
Tim B
6/10/2012 03:29:52 pm

When first dealing with my symptoms, and before I had any idea what this illness was called, I remember being outside photographing, and having a hard time 'putting it all together'. Photography relies not just on making a creative composition but often thinking about the technical parts, like aperture and shutter speed.

Later I noted like you Martha that I could not add columns of numbers as I had, and I was worried. It's very strange not having an ability after being able to do something well and almost without effort. So I started reading aloud the end titles for movies, all of the names of the people as they scroll across the screen. I've also started reading again, though often only a page or two. And reading well written articles - and blogs :) All of these have helped a great deal, I feel my 'mental powers' are similar to before though pain can be a great distraction at times.

Reply
Martha
6/11/2012 11:23:58 am

Tim, If you're beginning to recover your mental agility then the fog must be lifting. Great!

Reply
Deborah
8/15/2012 11:26:58 am

Hi Martha and I am happy to hear about your release from the cognitive difficulties we with ME so often have. Besides lack of energy the brain fog is the most difficult part of this illness. I used to dance, play music and organize music workshops....that was 25 years ago. Then because I could no longer do those things I started to paint and I loved it. Now I try and can not get anything accomplished in that realm. My creative process has just quit. Even when I do paint it is nothing close to what I used to do. Perhaps beginning to write it all down will help, I am up for anything

Reply
Martha
8/15/2012 04:06:04 pm

Deborah, I can only begin to understand how frustrated you must be dealing with ME brain fog all these years. And it can be disheartening to struggle with your creativity. I encourage you to do everything you can to understand your version of ME. By this I mean start writing it down - a daily health record. And maybe a creative log where you write your ideas, imagery and sketches. Your creativity is still there, it's just hidden behind a veil of memory loss. If you haven't read thru my protocol, please do. If what you've been doing isn't working, maybe it's time to begin anew with a new approach. And let us know how you're doing.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Hello,  I'm
    Martha Kilcoyne

    Welcome
     to our Community!

    After struggling with CFS for four years I am fortunate now to be fully well and making choices about how I want to live my healthy life.  One choice is to be an active part of the CFS community and to offer one voice from the fully recoverd to the dialogue.  I'm glad you're here!   For more about me, here's my Bio.

      Join Our Community
      Enter your email address to
      follow this blog.

    Join

    For Books, Supplements, Sleep aids and more

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011

    Categories

    All
    Appreciation
    Attitude
    Being Positive
    Brain Fog
    Choices
    Community
    Connect
    Coping
    Data
    Diagnosis
    Doctor
    Emotions
    Energy
    First
    Food
    Funding
    Genetics
    Goals
    Gratitude
    Groups
    Guest Blog
    Gut Feelings
    Health
    Helping
    Holidays
    Hope
    Humor
    Immune Support
    Inner Voice
    Ion Channelopathy
    Irony
    Isolation
    Journal
    Log
    Mantra
    Memory
    Mind
    Negativity
    Nutrition
    Opinions
    Organizations
    Outlook
    Pace
    Participate
    Patience
    Patterns
    Personality
    Perspective
    Protocol
    Provider
    Pushing Too Hard
    Pushing Too Hard
    Record
    Recovery
    Relapses
    Research
    Resolutions
    Rest
    Sleep Depravation
    Step By Step
    Step By Step
    Strategies
    Supplements
    Support
    Take Control
    Take Control
    Thankfulness
    Vacation
    Variables
    Version

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Copyright © 2011-2012
    Triple Spiral MEDIA LLC