Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Fibro Fog

Cover of "Fibromyalgia: A Natural Approac...Cover of Fibromyalgia: A Natural Approach

I've posted about my Fibromyalgia before. I'm learning more and more how to deal with it and what my limitations are. The thing about Fibromyalgia is there is a broad range of symptoms and one person might suffer from one or two of the symptoms while another person might suffer from 6-7 of the symptoms. Fortunately the main thing I suffer from consistently is intense fatigue. I don't have a lot of the pains I used to have on an everyday basis anymore...either that or else I'm just getting "used" to them and dealing with it.

Some ladies at my church started a support group last week for chronic pain sufferers. Last Sunday was our first meeting. Discussing symptoms, treatments, how to deal with the aches and pains, fatigue and such with people who understand what I'm going through even when I look perfectly fine on the outside was a tremendous blessing!

One thing I wasn't prepared for was this little tidbit...a woman was discussing some goofy thing she had forgotten to do and she said "Oh I just blamed it on Fibro Fog."

"Fibro what?!?"

Several people looked at me and one lady said "Fibro fog! You haven't heard of that?"

"Well, no actually I haven't."

She continued, "It's an actual side effect of fibromyalgia sufferers. Do you ever forget your words, have memory loss, get confused about stuff...like have a cloudy brain?"

By now the flashing bulbs and alarms are starting to go off in my head because I am REALLY getting excited...."Why YES!! Like EVERY SINGLE DAY!! Is THAT what's wrong with me??!!"

I have never been so excited in my life to find out that I'm not losing my mind. Fibro Fog is a side effect, BUT it is not a neurological condition like Alzheimer's or anything like that. I can work on overcoming it and modify my diet to possibly help. After researching this and learning more about it now I feel so much better.

I can't begin to explain the frustrations over the last 6-9 months that I've dealt with (and Greg has dealt with) because of things I've forgotten to do, or I've forgotten I've already done, or I can't quite find the right words to say...my words get jumbled and I have trouble spelling when I've always been an excellent speller before...to know that this is caused by my fibromyalgia and be able to pinpoint the problem is a freeing feeling. Now I have something to work with towards making my memory and confusion better!
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3 comments:

Rebekah said...

I have brain fog from my thyroid issue. I can't stand it. Most days are ok, but some days its a wonder I can remember how to drive home- lol

Claire said...

I don't have fibromyalgia, and yet, the fog! :) Sure hope you get some relief with the dietary changes.

Anonymous said...

I've spent most of my life managing FMS, my symptoms began to surface in my preteens. I have found the most invaluable tool for managing the fog. My iPhone (iPods or other similar device are just as good) is my constant companion. I use an app called 2Do to manage my recurring reminders and work projects. I use an app called Alarmed for quickly jotting down reminders of items to follow up on in the short term. This app takes two steps to record a reminder alarm and is super simple to use. It's very quick and effective. I also use the built in calendar and Ever notes for my note taking. 2Do, Calendar and Evernote all sync to my iPad and laptop through Mobile me ( there are other equally effective synching services) so all my devices are synched and my reminders and info is always available in any situation. I know it sounds like over kill but I known at my work place as a person with excellent memory and detail recall.