I tried searching for this topic, but I guess I don't know the proper wording - came up no results found. So, I'll try it this way! Sometimes I feel anxious about my OWN brain function! It seems the simplest words, thoughts, etc. escape me. I eventually think of it, but a few weeks ago, it took me two days to come up with the word "scotchgard"! I had just had D's recliner cleaned & scotchguarded, & I could no more remember that word than fly to the moon! Sometimes, I feel like I'm doing things in a really stupid way instead of the "right" way - you know, the way I've always done things. D is NOT that far along that I must spend 24 hours a day at his bedside (or chairside!). In fact, at the end of June, I'm planning to be gone to visit family, total of 4 days. I'm going to have the woman across the street check in on him, our son will be in & out, meals will be planned (he probably won't pay any attention to notes, though - reads them, then throws them away!). Maybe a change of scenery will do me some good. I feel like I need to exercise my brain - there is a fog around it. I already take an antidepressant, so that shouldn't be the problem. Just wondering if anyone else has "brain fog".
Yes!!! And it scares me. Sometimes I think the person I'm talking to thinks I have really lost it. Its not just names which is a problem for lots of people but a complete blank in the middle of a discussion.
my personal experience is that we are caregivers who get burned out over time and the lack of socialization plays an important part when this happens. I think it may be quite common for us to lose our thought processes along the way with so much stress and anxiety over this disease and how it affects our lives. I have been at this 13yrs and it happens to me a lot as well. we need to find ways to relax detox and distress as much as possible. if nothing else talk on the phone it helps stimulate the brain and verbal abilities. with all the tech gadgets we are using more and more our natural abilities to speak and think out loud become weakened. some meds may cause brain fog as well.
Sometimes some medical conditions can cause brain fog such as Meniere's Syndrome. When I have an active phase of it, I get the phog..and I will type words backward. Of late, I can think that there are times I start to wonder about pulling up the word or that I am slower at putting it all together..I do think that we as caregivers have so much to recall on behalf on our spouse, our own appointments, getting cars in for tune up, get the windows fixed, get a new fridge when the 12 year old one croaks, run the plethora of errands and take our LO to appointments...when there is just no end to all of this and so little time for our own pleasures, we are mentally fatigued and that is a lot different than the forgetfulness of dementia. I would talk this over with the doctor, however, as maybe a med adjustment for an antidepressant could be in order..maybe it is too strong or not strong enough and lord knows our own sleep and rest patterns are disturbed. One technique I am working on is relaxation, be it going in the yard and listening to birds and nature noises or just snuggles with my quiet Xena The Warrior Princess kitty...her purrs are soothing.
Itis happening to me more often,can't think of a word I want to use,makes me look like a fool.Also can't recall a person's name that I have contact with often. I have started to play the Lumosity brain games(just the freebies) but am thinking of joining.I do play games on the computer as often as I have time.Hoping to keep what's left of my brain that is intact after all this caregiving.Could old age be creeping up on us?
Caregivers often have dementia symptoms due to stress. And we are more aware of problems.
This could be a sign that you are reaching your limits on how you currently care for your husband and that you may need to make a change to relieve some stress from you. Easier said than done.
The topic was "renewed' by someone out there - thank you! I guess it isn't just me, then..... I have the previous posts & this one bookmarked! Have to, or I wouldn't remember what it was :)
One good thing I have heard...and I am sticking with it.....if we think we have the dementia problem because we recognize the symptoms then we prolly don't have it...Not good to dwell too much on this. Just think, look how much we have to remember about and for our LO who can't recall much of anything. And as the disease progresses our brain housing group filing system becomes even more overloaded. So the unimportant stuff, like recalling someone's name whom we just met, is not on the priority list...it is somewhere down the bottom cuz we know this new person is not likely to come into our lives with much more than a howdedo. Some how we sift though what we NEED to remember, what we MUST remember and the rest goes in the mental circular file..
Thank you, Janet. At various doctors offices I have used the phrase that I have just more and more to recall on his behalf...good grief..yet the doctors and nurses are amazed at how much I do know such has his recent BUN and creatine numbers...One PA said the other day with his change in his heart rate he may need a pacemaker. I said get out the last set of labs...his creatine was 1.8 and the surgical teams don't like it higher than 1.2...Sometimes they even ask if I am a nurse...no I am not...my mother was and my dad was a general surgeon so I have learned some things by osmosis I guess. But as to our own memory...I trash what is unimportant and focus on what is important for us.
It is said that even Albert Einstein did not remember his own phone number. It was not important for him to remember - he knew where he could look it up!
See we are all fine after all...just overwhelmed with information...we are, after all, NOT computers...we are humans. We recall the important stuff..the rest eh..circular it.