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January 15, 2006
Fibro Fog
One of the aspects of fibromyalgia that's nastiest and hardest to pin down is fibro fog. It's a sort of mental fog that descends at times over we fibro patients and makes everything a little strange. When it hits me, it's hard to remember things, to think, to speak, to make decisions. Admittedly, I have some experience with this sort of thing -- my allergic reaction to milk and chocolate is very similar -- but it's still unsettling.
I'm still able to write, fortunately, especially if I'm left alone in a quiet place. But dealing with things as they come up becomes difficult and frustrating. I have to devote all my attention to things that normally I could do while multitasking. I have trouble remembering words (although not, interestingly, pictures). For example, my roommate (who does the shopping for the household, because she is awesome) wants me to make a list of the frozen meals I like, but I can't -- I can remember what they look like, what the packaging is like, but not the names. And somehow going to the website for the company to look them up seems overwhelming because I have so much other stuff to do tonight.
Days where I'm in a fog I find myself making lists compulsively because otherwise I can't remember a damn thing. I also find myself wanting to sort things, to put them away where they belong so I can find them. But more than anything I just want to go to bed, because usually sleeping resets everything (especially if I get a good, long night's sleep) and I'm okay the next day. At least, I think that's how it goes. It's hard to remember.
It's easy to express the pain and stiffness associated with fibro, but fibro fog is a lot harder to really describe. It's like that brain fog that settles in when you're really tired. You can still do things, and really focusing brings genuine clarity, but you have to really focus to do anything, and changes in plans are very disconcerting. Unfortunately there are no pills to make it go away -- caffeine just makes me jittery (I had so much earlier today that my hands shook for hours) without dispelling the mists. I just have to tough it out and try not to be too cranky.
File under: Fibromyalgia
Posted by Ealasaid at January 15, 2006 07:51 PM
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Comments
That was a great post. I happened upon it while looking for good descriptions of fibro fog. I have Fibromyalgia as well - it really is hard to explain what it's like when the fog sets in. It's a tough thing to convey to someone who has never experienced it. I understand you completely; I also believe that anyone who reads this and doesn't have FMS will get a very good idea of how it feels to be foggy.
cheers,
echo
Posted by: echo at March 1, 2006 08:39 AM
Wow, thanks so much, echo! It means a lot to hear from a fellow FMS sufferer that my post was good. Hang in there!
Posted by: Ealasaid at March 1, 2006 10:00 AM
I will be referring friends and family to your site so they can understand what "my problem is", I just hope I don't forget it's here. People have a very hard time understanding how you can go from extremely coherent one minute to totally clueless the next. I sometimes forget how to fold laundry, or I can't think of the word "hello"when I answer the phone. I even read almost an entire book once, sat down for a phone call, picked it back up and none of it made any sense, turns out fibro fog was the culprit and just couldn't remember the ten chapters I had previousely read.Fibro fog makes life very difficult and it doesn't help when the people around start treating you like your stupid.
Posted by: Elizabeth at August 20, 2007 03:42 AM
Thanks, Elizabeth!
One suggestion for keeping tabs on interesting/useful links: check out Del.icio.us - it's a website that helps you track and organize your bookmarks. I use it and like it a lot. It lets me go, "now, what was that useful article I found last week? I think it was about guitars..." and search my collection of links. Spiffy stuff.
Best of luck to you - sounds like your fog is way worse than mine. :( That sucks.
Posted by: Ealasaid at August 20, 2007 12:35 PM
Graphics from works 