Brain Fog?

There's a lot out there about brain fog. It seems to go along with several chronic conditions, including vestibular disorders like PPPD. My experience has been a little different and I'm hoping by sharing it I might find others who have had a similar experience.

I have never felt "foggy" in conjunction with the PPPD. I can think just fine. My problem since the PPPD began has been that thinking makes me tired. Still does. And I don't know what to do about it.

© 2005 paukrus, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

As part of my appeal process for my disability insurance, I underwent a neuropsychological exam. If you are experiencing brain fog, you might be interested to have this done. It measures whether or not you are suffering from any cognitive difficulties as a result of your condition. It isn't easy. It's an 8 hour exam which for me took almost 15 hours over 2 days. It was grueling and needless to say, exhausting. But I wanted to know.

As it turned out, my memory and other brain functions were mostly fine. It showed some impairment of executive function. Oddly, there was no mention in the report about how long it took me to complete the tests, how often I had to take breaks or how many hundreds of times I yawned or put my head down. But actually I was glad my brain was working right for the most part. So why do I get so tired from thinking?

Since I am unable to work, fortunately I don't HAVE to think most of the time. There are occasions when I have to, like trying to select Medicare plans, prescription plans, etc. That was a treat! But it does hold me back. For example, I love puzzles and have several puzzle books, but I have stopped doing them because I noticed that I could hardly stay awake after doing one. Even spending much time on Twitter or my Facebook groups wears me out.

Anybody else out there? Has this happened to you? Because I really want to know. How do I make this better? I am feeling better physically now and am able to do more. I am seeing my grandkids more and am able to do some crafts. We even go out to lunch sometimes. But thinking still makes me tired.

I would love to hear from you. And as always, if you like this post, please share it using the buttons below.

I Can Read!

This is huge for me. Reading has always been my favorite pastime, and it was one of the first casualties of my PPPD. I couldn't read for more than a minute or two without getting really dizzy. It was a variable thing. I could read enough to find what I needed when researching symptoms, doctors, etc. Then I would print it out and my husband would read it to me. The smaller the screen, the better. Phone beat tablet; tablet beat computer. 

© 2010 Tim Geers, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

I'll mention here that this symptom of PPPD is sometimes referred to as Visual Vertigo. If you have this problem, here are some resources that I found very helpful:

• Podcast featuring Dr. Jeffrey Staab from the Mayo Clinic and Marousa Pavlou from King's College, London. 

• Handout that gives helpful explanations and treatment 

At any rate, my beloved books were off limits. Instead I depended on audiobooks for two years. But as my dizziness improved, I began to have less trouble reading. Just recently, I finally felt ready to try a large print book. I thought that would be a good place to start. And success! I had no trouble reading large print. After reading two large print books, I got up the courage to try normal print, and once again, success!

You don't realize how much the small things mean to you until they're taken away. Picking up a book is a simple pleasure I won't take for granted again.

What is PPPD?

PPPD (often referred to as 3PD) stands for Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness). It was formerly knows as Chronic Subjective Dizziness. Basically it's a condition in which you are dizzy all the time. Without treatment, it escalates over time and other debilitating symptoms develop. Fortunately, PPPD is becoming better known and understood. There are many resources available for sufferers of chronic dizziness. Please see my PPPD Resources list (sidebar) to get started.