Brain fog poll

Do you have brain fog (e.g. impaired concentration, cognition, etc.)?

1) Always, almost always
2) Only during PEM, otherwise I am normal
3) Never, almost never (e.g. can read long complex books with no issues)
4) Sometimes

 

I perhaps have trouble spotting mild brain fog because it is a norm. It is only on those rare occasions when I don’t have problems that I realise how impaired my normal cognitive functioning actually is.

 

I’m intrigued by MECFS patients with no brain fog....seems like they have a better prognosis. I think under IOM you can be diagnosed without cognitive issues.

 

I usually have it daily for several hours, then I'm reasonably OK, so none of the answers really apply. Unusually, today I have very little (compared with usual).

 

I didn't experience 'brain fog' until 11 years into the illness. It all started when I was improving and started exercising again.

 

I can't vote as none of those options apply to me. You need a "sometimes" option. I don't have brain fog all of the time. It's not "almost always" or "almost never" but somewhere in between. It really depends on how I am feeling that day. A bad night's sleep can trigger it, PEM definitely, working too many hours.

 

Ok to edit as you like.

 

@Jaybee00 I think you have to do the edits as it is your post. We don't have the option to edit the poll.

 

@Trish can edit to incorporate your option and hers.

 

For me, I think 'always, but the severity fluctuates a lot' fits best. Also, 'cognitive impairment' would be a better term, since ME causes cognitive symptoms that go beyond mere 'brainfog'.

 

I can't remember a time before brain fog! I've had it since the mid-70s.

Every now and again I get a couple of hours without it. It comes as such a surprise to find myself able to think clearly that it startles me!

I was reasonably bright as a youngster; I reckon that, during my adult the years, I've had to get by on between 20% and 60% of my real intellectual potential because of brain fog.

 

My brain fog depends on how much / what quality sleep I get. The effects of sleep deprivation being cumulative. At my old house I was suffering from brain fog and memory issues most of the time due to noise disrupting my sleep.

 

Is cognitive fatigue a part of brain fog? Maybe I’ve always been incorrectly considering it as part of the brain fog symptom constellation.

 

Yes totally, for me the cumulative sleep disturbance and deprivation affect most of my ME symptoms and exertion capacity before getting PEM.

 

Yes when it’s bad I describe it to others when they ask that it’s as if I have early dementia, it’s what I imagine dementia would be like.

 

Most of the time I dont notice it because i am not asking a lot of my brain. I gave up work because I couldn’t trust my brain any more, and my memory is pretty poor. I cant read a decent book any more. If I try to concentrate on something for a couple of hours, i get a headache...

 

I have difficulty processing, concentrating and absorbing information when I have cognitive PEM. I feel brain sick/nauseous. I've never had issues with memory though.

 

Yes - I did both my Open University degrees when I had ME. It took me maybe twice as long, but I did well. That's before I suffered my worsening a few years ago.