Scared there’s something wrong with my brain

[Exoplanets]

I’ll start off by saying I’m 35 and I have a 5 year old son who is on the autism pathway for a diagnosis. He’s very smart but also hugely hard work and very demanding.
I’ve been struggling with my mental health for years, currently waiting an ADHD diagnosis but also have PMDD and GAD.

I’m scared because I’m forgetting words all the time, I have also been waking in the night and not known where I am or who is laying beside me (my DP) until it comes back after a few panicked seconds.
I have recently parked somewhere a few times and can’t remember where the car is. Then I get that panicky feeling again and it comes back to me a few seconds later.

The latest one is that I thought my toothbrush was a different colour so spent ages searching for it, but then my DP said it’s the one already in the holder, you’ve been using it for months, I didn’t recognise it at all and thought a guest had left it! I used to have a toothbrush the colour I was looking for though.
One more frightening thing is looking in the mirror and obviously recognising myself but not at the same time, feeling like I look different in some way but can’t work out what it is.

Should I be worried? I’ve had a lot of fatigue lately too. I have called my (GP for blood test but still waiting to hear back (on two week waiting list for non urgent appointments).

That is a worry.
But burn out is a bit like that for me, so if you've had a lot on your plate, it could be burn out rather than anything deeply sinister.
Keep a diary to note these little instances in, so you have a ready record of examples for when your Dr appointment comes round.
Or will be easier to hand the Dr that she say read this, than explain it... Especially as you might get upset when describing it.

I know urinary tract infections can do funny things to elderly folks cognition... Maybe not elderly people too?

Good luck op. Hope the Dr listens and gives you good care. 💐

Have they checked your B12 levels? Are you having any other symptoms like fatigue? My friend had similar symptoms and it turned out she was severely deficient in vitamin B12, not saying it's definitely that but it's worth asking them to check it if you haven't already.

@Dramatic
Yes fatigue and joint pain. I’ve asked for a blood test but not heard anything yet. Going to call up tomorrow and see if there’s any update on fitting me in.

I have been experiencing similar and was wondering about perimenopause? You seem quite young for that but I know forgetfulness can be a symptom. Definitely get blood tests as the stress of what it could be might be making it worse.

My first thought on reading your post/symptoms was that you must have anxiety. And your anxious mind is hooking onto these thoughts. It can also be a form of OCD.
I'm no expert though and hope you find some answers soon

Have you had covid recently?

Make sure to specifically request B12 as I don't think it's on the standard full blood count. It's a very easy fix if it is that.

This sounds like stress/burnout. You can have so many things to do and think about that it distracts you and affects short term memory. Try to slow down OP and as you have been, chat with your GP to rule out other underlying physical conditions. Take care x

Great another thread from an anxious poster for everyone to jump on and try and diagnose and make matters worse. Op you have a gp you don't need to ask for medical advice online.

Are you anemic!? Or could you be? Anemia can cause these symptoms, Op.

I felt pretty bad like this when I had low folic acid. Like, awful.

Agree that it is imperative that OP sees her GP and doesn’t take forum advise as gospel however when you have some form of health related anxiety happening it can be reassuring to hear from other people who have experienced similar and it not been the worst case scenario.

Lack of sleep and anxiety are all possibilities. That said, you know your ‘normal’ anxiety symptoms. When I started having brain fog type symptoms, extreme fatigue, and felt like I was becoming disconnected from reality I was initially pushed down the ‘it’s just your anxiety’ route but it ultimately turned out to be thyroid related. Just another avenue to look at. I know I’ve just replied to you on here but part of searching for answers online will unfortunately feed your anxiety and make the situation feel worse and more threatening than it is. You are really going through this but it is unlikely to be anything really bad that won’t improve once the GP has identified it and you are on the right treatment. So in the meantime stay offline x

But by tomorrow their will be 100 more posts that will be worst case scenario because it happened to someone's neighbours cousins aunties dog Walker. Already their has been multiple diagnosis suggested which means if op goes to the gp and asks to be tested for them all she won't get any help and will be told its psychological whether it is or isn't

I would see your GP OP and if they arrange bloods which are normal, consider discussing a scan (CT or MRI head) with your GP.

I get like that when I'm anaemic, sometimes when I'm deficient in other things too.
Get some bloodwork done before worrying about Cat scans and the like.

Similar experience here. Foot problem i’d had since a child, was taken to a dr back then who said it was because my parents were putting me in crap shoes (exact same shoes as every other child at the time had…). Saw another doctor as an adult who also had no idea.

The conclusion to the mystery came in the form of a Reddit thread where for the first time in my life someone posted a picture of the exact same thing, which then had several comments from people in different corners of the world saying they had it too and what they were told it was. So useful.

I think you should take a look at those previous diagnosis'. I'm always suspicious when a woman has a male member of the family with autism and similar but different challenges diagnosed as mental health.

Your son has autism, which often runs in families. You are being investigated for ADHD which shows executive function challenges but you also have a PMDD diagnosis suggesting challenges processing emotions and GAD. Autism often results in anxiety due to the social challenges. Autism is very often missed in women and diagnosed as other things- I also really struggle with my monthly cycles and more acute emotions and was misdiagnosed with GAD but I'm actually autistic. The difficulty processing emotions etc are a symptom of autism, rather than the root cause themselves.

When I'm stressed and burnt out I lose words also and have issues with mutism. Usually it's because my brain is already at capacity with other things to deal with. Or because I'm struggling with things like sleep or eating properly and I get really bad brain fog that makes me struggle to function.

I'd be asking for a full neurodiversity assessment with someone who is smart enough to tie the whole thing together. It could be that your previous diagnosis' are symptoms of a wider reaching thing rather than individual mental health problems. As well as a full health check for the physical issues others have suggested,

All the best.

Same, only realised I'd got gallstones when I posted on here desperate for help with 'trapped wind'! It's also helped me climb down from sheer panic on things I've not posted about but searched for.

It's an invaluable resource combined with following up with a GP.

This sounds exactly like DPDR. It’s a branch of anxiety basically. Please look into this, obviously rule out other things first. I say that because, I went through something similar, was sent to the hospital for tests and eventually ended up with a mental health professional. My trigger was not recognising myself in the mirror. Didn’t look scary, just different. I suffer with extreme anxiety and was told this can be normal.

You've described everything I experienced around when I was diagnosed with Anxiety and Panic Attacks to a T. I also had blood tests over several months to see if I was deficient in anything. All came back clear and turns out I was just suffering from good ol fashioned stress and emotional burn out. What gave it away for me there in your words was "looking in the mirror but not really recognising yourself." That's exactly how it was for me.

Hope you get some help and answers alongside the way xxx

A thread very similar to this got took down a few days ago as asking and giving medical advice online is dangerous

I’ve watched a couple of programmes about the devastating effects perimenopause can have on women’s mental health and the common misconception that it only affects older women. Brain fog, anxiety, depression-like symptoms. Blood tests won’t show anything. How have your cycles been?

I hate it when people simply say go to your GP on here as if it is an easily available option. At ours you have to wait a month to get a non urgent appointment. When you get there you get a rushed appointment where they spend most of the time looking up what they are allowed to prescribe you and typing in information on a screen. Mine even suggested I ‘Google it’ when I asked him for some advice during an appointment.