What's Brain Fog for you?

[Alwayssomething14]

Curious as to what this means for each of us as experiences and description may differ.

For me it's forgetting to do things, for example I went to bed a couple of nights ago, left the downstairs lights on, didn't lock the front door 🙈 (it was closed just not locked) Forgetting to feed the dog...I can't work out if I'm just trying to do too many things at once or if it really is a problem.

Head feels like cotton wool at times too.

How is it for others?

Also forget words and things seem like too much hard work to do. It’s like I don’t have the mental capacity to plan and organise.

The worst part is when I start a sentence and half way through done know what I’m saying at the end of the sentence. Jeez! That’s awkward and horrible.

@JinglingSpringbells yes it is really worrying. The driving thing was a lot worse before the B12 injections and worse if someone was talking to me. I can't think outside the sat nav now.

Yes it was a pulmonary embolism that I had and went to a walk in and A&E after being in bed for some days not really knowing what was going on after a stressful event. Looking back I have had hyperthyroid crashes since dd was born but just told it was anxiety - one of the issues with not having f2f appointments with the same doctor. I get calls and most things are emailed on the app now.

Forgetting what Im going to say mid sentence, I can be on track and suddenly nothing is in my head at all
Struggling with things that are automatic like date of birth, post code, spelling of my name
Muddling words up, like instead of tomorrow, I will say yesterday, instead of hot, I will say cold
Forgetting how to pronounce something
When Im typing (I can touch type) I type quite fast and am making mistakes like their theyre and there, hear and here, too, to and two. Also typing out things spelled phonetically, so I find myself writing 'rite', instead of write, or sicologist, instead of psychologist, - just a couple of examples.

Im in a professional role so theres lots of report writing, chairing of meetings, giving evidence type of thing. Its dreadful.

Some of that will be true of course, but many of us genuinely considered the possibility of dementia because what started to happen to us was so scary (I spoke to my GP about it). Also, many (most?) of us here are talking about this beginning in our early-mid 40s to early 50s, not our 70s. You say yourself you didn’t experience brain fog, so you don’t know how bewildering it feels to go from having a phenomenal memory (in my case) to be lying awake wondering if you have early-onset Alzheimer’s because it’s fallen off a cliff - not the slow, gradual, decline of years but losing most of your mental sharpness in a matter of months. It’s more than just “natural ageing”: right now my husband, nearly 20 years older than me and my 76 year old mother both have better memories than I do, and my mother is far sharper and more organised mentally than I am in general, and up until a couple of years ago we were on a par.

10% of women leave the workplace due to menopause symptoms, often citing the cognitive issues, and a further 23% seriously consider it. There is no corresponding spike in men within the same age range resigning because of (comparatively) suddenly losing their mental faculties, so it’s clearer more than just the normal ageing process.

Your good fortune in not experiencing menopausal brain fog does not mean it doesn’t exist in other women.

@SoundTheSirens I can only recommend the B12 injections (I also paid for D3) to help - even in my worst state I can feel what a difference it has made. Lots of research shows it is far more common than realised and testing is unreliable to show levels, esp if you are supplementing. I really think if anyone is worried paying £30 at a pharmacy that does them is a great investment - I'd be getting them weekly if I was allowed to.

I’m only 45 and have many of these things.
I wouldn’t say I’m aging exactly!
Mine if definitely hormone and anxiety related.
Not old age.

I get this with CFS/ME, when I am in a "crash". I usually spend a week fretting about dementia, every time it happens.....

Forgetting to do things, I have to put multiple notes on my phone otherwise I genuinely forget I should be doing something.

Not feeling myself, very tired, lethargic. Doubting myself and my abilities, especially at work.

Forgetting words, not remembering conversations - it's like my brain was gas lighting itself! Much improved with HRT, although work wise, I've found I'm great in the mornings, but ask me anything after 3pm and I'm not great.

Hopefully the women suffering will seek out HRT to help. There is no need to leave the workplace when treatment is available (unless it's contraindicated.)

I've used it for 16 years but started in my early 50s. Brain fog wasn't a symptom.

@JinglingSpringbells I’m glad it worked out so well for you…I’m on an appropriate dose of HRT but still have lost word issues, if you read my previous post you’ll see my mum had early onset Alzheimer’s in her 50s, we think HRT must have helped with her symptoms as they really ramped up when she was taken off HRT (as was advised at the time-late 90s). My HRT patches will be peeled from my cold dead ass!

Are you eligible for early genetic testing for dementia? I could be wrong but I thought there was a new initiative for people like you.
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/genetic-testing-dementia

I'm sorry to hear about your Mum. My Dad died from dementia (he was old) so I know what it's like to live with someone with it.

I'm glad I read this (although I'm sad that you are all going through it) as my mum has Alzheimer's and I'm terrified of going the same way...
I know it's the menopause but reassuring to read this...

@JinglingSpringbells, thank you…u til there’s a cure or at least very reliable treatment, I couldn’t live with that sword over my head…my dad also developed Alzheimer’s in his 80s, but that was easier to live with due to his age…sorry you’ve been there too 💐

Lisa Mosconi's work on the 'menopause brain' seems interesting. She's a neuroscientist who is researching the very real changes in women's brains in perimenopause. I haven't read her book but did hear her on the Diary of a CEO podcast. I found what she had to say both reassuring and depressing. The advice seems to be the standard eat well, exercise, HRT if appropriate. Some women's brain function improves post menopause. I'm hoping I will be one of them!