FibroFog

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Our FibroFog moments!

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What is FibroFog

Have you forgotten where you put your keys again? Having trouble remembering what you were supposed to do this afternoon? Do you have difficulty finding the right words to use to express yourself? If you are experiencing some or all of these memory problems you may be suffering from fibrofog.
Fibrofog refers to a variety of cognitive impairments that fibromyalgia sufferers experience with the disorder. Fibrofog can be one of the most stressful and upsetting fibromyalgia symptoms. If you know someone with fibromyalgia syndrome or if you are suffering from the illness, keep an eye out for the indicators of fibrofog.
What is Fibrofog?
Fibrofog is a term given to the variety of cognitive problems that many fibromyalgia sufferers face during their illness. Fibrofog encompasses memory loss, difficulties using language, and difficulties with learning. These symptoms tend to descend in a haze or "fog," around the sufferer. Fibrofogs can occur at any time and can vary in intensity when they do occur. Fibrofogs tend to be at their most severe during flare ups in pain.
Fibrofog affects about both women and men who have fibromyalgia pain, though it tends to hit women more often. Women between the ages of 30 and 50 are most likely to be affected by fibrofog. Episodes of fibrofog typically last only a few days, though sometimes severe fibrofog can last for weeks or even months.
Symptoms of Fibrofog
Fibrofog is one of the most common yet unrecognized symptoms of fibromyalgia. If you have fibromyalgia signs and symptoms it is important to be aware of fibrofog so that you can seek appropriate treatment and manage your illness more effectively. Some symptoms of fibrofog include:
• short term memory loss
• difficulty remembering where you put things
• difficulty remembering plans
• difficulty with language, including trouble holding conversations, understanding conversations, and expressing thoughts
• difficulty finding the "right" word to use in conversation
• trouble remembering simple numbers
• transposing letters and numbers
• trouble concentrating and focusing
• trouble retaining new information
Causes of Fibrofog
The causes of memory loss and fibrofog are as yet undetermined; however, a number of factors could be at the root of these cognitive impairments. It is apparent that there is no real problem with the mental capacities of people suffering from fibrofog. Instead, there must be underlying problems that cause the brain to be unable to complete memory functions.
Sleep Deprivation: Sleep disorders are one of the primary fibromyalgia signs and symptoms. Lack of adequate sleep can affect the brain’s ability to produce enough of the neurochemical serotonin, which aids in laying down memory.
Decreased Blood Flow: Studies show that fibromyalgia disability can cause decreased blood flow to certain areas of the brain responsible for creating short term memories. This lack of blood flow may prevent the brain from adequately creating new memories.
Chronic Pain: The chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia may actually inhibit the brain’s ability to create memories. Processing pain signals takes up a lot of the brain’s time and energy, especially in someone with fibromyalgia. This excessive pain may therefore reduce the amount of time the brain spends on trying to form new memories. Pain also produces large amounts of stress which can be one of the causes of short term memory loss.
Depression: A large percentage of people with fibromyalgia also report that they suffer from anxiety and depression. Depression and memory loss definitely seem to be linked. Depression lowers the levels of serotonin in the brain, preventing new memories from being laid down. Low levels of serotonin are also linked with learning difficulties.
Effects of Fibrofog on Fibromyalgia
Fibrofog tends to have negative effects on fibromyalgia symptoms and the course of the illness. Fibrofog can cause people with fibromyalgia to forget important self-care techniques including stretching and exercise. This can cause the pain of fibromyalgia to become worse.
In a recent study involving people with and without fibromyalgia, those with fibromyalgia reported more trouble with memory, concentration, mental confusion, and speaking. Patients with fibrofog also complained of more pain, increased fatigue, and more difficulty sleeping.

Discussion Forum

Fibrofog

Started by Carol Davidson. Last reply by Jackie Foster Dec 1, 2010. 1 Reply 0 Likes

I want to thank you for writing the fibrofog article and symptoms. I showed it to my family and emailed it to my friends because it is such a hard thing to explain. It along with all the spasms and…Continue

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Comment by MikefromsouthNZ on April 9, 2012 at 7:54pm: Hi Guys.. I haven't been here for some time now but I want to share my advice about fog.. The worse my fog got the more I became withdrawn and isolated from all friends and even family. The secret I found was to forget about the fog no matter how bad it was, and focus more on the abilities I'm still able to do well.. Somehow by pure accident my fog started to go.. It still sneaks up on me but I now don't let it worry me as we all have a bad day now and then.. I feel the more comfortable and confident I believe in myself, the better my friends and even new colleagues accept me, fog and all..

Have as much brain time-out when you need but try not to worry of when the fog will attack again, just to see if what I've said can help you ? It isn't rock solid proof nor a scientific fact but it helped me, so it may also help you too..

Take care - Mike

Comment by Suzanne Gergel on April 9, 2012 at 3:08pm: Fog is a big one for me . It started long ago with forgetting , now it's i open my mouth to speak , be in mid sentence and the next word is gone . Or it's words deleted from my brain that I no longer can spell . I frequently sound like a fool when talking lol not fun

Comment by Joanie on October 28, 2011 at 6:21pm: It's good to know your not alone isn't it? not that we would wish this on anyone. But I feel like such an idiot, I will be talking and the next words fall right off my tongue and I will just give that deer in the headlights look. And I will say, What was I just talking about? lol. I'm more comfortable with that now. Or I will say, Ok I have possibly already told you this and tell me if I told you already. then I go on to say what ever it was haha. I was talking to a friend on the phone one day and was referring to my Partner Rodney but his name fell off my tongue. That was the scariest for me we have been together 7yrs :-(

Comment by Chris on August 3, 2011 at 10:55am: Happy Aussie,

I know what you mean about feeling like you have Alzheimer's. My fog is really bad right now and that isn't a good thing considering my new school year starts in about 2 weeks. I am a teacher! That makes it hard to remember my schedule, my students' names, and meetings. I even forgot about using this message board until someone sent one in the other day and it sparked my memory. I hope I can keep up with it now.

Comment by HappyAussie123 on August 2, 2011 at 10:49pm: Hearing about you all is uplifting. I got diagnosed 3 months ago after 28 years of pain. I'm going through an increasing amount of fibro fog where I can't remember most things like names, directions, places, where I've been, school dates etc....It's very hard and my family are quite worried about me - feel like I've got alzheimers and not fibro!

I also had to go into hospital to be "snowed" - enforced into a coma every night for a few days as my insomina was so bad I got 1-2 hours sleep a night for a few years and couldn't carry on. WIth the right combination of sleeping tablets it seems to have re-booted the system thank God!

I never lose hope of a cure or at least better medication to help us, but support plays a huge part.

Take care

Comment by kmccann on August 2, 2011 at 11:35am: Thanks Rachel & Mike. My life has been nothng but stress, my WHOLE life. I'm wondering if this didn't show up outta nowhere due to the traumas I've been through since childhood? I'm so tired of this already. My husband & in-laws are very supportive & understanding so I at least have them. I just want to relax & have some energy or willpower to pull myself out of this. I've always been so strong. I just fell apart, my whole life has changed & it affects my children, it's so sad. I hate the helpless feelings & guilt almos more than the pain & fog. There's no cure... I just want to give up.

Comment by Chris on August 2, 2011 at 9:53am: My fibrofog is really bad lately, but I am going through a really stressful time right now. I hate that feeling that it will never end.

Comment by Diana Parker on August 2, 2011 at 9:01am: I have been so fogged out for over a year now I can hardly function making it hard for me to do everyday things I need to do. I don't ever remembering it lasting this long. Sometimes I feel it's so bad that I think it's more than fibro. I'm truly not me anymore.

Comment by MikefromsouthNZ on August 1, 2011 at 6:29pm: oopppps, can see my fog is bad today, "Just as your booties" need to rest to function well, so too do our brains but even more so with having fibro and fog....

Should read - "Just as your body" need to rest to function well, so too do our brains but even more so with having fibro and fog....

Comment by MikefromsouthNZ on August 1, 2011 at 6:11pm: Hi knccann, I have similar issues as you have and the harder you try to do more, our poor brain can't cope and then it Crashes, just like a computer dose it you run too many programs at once....
Try to rest your brain, yes thats right kmccann, you jest your brain.!
When fatigue gets bad its like you are trying to feed someone a can of bake beans, when you actually only have half a can, you brain only gets half a tank that you need to do the same load on a full tank full.. I was told this from the Medical Director of a Rehab unit I was attending... Plus the more you stress over things, the worse the fog will get..! That same Medical Director said that with all aspects of having fibro the age we function at most probably doubles, so back then he told me my medical file reads like a man of 80+ years, and I was only 45 at that time...

Just as your booties need to rest to function well, so too do our brains but even more so with having fibro and fog.... Its difficult but try and take an hour for a nap just after lunch, as I would probably guess that you start to get real forgetful around 2 to 3pm, as thats when your half a tank runs out... If you have to take your kids to a friend to try this i'm sure they would understand, but you need to rest your brain to keep going...

I have to nap after lunch now if I want to cope with the rest of my day, and my computer hasn't Crushed for quite some time now..

Best of luck my fiend, Mike: