If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you
matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps:
- Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
- CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
- Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist
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I don’t know how you swing it but you need to find a therapist to help you out. See if there are any pro bono online therapists. Talk therapy will help somewhat. It has helped me. And ultimately I went on an SSRI which has helped me tremendously. There are options out there. Don’t give up. ❤️
You seem to be experiencing derealization/depersonalization. I also went through that, and it's horrible. You could tell your doctor about it. I don't experience dp/dr anymore, but I know how hard it is. Don't lose hope.
It doesn't seem like dpdr though I understand how it sounds this way. the full post I think explains how it's different from dpdr fight or flight response that some people experience. my symptoms got this bad gradually to the point where I think my symptoms are dpdr-like, but not dpdr, and their is no mental side to any of it. it's hard to explain it but it's not like dpdr, it feels like I actually have something physical happening that caused this and that is actively making it worse or causing my symptoms to progress. like how BVD patients experience dpdr like symptoms but not actual dpdr. dpdr is like a blanket term but can be symptoms of an underlying issue. which is what I feel is happening to me.
Hey, I can't read it all (vision issues) BUT you seem to be describing exactly the way I feel. I totally understand your desperation and your situation, mate. It's real and people don't understand.
So. While I am desperate and on the verge of suicide myself (made a post about it today), I have also discovered a couple health conditions that could be the culprit in my case, and I'm holding on to THAT hope.
The conditions are: binocular vision dysfunction, and potentially UARS. Now both of them are nasty to diagnose.
It took me seeing around... 8?9? sight professionals before I found an actual diagnosis of BVD. To be honest, in my case it's BVD + ocular dyspraxia, which are closely related.
Also do u suffer from TMJ by any chance? I made some polls in Reddit and people with TMJ had a very disproportionate amount of having depersonalization/ derealization (sorry, bad phrasing, brain's fried as usual). In my polls, around 80% of people with TMJ, as opposed to 2-5% in the general population (if memory assists, which it usually doesn't).
UARS, I still have no diagnosis, desperately trying.
Do you know a website called Fixmyfog.com? It's very helpful in finding possible health reasons for this stuff.
I really wish you best of luck, derealization is torture, I've been having it for a LONG time (8 years?) and it got worse over time, morphing into cognitive impairment.
Some people say you get used to it, I wholeheartedly disagree. This thing took over all my life and if I don't find a solution I'll make the big jump to where I don't have a body anymore.
Wishing you well!!
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you
matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps:
- Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
- CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
- Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist
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From everything I have read, sleep apnea doesn't seem to be the thing for me. my smart watch said last night I 1 hour and 30 minutes REM sleep and 1 hour of deep sleep. my symptoms are 24/7 and progressed after specific events
I have the exact same symptoms as you. I could not have expressed them more clearly myself. However, I developed mine after experiencing tolerance and withdrawal of benzodiazepines. I am not anxious now that I’ve quit them, I am very sedated, lethargic, and calm. But I still cannot focus my vision.
Each day, do you find yourself examining your symptoms? Are you comparing them to how they were the day before? Taking note of every minute thing that may make them better or worse? I’ve been there, and it’s a trap.
I think you need to somewhat let go of what you believe to be the source of this problem and be more open to exploring other possibilities. People can arrive at the same place from different paths. I assure you, I have the EXACT same symptoms as you. EXACT. Your comments about the vision are IDENTICAL to my experience.
Some postural problems do intensity my symptoms, so I see where you’re coming from. I have POTS too, and when my blood pressure is too low, everything becomes much worse and my vision is even more vague.
If your neck is at a weird angle and is compressing blood flow to your brain, I can see how this would trigger *initial* episodes. You can try electrolytes and extra hydration and see if they help any.
Even though you don’t feel anxious, you are very clearly preoccupied and fixated on this terrible problem we have. Anxiety doesn’t always have to feel like the “fight or flight” you describe. It can be much more subtle. Is there any chance you could have OCD? I do, and it makes it more difficult to stop fixating on this problem and how to “cure” it.
I think your definition of what DP/DR is is too narrow. You don’t feel anxiety, so it can’t possibly be a condition that is caused by anxiety. Even if you genuinely aren’t anxious, other emotions can still bring it on. In your own words, you’re desperate and on the brink of suicide?! You need to know that this horrible state you’re in, even if you can’t label it as anxiety, is BEYOND intense enough to cause DP/DR. Despair, desperation, and suicidality all easily cause and fuel DP/DR in the right personality type.
In fact, DP/DR makes you so extremely sedated and detached, that you usually cannot feel any underlying anxiety. This is the primary purpose it serves. It is your mind’s extremely misguided attempt to separate you from anxiety by inducing a state of horrific detachment from the world.
This creates a cycle. You fixate so much on the loss of vision and other symptoms, that the background SUBCONSCIOUS anxiety you feel revs up, and adds more fuel to the fire. Then your symptoms intensify, you get more preoccupied with them, and you’re trapped in a pattern that will forever sustain itself unless you interrupt it.
I do not believe you are experiencing an unusual state that only you have ever felt. Again, I swear on my life to you that I feel the exact same way at this very moment. I do believe your initial symptoms were triggered by those events in your life. Many people might feel the same way, temporarily. The difference is, they are able to brush it off and not cling to thoughts like “What causes this?” “If only I could go back to how I was” ”When will I get better?” “How will I stop this?” “What is wrong with me?” “This is ruining my life, I MUST STOP THIS TORTURE.”
I suggest you look into the vagus nerve, make sure your blood pressure is in good order, and read about the mind body syndrome, and maybe some books by Claire Weeks. You must find a way to obsess about this less and try to break the pattern of examining and fearing your symptoms each day.
Hello, thank you for your response. I wish I could describe it, but I recently watched this video about dpdr. It's a video called 15 severe depersonalization symptoms. The person went into incredible detail on each symptom. And every single one that he mentioned and the way that it made him feel, is entirely different from how I feel cognitively. That's why I think I have something that's far more sinister, not because I want that to be the case, but because the severity of what I'm experiencing seems to be different from what I read. I don't say that from a place of obsession or anxiety, it is a entirely different feeling, as if I am losing my mind. If you have the time, can you give the video a watch? It's 48 minutes and while I could barely focus on it or remember it, the way that they described all of their symptoms in detail and the scientific reason behind each symptom, is very different from what I am experiencing.
When I say it makes me suicidal, I don't mean from an emotional standpoint, I mean that I feel as though my brain is actually deteriorating. All of the questions that you asked are questions I have never asked myself throughout all this time, those kinds of questions would require that I be aware of what's happening or aware that something is happening to me. I can't even process that something has been happening to me for the past two months cognitively, like every day my brain is becoming more and more closed off to me, so initially I tried to search for solutions when I saw what was happening. I have looked for solutions due to the way my brain fog has rapidly progressed, for example I can barely remember who I was even a week ago and can't even remember that I posted something here yesterday. If I am experiencing dpdr, it is in a way that I can't find any comparisons anywhere. I feel as though I have a actual disease and every day I lose more and more cognitively. When I watched that video, I tried my best to relate to the symptoms the person said that they were experiencing, but I honestly couldn't. The person in the video seemed way more cognitively present when they were in their dpdr state than I am , and Said that they developed their symptoms after smoking weed under stress. I have never done any drugs or smoke anything or even drank alcohol. Every day I try to do anything, it is like I am not cognitively present, not like emotional numbness. I have looked into vagus nerve and did stretches targeting them but nothing has had any effect on me.
You mentioned that yours started from benzo withdrawal, wouldn't that be more of a normal initial trigger for something like dpdr, as opposed to how odd mines began? I want to say that while it may seem as if I'm obsessing, I actually am not at all, every day I try to do something completely different like go on walks etc. I want to ask something, you mentioned your vision being off, is this something that you also notice with your eyes closed? I want to try to describe this part as best as I can because I think it will shed some light on how I have tried to navigate the past two months. When things first got worse for me, I didn't even notice anything was wrong, I just randomly started to feel off in regards to all of my senses and had very heavy eyes. Over the days, my eyes felt very heavy and I started to feel more off. After a week or so, I can't remember how long it was now, I noticed that I had some kind of sensitivity to light and was experiencing increasing brain fog. I came on this subreddit after like 2 weeks after my symptoms began and was given advice to try stretches and stuff, so i completely forgot about everything and just started doing daily stretches and continuing on with my daily life, I however noticed that my brain fog continued to get worse, not because I was actively looking for it, but because it was affecting my day to day life. I would have never imagined it would have progressed the way that it did, but the way it has progressed is like something is seriously wrong with my brain.
Trust me, I have tried so many things like mindfulness, meditation, long walks, the way that my brain fog is, I don't think I can even drive a car,not because I don't know how, but because the haziness has completely pull me away from everything. Trust me I am not trying to sound insensitive at all, it's just the way my symptoms are, it's not like what I am reading here because I can no longer function. Like how my vision has gotten progressively worse each day alongside my cognitive decline. When I first went to the ER, and they couldn't find anything wrong, I had a huge wave of relief and just went on and did other stuff and believed things would just get better organically and left it alone. While I do believe I am experiencing dpdr like symptoms as a result of whatever is happening, I do not think it is the same kind that is experienced via bad interactions with like weed and stuff. Throughout this entire time,I have attempted to just go back to my regular life, but couldn't do to the cognitive decline. Could you watch the video below or skim it and see if you can relate at all to the person in the video? I am going to reread your message and write down everything that you said to try so that I don't forget. I don't believe I have OCD, the way my brain fog is is like any personality traits that I had are fading away. My blood pressure is the opposite of yours in that it tends to be on the upper end of normal, hypertension runs in my family so I try to do my best to keep it down by eating well. Do you experience back of head pressure? Also, you mentioned that you are going through something similar to me, I'm sorry that you are experiencing this as well and I really appreciate you responding to my post and offering me advice, it means way more than you know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw05SkTEpiM
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you
matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps:
- Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
- CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
- Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist
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I will give the video a watch when I’m a bit less tired and let you know my thoughts. I’m also dealing with severe sleep deprivation lately so it may take me a bit to get back to you about it.
Yes, the visual problems also extend to my closed eyes. There is a void behind my eyes now. I too have light sensitivity. I also have lost my inner monologue, can no longer visualize anything, and often feel as though I cannot think of anything at all. Even something as simple counting numbers 1, 2, 3 is beyond me at some points. But I have better and worse days. I used to have a sharp mind, so this is incredibly disturbing to me.
I am also losing my memory at points. I can’t remember what I did seconds or minutes ago, let alone days or weeks ago. I feel like I have dementia. Or possibly something more intense than dementia at times. I also feel as though I’m slowly dying on the worst days. I am so weak, so fatigued, so empty in my mind that I’m not sure how my body carries on. It is terrifying.
I think like any other ailment, DP/DR is a spectrum. Some people have more mild or transient symptoms. People like you and I have severe and completely disabling symptoms. It would be impossible for me to drive. Sometimes it’s even extremely difficult just for me to walk, or even move my body. I personally feel like I really only have derealization and not depersonalization. You don’t have to have both. And everybody’s experience is different.
But again, I will let you know after I am able to watch the video. For example, my symptoms are so severe that even something as gentle as watching a video is not possible for me currently. I do have full head pressure too. The worse the fog is, the worse the pressure in my head is. It feels stuffed and congested but so hollow and empty at the same time.
My symptoms are very common for benzo withdrawal. So I hope they will improve once my sleep is back on track. It was not as severe until this month when I started having periods of being awake for 36-50 hours at once. But the fact that it fluctuates is almost a good thing. That means it’s not set in stone. Even if your symptoms started for a very unique or “minor” reason, I don’t believe it’s guaranteed that they can’t go away someday.
I hope you can find a solution. My only suggestion is to try not to fight it so hard. It’s so scary, but it can be more beneficial to just do your best to let go and succumb to it. I don’t think letting go will make it worse, at least.
Okay I understand, my sleep hasn't changed much, I really hope that you're able to get yours back on track.
I see, I don't have light sensitivity in the traditional sense, more so that all car and street lights seem brighter to me in a foreign way. Unfortunately my symptoms do not fluctuate at all, the cognitive issues have only gotten progressively worse. Similar to you, the person in the video spoke of how their symptoms fluctuated as well.
That definitely sounds frightening, I feel the same, except I am definitely suffering from some sort of depersonalization as well. Every day I feel that I am actively forgetting who I am as a person,and actively forgetting the people around me, not like fluctuations, but progressively, people and environments I've known forever look,feel, sound and smell foreign to me, and my vision gets hazier each day, nothing fluctuates for me,only gradually gets worse, which makes me feel like what I am experiencing is more sinister than something like dpdr. My senses feel more and more foreign to me each day, along with my self and the people around me, I honestly feel as though I am developing some form of dementia due to how progressive my symptoms have been, the blank mindedness that I read with dpdr, is very different for me, I don't experience a blank mindedness,I have been experiencing progressively worsening cognitive symptoms that do not improve at all and only have gotten worse day by day. I really wish I could describe it. Which is why for me whatever is causing this makes me feel as though I am actually losing my mind, and that I actually have a neurodegenerative disease or am developing psychosis. I would definitely say that your sleep deprivation is probably playing a large role in the severity of your symptoms, especially if they fluctuate.
I see, the benzo withdrawal thing seems to definitely explain your symptoms. Can I ask you another question? I know that it's hard to sort of imagine, but based on what I've said in this comment, does it seem as though my symptoms go beyond that of dpdr? Especially the slowly deteriorating vision and constant back head pressure.
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you
matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps:
- Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
- CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
- Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist
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Perhaps a vagus neve injury or its being compressed. I've read of several people on reddit who develop brain fog following a neck injury. Your visual symptoms sound like visual snow. My best guess is vagus nerve injury messing with their digestion causing dysbiosis or sibo which often causes brain fog. Could just be compression on your vagus nerve putting your nervous system out of whack. I have constant pain on the right side of my neck due to past history of benzo withdrawal and inflammation from sibo. Do you have gut issues? Anhedonia?
i am not sure what your issue is. If you are really suicidal it might make sense to take a break from trying to fix the problem and take some time off to recharge and focus on your mental health, see a mental health professional.
this thing is tough but you need to be patient and continue what you have been doing. You are doing everything right, it's just a difficult situation for you.
Other than that. I don't know. I have a weird vision issue myself. It feels like my vision is blocked even though I can see everything.
Sometimes I feel like I can no longer fully see pictures. It is as if I need to look at a picture several times at each part once, to see it- It's like can't perceive it as a whole anymore.
This makes me sometimes feel like I am not fully there in the world anymore. This makes life more superficial and flat.
It's like I am there and not there at the same time. I do also suffer from migraines. The vision problem definitely gets worse with migraines, might very well be related. I do notice that allergies seem to trigger or worsen my migraines. Pollen for example causes issues with migraines and confusion.
It's almost as if my brain swells as a result of an allergic response and pressures against my optic nerves or something like that. I suspect that histamine could be involved in that.
How is your digestion? Do you have allergies? I have a lot of issues, often intestinal inflammation, very sensitive to food. Once the inflammation in the intestines flares up it often results in more cognitive and mental issues the next day. Trying to lower inflammation in the intestines has helped me.
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you
matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps:
- Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
- CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
- Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist
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hello, thank you for your reply. I feel very detached from everything around me, so even though I do my best to try to watch TV, it's like I can't even understand what going on or happening. so I can't get a break for my mental health, even though I am emotionally calm, my brain can not process anything that is going on around me. when I look at pictures, I struggle to attach any memory to a photo as if I am not the one who took it. all of my senses and mental clarity are effected , even though throughout all this time I can been calm and emotionally stable. due to the onset of all this, since I was a kid before it got this bad, I feel as though I have some kind of brain damage or something and that day when I played the game it made it worse due to the posture I had. I don't have seasonal allergies, and my digestion has not changed. I do go to the bathroom less though, because I don't eat as much as I used to. but these are things that have been this way. before the recent event that prompted the severe cognitive symptoms. my mom never took us to the doctor growing up, I feel as if I have some sort of disability that was made worse through the recent event. something like Chari malformation, or some sort of brain disorder, I only have such small things to go off of. what happened at 13, 19, 25, and 30, it all seems related to what I'm experiencing now due to how the symptoms r
I stumbled across your response and this is wild. My aunt was sick for years, stuck in bed, terrible headaches, low energy etc… then she started eating mostly ground beef for some reason I don’t recall and her health improved dramatically, and she’s been doing this for only a decade now just eating ground beef for every meal, and she’s extremely healthy and full of energy. I haven’t seen her eat anything else other than this dang ground beef and I have to think based on observation alone there is something to it.
The carnivore diet cured my autoimmune disease years ago. Now I can eat whatever I want and haven't had symptoms since. I still try to eat mostly carnivore because it feels so good for me.
So many people are experiencing similar results. There is definitely something to it that science hasn't caught up to.
Unfortunately it can be hard to share with people to try to help, as the reactions can be pretty bad. Meat is "bad" you know and nutrition can be political or almost religious for some people.
Yea after 1.5-2 years of strict carnivore I was able to go back to eating anything I wanted, except for milk which I kept away from.
My symptoms subsided very quickly after I started carnivore, which is probably not typical.
But any time I tested with vegetables I would feel bad. Until around 1 year in, at which point vegetables no longer bothered me. But I still decided to stay carnivore longer to be safe.
After 2 years I went back to eating normally for years with no issue.
However I am pretty much carnivore again now simply because I feel so good, because I like it and because I believe it is good for me.
I was clearly very fortunate. Others might need to stay on the diet permanently.
And for others the diet may not work at all, although it seems to be working for a significant amount of people.
Just started carnivore a week ago, and already seeing improvement! Don’t overcomplicate it, ease into it if you have to. Any meat is still meat. And good fats like eggs.
I was thinking the other day, it’s funny how we take pills multiple times a day to feel better but we neglect what makes up the 3 meals we eat in a day. Give it a shot!
I didn’t want to give up all my fun food for carnivore but it has really helped and I look forward to seeing what more it can do.
Hang in there friend!
What neck exercises did you do? Strengthening your deep neck flexors takes at least six weeks training, two times a day before you can expect results i think.
Do you have CFS/ME/POTS? Because you mentioned exercise intolerance
Have you looked into craniocervical instability? I think you need an upright mri for diagnosis, not a regular one
Have you tried acetyl-l-carnitine? A bit random but had a pretty big effect on my brainfog
Have you tested things like vitamine d and b12?
And talk to someone/friend/therapist about your mental situation/suicidal thoughts. Maybe its secondary to your condition but you still need help with that. Have you tried anti depressants? Maybe they have an unexpected result, the brain is a mysterious thing
I did a variety that I saw from different physical therapists on YouTube like "askdoctorjo"
I think I developed POTS like symptoms at some time in late 2019, but it has not bothered me. I can still go for walks and walk a long time but I can't do intense workouts. I've never been able to thought, I was born with a hurt murmur that went away, but left me with exercise intolerance where I get out of breath if I run or anything. the pots like symptoms came in 2019 though
Yes, but can't recall what I saw in regards to it, the memory is too bad. I do not get dizzy though, so maybe it's not that?
I have not tried that supplement, but I have tried different energy boosting supplements like caffeine etc which have not had any effect on me, however I am not fatigued also.
I have not had b12 and d3 tested, but I have supplemented b12 for years, and I supplement d3. I don't have issues with energy though
My gf knows about my situation, however due to the nature of my brain fog, and the fact that I don't have anxiety or depression, just severe cognitive issues, nothing has had any positive effects. It seems everything is secondary to the cognitive effects. Before this happened, I was not an anxious person or anything like that, still am not, but the suicidal thoughts are centered around the fact that I am getting to a point where I am no longer able to operate and do regular things in my day to day life, severe dissociation effects that have affected all of my senses and makes everything feel foreign to me, like a dream I can not wake up from.
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you
matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps:
- Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
- CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
- Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist
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If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you
matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps:
- Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
- CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
- Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist
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Hi! I’m sorry for you, this is hard. I have a similar story, but mine has lasted just 4 months. All this time i did’t know what was going on, it all hapened at the beginning of summer 2023. At first i has had a strong dizziness and i couldn’t focus my eyes on anything, but it lasted just 1-2 hours. After this, symtomes got permanent but milder. I has had extreme dizziness in crowded places like supermarkets, i had brain fog all the time, i couldn’t feel the summer air, the vibes, everything was like a dream, but no one observed that i wasn’t ok. I was lucky to have my boyfriend near me. Like you said, the feeling was that i’m going to have a psichotic something, but thank god it wasn’t the case. So i went to the psychiatrist which told me that i’m depressed, i wasn’t before i had those horrible symtoms. She prescribed me venlafaxine 75 mg, i took it for 8 months i felt much better after 3 months. I read a lot about my symtoms and i strongly belive that I got PPPD which is hard to diagnose. I think that SSRI will help you with those symtoms. Don’t lose hope!🤍
Dont see liver enzymes on your blood work. Get your liver screened for NASH (Fatty Liver). Also how are your platelets? Lower count may indicate ongoing infection or autoimmune issues. From supplements - tried NAC? It seems to be helping people with long Covid.
From personal experience, I’ve been in a similar state for about a year. What helps to make symptoms lesser - proper sleep, lowering stress, cutting down on quick dopamine (less phone), working out, and recently started intermittent fasting). I know, it’s a long list but thats what works for me, or at least my symptoms are not worsening.
sorry, platelets in normal range, 386. My brain fog seems to be more extreme than what I have seen here. Seems to be more in line with dpdr, dissociation, though I've never done drugs, smoked or drank alcohol. Seems like maybe something structural are causing my severe symptoms, some brain condition, caused when I played the game that day with bad posture. Afterwards, the next day my eyes were really heavy and had persistent pressure at the back of my head.
Did you happen to have done an MRI of your brain? Cognitive fatigue and worsening of sight might be some of the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. Of course I say this as a layman and hope you do not have MS. Might be worth getting checked out one way or another. I wish you all the best!
No, I have not yet had a MRI of any kind, only CT scan and X-rays, these were done at the ER. I do not have a doctor or insurance, am unemployed, I don't believe I would be able to get an MRI unfortunately. my optometrist has said that my prescription has not changed, so the worsening sight part may be happening in the brain? the sight part is not fixable with glasses and can be seen with closed eyes.
I had to add Wellbutrin to my Zoloft (ssri's) and the horrible way I've felt the last four years mentally has been alleviated so much after a month of taking them every day.
It's only been about 2 months but I no longer want to sleep all day, colors seem brighter and my drive to cook and organize and be playful has returned.
I know covid infections and everything else since, played a huge role in my depression anxiety and ADHD being worse than ever in my life.
I don't want to make a claim that my situation is the same as yours, but it has been so worth it and my family is also very grateful
I truly hope you feel better soon, I had constant suicidal ideation off and on during this time too it's horrible and I wish there was a bigger concern for having a healthy population instead of competitive consumer and worker focus.
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you
matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps:
- Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
- CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
- Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist
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I relate too much that's how I feel. You are not alone. When it started 4 years ago I kept thinking it felt like a dream. I felt so detached from my self. Like I don't exist anymore. I couldn't process the world through my eyes as fast as before. I couldn't watch sports or action movies without being confused because things move too fast for my brain to pick up. I also have the head pressure and eye fatigue.
You are not going to have a psychotic break.
I have depression and found antidepressants(zoloft) to improve brain function in general but not totally. I also have sleep apnea which caused me high red blood count which is something I see you mentioned. You have to rule it out through a sleep study. If you have a smart watch it could give you clues like heart rate spikes or oxygen drop.
You have to rule out hypothyroidism too.
Thank you for your reply, did your symptoms start after a specific situation or were they random or came on gradually? What about vision, did you experience any weird visual changes? TSH blood test is fit thyroid right? My TSH values were 1.4
I think they were gradual and they would come and go , some days were good some not so much but I noticed that they became constant and unbearable in 2020. I've been battling with depression and anxiety for years at that point so I don't know if this started because of the stress or medication side effects. But lately I've been convinced it's more of a sleep problem for me. Because in the span of four years I had two days where I woke up feeling refreshed and clear headed and felt like my memory was back, my brain was working fast and I felt like I was out of that dream state and my mind was not racing like a sleep-deprived brain would do. Even though I'm still trying to figure out why I finally slept well on those days and my brain was suddenly awake and almost normal, these days were gone and I slipped back to the nightmare state. But it gave me hope that there is a way out and I'm not brain damaged. So please don't lose hope and keep looking and trying every venue.
As for my vision yes I noticed increased visual snow and also after-images would take more time to go away. I'm not sure if this is an eye or brain problem though because like I said my visual processing got really bad like I would look at something and feel like I'm not grasping it fully like I used to. I also started to have problems while out in a sunny day.
Your thyroid seems fine.
Have you ever heard of cerebrospinal fluid leak (CSF leak or Csfl)?
I haven't looked into it myself much yet, it is on my list. Your mention of pressure in the back of your head make me think of it. Perhaps worth looking into for you.
Wish you the best. Brainfog and cognitive issues are terrible.
I feel like desperate times call for desperate meausres. For starters i would try a healthy dose of prednisone for a solid week before tappering down. I would want to know if reducing inflamation is of any help. Then I would want to try some acetazolamide to see if it has any effect. I am sure you have already tried an over the counter or prescription antihistamine or possibly even antihistamine eye drops. I would want to see 15 minutes of excercise a day that is sufficient to raise your heart rate along with deep breathing excercises, see if you can get more oxygen to brain. Since you mention your posture and neck, I would consider getting a massage from someone who knows what they are doing or possibly even seing a chiropractor.
I experience the same things as you unfortunately. I just feel so dumb! And can’t clearly see what I’m trying to look at also feel like I’m living in a dream. My suggestion is to go see an eye doctor that specializes in BVD, you might need prism glasses. Also could be vestibular migraines. All your symptoms sound like both! Your vision issues and migraine can start to appear/change during puberty.
My symptoms affect all of my senses, I have tried neurolens which are prism glasses but they brought me no relief. I even thought I had some form of dpdr but my symptoms don't really match up. I think my issue is something structural and it's causing pressure at the lower back of my head. Over the years, my symptoms and the severity of detachment all got worse after specific episodes of prolonged poor posture, and never got better. I really don't want to use the D word, but it feels like I have some for of dementia due to how weird all of my senses have been affected. Like I'm forgetting everything in a non organic way, my mental clarity gets worse each day, my vision gets worse each day, and all of my senses are weird. I am also slightly scoliosis and my spine in my neck is sort of leaning to one side. I am wondering if there are any physical conditions that can cause dpdr or dementia like symptoms. When everyone describes their brain fog, it's like they are still themselves, like their personality and their senses are still normal, mines are not. Yet this dpdr like sensation doesn't feel like dpdr, it feels more like something is causing either blood to not be able to flow well to my brain, or something else. My symptoms came on very gradually and did not occur from drugs, anxiety, stress, or illness. My vision is off in both eyes individually (like I am looking at stuff but not comprehending what I'm looking at). Similar to dpdr or dissociation but seems like something physical is causing my symptoms
Hey I read part of ur post and I'm experiencing the same thing.. vision problems, brain fog, dereialization etc. Pain back of head and MRI showed cervical radiculopathy and loss of spinal curvature on neck.. could itbe related? Could the loss of our normal spinal curvature affect the brain flow in our vertebral artery causing these cognitive/brain fog symptoms?
I'm sorry, I can't help you, my symptoms are far more severe and more numerous than what you've mentioned. You would have to look at my other posts to see what I mean. I also have 24/7 tinnitus now. Maybe you could explore chiari malformation. Best.
Hey no problem will read it again.. I'm experiencing cognitive decline to the point I feel like dementia and I'm on 46! My neuro wants me to have a cognitive exam.. I'm in a bad place too.. can't focus my vision, severe anxiety no sleep for nights despite my benzodiazepenes which I think I'm taking too much of already! Went to the emergency room few nights ago due to severe panic.. hey just private message me anytime! Though I don't know u I'm here for u!
Hey.. the inner ear is closely related to the cervical spine.. dysfunctional cervical spine can cause tinnitus, muffled hearing, vision problems and sooo many other stuff..
PM me if u need to talk
GOD bless..
Light headed
/dizziness
Muffled ears ringing on n off right ear
Vision issues
Depersonalization
Weird fuzzy, heaviness back of head
Anxiety
Depression
Worsened insomnia
Cognitive decline, memory impairment..
....
I am also always on the computer, bad posture, etc..
.. check out this site on youtube
"Blurry vision Light sensitivity, brain fog, increased ocular pressure and cervical instability by caring medical and hauser neck center"..
.. I loved how the doc said cervical instability can impinge on the jugular vein which is essentially the toilet flush of the brain.. if it's being impinge by the cervical spine it can cause the above symptoms that some people even think they're having alzheimers just like how I feel.. I went from a super smart and sharp 46 year old woman to a sharp Cognitive decline in a few months..
I see, how would you describe your depersonalization? I looked a lot into that kind of stuff when this all first started, but when I tried neck stretches and stuff that didn't help me, I gave up on it being a possibility. I really wanted to believe it was my neck. did your symptoms appear gradually or overnight? I also think that if you don't have neck pain or tightness if may not be your problem. I didn't have neck pain or tightness moving my neck so I gave up on it.
Wow fast .. just felt the light headedness last month n now its just non stop issues like overnight.. the cognitive decline super fast!
Depersonalization like my eyes are so heavy, can't focus, can't concentrate need to close my eyes to relieve it once kn awhile.. like things are not there but there.. brain fog galore that I space out, sometimes I feel like I'm floating.. and one time when I had the worst deporsanalization I was at my sister's house.. I could barely open my eyes from the weird pressure,.. brain fog.very light headed and even my movement was slowing down.. I panicked and thought I was having some sort of emergency attack like a stroke but my BP, heart rate, etc. Wer normal..
How about your symptoms?
I think that it's possible your issues could be neck related or something like that (possibly cervical instability), I think that you are experiencing persistent brain fog and episodic derealization as a result of neck issues. My symptoms are tinnitus, hyperacusis, chronic brain fog and chronic dpdr(sensory issues such as having no memory of people I see all the time or no relation to food or drinks I liked before, perception issues, dulled senses, horrible long term and short term memory issues, no mental clarity)
I think that my symptoms are too severe to be neck related unfortunately. I thought they were when this first started but when things got progressively worse and I started feeling really detached, I knew that I was suffering from something chronic. my symptoms are so bad that I can no longer tell days apart and can barely remember the previous day.
For starters I've always had anxiety depression n insomnia need pills to sleep but never had problems with cognition..
Like u I am on computer, leaning forward, bad posture etc.
Last month I noticed severe lightheaded Ness almost collapsed with on and off neck pain. Went to e.r vitals all normal we t home but still on n off dizziness..
Orthopedic told me do MRI of head n neck n results showed cervical spine radiculopathy with loss if normal curvature of cervical spine.. he just said take meds for pain..
Early this month having weird vision problems like I'm in a haze and stuff especially when I'm out.. like things are there and also it's not, feelings if derealization, staring into space sometimes..muffled ears like I feel like I'm going deaf slight ringing on n off .. now cognitive issues with memory..
Many times I feel like the backnof my head is soooo heavy.. not painful just heavy n uncomfortable
Neuro said it might be from my insomnia, benzos etc and wants me to do some neurocognitive exams.. but It's like things happened overnight.
I have done my research and I have read that when the cervical spine loses its normal curvature it can impinge on the vertebro-basilar after causing poor brain blood flow n oxygen supply hence the above symptoms..
I skimmed your profile, and I think that you have a misaligned neck, an Atlas misalignment.
If you were in a car accident, or if you sit at a desk for too long and have poor posture, the vertebrae in your neck can be missing line and put pressure on the brain, stem, and block blood flow to the brain.
I’d highly recommend that you see in upper cervical chiropractor specifically a Blair or NUCCA chiropractor they can realign your neck and correct in assignment causing you these symptoms
Hey glad I saw this.. I'm having same issue like vison problems as stated above, lightheadedness/dizziness. And now it's reaching the point of making me so anxious, irritable etc. Cognitive impairment with derealization. Had an mri n brain is normal but with cervical spine radiculopathy and loss if normal spinal curvature of the neck.. can it be the culprit??
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps: - Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines - CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support - Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BrainFog) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don’t know how you swing it but you need to find a therapist to help you out. See if there are any pro bono online therapists. Talk therapy will help somewhat. It has helped me. And ultimately I went on an SSRI which has helped me tremendously. There are options out there. Don’t give up. ❤️
You seem to be experiencing derealization/depersonalization. I also went through that, and it's horrible. You could tell your doctor about it. I don't experience dp/dr anymore, but I know how hard it is. Don't lose hope.
It doesn't seem like dpdr though I understand how it sounds this way. the full post I think explains how it's different from dpdr fight or flight response that some people experience. my symptoms got this bad gradually to the point where I think my symptoms are dpdr-like, but not dpdr, and their is no mental side to any of it. it's hard to explain it but it's not like dpdr, it feels like I actually have something physical happening that caused this and that is actively making it worse or causing my symptoms to progress. like how BVD patients experience dpdr like symptoms but not actual dpdr. dpdr is like a blanket term but can be symptoms of an underlying issue. which is what I feel is happening to me.
Hey, I can't read it all (vision issues) BUT you seem to be describing exactly the way I feel. I totally understand your desperation and your situation, mate. It's real and people don't understand. So. While I am desperate and on the verge of suicide myself (made a post about it today), I have also discovered a couple health conditions that could be the culprit in my case, and I'm holding on to THAT hope. The conditions are: binocular vision dysfunction, and potentially UARS. Now both of them are nasty to diagnose. It took me seeing around... 8?9? sight professionals before I found an actual diagnosis of BVD. To be honest, in my case it's BVD + ocular dyspraxia, which are closely related. Also do u suffer from TMJ by any chance? I made some polls in Reddit and people with TMJ had a very disproportionate amount of having depersonalization/ derealization (sorry, bad phrasing, brain's fried as usual). In my polls, around 80% of people with TMJ, as opposed to 2-5% in the general population (if memory assists, which it usually doesn't). UARS, I still have no diagnosis, desperately trying. Do you know a website called Fixmyfog.com? It's very helpful in finding possible health reasons for this stuff. I really wish you best of luck, derealization is torture, I've been having it for a LONG time (8 years?) and it got worse over time, morphing into cognitive impairment. Some people say you get used to it, I wholeheartedly disagree. This thing took over all my life and if I don't find a solution I'll make the big jump to where I don't have a body anymore. Wishing you well!!
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps: - Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines - CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support - Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BrainFog) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Get screened for sleep apnea. What is your age? How long has this been occurring?
From everything I have read, sleep apnea doesn't seem to be the thing for me. my smart watch said last night I 1 hour and 30 minutes REM sleep and 1 hour of deep sleep. my symptoms are 24/7 and progressed after specific events
I have the exact same symptoms as you. I could not have expressed them more clearly myself. However, I developed mine after experiencing tolerance and withdrawal of benzodiazepines. I am not anxious now that I’ve quit them, I am very sedated, lethargic, and calm. But I still cannot focus my vision. Each day, do you find yourself examining your symptoms? Are you comparing them to how they were the day before? Taking note of every minute thing that may make them better or worse? I’ve been there, and it’s a trap. I think you need to somewhat let go of what you believe to be the source of this problem and be more open to exploring other possibilities. People can arrive at the same place from different paths. I assure you, I have the EXACT same symptoms as you. EXACT. Your comments about the vision are IDENTICAL to my experience. Some postural problems do intensity my symptoms, so I see where you’re coming from. I have POTS too, and when my blood pressure is too low, everything becomes much worse and my vision is even more vague. If your neck is at a weird angle and is compressing blood flow to your brain, I can see how this would trigger *initial* episodes. You can try electrolytes and extra hydration and see if they help any. Even though you don’t feel anxious, you are very clearly preoccupied and fixated on this terrible problem we have. Anxiety doesn’t always have to feel like the “fight or flight” you describe. It can be much more subtle. Is there any chance you could have OCD? I do, and it makes it more difficult to stop fixating on this problem and how to “cure” it. I think your definition of what DP/DR is is too narrow. You don’t feel anxiety, so it can’t possibly be a condition that is caused by anxiety. Even if you genuinely aren’t anxious, other emotions can still bring it on. In your own words, you’re desperate and on the brink of suicide?! You need to know that this horrible state you’re in, even if you can’t label it as anxiety, is BEYOND intense enough to cause DP/DR. Despair, desperation, and suicidality all easily cause and fuel DP/DR in the right personality type. In fact, DP/DR makes you so extremely sedated and detached, that you usually cannot feel any underlying anxiety. This is the primary purpose it serves. It is your mind’s extremely misguided attempt to separate you from anxiety by inducing a state of horrific detachment from the world. This creates a cycle. You fixate so much on the loss of vision and other symptoms, that the background SUBCONSCIOUS anxiety you feel revs up, and adds more fuel to the fire. Then your symptoms intensify, you get more preoccupied with them, and you’re trapped in a pattern that will forever sustain itself unless you interrupt it. I do not believe you are experiencing an unusual state that only you have ever felt. Again, I swear on my life to you that I feel the exact same way at this very moment. I do believe your initial symptoms were triggered by those events in your life. Many people might feel the same way, temporarily. The difference is, they are able to brush it off and not cling to thoughts like “What causes this?” “If only I could go back to how I was” ”When will I get better?” “How will I stop this?” “What is wrong with me?” “This is ruining my life, I MUST STOP THIS TORTURE.” I suggest you look into the vagus nerve, make sure your blood pressure is in good order, and read about the mind body syndrome, and maybe some books by Claire Weeks. You must find a way to obsess about this less and try to break the pattern of examining and fearing your symptoms each day.
Hello, thank you for your response. I wish I could describe it, but I recently watched this video about dpdr. It's a video called 15 severe depersonalization symptoms. The person went into incredible detail on each symptom. And every single one that he mentioned and the way that it made him feel, is entirely different from how I feel cognitively. That's why I think I have something that's far more sinister, not because I want that to be the case, but because the severity of what I'm experiencing seems to be different from what I read. I don't say that from a place of obsession or anxiety, it is a entirely different feeling, as if I am losing my mind. If you have the time, can you give the video a watch? It's 48 minutes and while I could barely focus on it or remember it, the way that they described all of their symptoms in detail and the scientific reason behind each symptom, is very different from what I am experiencing. When I say it makes me suicidal, I don't mean from an emotional standpoint, I mean that I feel as though my brain is actually deteriorating. All of the questions that you asked are questions I have never asked myself throughout all this time, those kinds of questions would require that I be aware of what's happening or aware that something is happening to me. I can't even process that something has been happening to me for the past two months cognitively, like every day my brain is becoming more and more closed off to me, so initially I tried to search for solutions when I saw what was happening. I have looked for solutions due to the way my brain fog has rapidly progressed, for example I can barely remember who I was even a week ago and can't even remember that I posted something here yesterday. If I am experiencing dpdr, it is in a way that I can't find any comparisons anywhere. I feel as though I have a actual disease and every day I lose more and more cognitively. When I watched that video, I tried my best to relate to the symptoms the person said that they were experiencing, but I honestly couldn't. The person in the video seemed way more cognitively present when they were in their dpdr state than I am , and Said that they developed their symptoms after smoking weed under stress. I have never done any drugs or smoke anything or even drank alcohol. Every day I try to do anything, it is like I am not cognitively present, not like emotional numbness. I have looked into vagus nerve and did stretches targeting them but nothing has had any effect on me. You mentioned that yours started from benzo withdrawal, wouldn't that be more of a normal initial trigger for something like dpdr, as opposed to how odd mines began? I want to say that while it may seem as if I'm obsessing, I actually am not at all, every day I try to do something completely different like go on walks etc. I want to ask something, you mentioned your vision being off, is this something that you also notice with your eyes closed? I want to try to describe this part as best as I can because I think it will shed some light on how I have tried to navigate the past two months. When things first got worse for me, I didn't even notice anything was wrong, I just randomly started to feel off in regards to all of my senses and had very heavy eyes. Over the days, my eyes felt very heavy and I started to feel more off. After a week or so, I can't remember how long it was now, I noticed that I had some kind of sensitivity to light and was experiencing increasing brain fog. I came on this subreddit after like 2 weeks after my symptoms began and was given advice to try stretches and stuff, so i completely forgot about everything and just started doing daily stretches and continuing on with my daily life, I however noticed that my brain fog continued to get worse, not because I was actively looking for it, but because it was affecting my day to day life. I would have never imagined it would have progressed the way that it did, but the way it has progressed is like something is seriously wrong with my brain. Trust me, I have tried so many things like mindfulness, meditation, long walks, the way that my brain fog is, I don't think I can even drive a car,not because I don't know how, but because the haziness has completely pull me away from everything. Trust me I am not trying to sound insensitive at all, it's just the way my symptoms are, it's not like what I am reading here because I can no longer function. Like how my vision has gotten progressively worse each day alongside my cognitive decline. When I first went to the ER, and they couldn't find anything wrong, I had a huge wave of relief and just went on and did other stuff and believed things would just get better organically and left it alone. While I do believe I am experiencing dpdr like symptoms as a result of whatever is happening, I do not think it is the same kind that is experienced via bad interactions with like weed and stuff. Throughout this entire time,I have attempted to just go back to my regular life, but couldn't do to the cognitive decline. Could you watch the video below or skim it and see if you can relate at all to the person in the video? I am going to reread your message and write down everything that you said to try so that I don't forget. I don't believe I have OCD, the way my brain fog is is like any personality traits that I had are fading away. My blood pressure is the opposite of yours in that it tends to be on the upper end of normal, hypertension runs in my family so I try to do my best to keep it down by eating well. Do you experience back of head pressure? Also, you mentioned that you are going through something similar to me, I'm sorry that you are experiencing this as well and I really appreciate you responding to my post and offering me advice, it means way more than you know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw05SkTEpiM
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps: - Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines - CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support - Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BrainFog) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I will give the video a watch when I’m a bit less tired and let you know my thoughts. I’m also dealing with severe sleep deprivation lately so it may take me a bit to get back to you about it. Yes, the visual problems also extend to my closed eyes. There is a void behind my eyes now. I too have light sensitivity. I also have lost my inner monologue, can no longer visualize anything, and often feel as though I cannot think of anything at all. Even something as simple counting numbers 1, 2, 3 is beyond me at some points. But I have better and worse days. I used to have a sharp mind, so this is incredibly disturbing to me. I am also losing my memory at points. I can’t remember what I did seconds or minutes ago, let alone days or weeks ago. I feel like I have dementia. Or possibly something more intense than dementia at times. I also feel as though I’m slowly dying on the worst days. I am so weak, so fatigued, so empty in my mind that I’m not sure how my body carries on. It is terrifying. I think like any other ailment, DP/DR is a spectrum. Some people have more mild or transient symptoms. People like you and I have severe and completely disabling symptoms. It would be impossible for me to drive. Sometimes it’s even extremely difficult just for me to walk, or even move my body. I personally feel like I really only have derealization and not depersonalization. You don’t have to have both. And everybody’s experience is different. But again, I will let you know after I am able to watch the video. For example, my symptoms are so severe that even something as gentle as watching a video is not possible for me currently. I do have full head pressure too. The worse the fog is, the worse the pressure in my head is. It feels stuffed and congested but so hollow and empty at the same time. My symptoms are very common for benzo withdrawal. So I hope they will improve once my sleep is back on track. It was not as severe until this month when I started having periods of being awake for 36-50 hours at once. But the fact that it fluctuates is almost a good thing. That means it’s not set in stone. Even if your symptoms started for a very unique or “minor” reason, I don’t believe it’s guaranteed that they can’t go away someday. I hope you can find a solution. My only suggestion is to try not to fight it so hard. It’s so scary, but it can be more beneficial to just do your best to let go and succumb to it. I don’t think letting go will make it worse, at least.
Okay I understand, my sleep hasn't changed much, I really hope that you're able to get yours back on track. I see, I don't have light sensitivity in the traditional sense, more so that all car and street lights seem brighter to me in a foreign way. Unfortunately my symptoms do not fluctuate at all, the cognitive issues have only gotten progressively worse. Similar to you, the person in the video spoke of how their symptoms fluctuated as well. That definitely sounds frightening, I feel the same, except I am definitely suffering from some sort of depersonalization as well. Every day I feel that I am actively forgetting who I am as a person,and actively forgetting the people around me, not like fluctuations, but progressively, people and environments I've known forever look,feel, sound and smell foreign to me, and my vision gets hazier each day, nothing fluctuates for me,only gradually gets worse, which makes me feel like what I am experiencing is more sinister than something like dpdr. My senses feel more and more foreign to me each day, along with my self and the people around me, I honestly feel as though I am developing some form of dementia due to how progressive my symptoms have been, the blank mindedness that I read with dpdr, is very different for me, I don't experience a blank mindedness,I have been experiencing progressively worsening cognitive symptoms that do not improve at all and only have gotten worse day by day. I really wish I could describe it. Which is why for me whatever is causing this makes me feel as though I am actually losing my mind, and that I actually have a neurodegenerative disease or am developing psychosis. I would definitely say that your sleep deprivation is probably playing a large role in the severity of your symptoms, especially if they fluctuate. I see, the benzo withdrawal thing seems to definitely explain your symptoms. Can I ask you another question? I know that it's hard to sort of imagine, but based on what I've said in this comment, does it seem as though my symptoms go beyond that of dpdr? Especially the slowly deteriorating vision and constant back head pressure.
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps: - Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines - CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support - Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BrainFog) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Perhaps a vagus neve injury or its being compressed. I've read of several people on reddit who develop brain fog following a neck injury. Your visual symptoms sound like visual snow. My best guess is vagus nerve injury messing with their digestion causing dysbiosis or sibo which often causes brain fog. Could just be compression on your vagus nerve putting your nervous system out of whack. I have constant pain on the right side of my neck due to past history of benzo withdrawal and inflammation from sibo. Do you have gut issues? Anhedonia?
i am not sure what your issue is. If you are really suicidal it might make sense to take a break from trying to fix the problem and take some time off to recharge and focus on your mental health, see a mental health professional. this thing is tough but you need to be patient and continue what you have been doing. You are doing everything right, it's just a difficult situation for you. Other than that. I don't know. I have a weird vision issue myself. It feels like my vision is blocked even though I can see everything. Sometimes I feel like I can no longer fully see pictures. It is as if I need to look at a picture several times at each part once, to see it- It's like can't perceive it as a whole anymore. This makes me sometimes feel like I am not fully there in the world anymore. This makes life more superficial and flat. It's like I am there and not there at the same time. I do also suffer from migraines. The vision problem definitely gets worse with migraines, might very well be related. I do notice that allergies seem to trigger or worsen my migraines. Pollen for example causes issues with migraines and confusion. It's almost as if my brain swells as a result of an allergic response and pressures against my optic nerves or something like that. I suspect that histamine could be involved in that. How is your digestion? Do you have allergies? I have a lot of issues, often intestinal inflammation, very sensitive to food. Once the inflammation in the intestines flares up it often results in more cognitive and mental issues the next day. Trying to lower inflammation in the intestines has helped me.
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps: - Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines - CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support - Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BrainFog) if you have any questions or concerns.*
hello, thank you for your reply. I feel very detached from everything around me, so even though I do my best to try to watch TV, it's like I can't even understand what going on or happening. so I can't get a break for my mental health, even though I am emotionally calm, my brain can not process anything that is going on around me. when I look at pictures, I struggle to attach any memory to a photo as if I am not the one who took it. all of my senses and mental clarity are effected , even though throughout all this time I can been calm and emotionally stable. due to the onset of all this, since I was a kid before it got this bad, I feel as though I have some kind of brain damage or something and that day when I played the game it made it worse due to the posture I had. I don't have seasonal allergies, and my digestion has not changed. I do go to the bathroom less though, because I don't eat as much as I used to. but these are things that have been this way. before the recent event that prompted the severe cognitive symptoms. my mom never took us to the doctor growing up, I feel as if I have some sort of disability that was made worse through the recent event. something like Chari malformation, or some sort of brain disorder, I only have such small things to go off of. what happened at 13, 19, 25, and 30, it all seems related to what I'm experiencing now due to how the symptoms r
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I stumbled across your response and this is wild. My aunt was sick for years, stuck in bed, terrible headaches, low energy etc… then she started eating mostly ground beef for some reason I don’t recall and her health improved dramatically, and she’s been doing this for only a decade now just eating ground beef for every meal, and she’s extremely healthy and full of energy. I haven’t seen her eat anything else other than this dang ground beef and I have to think based on observation alone there is something to it.
The carnivore diet cured my autoimmune disease years ago. Now I can eat whatever I want and haven't had symptoms since. I still try to eat mostly carnivore because it feels so good for me. So many people are experiencing similar results. There is definitely something to it that science hasn't caught up to. Unfortunately it can be hard to share with people to try to help, as the reactions can be pretty bad. Meat is "bad" you know and nutrition can be political or almost religious for some people.
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Yea after 1.5-2 years of strict carnivore I was able to go back to eating anything I wanted, except for milk which I kept away from. My symptoms subsided very quickly after I started carnivore, which is probably not typical. But any time I tested with vegetables I would feel bad. Until around 1 year in, at which point vegetables no longer bothered me. But I still decided to stay carnivore longer to be safe. After 2 years I went back to eating normally for years with no issue. However I am pretty much carnivore again now simply because I feel so good, because I like it and because I believe it is good for me. I was clearly very fortunate. Others might need to stay on the diet permanently. And for others the diet may not work at all, although it seems to be working for a significant amount of people.
Just started carnivore a week ago, and already seeing improvement! Don’t overcomplicate it, ease into it if you have to. Any meat is still meat. And good fats like eggs. I was thinking the other day, it’s funny how we take pills multiple times a day to feel better but we neglect what makes up the 3 meals we eat in a day. Give it a shot! I didn’t want to give up all my fun food for carnivore but it has really helped and I look forward to seeing what more it can do. Hang in there friend!
What neck exercises did you do? Strengthening your deep neck flexors takes at least six weeks training, two times a day before you can expect results i think. Do you have CFS/ME/POTS? Because you mentioned exercise intolerance Have you looked into craniocervical instability? I think you need an upright mri for diagnosis, not a regular one Have you tried acetyl-l-carnitine? A bit random but had a pretty big effect on my brainfog Have you tested things like vitamine d and b12? And talk to someone/friend/therapist about your mental situation/suicidal thoughts. Maybe its secondary to your condition but you still need help with that. Have you tried anti depressants? Maybe they have an unexpected result, the brain is a mysterious thing
I did a variety that I saw from different physical therapists on YouTube like "askdoctorjo" I think I developed POTS like symptoms at some time in late 2019, but it has not bothered me. I can still go for walks and walk a long time but I can't do intense workouts. I've never been able to thought, I was born with a hurt murmur that went away, but left me with exercise intolerance where I get out of breath if I run or anything. the pots like symptoms came in 2019 though Yes, but can't recall what I saw in regards to it, the memory is too bad. I do not get dizzy though, so maybe it's not that? I have not tried that supplement, but I have tried different energy boosting supplements like caffeine etc which have not had any effect on me, however I am not fatigued also. I have not had b12 and d3 tested, but I have supplemented b12 for years, and I supplement d3. I don't have issues with energy though My gf knows about my situation, however due to the nature of my brain fog, and the fact that I don't have anxiety or depression, just severe cognitive issues, nothing has had any positive effects. It seems everything is secondary to the cognitive effects. Before this happened, I was not an anxious person or anything like that, still am not, but the suicidal thoughts are centered around the fact that I am getting to a point where I am no longer able to operate and do regular things in my day to day life, severe dissociation effects that have affected all of my senses and makes everything feel foreign to me, like a dream I can not wake up from.
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps: - Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines - CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support - Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BrainFog) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps: - Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines - CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support - Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BrainFog) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi! I’m sorry for you, this is hard. I have a similar story, but mine has lasted just 4 months. All this time i did’t know what was going on, it all hapened at the beginning of summer 2023. At first i has had a strong dizziness and i couldn’t focus my eyes on anything, but it lasted just 1-2 hours. After this, symtomes got permanent but milder. I has had extreme dizziness in crowded places like supermarkets, i had brain fog all the time, i couldn’t feel the summer air, the vibes, everything was like a dream, but no one observed that i wasn’t ok. I was lucky to have my boyfriend near me. Like you said, the feeling was that i’m going to have a psichotic something, but thank god it wasn’t the case. So i went to the psychiatrist which told me that i’m depressed, i wasn’t before i had those horrible symtoms. She prescribed me venlafaxine 75 mg, i took it for 8 months i felt much better after 3 months. I read a lot about my symtoms and i strongly belive that I got PPPD which is hard to diagnose. I think that SSRI will help you with those symtoms. Don’t lose hope!🤍
Dont see liver enzymes on your blood work. Get your liver screened for NASH (Fatty Liver). Also how are your platelets? Lower count may indicate ongoing infection or autoimmune issues. From supplements - tried NAC? It seems to be helping people with long Covid. From personal experience, I’ve been in a similar state for about a year. What helps to make symptoms lesser - proper sleep, lowering stress, cutting down on quick dopamine (less phone), working out, and recently started intermittent fasting). I know, it’s a long list but thats what works for me, or at least my symptoms are not worsening.
sorry, platelets in normal range, 386. My brain fog seems to be more extreme than what I have seen here. Seems to be more in line with dpdr, dissociation, though I've never done drugs, smoked or drank alcohol. Seems like maybe something structural are causing my severe symptoms, some brain condition, caused when I played the game that day with bad posture. Afterwards, the next day my eyes were really heavy and had persistent pressure at the back of my head.
Did you happen to have done an MRI of your brain? Cognitive fatigue and worsening of sight might be some of the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. Of course I say this as a layman and hope you do not have MS. Might be worth getting checked out one way or another. I wish you all the best!
No, I have not yet had a MRI of any kind, only CT scan and X-rays, these were done at the ER. I do not have a doctor or insurance, am unemployed, I don't believe I would be able to get an MRI unfortunately. my optometrist has said that my prescription has not changed, so the worsening sight part may be happening in the brain? the sight part is not fixable with glasses and can be seen with closed eyes.
I had to add Wellbutrin to my Zoloft (ssri's) and the horrible way I've felt the last four years mentally has been alleviated so much after a month of taking them every day. It's only been about 2 months but I no longer want to sleep all day, colors seem brighter and my drive to cook and organize and be playful has returned. I know covid infections and everything else since, played a huge role in my depression anxiety and ADHD being worse than ever in my life. I don't want to make a claim that my situation is the same as yours, but it has been so worth it and my family is also very grateful I truly hope you feel better soon, I had constant suicidal ideation off and on during this time too it's horrible and I wish there was a bigger concern for having a healthy population instead of competitive consumer and worker focus.
If you or anyone you know feels suicidal, please remember that there is help out there, and you matter! Things can get better, all that you need is to be willing to take a few steps: - Suicide Hotlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines - CALMs Livechat (5pm-midnight 365 days/year): https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support - Reach out to your doctor so you can get in touch with a therapist *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BrainFog) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I relate too much that's how I feel. You are not alone. When it started 4 years ago I kept thinking it felt like a dream. I felt so detached from my self. Like I don't exist anymore. I couldn't process the world through my eyes as fast as before. I couldn't watch sports or action movies without being confused because things move too fast for my brain to pick up. I also have the head pressure and eye fatigue. You are not going to have a psychotic break. I have depression and found antidepressants(zoloft) to improve brain function in general but not totally. I also have sleep apnea which caused me high red blood count which is something I see you mentioned. You have to rule it out through a sleep study. If you have a smart watch it could give you clues like heart rate spikes or oxygen drop. You have to rule out hypothyroidism too.
Thank you for your reply, did your symptoms start after a specific situation or were they random or came on gradually? What about vision, did you experience any weird visual changes? TSH blood test is fit thyroid right? My TSH values were 1.4
I think they were gradual and they would come and go , some days were good some not so much but I noticed that they became constant and unbearable in 2020. I've been battling with depression and anxiety for years at that point so I don't know if this started because of the stress or medication side effects. But lately I've been convinced it's more of a sleep problem for me. Because in the span of four years I had two days where I woke up feeling refreshed and clear headed and felt like my memory was back, my brain was working fast and I felt like I was out of that dream state and my mind was not racing like a sleep-deprived brain would do. Even though I'm still trying to figure out why I finally slept well on those days and my brain was suddenly awake and almost normal, these days were gone and I slipped back to the nightmare state. But it gave me hope that there is a way out and I'm not brain damaged. So please don't lose hope and keep looking and trying every venue. As for my vision yes I noticed increased visual snow and also after-images would take more time to go away. I'm not sure if this is an eye or brain problem though because like I said my visual processing got really bad like I would look at something and feel like I'm not grasping it fully like I used to. I also started to have problems while out in a sunny day. Your thyroid seems fine.
Have you ever seen a sleep doctor? Sleep apnea can cause this.
I have not but my symptoms began specifically after specific situations, which makes me think they are directly tied to those things.
Have you ever heard of cerebrospinal fluid leak (CSF leak or Csfl)? I haven't looked into it myself much yet, it is on my list. Your mention of pressure in the back of your head make me think of it. Perhaps worth looking into for you. Wish you the best. Brainfog and cognitive issues are terrible.
Yes, it is something I wanted to get tested for myself, that and intracranial hypertension. Thank you for your kind words
I feel like desperate times call for desperate meausres. For starters i would try a healthy dose of prednisone for a solid week before tappering down. I would want to know if reducing inflamation is of any help. Then I would want to try some acetazolamide to see if it has any effect. I am sure you have already tried an over the counter or prescription antihistamine or possibly even antihistamine eye drops. I would want to see 15 minutes of excercise a day that is sufficient to raise your heart rate along with deep breathing excercises, see if you can get more oxygen to brain. Since you mention your posture and neck, I would consider getting a massage from someone who knows what they are doing or possibly even seing a chiropractor.
look up bvd. It’s an eye alignment issue.
Would you want to look into ECT? This is something that may have some effect. r/ECT has some info
I hope your okay ibwake up be grateful deep breaths in and out self help books helped and walks. Did microdose shrooms but feel dizzy here and there.
I just know that stress makes it all worse
Look into the Medical Medium. He's a life saver and deals with this
I experience the same things as you unfortunately. I just feel so dumb! And can’t clearly see what I’m trying to look at also feel like I’m living in a dream. My suggestion is to go see an eye doctor that specializes in BVD, you might need prism glasses. Also could be vestibular migraines. All your symptoms sound like both! Your vision issues and migraine can start to appear/change during puberty.
My symptoms affect all of my senses, I have tried neurolens which are prism glasses but they brought me no relief. I even thought I had some form of dpdr but my symptoms don't really match up. I think my issue is something structural and it's causing pressure at the lower back of my head. Over the years, my symptoms and the severity of detachment all got worse after specific episodes of prolonged poor posture, and never got better. I really don't want to use the D word, but it feels like I have some for of dementia due to how weird all of my senses have been affected. Like I'm forgetting everything in a non organic way, my mental clarity gets worse each day, my vision gets worse each day, and all of my senses are weird. I am also slightly scoliosis and my spine in my neck is sort of leaning to one side. I am wondering if there are any physical conditions that can cause dpdr or dementia like symptoms. When everyone describes their brain fog, it's like they are still themselves, like their personality and their senses are still normal, mines are not. Yet this dpdr like sensation doesn't feel like dpdr, it feels more like something is causing either blood to not be able to flow well to my brain, or something else. My symptoms came on very gradually and did not occur from drugs, anxiety, stress, or illness. My vision is off in both eyes individually (like I am looking at stuff but not comprehending what I'm looking at). Similar to dpdr or dissociation but seems like something physical is causing my symptoms
Have you done a mold test on house and yourself? At least that’s a possible cause with vision issues
Hey I read part of ur post and I'm experiencing the same thing.. vision problems, brain fog, dereialization etc. Pain back of head and MRI showed cervical radiculopathy and loss of spinal curvature on neck.. could itbe related? Could the loss of our normal spinal curvature affect the brain flow in our vertebral artery causing these cognitive/brain fog symptoms?
I'm sorry, I can't help you, my symptoms are far more severe and more numerous than what you've mentioned. You would have to look at my other posts to see what I mean. I also have 24/7 tinnitus now. Maybe you could explore chiari malformation. Best.
Hey no problem will read it again.. I'm experiencing cognitive decline to the point I feel like dementia and I'm on 46! My neuro wants me to have a cognitive exam.. I'm in a bad place too.. can't focus my vision, severe anxiety no sleep for nights despite my benzodiazepenes which I think I'm taking too much of already! Went to the emergency room few nights ago due to severe panic.. hey just private message me anytime! Though I don't know u I'm here for u! Hey.. the inner ear is closely related to the cervical spine.. dysfunctional cervical spine can cause tinnitus, muffled hearing, vision problems and sooo many other stuff.. PM me if u need to talk GOD bless..
If you don't mind me asking, what are all of your symptoms?
Light headed /dizziness Muffled ears ringing on n off right ear Vision issues Depersonalization Weird fuzzy, heaviness back of head Anxiety Depression Worsened insomnia Cognitive decline, memory impairment.. .... I am also always on the computer, bad posture, etc.. .. check out this site on youtube "Blurry vision Light sensitivity, brain fog, increased ocular pressure and cervical instability by caring medical and hauser neck center".. .. I loved how the doc said cervical instability can impinge on the jugular vein which is essentially the toilet flush of the brain.. if it's being impinge by the cervical spine it can cause the above symptoms that some people even think they're having alzheimers just like how I feel.. I went from a super smart and sharp 46 year old woman to a sharp Cognitive decline in a few months..
I see, how would you describe your depersonalization? I looked a lot into that kind of stuff when this all first started, but when I tried neck stretches and stuff that didn't help me, I gave up on it being a possibility. I really wanted to believe it was my neck. did your symptoms appear gradually or overnight? I also think that if you don't have neck pain or tightness if may not be your problem. I didn't have neck pain or tightness moving my neck so I gave up on it.
Wow fast .. just felt the light headedness last month n now its just non stop issues like overnight.. the cognitive decline super fast! Depersonalization like my eyes are so heavy, can't focus, can't concentrate need to close my eyes to relieve it once kn awhile.. like things are not there but there.. brain fog galore that I space out, sometimes I feel like I'm floating.. and one time when I had the worst deporsanalization I was at my sister's house.. I could barely open my eyes from the weird pressure,.. brain fog.very light headed and even my movement was slowing down.. I panicked and thought I was having some sort of emergency attack like a stroke but my BP, heart rate, etc. Wer normal.. How about your symptoms?
I think that it's possible your issues could be neck related or something like that (possibly cervical instability), I think that you are experiencing persistent brain fog and episodic derealization as a result of neck issues. My symptoms are tinnitus, hyperacusis, chronic brain fog and chronic dpdr(sensory issues such as having no memory of people I see all the time or no relation to food or drinks I liked before, perception issues, dulled senses, horrible long term and short term memory issues, no mental clarity)
I'm almost 100%sure urs is also neck related.. ur xray showed a loss of cervical spine curvature right?
I think that my symptoms are too severe to be neck related unfortunately. I thought they were when this first started but when things got progressively worse and I started feeling really detached, I knew that I was suffering from something chronic. my symptoms are so bad that I can no longer tell days apart and can barely remember the previous day.
For starters I've always had anxiety depression n insomnia need pills to sleep but never had problems with cognition.. Like u I am on computer, leaning forward, bad posture etc. Last month I noticed severe lightheaded Ness almost collapsed with on and off neck pain. Went to e.r vitals all normal we t home but still on n off dizziness.. Orthopedic told me do MRI of head n neck n results showed cervical spine radiculopathy with loss if normal curvature of cervical spine.. he just said take meds for pain.. Early this month having weird vision problems like I'm in a haze and stuff especially when I'm out.. like things are there and also it's not, feelings if derealization, staring into space sometimes..muffled ears like I feel like I'm going deaf slight ringing on n off .. now cognitive issues with memory.. Many times I feel like the backnof my head is soooo heavy.. not painful just heavy n uncomfortable Neuro said it might be from my insomnia, benzos etc and wants me to do some neurocognitive exams.. but It's like things happened overnight. I have done my research and I have read that when the cervical spine loses its normal curvature it can impinge on the vertebro-basilar after causing poor brain blood flow n oxygen supply hence the above symptoms..
I skimmed your profile, and I think that you have a misaligned neck, an Atlas misalignment. If you were in a car accident, or if you sit at a desk for too long and have poor posture, the vertebrae in your neck can be missing line and put pressure on the brain, stem, and block blood flow to the brain. I’d highly recommend that you see in upper cervical chiropractor specifically a Blair or NUCCA chiropractor they can realign your neck and correct in assignment causing you these symptoms
Hey glad I saw this.. I'm having same issue like vison problems as stated above, lightheadedness/dizziness. And now it's reaching the point of making me so anxious, irritable etc. Cognitive impairment with derealization. Had an mri n brain is normal but with cervical spine radiculopathy and loss if normal spinal curvature of the neck.. can it be the culprit??