confusion....brain fog...memory loss....?

[beyondforever00]

well...first a bit about me. I'm a 25 year old make. I have no history of any serious illnesses. I have bad sinus problems, though and that is about it. I have excess phlegm since i was 14 or 15...it hasn't really gotten worse...but its constant and every day. Now onto the real problem.....About 2 and a half years ago, I started not being able to think so clearly, and my memory because an issue. I guess its the fact that it is such a stark contrast to how I used to be. I still have a sense of humor, but before this started to was extremely quick witted, and would remember stupid little details of everything...had extreme focus on things and I guess put simply...My brain worked well lol. Now I am many times at a loss for words, and even simple things like a person's name won't click. I see them...and it doesn't enter my mind for a few seconds. These are even people that I see every couple days or so. I have a constant pressure in my head like something wants to push its way out of it ! Not a pounding headache or severe pain...but a dull, aching pain that seems sometimes to come from the side...but sometimes all around. I put things down and just seconds later forget where they are. I don't mean just like my keys occasionally...but EVERYTHING. I put down a piece of paper, walk away, and forget where it was. I look away, and forget what I was doing a second before. I am not exactly depressed...more like nervous and worried. My doctor ordered a CT scan to be done...and I did it, and it said it showed no signs of any growth in that area of the head. I'm still worried about it being a tumor though. I went to a psychiatrist and he said it could be anxiety. I've tried eating VERY healthy, lots of fruits, veggies, garlic, walnuts, omega 3s, etc...to no avail. I've looked up things and found that it could be mercury or fluoride toxicity, even lyme disease (I've gotten tick bites about 10 years ago!). I want to get to the bottom of this but don't know what type of specialist to go to....as none of them seem to think its any big deal. They dismiss it as depression or anxiety. The only thing making me depressed is the fact that I don't know what is wrong. I just feel "not right"...I feel "off"...like there is a constant cloud over my brain...can't think clearly at all. I really hope its not serious, but it shows NO signs of ending. Help :(

[Jacksoncurtisb]

here is a good source
http://www.universityneurosurgery.com/index.php?submenu=ForPatients&src=gendocs&ref=BrainConditions&category=ForPatients
it has some good information

[Jacksoncurtisb]

there are a couple things that could cause this.

-HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, or hypertension. it happens over a long period of time caused by stress, diet and some medications. hypertension can sometimes decrease blood flow to your brain. my adhd medication causes high blood pressure, so i know exactly how you feel

-it could also be a THYROID disorder called hypothyroidism. as you get older and have kids, your metabolism slows down. you could have hypothyroidism. if it is in fact hypothyroidism and you dont want to take medication, add iodine into your diet.

-it could be you diet, but as you said, your diet is pretty good so i wouldnt worry about that, but i would consider it.

i hope the best for  beyondforever00 and cognitivelykaput

both of you should get your blood pressure checked out.
high blood pressure does what used to be irreversible damage until now. there is some medication i heard of, but it sounds too good to be true.
here is a link: http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/06/16/39229.aspx
remember, talk to your doctor and get your blood pressure treated.
the best of luck to both of you!

[mommyjamieof2]

Have you had your thyroid and hormone levels checked?  Have you had kids?

One thing I have found that helps with the headache/cloudiness is l-tyrosine an amino acid supplement but I have to take about 3-4 pills for it to work.  you might do a little research on that and try it might help.

[mommyjamieof2]

Do you have pressure behind your eyes?  kinda feel like your seeing things from the back of your eyes instead of the front?  Or like you are watching and not really there?  Like a silent migrane maybe?

I have alot of the same symptoms but have yet to figure it out.  I started treating for hypothyroid and while alot of things have gotten better the headache/eye thing has not.

[matrivani]

I would be interested to know if  you have had courses of antibiotics prior to onset of these symtpms. Also if you have amalgam fillings or root canal work. I have very similar symptoms, unexplainable by medical profession and have been looking into the link between the effect of antibiotics and long term medication on the central nervous system and also levels of mercury in the body. In my case i feel there is a definate link.

[cognitivelykaput]

Not that I'm afraid, I can offer any advice with regard to a possible diagnosis, but I can certainly understand what you're going through, given that im suffering a whole bunch of quite debilitating neurological symptoms presently, and I'm having a very hard time trying to convince a neurologist there's anything actually neurologically wrong - primarily due to an MRI of the brain having come back as normal a few months ago.

Over the past ten or so months, I've become increasingly confused by the most simplest of everyday activities, have shockingly bad short term memory, muscle twitching all over, blurred vision, feel quite wobbly on feet, etc.

I've seen two neurologists to date now, both of whom were quite dismissive of my symptoms - saying I'm just depressed! I'm like, damn right I'm depressed, wouldn't you be if you had all these scary symptoms going on, and your life was at a total standstill? Prior to these problems starting, I was both mentally and physically very healthy.

I'm currently trying to seek out a third opinion from a neurologist, in the hope that I'll actually be taken seriously. It's terrible one has to fight to be recognised as having very real and physical symptoms, as opposed to it being 'all in the mind', but alas, that's the way it seems to be - here in the U.K at any rate - not sure if you're in the U.S?

I'd just urge you to keep on returning to your doctor, until it's finally accepted you have something wrong and it needs to be investigated - by a decent neurologist I'd say from the problems you're experiencing. If your doctor isn't interested, then change doctors if that's an option.

Perhaps an alternative route, would be to try and get to see a neuropsychiatrist for some neuropsychametric testing. From the tests performed, they'll be able to gauge just how bad your memory is performing, along with any other cognitive decline, and then you'll have some evidence to back up your symptoms.

Good luck!