Brain fog

[Stefcon1]

I had a traumatic cardiac ablation 8 weeks ago. The heart has settled down nicely now.

I am on Verapamil 3 x 40 my daily. Apixaban 5mg 2 x daily. Flecanaide 150mg 2 x daily. Levoxathyrine 100mg 1 x daily. I have 3 monthly injections for low vit b. All of these drugs can affect memory

I am feeling very well for the first time in 16 months, good walking speed, not out of breath, no pain. However, I am having difficulty recalling conversations with people ,which is resulting in me repeating myself. I feel very embarrassed telling someone something and they tell me that I told them last week. The rest of my cognitive behaviour is fine. I am doing word games, suduko, I get to places on time and I know what I am doing. I have resorted to writing a diary to try and keep track of conversations. It is really driving me nuts and I’m worried I have early dementia.

Has anyone else experienced this after ablation.

[Hidden]

I’m 75, I’ve had two ablations and I’ve been in permanent AFib for four years.

I have occasional difficulty finding the right word for something. I frequently find myself In conversation thinking I’ve already told this anecdote. Otherwise cognitively ok.

I put this down to part of the normal ageing process, and nothing to do with my cardiac problems.

[Stefcon1 in reply to Hidden]

I’m just getting old then 🤣

[Popepaul]

I do not think that your lapses in memory about recent conversations are likely to be a current aspect a dementia for you. Incremental poor memory and a difficulty with familiar tasks poor concentration and a deterioration of sequencing skills with disorientation of time, place or person are the gradual hallmarks of dementia. The process is gradual and normally starts with a longish period of mild cognitive impairment. Your medications could be causing your memory lapses. I guess we all question the acuity of our memory from time to time, especially as we get older. We all tend to repeat ourselves with age. In most cases it is not pathological.

Regards

[CDreamer]

It sounds so specific to put down to drug reaction - no I haven’t experienced that same thing but I do have some mild cognitive dysfunction and sometimes have brain fog but it’s improved dramatically in the last few months. I had COVID in Oct21 and was quite ill and had dreadful brain fog for months after.

Some may be age but have you had any infections recently? I had a MRI to check for abnormalities following COVID and a couple of very small suspect ‘white’ areas were found but my neuro told me that it was nothing out of the ordinary for my age.

[Stefcon1 in reply to CDreamer]

No infections. Hopefully I will improve soon.

[MarkS]

It is possible the brain fog is connected with the ablation. Did you continue with apixaban throughout the ablation with no pause? Did you have sedation rather than a general anaesthesia? If yes to both, then it is probably not connected to the ablation.

[Stefcon1 in reply to MarkS]

I had sedation but not enough throughout the whole procedure. Very painful and traumatic. I stopped apixaban for a few days.

[MarkS in reply to Stefcon1]

OK, I had sedation as well and woke up a few times so I know what you mean. I'm surprised they stopped the apixaban as the usual procedure is to continue now. Without anticoagulation, the ablation does produce a lot of small particles which can cause brain fog, though this should be temporary.

[Golfer60UK]

Hello Stefcon, I have had two ablations followed by a pacemaker and AV node ablation. At 79 I know I am changing physically and mentally in a slow decline. I play golf three times per week and regularly have trouble with remembering names and places. Also very short term when I maybe go into the kitchen and forgot why I went there.

I do not think its anything to do with medication, rather the process of ageing, some people age quicker than others but you can help by for instance, doing cross words, jigsaw, reading, all helps

Best wishes

Dave

[Stefcon1 in reply to Golfer60UK]

Thank you. I do sudoku and word quizzes.