Foggy head

[Moonstar123]

I went to my college induction day yesterday and I was very nervous, the night before I couldn’t eat much because I lost my appetite I think it was nerves

On the day it all went well other than complete brain fog and feeling completely drained by the end

When people where asking me questions I found it so hard to answer as my head was so foggy and cloudy and couldn’t think

And then I felt so tired by the end

I don’t know what this is and why my body is doing this.

I hope that when I start properly I won’t be like this as it was so hard

Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

[MAS_Nurse]

Hi Moonstar,

I note from your other posts that you have problems with your overactive thyroid. Brain fog is often a symptom associated with a number of medical conditions Are you receiving any specialist help besides a doctor, such as an Occupational Therapist, as they can advise specifically about energy management, and write to your college in support of you about reasonable adjustments that could be made. Check the ADA guidelines regarding disabilities and reasonable adjustments: apa.org/pi/disability/dart/...

There is a lot of advice on the web about how to manage brain fog generally, and it's pretty much the same for all conditions. The principles for managing brain fog, which is a form of mental fatigue, that does impact your physical energy levels, focus around the 3 P's: Planning, Prioritising and Pacing your activities to your energy levels. Concentration and memory difficulties are part of the picture. If your brain is overloaded with too much information, it is very draining. Many folks don't realise that mental/cognitive energy uses physical energy and can leave you depleted. So planning your daily activities, prioritising what's essential and important, and pacing them out, doing short spurts of activity followed by short rest periods/power naps throughout the day really helps. Some tips: Write things down, use a voice recorder for lectures to listen back to later when you are not so tired, so you don't have to write and remember everything, ask for handouts of lecture notes beforehand. Speak to your college student support services and see what help and reasonable adjustments they can offer, even a professional study/mental health mentor may help too.

US Centre for Disease Control: CFS/ME - look at the activity management info etc.

cdc.gov/me-cfs/treatment/in...

Hope this helps. Maybe check your national thyroid association for information about brain fog links and management.

Best wishes,

MAS Nurse