If so, could you please ask it to come home! I tried to make a hairdresser appointment this morning, they are shut on Monday so tried to leave a message but when I got to the 'my phone number is ...' bit my mind went blank. Forgetting mobile number I consider acceptable, but the land line? After 9 years of same one?? Also tried to make a booking on Travelodge website but inadvertently booked two bloody rooms! Think I've cancelled one of them now but no longer trust myself. Thought I'd given up smoking but apparently not. My lovely local shopkeeper tried not to sell me tobacco but when he heard my tale of woe he gave in which was just as well for his health, if not for mine!
I've taken to testing myself on my recall of books I've read just in case I'm going doo-lally. Usually I do pretty well but sometimes there is clearly nothing between my ears. Absolutely nothing. MTX or what?
All this is not like me, not usually. Anyone else's brain take a holiday at odd times? There was a programme on something called 'chemo-brain' on Radio 4 last week, patients' stories struck a chord. I know that RA mtx therapy is miniscule compared to chemo use, but even so ... Joking aside, it's frustrating & a bit scary ...
I Will take the spare roon lol ,any were decent??. My chap doesnt know his phone number either, in quite good with numbers im a sad geek!.. leave them ciggies alone they are bad for the memory.. whilst studying for my pharmacy qualifications. I did a part time caring job. clients with dementia.. most were smokers and or drinkers so beware!!.
You could be under stress , having RA as we all know is v stressful xx
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Yeah come with us! We need someone who is good at these things as husband previously tried to book a room & booked it for yesterday rather than next Saturday! Now he's away & neither of us have managed to cancel that one but I've booked the extra one! As you can tell things are going downhill fast!
I'm not under any external stress, I'm busy making my own! Will tackle the addictions tomorrow because tomorrow is another day blah blah ...
I admire geeks & would take my hat off to you if I could find it .... x
Yes, very real. I thought I had dementia. My rheumatologist believes in it too, which is rather nice. I described my symptoms to him without using the term (didn't want to be thought to have self-diagnosed), and he immediately said brain fog. I'm better now I'm less fatigued because I'm not working, but I still find it hard to concentrate, and my memory is shot.
I'm interested in this now, particularly in how to combat it! I honestly will not be able to cope if I can't concentrate, at least sometimes, because that's who & what I am - compared to not being able to think properly limping etc. so does not matter! But mostly am quite sharp, I think! Maybe I'm deluded!
My brain was not good when I was working, being bullied and under stress did not help. Boss tried to make out I was losing sight, hearing and brain, and had never recovered from a riding accident, amazing how a library manager knows more than a surgeon?! Brain copes with most of what life throws at it now I am not working. Really feel for those still getting used to medication while working and with family responsibilites, it ain't easy.
joking aside im a way next saturday staying in burnham beeches hotel bucks for one nite(spa hotel). most of luggage will be tablets !!, god I hope I did it ok will chck it was a " deal!"
I am confused .com sometimes myself xx
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Have a lovely time Summer. I'm not sure whether I'm reassured or distressed by the fact that my husband seems as vague as I am! (If you get confused at times I'm very reassured, you seem on the ball!)
I mean away (23rd feb)!, no good at typing this eve xx
I've stood with a bottle of fruit squash in one hand, an empty glass in the other and the cold tap running thinking "I've come in here for something..."
it's only when I'm back in the living room hat it dawns on me!
That happened to me before RA but more so now, much more. I'm thinking that at least it doesn't get worse once it happens, just stays at the same level - nobody seems to be saying that they have totally lost it! Like everything else with RA it'll be bearable if this is as bad as it gets! x
Luce its with mine, having a holiday in sunnier climes
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Well I just hope they are bloody well enjoying themselves! (I am having a harder time limiting the swear words on this topic than with others!) x
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it is a bit frightening isn't it, i often can find the end to sentences, they just finish in the middle somewhere leaving listeners with a "what is she on about"
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Definitely, and yet sometimes I feel I'm a lot clearer & more focused than I used to be when I was working round the clock. Sleep is definitely an important factor - when I DO sleep I really sleep & I'm on top of the world the next day, but not hugely keen on losing hours of daylight especially at this time of year. Still, the message always seems to be that something has to give! I think I've got to a point at which I'm fed up of making so many concessions to this disease so need to get real again.
I think mine does house swaps with someone else's from time to time.....someone who gets ratty, can't remember things for two minutes, and is hardly able to finish a page in a book. Sometimes my own brain comes back for a visit, but it doesn't stay around all day. Px
RA brings a lot of changes on every level doesn't it? Usually I'm up for the challenge, but not today for some reason, I'm heartily hacked off with it all. I get ratty too & part of me looks on in disgust although sometimes it's quite a useful trait - not many 'atmospheres' around here these days, my RA self clears the air in no time!
A challenge is working out how to open a jar when your hands don't grip. Turning into Mrs Doollaly with a bad attitude isn't a challenge, but a living horror. Well that's what my OH think no doubt!
My brain used to be quite useful in problem solving. Now it takes me twice as long to decipher info.
At a doctors appt today. It took me 3 visits to the desk in 20 minutes to ask the receptionist for the information needed. It makes you feel silly but also vunerable.
Really must try to remember to raise the memory problem at my ATOS meeting on the 14th february. What a Valentine's day.......DATE.....
It's true these lapses make you feel vulnerable, sometimes more than others I find. RA or MTX to blame I wonder? Just did some googling & saw that inflammation may be one of the culprits.
is it microchipped Woolly? you've got a better chance of being reunited with it if it is.. i think the govemnent is wanting to make microchipping compulsory to try to reduce the number of stray brains on the streets..
i didn't microchip my brain and i let it in the garden to do it's business before going to bed and it wandered off i wish it would find it's way home - i miss my brain...
Oh yes, I often can't think of a word & can say all of the synonyms but not the word itself. I think my brain is a bit better since I started volunteering twice a week & not just watching tv all day, every day. Some days are definitely worse than others for my brain. I totally forget why I went into a room until I leave it. I'm always losing my keys or phone too, and I know people's faces & walk, but for the life of me, I can't think of their name-even though I've known them for my entire life.
This has only been happening for the last 2-3 years for me, so I was wondering if it was part of menopause or brain fog, or horrors-both.
Menopause meets RA is a mind-boggling combination I know! Come to think of it, my worst lapses are when I've been indoors on my own for a while - even though the work I do is relatively taxing it's like my mind gets as stiff as my joints unless I keep using it in different ways.
joking aside (warped sense of humor) do you find things like suduko or crossword puzzles help you?
i find that when i'm tired i can be walking around in a stupor almost and even coffee or sleep doesn't seem to put it right again. i've always felt fuzzy headed because of the urticaria but i think when i started mtx has made it 100 times worse. when i stopped taking it for a week to take antibiotics i felt a bit of the haze lifting and it felt wonderful.
i think that it's a combination of inflamation and strong meds which cause our brain fuzziness. it was one of the most alarming symtoms which got me to go to my doctor but she said i wasn't getting mental stimulation which wasn't true - i found that offensive and humiliating so i didn't go to her again!
tonight i managed to completely forget that i was boiling an egg but luckily i put enough water in the pan and it didn't boil dry, later on i put the butter into the sink instead of the fridge!
each day is different - some days i can't even type a sentence without stopping to check it and other days i feel more alert and 'with it'. it's so frustrating!
Yes, lots of things do help unless it really is a very Bad Brain day. So in that sense I'm not too freaked out by my brain fog usually because it is one of those things that can be got around unlike some other tricky mtx or RA things.
I recall being sent to post a letter for my mum on a hot summer's day way back when - I bought myself an ice lolly, posted the wrapper and put the letter in the bin! No excuses then alas!
At the moment my strategy is to persevere with anything that stumps me at first such as tax forms. Trying to keep my brain agile by making it do stuff it never has liked doing.
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i wish it would find it's way home - i miss my brain...
More meds arghhh! Anyone else had to increase?
New diagnosis and brain dump. 
Methotrexate and Brain Fog
Steroid Jabs? 
