Hi - I've increased from 15 mg to 20 mg Pred about a month ago, which didn't seem to help much until I split the dosage to 15 mg in the morning and 5 mg at bedtime so as not to interfere with sleep. The pain is starting to ease after 4 weeks but I feel it's too early to think of going back down even 1 mg.
However when I was first increased to 20 mg I notice a marked increase in confusion and what can only be described as brain fog! I had hoped splitting the dosage might make a difference to this but sadly not. It manifests itself in minor things really, like where do I keep things, why have I come into this room . . . hubby said once or twice I've left the hob switched on etc. I daren't drive the car either, I just don't trust myself so, in a sense, it's isolating too (despite covid)!!! Has anyone else found a way out of Steroid brain fog . . . love to all.
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Fiddlersmum
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Not really. The only thing that helps me is more sleep. I tend to have a nap after lunch as well as relatively early nights. I have several ways of reminding myself of appointments etc - electronic, and notes to myself. I am obsessively tidy so leaving something out will annoy me enough to remember a thing to do. It does improve as the dose is lowered.
It’s very much a case of not letting it worry you too much, as that actually makes it worse.
I had serious cognitive impairment after Chemo (too serious to call it Chemo Brain - I hated that!) l never thought it would improve but it did very gradually but the ‘odd’ thing was there were a lot of times l wasn’t even aware of it!....
But l have trouble at the moment (12mg) losing things & unable to see them when they are right in front of me!
Totally driving myself mad but it’s different to the Cognitive Impairment. I try not to stress about it as that definitely makes it worse, my general Memory is good, it’s mainly ‘Where is my ______? Where did l put ______? And it’s staring me in the face 😳
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly - and so sorry about Chemo. My brain fog seems to be in the spectrum of going into a room but not knowing why I went, not remembering where things are etc . . . . I think I find it frustrating as much as worrisome, but having seen dementia at first hand it does seem to be the first thing that springs to mind.
Yes, l think we all worry about dementia unfortunately; but this is different because we are aware of it, try taking your time & if you forget it couldn’t have been that important. I have an issue 😉 with missing scissors ✂️ they go walk about all the time & l can never find them 😳
Mine is on that level too - like missing tea cloths and given gloves when the timer on the oven tells me food is ready - or this morning, asking my husband where to put something away when I can't remember !
My oven glove hangs on the oven door and goes straight back when I put down the dish. The tea towel hangs next to the kitchen - and the clean ones are in a pile on the sideboard, also an arm's reach from the kitchen block.
Yea, brain fog was a problem I had with Pred and the bigger the dose the worse it was. I lost my confidence and didn’t want to go anywhere on my own. At one point I took myself off the road too. It was quite a shock after previously doing a job where I was used to holding lots of things in my head.
I neglected to pull my handbrake on twice, fortunately on level ground. I now bark (woof woof) like a dog each time I use the handbrake. If I leave the car and realise I haven’t barked I go back and check. Sounds ridiculous I know but it works for me. Even though I am out of the brain fog area I continue the practice. The first time OH heard me, he looked at me and went “Quack quack.” All will be well in time. 🌻🌻
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