Posted by whiterabbit on July 7, 2003, at 1:38:59
In reply to Re: SEVERE BRAIN FOG Edgefield, posted by crazychickuk on July 6, 2003, at 9:39:02
I know how you feel & it's frightening, but you
are NOT brain-damaged. So forget that right now
and let me tell you what you should do & not do.
Once you understand what's happening to you, it's not so spooky.What you should NOT do is to keep switching medications because this will only make things worse for you. Most of these psychiatric drugs are not fast-acting, it takes them quite a long time to really kick in and improvement comes slooooowly in tiny bits and pieces, you won't notice big dramatic changes. What I suggest you do is to stay on the medication you're taking now
even though you feel like hell, because you're going through the hard part right now and since you've come this far, you might as well stick with it. YOU WON'T ALWAYS FEEL LIKE YOU DO NOW.
Try to remember that...the brain fog DOES go away.
See, that medication is hard at work in your mind, shifting things around and lining up the troops to work better, and while this process is going on you feel confused and dull and can't remember things, it's not a good feeling at all.
I remember how it felt & it was damn scarey but looky here, if you KEEP taking your medication just like you're supposed to, the payoff IS coming. Little by little, as your body adjusts to the medication and the drug continues it's good work in your brain, ever so gradually the fog begins to lift. You start to feel better, you start using big words again, your thinking clears up, your memory returns, hallalujah here comes the sun. And when it's all over, you ARE rewarded for all the creepy stuff that you had to go through. You feel, well...you're like your old self but not really, because you feel a LOT better than your old self ever did. In fact you'll be surprised by the things you'll do and the feelings you have now that your brain is finally in good working order. Sometimes you stop
and think, by God I'm actually ENJOYING myself!
And I'm not even drunk!It's good to feel well, let me tell you. But it's kind of like being really sick with cancer, and then having to go through all these dreadful treatments that make you lose your hair and feel even worse than before you started treatment, but after the treatment is over and the cancer is gone, you have a new appreciation for life and good health that you never had before...and it makes you happy, even though it was a dreadful experience to go through.
So hang in there, girl. If you stop taking your medication, all the good things that were happening in your brain just fall apart and you have to start all over again with the next medication, and if you KEEP switching medications over a short period of time, the little neurotransmitters in your brain get confused as hell because each time you start over with a new drug, your brain cells get a new set of directions to follow and pretty soon they're all slamming around up there like bumper cars. So just hang with the stuff you're on now & I can promise you, it WILL get better. That part is coming.
In the meantime you can do a few things to help yourself feel better.
1.) Drink a lot of water. It helps flush the toxins from your system - VERY important when you're taking a lot of medication. That's why you always see people in the hospital hooked up to saline bags. The more water you drink, the better you'll feel so do whatever you have to do to get into the water habit. I take a lot of meds myself, so I carry around a big insulated go-cup with a cap and a straw and keep it filled with ice water. If that doesn't appeal to you, keep bottled water in the freezer and drink it as the ice melts. Or drink carbonated water with lemon.
Whatever works to make you drink that water...you'll start feeling better pretty quick.2.) Take a good multi-vitamin combination, not just the one-a-day jobbers - there's not enough in them to do squat no matter what the bottle says. I take Nature Made Maximin Pack, you can get it right there at Walgreens or whatever your town drugstore is. Antioxidants help your body deal with the by-products of medication that can sludge up your system - you wouldn't think liver function would affect your thinking but it does.
If you really want to kick-start your liver you can take milk thistle with your vitamins, I don't take it myself but my sister SWEARS by it.Good luck to you dear, better days are ahead.
-Gracie
poster:whiterabbit
thread:239567
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030701/msgs/239803.html