My main symptom has always been lightheadedness, but I just feel like Iām at a loss of consciousness. My mental alertness is not what it used to be, and further I just donāt seem to think very often about much of anything. I just feel like a zombie in a brain fog like state and I donāt know if Iāll ever get better.
Yeah I have that a lot. Itās very scary. In fact right now Iām having an āattackā. I just had to correct that first sentence 6 times due to unclear thinkingā¦
I also have MS though, so which one is which is always a question for me, though I think most of the lightheadedness feeling is migraine.
I hate it. You have my empathy and sympathyā¦
Hi jangle, yes I get that too and it had also been my main symptom, like Iām in another world, things seem very surreal and I just feel like Iām in a fog. When Im not doing well thatās how I feel, my days fluctuate but for the most part my medicine has helped a lot, the brain fog can still come and go but nothing compared to how I was when this all started. What medicine have you tried? That feeling had gotten so much better once I got on preventatives. In the beginning before I knew I had MAV Ativan helped that feeling a little.
Ohhhhh Yeah!! Big Time!!! I feel like I am going to consciousness. Especially when I am having a bad attack!! I know how you feel its really scary!
yep me too!!!
Pam
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My main symptom has always been lightheadedness, but I just feel like Iām at a loss of consciousness. My mental alertness is not what it used to be, and further I just donāt seem to think very often about much of anything. I just feel like a zombie in a brain fog like state and I donāt know if Iāll ever get better.
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Hello jangle. I get something very similar to what you describe. However I have not been attributing it to MAV although that may be because my understanding of MAV is rather basic.
I get a sense of light-headedness as if my brain blood flow is insufficient. When this feeling gets really bad then I go into states of confusion during which my attention is extraordinarily poor, I get extremely distractible, I canāt work out the simplest things, my handwriting goes funny, and I feel so ill that I canāt work out what is going on. At these times my level of consciousness or awareness definitely fluctuates.
Last year, every day I was getting several of transient moments during which I would ādrop outā as if I had fainted for one second.
I wonder if anyone here can comment on whether these symptoms are a type of MAV.
-Wexan
Yep - my main symptom too.
Well Iād have to say it MUST be a typical MAV thing, if weāre all experienceing it and all been diagnosed with MAV.
Itās very disconcerting. I know what you mean about the 'losing a second" thing - youāll be sitting there feeling not right and - well for me itās almost like I went to sleep for a second or lost consciousness for a second, almost like Iām falling into oblivion.
I HATE it!
I guess my screen name says it allā¦
Anyone found any meds that help with this?
Sally: Strattera!! (norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, an ADD med).
Ritalin helped too. So did Provigil (going backwards in time here).
Yes, and i hate it. Just like the rest of this illness youāre not visibly āillā and just come across as moronic or bored at those moments.
This is also my main complaintā¦ unable to concentrate, everything seems surrealā¦ Sometimes Iām talking about very technical things at work, and I can hear myself talking, but in my head Iām saying āHow do I know to say that ?ā Itās like Iām on automatic pilot and a part of my brain just isnāt keeping up.
Iāve had this for 9 years, mostly 90% these days with migraine preventatives. My worst symptoms by far when I relapse are cognitive problems. I can feel like I am on some kind of drug trip, spaced, things too near and too far visually and a brain that is working at a snailās pace. I have also had pea soup brainfog - for the first two and a half years I had this that was very severe. These symptoms can be very disabling.
I spoke to a fantastic neurologist once _ I paid to see him privately as he is one of the most eminent in the neurology field and wanted his insight. He said the thing that made most sense to me with regard to the brain fog which is that āmigraine slows the brain.ā That has always stuck with me as thatās often what it feels like, like my brain is working at half the speed. My memory goes out the window, I simply canāt collect my thoughts, itās like they are out of reach. Itās very hard to describe, but in short, if it wasnāt for the cognitive problems that come with this, it would never have been half as hard to cope with it.
The good news is that with the right preventative medication, this can all go. It will return intermittently even when not in a relapse. I might sometimes feel a bit slow brained for an hour or so but then it can clear up just as quickly. I have learnt to live with it when āwellā in the same way I live with photophobia and bits and pieces of dizziness.
I do remember being in the place where it was constant and I thought I would never, ever be able to think straight again. It was truly terrible and I was unable to work for a long time. I say this to give you hope that you will get your brain back, if I did, then anyone can.
H
Yes, this was one of my main issues too. It has gone away now that my MAV is under control with the right med combination for me of Topamax and Lexapro.
This is one of the major complaints I have heard from MAV sufferers. To my knowlege, brain fog will be present in every case whether the MAV is acute or chronic.
Wow, this is very similar to what Iāve been feeling cognitive wise. This is horrible but Iām so glad that you were going through the same thing that I am. Itās comforting to know Iām not alone! And that your symptoms went away. I also feel like I will lose a second of time frequently. Mine come in what feels like a āwaveā. Almost like I lose consciousness. Itās very disconcerting.
Alex
Yes! Same for me - brain fog is how it feels to me. Sometimes I just canāt get my words out. Itās like I can see the word in my mind but I canāt get it to come out of my mouth. Very frustrating. Especially when Iām halfway through a sentence and just stop. Forget everything as well which I hate!
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