Forecast: Fog Up Ahead

It was a dark and foggy day…Okay, maybe not dark, but it was definitely foggy. I cannot for the life of me, remember where I put that post it note. You know the note, the note that I am supposed to look at so that I remember what I am supposed to do? Yes, that note. Hopefully I will find it so I remember what was so important.

The fibro-fog obscures my brain and makes it hard to remember so many things. There are days I go to do something half a dozen times before I remember what I started off doing. Racking my brain doesn’t help. My cognitive function seems to be missing, short term memory loss? I don’t think its short term…I think it left and it isn’t coming back! But seriously, ever have one of those foggy days where you start to head down the hallway to get something from your bedroom and when you get there, you can’t remember what it was you went to the bedroom for? You look around for awhile trying to figure it out? Nope, no good, go back to the kitchen and re-think what you were doing. Do that several times and maybe, just maybe, when you remember what it was you started off to do, you won’t be so upset with yourself for wasting time.

It must be awfully annoying to others. I know it irritates the snot out of me. I have engrained it in my bosses head to make notes. This is more for my benefit than others, but hey…it works! I could get writers cramp from all the notes I write myself at work. Maybe I should buy stock in note paper, I could make myself rich. I find myself asking repetitive questions. If only I wrote down the answer after I asked it. If under stress or facing anxiety at the same time the fog is settling in, you can forget me remembering anything. The day is like a big blank slate that has been wiped down and you can’t quite read what it says.

Ask for patience. Ask friends, family members and co-workers to please bear with you during the foggy times. Most importantly, have patience with yourself. Accept that there will be foggy days, sometimes more than others, but there will be foggy days. Try to go back through your thought process one step at a time. Sometimes you can cut through that fog with your low beams. Slowly but surely you will get through it. I frequently try to retrace my steps to get there. Sometimes it works, other times…it is no where to be found. Elvis has left the building, gone from the mind for good. Don’t stress out, chalk it up to a foggy day and just try to establish some routines. For instance, now I always place my car keys in my right pocket. I don’t need to wonder where they are, I just pat my pocket and make a sigh of relief that I remembered to put them in there and didn’t lock them in the car.

The only trouble with having too many routines is that you are not challenging your mind. Do something out of the ordinary, try reading, doing word puzzles, or playing mind games. We need to keep our minds sharp. This will also help us as we age. I have started taking Co-Q10 just recently and have noticed a slight improvement in my memory. Hey, I have seen elderly people with cognitive disorders, I don’t want to be one of them; I have enough trouble as it is. Maybe if I write myself a note I will remember to take the Co-Q10 and remember to keep my mind active, even on the foggy days. Oh that’s what I was going to do…take my Co-Q10! I didn’t find the note, but I did remember!