| Fibromyalgia and Brain Fog
What the heck is brain fog? One of Fibromyalgia’s symptoms is brain fog but just what is it anyways? If you search it out, they have many reasons for the brain fog, Fibro fog and some call it a cognitive dysfunction. Anywhere from:
- lack of restorative sleep
- abnormal blood flow
- brain abnormalities
- premature brain aging
- mental distraction due to pain
Personally, I can tell you that my brain is fine. When I gave up all medication, my brain fog left. The medication that left me in the worst, severe brain fog for hours upon rising was Cyclobenzaprine HCL or Mylan-cyclobenzaprine which is
a muscle relaxant. It was near impossible to wake up in the morning, I was like a zombie for hours.
A usual practice for treating Fibromyalgia is with anti-depressants when you are first diagnosed. They tell you it is to help you sleep, I beg to differ. I think if we go back to my article on the psychological mislabeling of Fibromyalgia we
will see that it has been an illness that not too many believed it was real but rather in the patients head. When I took their anti-depressants to “help me sleep”, I lost so much sleep. I was awake until sometimes 2 in the morning, then trying to wake up was impossible. There was major “brain fog” that was drug
induced.
http://naturalpainreliefforfibromyalgia.com/1202
Now I can see that we can experience mental distraction due to chronic and intense pain but it doesn’t exactly qualify for the label of brain abnormalities now does it? Give me a break! Of course now, if you have brain abnormalities, you should seek help. If you have depression, you need to seek help, especially if you are suicidal. Don’t be alone with these illnesses, there is help, seek it out. Talk to someone who can help.
Lack of restorative sleep is a problem for all sufferers of Fibromyalgia, this is something I can relate to. The reason most of us have disrupted sleep is because of pain or we are getting up to go the bathroom. What I have found that has helped immensely is a few practical rules to keep in mind.
- don’t eat or drink 3 hours before going to bed
- do stretching exercises before going to bed
- invest in a good mattress, a good portion of your life is spent in bed and your back and neck need proper support
- a pillow that supports sore necks ( I have tried every support pillow going and the best thing I have found is to tie a string around the center of your pillow so it looks like a bowtie) It helps neck pain a lot.
- don’t sleep on your arm, they just found it can cause heart problems. I used to sleep with my arm under my pillow and I had shoulder pain so bad it kept me awake at night. I found a slim pillow that I have under my bow tie pillow and it has
allowed me to sleep without laying on my arm and has helped with the shoulder pain.
- on a really sore area natural creams can help immensely like Traumeel, apply it before going to bed so you can get to sleep comfortably.
- a pillow between your legs can help knee pain and hip pain
- try to eliminate caffeine from your diet and certainly stay away from those energy drinks, they aren’t good for anyone
- try meditation and visualization before bedtime. Try to visualize yourself having a restful nights sleep, it might help trigger your subconscious mind to have a good night sleep. Meditation can help relieve the stress of the day.
- breathing exercises help increase oxygen flow to the body
How about premature brain aging? The fact that our brains age prematurely doesn’t have to do with Fibromyalgia per say but rather applies to any and every human alive. Here are some things that can age the brain prematurely:
- eating the wrong food
- lack of essential oils
- lack of brain nutrition
- not exercising our brains
- watching Jerry Springer (lol)
- failure to keep educating ourselves
- taking too many street drugs
- taking too many prescription drugs
- not getting the right nutrition, vitamins and minerals
- having too many toxins build up in the brain
- not getting the right fats (today’s modern diets are high in the wrong fats and low to nil in the right fats)
- not enough fibre to grab hold of cholesterol and fat to usher them out of the body
- if we don’t feed our brains then you will get premature aging
- lack of exercise
- failure to keep learning
- stress
- over work
- over exertion
- too much of anything is not good
- In the book “Eat away illness” by Carlson Wade he says scientists theorize that a nutrient called choline is able to strengthen neurotransmitters or “telegraph signals” between the nerve systems in the brain. Choline can help replenish and
rejuvenate cells to help you think young again. He says
choline is available as a supplement and is especially potent in a substance called lecithin. Derived from soybeans or sunflower seeds, lecithin may well be the key to having a “young mind” in a young body. Now I advise here since this book might have been made before the genetically modified foods were introduced
into our food chain that you need to buy this in organic form as you will find yourself in more trouble taking a genetically modified form derived from soy, please beware.
Have you ever heard the term, if you don’t use it, you lose it. That applies to intelligence as well as our bodies. How can the brain keep focus and youthful when we are filling it with gossip, drugs, toxins and nutritionally void foods?
What can we do?
- eat the right kind of fats, olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil
- eat high soluble fiber foods from beans, oats, barley, carrots, apples, prunes (ew), and figs (ew) : ) Wheat and wheat bran are insoluble fiber, more for irregularity but high in allergens and can cause a myriad of symptoms. High fiber can flush away colon cancer before it takes hold of you. In the book the
ABC’s of nutrition they warn of two cautions: Don’t overdue fiber until you’re used to it, and don’t use fiber pills. Sone of the pills begin swelling up while they’re still in your throat, and a serious blockage can result.
Recommended 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day
Pears, Cherimoya, triticale (raw), cowpeas, corn bran (raw), Amaranth seeds, (raw), Miso, blackberries, Chickpeas, kidney beans, lima beans, refried beans, baby lima beans, mamey, black beans, Ralston cereal, raspberries (my most favourite food in the world, um), apples, whole wheat spaghetti, peaches, figs, lentils, succotash, figs, guava, navy beans, zante.
No wonder we have so much colon cancer and digestive problems today. I can see why we have trouble getting the right amount of fiber a day since most of these foods are non existent in the modern diet. We can add kidney beans to our chili, refried beans to our tacos, eat peaches or apples everyday. I have a great scratch recipe for navy beans that are better than any canned pork and beans. If your colon is blocked, your whole system can be affected.
Read:
http://naturalpainreliefforfibromyalgia.com/1023
What is your brain made of?
- fats and proteins
- 100 billion nerve cells (wow, no wonder things can go wrong)
What do we need to keep it healthy?
If it is made of fats and proteins then that could be a very good hint that it is vital that we need to feed it with the right fats and proteins to keep our brains from Alzheimer’s, dementia and premature brain aging.
Read everyday and learn something.
When it comes to answers, we need to listen to the people. This is what really matters, not some chemist, doctor or drug company who hasn’t experienced the pain of Fibromyalgia but the people who are seeking answers, not just another drug to
try. We can only mask the pain for so long, believe me, 21 years of chronic pain, listening to doctors and taking their pills with no avail. Now I seek solutions, no more band aids. So let go back to the basics.
I was reading the comments on the Fibromyalgia article on brain fog in arthritis today. Leon wrote, had a hair test done and he showed high levels of mercury. Interesting, I had all my mercury fillings removed and did a cleanse, it has made a major difference in my life. Shelly Jordan has been through so many drugs that didn’t help. I hear you girl! Tammy F has had all kinds of CT scans and such and they all came back normal. Accused of being over medicated, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, thought she was crazy, asked if there was a history of
mental illness in the family. I can relate to the ignorance of getting a diagnose and not being looked at as a hypochondriac. Bea said said the drug Saville helped her muscle pain but put her blood pressure and blood sugar out of whack that she thought she was going to die. I can also relate, are we supposed to damage other organs to help with pain? I think we need to find a better approach. I hope this article will help someone with their pain.
http://www.arthritistoday.org/conditions/fibromyalgia/all-about-fibro/fibro-fog.php
leon wrote Nov 22, 2011
Leon got his hair tested and found high levels of mercury
I suffered from this for the past 3 years it began I had a hair
test done they showed I had very high levels of mercury..I was losing it I
didn’t know where I was at times it was so strong I couldnt drive my car at that
time it was scary for me. I began taking different supplements like chlorella,
apple pectin, fish oil, alpha lipoic acid liquid form, chelorex dr Greenberg,
osr -which got shut down I still have some left it really helps. You may also
try yellow dock rumex crispus liquid it pulls toxins very well google it….also
there’s a new product chembuster for the aerial spraying chemtrails this is
serious stuff look up in the sky…google chemtrails they’re poisoning all of
us..
I still have brain fog I hope I feel that air in my head again I always think
about the day I was normal just makes me want to cry I am fighting this as hard
as I can…I hope all of us who suffer from this bs feel better soon.
shelly jordan
30 Sep 2011, 00:17
For the fifth time, I tell my story. Diagnosed with RA four years ago. I
accepted. However, I have since done research and been through so many drugs
that dont ghelp. Im now waiting for a research study for Sjorgrens, But to be
honest I thinkI have fibromyalgia. The muscular-skeletol pain is un measurable.
Thanks for the info. and listening.
Tammy F
05 Aug 2011, 09:44
Until I found a doctor who was familiar with fibromyalgia and was diagnosed with
fibro, my fibro fog was mistaken for being over medicated and even drug abuse
and alcohol abuse. So I insisted they drug test me and when the tests came back
negative for drugs and alcohol they started taking CT scans and so on of my
brain. But they did tons of other tests and couldn’t figure out a cause for all
my pain, etc. They started thinking I was crazy…asking if there was any family
history of mental health issues. It was such a blessing when I eventually ended
up with a doctor that knew what was wrong
bea
28 Dec 2010, 11:52
i have been having fibro for many years and can totally sympathize with
everybody. i wanted to see if anybody has experience problems with the drug
Saville? My blood pressure and blood sugar went totally out of whack when i
started taking it to the point that i thought i was going to die when my blood
pressure dropped to 59. i am having heart pulpations and dizziness to the point
that i can’t get dressed. i stopped taking saville, but within a week my fibro
problems are back. Does anybody have any knowledge of a natural alternative for
saville? i am really tired of putting all these drugs in my body and i am trying
to do as much as i can natural.
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