183 replies to this topic

[world33]

Try rhodiola rosea and other adaptogens in the morning before breakfast. In Australia they sell it on ebay as full powder (not extract) and you can take 3grams. It tastes awful but it really helps with stress, concentration, anxiety, depression and general wellbeing. Google it. If you think you have an anxiety disorder also try l-theanine (200mg) both at night and in the morning. If you think you have depression try 5-htp time release instead.

[Pound]

Try high dose iodine. So many people are deficient in iodine and many people with sublinical hypothyroidism have low iodine levels. I am starting iodine tomorrow at 100mg, NOT mcg.

I have the exact problem as you. No depression or anxiety just intense brain fog. No gluten/dairy doesn't seem to be it for me. I am hoping this iodine will help with my brain fog.

My TSH used to be around 2.5 and I used to have low morning temps like yours. Once on TRT my thyroid started to work better and i got to around the 1.5-2 TSH range and my morning temps are around 97.2F which is marked improvement but brain fog hasn't changed. I am hoping that dosing Iodoral will help. Look up Dr Brownstein and his opinions on the topic.

Also, visit selfhacked.com This guy has had brain fog his whole life, but he has worked out what was wrong with him and he fixed himself up in everyway. He now runs a blog and consultations to help many people with same/similiar problems just like us, so I do believe the read of his website would be advantageous.

His brain fog is definantly not from anxiety. I am on rhodiola atm, and with its MAOI abilities, it helps with energy, mood and concentration but it in no way changes the brain fog. It just helps with management.

[celebes]

He was diagnosed hypothyroid. If he is still refusing to do anything about it then this is all just trolling.

And @Pound if you are on TRT, your dose is insufficient if TSH isn't near zero.

Edited by celebes, 28 March 2014 - 02:27 AM.

[Pound]

No, if your on TRT FSH should be near zero, not TSH. TSH regulates the production of thyroid hormones. My TSH went down when taking testosterone through a different mechanism.

[celebes]

I assumed you were saying Thyroid Replacement Therapy.

[Joe Cohen]

Have you tried my protocol yet? I recently revamped it.

http://selfhacked.co...e-of-brain-fog/

 

Also here's another protocol for supplements:

http://selfhacked.co...-2-supplements/

 

[Esoparagon]

 

Have you tried my protocol yet? I recently revamped it.

http://selfhacked.co...e-of-brain-fog/

 

Also here's another protocol for supplements:

http://selfhacked.co...-2-supplements/

 

 

Thank you! I will have a look.

 

He was diagnosed hypothyroid. If he is still refusing to do anything about it then this is all just trolling.

And @Pound if you are on TRT, your dose is insufficient if TSH isn't near zero.

No, if your on TRT FSH should be near zero, not TSH. TSH regulates the production of thyroid hormones. My TSH went down when taking testosterone through a different mechanism

Where did I say I was diagnosed hypothyroid? I was never diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I was told that I was euthyroid. I am definitely not a troll. I'm trying to find a way to fix this.
 

[Esoparagon]

I was staying up late for a few days, and I noticed that the rooster in the unit below me crows at around 3:30am-4:30am every single night. It's quite loud. Loud enough that I couldn't fall asleep at those times. It never woke me up, so I never knew it was doing it, but it might be ruining my sleep. In combinatino with my squeeky bed, occasional truck going by, and that rooster, I might not be getting undisturbed deep sleep. I've found some ear plugs that don't mess up my ear wax, (don't go into the ear, but seal off the outside part) and I noticed the next day i was a bit better. I'll experiment with doing this in the future. The brain fog was still pretty bad, but better than baseline horrible.

 

Would be weird if this was the whole problem. I'm still waiting for my sleep study. Haven't contacted an endo.

[Esoparagon]

This is the fourth day using ear plugs where my brain fog has been less severe than before.

[James Mills]

I have had issues with brain fog for the last few years, only recently I've been using liquid chlorophyll, diluted in a large glass of water - drinking that throughout the day and it's just disappeared. I did some googling around and found that

 

Chlorophyll has worked for a lot of people - I think one of the original responses on this topic pointed it out to you which is how I found the thread I can't recommend it enough, it's done wonders for me this month - it's increased my energy levels and ability to think clearly 1000% percent (made up figure, but I really do feel much better).

[JBForrester]

 

 

Have you tried my protocol yet? I recently revamped it.

http://selfhacked.co...e-of-brain-fog/

 

Also here's another protocol for supplements:

http://selfhacked.co...-2-supplements/

 

 

Thank you! I will have a look.

 

He was diagnosed hypothyroid. If he is still refusing to do anything about it then this is all just trolling.

And @Pound if you are on TRT, your dose is insufficient if TSH isn't near zero.

No, if your on TRT FSH should be near zero, not TSH. TSH regulates the production of thyroid hormones. My TSH went down when taking testosterone through a different mechanism

Where did I say I was diagnosed hypothyroid? I was never diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I was told that I was euthyroid. I am definitely not a troll. I'm trying to find a way to fix this.
 

 

 

 

According to Australian standards you are considered euthyroid. But according to American standards, you are hypothyroid. Please check the previous post I made with the links of these differences. I urge you to go to an endocrinologist and discuss with him these medicinal differences in diagnoses and BEG to just try synthroid, even if for a few weeks, just to see if your brainfog clears up. If it does clear up, then you know the problem.

[Esoparagon]

According to Australian standards you are considered euthyroid. But according to American standards, you are hypothyroid. Please check the previous post I made with the links of these differences. I urge you to go to an endocrinologist and discuss with him these medicinal differences in diagnoses and BEG to just try synthroid, even if for a few weeks, just to see if your brainfog clears up. If it does clear up, then you know the problem.

 

 

Well just reporting in. My brain fog has become a permenant part of my life. I can't remember what it's like to feel normal. I wake up, I feel horrible, I can't remember or concentrate. I cope by not relying on my memory at all. I use various strategies to get things done, but I know I'm not normal. Some days I feel like I'm not real, like the lights are and no bodies home, sometimes the world seems unreal, like I'm not even there, I'm just going through motions to get through the day without letting my life fall apart. I failed my exams. I completely bombed. Oh, I studied, I just didn't remember a thing. I didn't wake up for one and had to sit a redo.  My sleep is completely ruined. I can't wake up on time. I miss appointments, friends, classes all due to my excessive sleep issues.

 

Basically, I'm mentally fatigued, stupid and forgetful. I can't live life.

 

Pretty sure my girlfriend hates me now lol. I'm a pathetic shadow of the man I was and could be. I can't stand how it must look to people who know me. People must look down at me as I seem to have become lazy and uncaring. The reality is the opposite, I still care so much, but I can't do it. I put in more effort than I ever have with 1% of the results. I'm starting to give up. I start to study and realize I will remember nothing. Then I wonder why I should try.

 

I went in for a sleep study with wires glued to my head and everything. I get the results on the 30th of August. My biggest fear is that he looks at me and says, 'you're fine.', because that will leave no course of action for a solution. If this happens, I'm going to go to push as hard as I can to see an endo.

 

There is a possibility. My brother has a genetic condition that has started to effect him lately. He had crazy brain fog due to his arteries and veins being super stretchy. His brain was not getting enough oxygen/blood making him foggy. Since we share the same mother, and his sons have it, I might have it too. His mutation effects fibrin which is a basic protein that provides structure to many types of tissue. If I have that, I'm in for a lot more problems in the future. I have several of the symptoms. Hyper mobility of the pinky. Bloating and bowel pain. Stretchy skin. Brain fog. And kidney reflux when I was a baby.

 

I just want to live my life. I want to be me again.

Edited by Esoparagon, 19 August 2014 - 08:17 PM.

[Godof Smallthings]

Test yourself for the same condition as your brother as soon as you can. You will find a person who figures out what is wrong eventually. Just keep on keeping on.

[Esoparagon]

Test yourself for the same condition as your brother as soon as you can. You will find a person who figures out what is wrong eventually. Just keep on keeping on.

Thanks I will.

 

I won't give up.

[Pound]

Dude, search up neurofeedback. Get yourself to a very reputable practitioner. I have suffered brain fog all my life. However, I was functioning enough to get very good marks in high school and in the first year of uni.

I took modafinil for 3 months and it completely fucked me up to the position you discribe. Can't study, shit sleep, thickest brain fog. Just started neurofeeeback treatment. Many areas of my brain have been analysed to have too slow or too fast of a certain brain wave and has to be fixed. Work, save up and give it a go!

[Godof Smallthings]

What neurofeedback protocol are they using, and how expensive is it?

 

If it works that is excellent of course, but neurofeedback is complicated to administer and it seems like nobody fully understands the mechanisms (or if they do, they keep quiet about it and charge ridiculous amounts for it... see 40 years of zen, for example).

 

I would check it out, but I would also ask about a money back guarantee and also about concrete clinical results of cognitive function and emotional states (rather than the typical anecdotes).

[Ivet Jaquez]

Hi, I was reading your post and I decided to sign in, in this website just to tell you that I had have this symptons and so many more, and even though I think I have thyroid problems and haven't been diagnosed (i have low temperature sometimes and my Tsh is 2.3) my doctor had just tell me a couple of weeks ago that i'm vitamin D deficiency. so I thought you should check immediately for that.

You haven't write anything in a long time, I hope that the reason is that you are getting better.

I read in an article that 40% of the people from Australia are vitamin D deficiency. Don't know if this is true, I hope this help.

I been taking my vitamins (I take the D with magnesium, calcium, zinc and cooper because it helps with the symptons). I still feel miserable because it is a process, the doctor said it would take a year to be or feel better. Well is long but at least I know one day I would not feel as dumb as I feel now (I have brain fog as you do and I can't concentrate and don't retain information, can't sleep well, fatigue, among other many many other symptons. it is very hard). Take care, I hope this help some how, ciao 

Edited by Ivet Jaquez, 31 December 2014 - 10:04 AM.

[Flex]

Take sun baths in the summer and go into the solarium in the winter.

UV induces the production of body own Vitamin D, and this to a higher extend (1,000 IU within ~ 6min! and up to 40,000 IU per day, depending on the skin type)  than through moderate dosed Vitamin pills (1,000 IU).

 

[limited]

I got this after taking depressants ,psychotics n bezos otherwise i was very focused .HOW DO I REVERSE THE SIDE EFFECTS I GOT FROM THESE DRUGS????!!!!!

[Flex]

I got this after taking depressants ,psychotics n bezos otherwise i was very focused .HOW DO I REVERSE THE SIDE EFFECTS I GOT FROM THESE DRUGS????!!!!!

 

It needs usually 1 or 2 Years to recover fully from antipsychotics.

In regards of benzos, well dont know, but there are several threads which aim that issue.

The effects of the deppresants do usually ( so, sometimes no) wear off after several weeks.

 

You could open a new thread with more details and ask for some suggestions.

[limited]

Ive been off for 2yrs now

[Esoparagon]

I thought I'd give an update. I'm still living with the hell fog of my mind. I'm being thrown out of University for poor performance. I should have taken leave before it got this bad. Stupid of me. I tried my best in one subject that I actually enjoyed despite my brain fog, and I still failed. My life feels ruined. (It's at least very set back) But anyway, after being rattled around and told I'm fine, I went to a different doctor recommended by my girlfriend who told him that, 'she wants her boyfriend back.' She's sick of it. This doctor ran a CT and a new more comprehensive blood test. Everything was 'normal'. My TSH was now 2.5, (from 3.15) probably due to the fact that I have been eating carbohydrates. I was born over 9 pounds so he thinks that's a clear sign I have a poor ability to process carbohydrates. My cholesterol was borderline, 4.1, which surprised me, since last time it was checked it was 'very good', but the doctor said don't worry about it. This doctor said there was nothing he could do for me, but he would send me to a doctor he knows that fixes people's mystery problems. This doctor is a fair expense for me but I have no life so it's worth it if I can have a life. I gave him an elaborate list of family history (funny story, had to call my mother for the first time in years, was a bit awkward but she was nice and gave me information.) He says although medicine says I'm fine, my vitamin D of 80 is far from optimal, and he considers me sub-clinically hypothyroid. He called it the 'F-zone', foggy, flabby, forgetful, farty. He said my so called 'very good B12' was likely due to a problem in actually processing it if I'm not taking a supplement. So it looks like I'm getting somewhere. This specialist was a bit arrogant and rude, but seemed to know what he was talking about, and he is the first doctor to suggest an actual course of action. I nodded and was polite despite this because I'm desperate for help.

 

He did another blood test for the MTHFR allele (3 weeks until I get the results), and I'm doing a glucose test this week.

 

And I've put on a lot of weight which doesn't help. I've decided to go back to a much lower carbohydrate intake. Dr Mitchell mentioned that if you're born over 9 pounds you almost certainly have an issue processing carbohydrates, and that he would probably be suggesting meals that are 50% protein. So perhaps the fact that I feel less insane on a low carbohydrate diet was not misguided after all. I wake up hungry now, whereas I never used to when I was keto. (I would usually not have breakfast but now I'm straight to the kitchen.) I'm definitely low these days, very low. My optimism to get better is mostly gone. My interest in life is mostly gone.

Edited by Esoparagon, 12 August 2015 - 11:33 PM.

[Irishdude]

Sorry to hear. Persevere buddy. There is still options. I have the same symptoms as yourself but probably a different cause as in my case I have anxiety and now depression causing my low Testosterone @ 350, 2.5 TSH, 36.5C core temp, 5.5 cholesterol, terrible concentration, recall, memory, mood, feels like generally low brain energy.

 

Keep us updated. Learning lots off you. Dont stop trying. If you can fix your condition maybe you can go to your university and show them you were impaired and repeat that semester!

[JBForrester]

You are getting somewhere!! Don't forget this! That is SO great to hear. We've been rooting for you on this forum! Sometimes it's just a trial and error road that we have to take to solve our mysteries or problems. Do you have a smart phone? I would suggest under the "notes" app to document every single day, every single time you feel better doing something over another thing. Categorize it under 3 topics: Diet/Supplements, Sleep, and Exercise. For example, under diet you could write: "Today I ate no starches, tons of veggies, paired with protein, and I feel great" or "I took 4000 iu of vitamin D last night and got a super good night's rest". You get the picture. Over time, you will have tons of little puzzles that will slowly lead to understanding this mystery of yours. I would highly recommend doing this because with brain fog, we tend to forget things easily, and what may have been working for you could have easily passed by you if you don't keep close tabs on it. It's definitely worked for me, and I use it for every single thing from my moods to my skin to my fatigue to my work-day productivity. I think you found a good doctor though.

[Esoparagon]

I'm now on vitamin D drops, methyl folic acid, methyl b12, and T3.

 

I have a homozygous MTHFR polymorphism which means my folic acid production is quite impaired.

 

It has been a few weeks. The other week my girlfriend said to me, 'I forgot how smart you were before.'

 

And I don't even really feel that much better, but she said she noticed, and that she didn't realize how far I'd fallen because it was so gradual. I didn't really notice, but I seem to be thinking a lot more.

 

My glucose tolerance and insulin were pretty bad too.

 

Thank you for support!!!

Edited by Esoparagon, 15 October 2015 - 06:25 AM.

[vader]

Aren't MTHFR mutations extremely common? I would just check folate / b12 levels in blood, although it seems unlikely to be low, unless you're vegan for years and don't eat collard or any greens at all.

 

Elevated TSH can be caused by some bug, which inflammed your thyroid, i would just monitor and see how you stand (unless your fT3 and T4 are messed up). My TSH lowered from 5 to 1.8 in 3 years without doing anything. check your thyroid for nodules / size

 

For me brain fog was caused by aspartame addiction, possibly because i consumed very high amounts of soda with caffeine (i have not found conclusion to why this happens, but aspartame gives me instant brain fog, maybe some kind of psychosomatic effect after reading so much conspiracy on aspartame). Also i think brain fog for most is a symptom of depersonalization / depression.

[youngandold]

Sorry to hear that you're suffering so badly.

 

 

+ The good thing: Everything points out to low thyroid and it is easy to diagnose and cure.

 

Besides TSH you need to get tested ASAP for free T3 and free T4.

You need to have BOTH of them AT LEAST in the upper half of the range and most preferably BOTH in the upper third.

http://www.tiredthyr...timal-labs.html

 

Likely you will need to take BOTH T3 and T4 (Levothyroxine) to get them both in an optimal range in order to feel healthy and energetic.

T4 (Levothyroxine) only will give you high T4 and low T3 thus persistent fatigue.

T3 only (or Natural Dessicated Thyroid Only) will give you high T3 and low T4 thus insomnia and high blood pressure.

 

Tiredthyroid.com is the only website I've found that acknowledges that both T3 and T4 meds are needed. It explains the pitfalls of both T4 only and T3 only.

Take your time to fully read the website.

 

 

- The bad thing You may have some trouble finding a doctor willing to prescribe a trial of thyroid to see if it helps.

Sometimes psychologists and psychiatrists are more willing to either order these tests for you, prescribe these meds for you, or send you to an endo who will prescribe them as compared to GPs. No offense but I think that many doctors need a psychologist or psychiatrist themselves to get off their self perceived pedestals.

 

Many people have gotten tired of being tired and they self-medicated buying meds overseas.

Some have even traveled abroad just to get a prescription from a foreign doctor so they can receive their meds by mail in their home countries without customs issues.

 

Best of luck

 

[machete234]

My TSH was now 2.5, (from 3.15) probably due to the fact that I have been eating carbohydrates..

 

Did he say anything about Hashimoto's because I guess that would be the first thing to look for.

In my first blood test I had a TSH as high as yours (male, age 30) and the doctor said this should be at 1 and that is why the full blood test was done which showed the anti bodies. Ultrasound confirmed the diagnosis.

 

So you probably could take thyroid hormones in the morning even though you dont have an autoimmune disease eating up your thyroid.

That makes sense especially because you are suffering. Why not bring your TSH to 1 and see if your brainfog persists?

I heard that a TSH of 2-3 in a male is only fine if you dont have antibodies or if youre not suffering which you clearly are.

 

 

"I'm now on vitamin D drops, methyl folic acid, methyl b12, and T3.

 

 

Oops ok, I hope youre better I know I am.

 

Edited by machete234, 19 January 2016 - 07:23 PM.

[youngandold]

Good advice.
You can take thyroid hormones to lower your TSH down to 1 or even better to 0.5 to see it helps.
It should.

[paymanz]

i had intense brain fog for year and recently have great improvements-still not perfect. for me i think one big factor was chronic high adrenalin.low dose clonidine helped me a lot.i had took a lot of supplements and im sure you tried them , like b vitamins , taurine , minerals , etc.but i think high adrenalin is a major cause, but it may be different for other ppl.

 

the other suspect is high histamin, in my experience.

 

im not an expert just gave my thoughts on it,

Edited by paymanz, 03 June 2016 - 08:28 PM.