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Brain Fog Please Begone

Serielda

By Serielda
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Serielda Enthusiast
Serielda
Posted

As of the past week or so, I have noticed some issues with brain fog. Granted I am still very new, and still healing however the brain fog can be very annoying. Does anyone know of any mental exercises or such to help improve clarity when I am dealing with that. I have toyed with the idea of using some puzzle apps to see if that helps. Thanks again for ideas and input.

 

Serielda

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IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

Ah yes....the dreaded brain fog (or...as we like to call it   "brain FROGS"in honor of a sweet girl who once made a typo in a PM to me ) When I gently pointed out the beauty of her typo and why it was funny, she laughed her head off. Thus, Brain Frogs were born. ^_^ 

 

Hon,

You will experience many things as you start you gluten-free life. The healing path is winding, weird and fraught with "oh man....what is this now?"

Don't let it get you down okay? my motto is "Every day is a healing day."

 

Are you taking a good G F multivitamin? probiotics? drinking lots of water? Did you have your B-12 and folate levels checked? low levels of those can be associated with some fuzzy thinking 

 

You can always benefit from keeping your brain challenged of course, but do not fear that it is permanent. One of the most frightening

symptoms I had was impaired cognitive skills. It seemed surreal, truth be told. But, it all reversed in time.

 

Hang in there! You're going to be okay.

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GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

Welcome Serielda!

 

The dreaded Brain Frogs....I have a very close relationship with these little guys ;)

 

Good news is mine visit much less often these days :D

 

Listen Irish...she tells it like it is.  Early days are not a time to let the brainfog get you down...I know it's hard, but focusing on it can make it worse.  Use your energies to find new recipes or take a walk outside -- both will help you feel better -- and yes it simply takes time.

 

If you haven't seen it, perhaps stroll over to the Dinner Thread -- we like to chit chat like we are sitting around each others kitchens while sharing what we eat:

 

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/75238-the-whats-for-dinner-tonight-chat/page-567#entry920718

 

Or if you are felling down...stroll over to the Silly Thread -- we all go there when we need a laugh or two to lighten our day:

 

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/98288-the-funny-pages-tickle-me-elbow-the-sequel/?p=920576

 

Hang in there -- it gets much better :)

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Serielda Enthusiast
Serielda
  • Author
Posted

Thank you IrishHeart,

Yes I do take vitamins, I alternate day to day Rainbow lights woman's one, and B complex. As a Vegan, I am very vigilant on the importance of vitamins.  The womans one is gluten-free,  and has a probiotic matrix, and the B Complex is also gluten-free. As for a probiotc drink I usually will drink KeVita's coconut Mojito as it has also Blue Ocean minerals to it as well as the probiotic.  Also I do drink a lot of water. Also I have cut my  caffeine way down as well.

 

Thank you for the encouraging words, as  this seems overwhelming at times. My  husband has been very supportive as in removing gluten from his diet due to fears of cc.

 

 

Ah yes....the dreaded brain fog (or...as we like to call it   "brain FROGS"in honor of a sweet girl who once made a typo in a PM to me ) When I gently pointed out the beauty of her typo and why it was funny, she laughed her head off. Thus, Brain Frogs were born. ^_^ 

 

Hon,

You will experience many things as you start you gluten-free life. The healing path is winding, weird and fraught with "oh man....what is this now?"

Don't let it get you down okay? my motto is "Every day is a healing day."

 

Are you taking a good G F multivitamin? probiotics? drinking lots of water? Did you have your B-12 and folate levels checked? low levels of those can be associated with some fuzzy thinking 

 

You can always benefit from keeping your brain challenged of course, but do not fear that it is permanent. One of the most frightening

symptoms I had was impaired cognitive skills. It seemed surreal, truth be told. But, it all reversed in time.

 

Hang in there! You're going to be okay.

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

What I want to know is - if everyone keeps displacing their Brain Frogs - where are the poor homeless creatures going?  cause I don't want them coming to live in my head again!

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

 

Also -coconut mojito?  Yum!

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IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

 

 My  husband has been very supportive as in removing gluten from his diet due to fears of cc.

that is awesomely sweet of him. Mine did that, too...I did not ask, he just did it.

 

Not everyone needs to do that, of course....but it is an added bonus. 

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GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

What I want to know is - if everyone keeps displacing their Brain Frogs - where are the poor homeless creatures going?  cause I don't want them coming to live in my head again!

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

 

No worries there...with the amount of peeps eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) these guys have plenty of places to live ;)

 

S -- Glad you have a supportive Hubs..I've got one of those and it really is a great "fast-forward" when transitioning to living gluten-free.

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BlessedMommy Rising Star
BlessedMommy
Posted

What I want to know is - if everyone keeps displacing their Brain Frogs - where are the poor homeless creatures going?  cause I don't want them coming to live in my head again!

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

 

Also -coconut mojito?  Yum!

ROFL!!  :D

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Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Cutting back on caffeine may be causing some of the extended Brain Frog visit!  Coffee is actually good for mental clarity.......2 cups and no more every day works wonders for me.  :)

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notme Experienced
notme
Posted

What I want to know is - if everyone keeps displacing their Brain Frogs - where are the poor homeless creatures going?  cause I don't want them coming to live in my head again!

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

 

Also -coconut mojito?  Yum!

they WERE in the pool................... (say in jason lee 'earl' voice>  turns out, they hate chlorine!  (actually, pretty sure they vamoosed as soon as we took the cover off)  

 

i didn't realize how foggy my brain was until it started to clear up.  it manifested itself in Not Making Decisions = disorganization.  if you know what i mean.  i couldn't sort through paperwork, i couldn't organize the clutter in the laundry room, i couldn't decide how much $ to contribute to retirement, blah, blah.  i finally feel like i'm tackling things (FEELS GOOD!) and making pro-active decisions.  also, combined with more energy, my house is looking better/more organized.  i'm even painting :)  <couldn't decide what colors, so....... no painting, kwim  :(

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GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

they WERE in the pool................... (say in jason lee 'earl' voice>  turns out, they hate chlorine!  (actually, pretty sure they vamoosed as soon as we took the cover off)  

 

i didn't realize how foggy my brain was until it started to clear up.  it manifested itself in Not Making Decisions = disorganization.  if you know what i mean.  i couldn't sort through paperwork, i couldn't organize the clutter in the laundry room, i couldn't decide how much $ to contribute to retirement, blah, blah.  i finally feel like i'm tackling things (FEELS GOOD!) and making pro-active decisions.  also, combined with more energy, my house is looking better/more organized.  i'm even painting :)  <couldn't decide what colors, so....... no painting, kwim   :(

 

 

Hey...I had these particular frogs too!  So nice to be up clearing out the piles of crap that accumulated from the froggy decades..um ya, mine started in my early 30s and I'm in the last year of the 40s.

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GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

Cutting back on caffeine may be causing some of the extended Brain Frog visit!  Coffee is actually good for mental clarity.......2 cups and no more every day works wonders for me.  :)

 

Gem is wise...every time I removed caffiene to see if coffee was part of my problem, I got worse.

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Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

Cutting back on caffeine may be causing some of the extended Brain Frog visit!  Coffee is actually good for mental clarity.......2 cups and no more every day works wonders for me.  :)

 

Not only that, I've seen a recent study that says moderate coffee consumption decreases your risk of diabetes. This talks about other things, like lower risk of Parkinson's, liver disease and better cognitive function. Open Original Shared Link

 

God I miss coffee.

9TzE8byac.gif

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IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

seems there is good news and bad news about that coffee and brain function connection (there's a surprise)

 

Open Original Shared Link

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beth01 Enthusiast
beth01
Posted

Brain Frogs, that is priceless.  I am with Karen, they can go live in someone else's brain.

 

I find that doing something that is going to challenge my brain helps. Two years ago I could do a 5 star Sudoku in the paper in less than ten minutes, now I can't finish them at all. I stick more to the one and two star ones to cut back on my frustration, but they are getting a lot easier the more I do them.  Do a crossword, a word find, or something along those lines to get your brain moving more.

 

As for caffeine, I am not sure what to think. I used to live off the stuff and no longer have it very often.  But when I do, watch out.  My brain goes a million miles a minute and won't shut down.  It's really bad when the "frogs" are there and the caffeine makes them go into overload, I am a bumbling mess! It is getting better with time and I can actually speak in full sentences now with out all the gluten frogging my brain.  I really love that frog thing lol.

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glutenfreegrump Newbie
glutenfreegrump
Posted

So glad to hear that brain fog is actually a symptom!! My husband was just diagnosed & after reading all this it makes me finally understand what the hell his problem was! lol I would get so upset with him being sooo absent minded. Good to know there actually is a reason for it! ha ha :) 

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beth01 Enthusiast
beth01
Posted

As to your name glutenfreegrump, I am assuming your husband is also on the grumpy side.  You will notice that slowly diminishes as the diet goes better. I would read the newbie threads on here and read about cross contamination.  Good luck in both your struggles ( it becomes a team effort ), it's an uphill battle the first year.  But things will get better, they just take time.  Hopefully soon the frogs will move on and the absent minded husband will be a thing of the past.

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athomp34 Newbie
athomp34
Posted

I find that lots of water and a good workout helps clear my head. It is really hard but 30 min-1 hour of light cardio makes a big difference for me and was essential during the first few months.

 

On a side note, I didn't completely get rid of the brain fog until I eliminated the gums. Just something to consider if you still don't feel well and are certain it isn't cross contamination :)

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GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

I find that lots of water and a good workout helps clear my head. It is really hard but 30 min-1 hour of light cardio makes a big difference for me and was essential during the first few months.

 

On a side note, I didn't completely get rid of the brain fog until I eliminated the gums. Just something to consider if you still don't feel well and are certain it isn't cross contamination :)

Forgive me....in my opinion if your head clears with exercise, additional water or slight dietary adjustment....

Consider yourself very fortunate to have never experienced the level of dysfunction we are speaking to ... We always try to lighten serious bodily dysfunction...but this does not mean we take any of these matters lightly.

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IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

yeah, an hour of light cardio during the first few months after diagnosis would have been impossible for many of us, but if you can do it, kudos!

 

The brain fog I was talking about? was serious cognitive impairment that was caused by malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies and I was hardly walking at the time. We laugh about it now,because we have recovered.....but back then, it was not very funny at all. 

 

Glad you can do it, though!

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GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Hi Serielda,

 

Since you are vegan, you might want to check out creatine supplements.  You may find you thinker thing works better with a creatine supplement.  But I believe it will also improve with more time on the gluten-free diet.  As your gut heals and can absorb nutrients better, your body will be able to heal better.

 

@athomp,  Thanks for the info about gums affecting you.  I hadn't heard anyone say they affected brain fog before. :)

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beth01 Enthusiast
beth01
Posted

Yeah an hour of light cardio, lol.  I can hardly walk around the block right now with all the vitamin deficiencies and my body trying to starve itself... I laugh about the brain fog now because it really doesn't do any good for me to cry about it.  And besides I don't sound like such a bumbler anymore, just a little.

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notme Experienced
notme
Posted

On a side note, I didn't completely get rid of the brain fog until I eliminated the gums.

 

but i likes my gums!  they holds my teeths in  ;):D :D :D

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beth01 Enthusiast
beth01
Posted

lol notme!

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IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

but i likes my gums!  they holds my teeths in   ;):D :D :D

 

 

you knucklehead....go sit in the corner with your chex and toothpick...right now, young lady...i mean it....don't make me come up there

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