Fibro Fog...

Lately Stephen and I have been laughing at the things I have been saying and the things that I forget. It can be pretty hilarious but at times frustrating. Here is some information on fibro fog. Stay tuned for the quote of the day!

While the most predominant symptoms of fibromyalgia include widespread pain and persistent fatigue, the resulting cognitive impairment of this condition may be its most maddening. Commonly referred to as fibro fog, this symptom is a conglomeration of cognitive challenges.

Symptoms of Fibro Fog

Just as no two individuals experience fibromyalgia in the same way, fibro fog also has a varying range of indications, some include:

· Mental confusion

· Fuzzy thinking

· Short-term memory loss

· Inability to concentrate or pay attention

· Language lapses

Fibro Fog Cause

Most experts agree that sleep deprivation is the primary culprit of fibro fog. Occurring at the deepest level of the sleep cycle, individuals with fibromyalgia typically lack sufficient restorative sleep. We know that at the deeper levels of sleep, called delta wave sleep, a person’s mind conducts internal housekeeping. During delta wave sleep, newly acquired information is assimilated and integrated into the brain. The inability to get sufficient delta wave sleep impairs the ability to recall information and operate at a normal level of mental efficiency. (I don't get any REM sleep until about the 9th hour of sleep).

The researchers found that people with Fibromyalgia do not have the same mental agility as healthy people of the same age. Their verbal fluency, long-term memory, and working memory (how much information you can use, manipulate and store at one time) was at the same level of capability as those in a much older group. The people with Fibromyalgia performed even worse, scoring lower than the older group and showing a serious deficit when it came to vocabulary, a cognitive function that doesn't normally decline with age.

The findings of this research is important in two ways: First, it validates cognitive deficits in people with Fibromyalgia. Second, whatever is going on to cause the cognitive deficits in people with FM, it is not the same as that which occurs with natural aging.

Last week Stephen called me in the morning and this was our conversation:
Me: Hello
Stephen: There you are. I called you like 5 times.
Me: Did I answer?!

I don't to this day even remember having that conversation with him. I don't remember quite a few conversations. Stuff like this is going on with me all the time and my most common words are "I don't remember". I just have to sit back and laugh about it!