A few weekends ago, I began developing cold- or allergy-like symptoms (sniffling, blowing nose). Some friends had come to visit that weekend, and one of them also started having this on the same night as me. Around Tuesday or so after that, it started to go away. But after I came home from work, I suddenly started feeling drugged or stoned. I went to the doctor and he suspected virus or allergies, and gave me a Sudafed-based medicine. After about 6 days I started feeling normal again (what a psychotic 6 days!!) and eventually got off the medicine.

A few days after this, I again got runny nose and eventually got the drugged feeling again (apparently 'brain fog'). Went to the doctor for exam + blood work .. all came back fine. Started me on Allegra-D and Flonase, which I've been taking since. My symptoms now are mainly brain fog, pressure headaches, and neck soreness.

I believe my grip on reality is tightening slowly. I've lived here for 2 years, but didn't have this problem last year (or ever). After reading the other 'brain fogger' posts on here, it sounds like it's likely allergies.

I guess (like some of them) I'm just wanting someone to agree and tell me this is all perfectly normal ... anyone? *g*


thanks,

LeChuck

It sounds like allergies to me. When I first got allergies I had "brain fog" so bad. All my friends thought I was pregnant - not possible! I had no clue what was wrong, but I was dizzy and couldn't concentrate. How are the Allegra and Flonase working. That was what I used, but I recently switched to Clariton when it went over the counter just out of convenience, they seem about the same to me.

Hi LeChuck, I too have the same thing going on. I had problems with my ear though. Whenever I bent down I would hear a pulsating sound in my right ear. I suffer from TMJ and I thought that this was what was causing my problems. Anyway I went to the doctor and was told that it was due to allergies. I was put on Allegra D. I have been taking it for about 3 weeks and am feeling a little bit better.

It is so hard to explain that brain fog to someone. It does feel as if you are walking on clouds. I hope you continue to get better.

It has only been about 5 days since I got on the Allegra and Flonase, but I am finally starting to feel normal. So perhaps they are working well, although I heard you can't really tell much until a week has passed. I considered trying ChlorTrimeton (per the other brain fog posts), but I'll keep on this for awhile first. I think the brain fog freaked me out mainly because I've never had allergies do this to me. And like everyone else, I then got curious and searched online for my symptoms .. bad idea ..

I agree that it's hard to explain this to others. My mother was ready to take me to the E.R., while my father seemed to be sizing me up for a straight jacket. Ahh, anyway .. hopefully this will be gone soon.

LeChuck

Hey Lechuck,
I have never ben so happy to find this website and see there are other people like me. I have ben going to the same thing with dizziness, brain fod, sinus pressure, ear presure. I of course, thought it was a brain tumor and needless to say I have been a basket case for over a year. I also moved from Miami to South Jersey 2 years ago--I did not have it the first year I was here (or ever) but last Febraury it all started when my office moved to a new building and it has been off and on (mostly on) ever since. I went to the doctor 4-5 times and he said it was allergies. The Nasonex and Allegra did not work for me so if anyones knows of anything else PLEASE let me know. I am getting married in September and want to feel good.
Thanks!!!

I agree, these boards are much more satisfying than paying for a doctor to guess what's wrong with you. I'm not convinced mine even knew what I was describing when I went in about the brain fog ..

Out of curiousity, how have you coped with this for so long? When I've got the fog bad, I feel like I'm going completely insane .. questioning my existence/reality, feeling disoriented, etc. It was hell having it for only 6 days, I don't know how I'd handle it for months or years.

I don't really know any good remedies -- all I've been on so far are Sudafed variants and multi-vitamins. Some people on here recommend ChlorTrimeton 12mg twice a day, that might be worth a shot. If you haven't already, I'd suggest searching the boards for "brain fog" and reading the matching threads .. lots of good info there.

LeChuck

Hi LeChuck,
It has been difficult the last year dealing with this mainly because I think about it all the time which makes it worse. But my doctor swears to me time and time again it is NOT a brain tumor but deep down it still haunts me. Finding this website and seeing there are other people like me actually made me feel a little better. I have starting the C-Trimenton but I am trying the 4mg first and see how it goes. I will let everyone know howis goes. Take care.

Deb,

If you are taking the 4mg pill, make sure you take one every 4 hours otherwise it may not provide you any relief.

I have been taking the 12 mg. pill morning and evening for 4 years now. It probably will make you a bit sleepy the first month, but you'll get used to it, if it works for you.

The C-Trimeton will not help everyone, but it has helped at least a half dozen people that have been on this forum over the last 2-3 years.

THANKS CUT THROAT,
IT IS FUNNY THAT YOU RESPONDED TO ME ABOUT HE 4MG PILL BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO WRITE TO YOU AND TELL YOU THAT I HAVE NOT HAD MUCH SUCCESS WITH IT. I HAD ALREADY BOUGHT THE 4MG WHEN YOU TOLD ME TO GET THE 12 AND SINCE I AM NOT REALLY A PILL TAKER I WANTED TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE BUT I THINK I AM GOING TO GET THE 12MG---I WOULD RATHER BE TIRED THEN FEEL LIKE THIS. OH AND I WANTED TO ASK YOU, DO YOU HAVE ANY EAR PROBLEMS?? (EAR PRESSURE, CRACKLING, POPPING, ETC???--I DO-DO YOU THINK THE 12MG WILL STLL HELP?)
TAKE CARE!
DEB

I am sooooo glad to see this. I knew my sinus problems were allergy related, but I thought the forgetfulness I had been feeling the last few days was SCARY!!!!

Yesterday I forgot so much at once - it was like I had basically left reality.

[This message has been edited by Citykittie (edited 04-11-2003).]

Since my first post, I've pretty much been on Allegra-D and Flonase exclusively. After about a week of the fog, I tend to get back to normal. I guess I am going to have to be on these for awhile though .. each time I've stopped taking the meds, the fog (and usually stuffy nose, etc) comes back within a couple days.

I think the thing that makes me panic the most is that my "typical allergy" symptoms (e.g. itchy eyes, stuffy nose, etc) aren't really bad at all ... but this brain fog is making me feel insane. It's kind of like I have memory problems or brain fatigue or my sense of time is screwed up -- although I'm able to remember everything fine and my mind seems to function normally. The best description I've seen so far is a feeling of being stoned or drugged ... is this how the rest of you feel? If so, how do you all cope with this day after day (week after week, etc)? I just tend to watch alot of TV or surf the net (i.e. to distract myself). Sometimes it feels like I'm drifting out of reality, which is a very creepy feeling to have every single day.

Does it seem to be worse for anyone else at night (or in the dark)? I suppose it's just the darkness, or maybe just because I get more tired at night, but I seem to notice the fog more then. I seem to think my vision has gotten a little blurry over the past few weeks ... anyone else?

I think being comforted while having this fog is pretty important to my sanity, so if anyone can relate to the above symptoms, please say so!

I'm sorry you are dealing with the brain fog. It is definitely some type of weird head allergy. I have been dealing with it for 1 1/2 years and it is driving me nuts. Perfectly healthy for 29 years prior. The only thing I have found (after 6 months of not knowing) was that perfumes and chemicals make me much worse. This all happened after I was on antibiotics for a while. So far I have not found anything that helps. I have read that for some people this DOES go away or is helped by antihistamines etc. If you find anything helpful, please let me know. Good luck and god bless.

ny01, does your brain fog ever go away (i.e. when you're not around perfumes, etc)? Or is it there all the time and just worse around certain things? I've thought it could be some things in my apartment (e.g. the fact that we haven't vacuumed for 6 months due to broken vacuum), but my condition doesn't seem to change at all when I leave (e.g. for the weekend).

Here's something possibly relevant: when my friend came and visited (before my first "episode"), I had him sniff some (very hot) salsa I had made a couple weeks earlier (it had been under plastic wrap in a bowl in the fridge ever since). It was very spicy and just smelling it seemed to irritate his nose. I sniffed it also and had the same reaction (which was expected .. I knew it had a strong smell). Anyway, from that point on (and throughout the weekend) he and I were both sniffling, blowing nose, etc .. the other two people in the apartment were fine. He said his reaction went away once he started driving home.

My question is, is there any way this could somehow have kept us sniffling all weekend? And possibly be causing my problems and brain fog? I discarded that theory early on because it seemed preposterous .. but maybe it isn't?

One other fact is that since last October (when we got a second cat), I've been getting red, itchy hives on my body (sometimes on palms, fingers .. other times on stomach or ribs). They come and go, usually within a day or two. I never figured out exactly what triggers them, but they seem to be much less frequent since we got rid of the cat. So I'm wondering, could the hives and this new brain fog somehow be related? Any theories?

I'm hoping it will turn out to be an allergy of some sort. I'm going to make an allergist appt tomorrow and hopefully get allergy tests done. Any theories would be very much appreciated!

LeChuck

Sorry, had trouble posting so I did a test. Guess its working ok now. NY01, After reading about your brain fog starting after taking antibiotics, I thought I would post this to you. Have you done any research on candida? One of the main symptoms is brain fog. One of the main causes is antibiotics. I had all sorts of problems that doctors couldn't figure out. I discovered candida on the net. I've been taking nystatin and doing the candida diet, and most of my problems are gone. You may want to look into it. Good luck.

[This message has been edited by cantfindoutwhatswrong (edited 04-16-2003).]

The only things I can think of that might have triggered my reaction are ..
1) Carpet full of dust, dirt, cat hair/dander. Our vacuum broke about 6 months ago, so we haven't vacuumed in a long while. I don't see why I'd suddenly react to this though
2) Smelling salsa (see post above). It was pretty old, and I used new peppers in the recipe, but this just seems unlikely to me.
3) The day my fog started was also the day I started bringing my lunch to work. That day I had a sandwich with new lunchmeats and cheese we had bought the night before.
4) Start of allergy (hay fever?) season. I've only lived here 1.5 years, so maybe I just got lucky last year? It seems people everywhere are suffering from allergies (Austin and Houston, atleast). Alas, no one so far can relate the brain fog feeling though ..
5) Possibly fatigue. I've never had a good sleeping or eating schedule, and I work in front of a computer all day. With my other symptoms though, I'm not sure this is it.

Just to recap, my symptoms are ..
-- brain fog, disconnected or "stoned" feeling
-- occasional stuffy nose, drainage in throat
-- occasional pressure headaches (and sinus "clicking" in nose) .. seems worse when I lay down
-- slight neck pain
-- slight shortness of breath
-- weak or "shaky" feeling .. seems worse when I'm hungry (but never seems to go away)
-- vision slightly blurry at distances

So far I have had a physical exam, blood work (incl cholesterol, white/red cell counts, anemia check), blood pressure checks, and blood sugar tests .. all were fine. I want to go this week for allergy testing.

Does anyone know of other causes for these symptoms? (I'm mainly concerned about the last four) I just want to make sure I rule out anything major that I'm not aware of.

Thank you all for the help (and comfort!)

LeChuck

cantfindoutwhatswrong,

I am glad to hear you are feeling better. Did you have brain fog and chemical sensitivities? What is you your regime of Nystatin? I will try this in the next few weeks. How long did this diet and antifungal treatment take before you saw a difference? Any info is so appreciated. Thanks so much.

LeChuck...

Sorry to hear about your symptoms...but at the same time, relieved to find someone with such similar ones to mine!

My symptoms started about 3-4 months ago...very slight lightheaded/brain fog in the evenings. Also noticed an increase in heart palpations (skipped beat)...maybe 2 or 3 in an evening whereas I use to get them maybe 2-3 times a year. Also had slight disconfort in chest (pain too strong a word) usually on left side but sometimes on right too. Immediately cut out caffeine (one strong cup of coffee per day) and after several weeks, the palpations had stopped. But the lightheadedness had become much worse, throughout the day and I also started experiencing very slight shortness of breath.

Went to the ER twice thinking the worse...heart problem causing lightheadedness. ECGs came back normal as did all the usual blood work. Blood pressure, reflexes fine etc. etc... They suggested a viral infection in the inner ear. I did have an inner ear infection about a year ago with the full blown vertigo but that completely cleared up after a couple of days. This lightheadedness is distinctly different...exactly what has been described by others on this board...brain fog, stoned feeling, disconnection with reality.

During my first visit to the ER, I went home that night with a soar throat...figured it was just something I picked up in the hospital...no connection. But that was 3 months ago and I still have a persistent, tickly cough which seems to be worse when the lightheadedness is worse. All these symptoms come and go...almost completely go away for a week, and then bam! back again for a couple of weeks.

The hospital has referred me to a cardiac specialist for further stress testing which is still several weeks away. Not satisfied with the NHS doctors here (I live in the UK) I decided to go private a few weeks ago. The private doctor agrees with me that a heart problem is barking up the wrong tree. He did find a white spot on one of my tonsils (but I've always gotten those from time to time) and prescribed an antibiotic but wasn't convinced that was the cause. He thinks it is inner-ear related and has referred me to an ENT specialist...but that appointment isn't for a couple of weeks.

That was a week ago...the antibiotic did clear up my throat but has had no effect on the other symptoms. And this week I have started with a nasty headache...sort of behind my left temple and eye but sometimes on both sides. I have also started with some slight disconfort in my right ear...maybe pressure with occasional clicking sound...no hearing loss. I too having a shaky feeling and although an eye exam came back normal, I feel as though my vision is a little fuzzy at distances.

I'm at my wits end. While none of these symptoms are MAJOR...collectively, they can really get you down. And I'd be lying if I said brain tumor wasn't always on the back of my mind (no pun intended). Guess I'll just wait and see what the ENT finds...and I've kept the cardiac test appointments just in case (though I really don't think that's it...neither did the doctor that recommended them).

The suggestions here about ChlorTrimeton have been interesting and I just started today taking Piriton allergy tablets (chlorpheniramine 4mg) which strange enough, I've already taken in the past for hayfever. Piriton was the only over the counter drug I can get hold of in the UK which contained only chlorpheniramine. Does taking 2 12mg doses seem to work better than the recommended 4mg every 4-6 hours??

I suspect all upcoming tests are going to come back negative and that this will turn into a process of elimination to find the cause. I've started taking a multi-vitamin and cut dairy products for a while. Hoping the chlorpheniramine makes a difference soon. So far, just finding a message board with similar stories has been the only relief.

Marc

Marc,

I'm not sure if this is the same feeling everyone else is calling "brain fog", but I found two psychiatric terms that seem to describe how I feel: depersonalization and derealization. Sufferers of these two usually feel spaciness, out of reality, drugged, and worried (e.g. that you'll be stuck like that forever, or that it's a brain tumor, etc). But with both, you are perfectly functional and could pass all "reality tests".

I went to a very reputable doctor yesterday for an exam and testing. He didn't find anything in the exam, but suspected either allergies, a virus, or a thyroid problem. I thought this was interesting, because the symptoms of an overactive thyroid do seem to match my symptoms (esp. shakiness, blurry vision at distances, spaciness, weight loss, etc). Have you been tested for this before? I believe palpitations are another common symptom. I get my results back Thursday, I'm very curious about how that will turn out.

I'm not sure about the C-Trimeton dosages; I'm still on Allegra-D and Flonase .. not sure if they're doing anything to help this. Cut Throat can probably answer this question.

Oh, welcome to the board. I agree that it's very comforting finding others with your symptoms (especially the 24/7 spaciness).

LeChuck

Thanks LeChuck...

First round of blood work looked for a thyroid problem but came back clear.

Yeah, I don't know that spacines describes what I have. It's sometimes like a slow, rolling sensation going backwards...basically a lighthead...but no spinning...and no problem with balance...kind of like a cross between a daydream and the sensation after hyperventilating.

I also notice that sometimes, its hard to fix my eyes on one point...they involuntarily keep shifting very slightly and instantly recover. I know that is a natural scanning function of the eye but this is different...the deviation is greater and always to the left. This does not happen all the time.

Early on with these symptoms, shutting my eyes during one of these spells brought instant relief...but now, I feel the rolling sensation even with my eyes closed...especially when laying down. In fact, it's usually when my eyes shift focus from one thing to another that I notice the lightheaded sensation...but this happens even when my head is completely stationary...which makes me question whether or not it is inner-ear.

Anxiety has been suggested but I honestly live a pretty stress free life. And while yes, these symptoms are disconcerting, I don't dwell on the idea of a brain tumor or anything...I'm 30 and don't smoke or drink.

Anyway, I was able to push my ENT appointment up to tomorrow so maybe I'll have some answers. Thanks again...

Marc

I had the brain fog w/nasal & ear stuffiness for about 6 weeks... it was awful.

What really helped me was an ultra-sonic humidifier that sprays out a cold mist. I place that next to my bed while I sleep & the mist kind of comes down on my face while I sleep. After being stuffed up for 6 weeks and taking all kinds of medications, steriods, antibiotics, etc., I woke up and for the first time my nose was clear and my head cleared up in a day or two. I had another type of humidifier going, but it did not have the same affect as the ultrasonic one.

I don't know if that will work for anyone else out there or not, but its worth a try.

NY01, My symptoms included brain fog, chemical sensitivities, coated tongue, major bloating, constipation, acne, and a few more I can't think of right now. My doctor put me on the nystatin suspension liquid. It's not supposed to be as good as the powder, but it works for me. Within a week of taking that and doing the diet, my bloating was gone! That was my worst symptom and the one that kept me searching for answers. I had numerous blood tests, ct scan, ultrasound, colonoscopy, and endoscopy. The only thing they told me was I had IBS and GERD. In my opinion, they only diagnose you with those when they don't know what else it could be. By the time I had gotten that diagnosis, I had already been on the nystatin and diet for a month. I already knew what my problems were and don't agree with what they said. Alot of problems are either gone or significantly decreased. My bloating and constipation are gone. The coated tongue is almost gone. The brain fog and chemical sensitivities only affects me now when I have die-off. I feel that I'm at least 80% better than I was before. This was the best thing that I could have ever done. Now, I enjoy a much healthier diet and have increased energy, and clearer thinking. There is a great website that has lots of useful information. They do sell products but I don't use them. I just use my nystatin and my own supplements. But the information on there is great. It's wholeapproachforums.com. Check it out. You may find some useful information. Good luck and let me know how your doing.

Hello!
I was just reading your message about "brain fog" and I have been looking for answers concerning that as well. About 2 months ago I got what I thought was just a cold, (slightly sore throat, runny nose, and sneezing) but ever since that subsided I have felt unable to concentrate, dizzy, slightly inflamed nose, and this weird sensation in my eyes. I just feel all off balance. It scared me so bad that I started having panic attacks when I would feel dizzy. I went to my GP and had blood tests for everything under the sun, I even had a test for hepatitis c because I'd heard that it caused brain fog, but everything is normal. A friend told me that allergies sometimes come on all of a sudden in adulthood. I just had a baby 7 months ago so maybe after you've been pregnant your chemistry changes?? If anyone can give me any assurance I'd greatly appreciate it!
Thanks