Hey All,

Over the past few months (diag Prob MS) I have been feeling less and less clear headed. Not to the point where I cant function, but I always feel like I had a few drinks....(didn't even enjoy it).

Sometimes my vision seems so wierd, like I am detached from my body. Feels unreal some of the time. Some days are worse than others. Makes me wonder if I am actually going insane.

It even fluctuates throughout the day, usually I am more clear in the evenings.

Anyone else experience this day to day altogether spaced out feeling?

I started smoking again after quitting for 6 months. (I know, I know) I wonder if this has anything to do with this feeling getting gradually worse? I also havent been eating real well, and just moved my entire apartment by myself. Some of my other symptoms seem to be coming back too. Any thoughts?

PLease help! I am tired of feeling like a dope. Sometimes I just feel so overwhelmed by just a little bit of work.

J1P

I have problems like that too. I can't focus or keep my thoughts in order. I feel really spacy sometimes. Somedays are really bad. I can't remember what I was doing, saying, thinking, etc... I have a hard time with words. I can't find the right ones to say and end up saying the most ridiculous things. My kids tend to think it is pretty fun. HAHA!

yep, I have that too,
Here is what I have been doing to combat it, I drink alot of water, I have bottles of water all over my house, I also got a book or a few books on eating healthy, one book is called Healing with whole foods, these books explain to you what food does to your body, like fast food is not the best choice all the time, and fresh fruits and veggies esp. ones that are grown where you live are the best to eat, vitamins are important too, how eating meat effects your body, it is very interesting to read about food and what it does to you.

I myself have always thought as Chocolate as it's own food group, :)
and fast food, :nono: last fall I had a 2 month relapse and could not cook, but I could drive and I ate lot's of fast food.

When I eat healthy, Whole Wheat bread, brown rice, steamed veggies, fruit, yogurt, raisins, nuts, and water I don't feel that cottony head and blurry vision as much, and I actually feel better, I am more productive, I can think a little more clearly. I mean I still have all my symptoms, forgetting words, numbness in arm, stiffness all over, it's just that the day seems better for me.

Smoking, I smoked for 25 years and I quit 6/1/01 and I would go back to smoking in a SECOND if it was healthy and just1primate I am thinking that smoking w/d make you feel more crummy, I know it would me and that is what prevents me from smoking, it is a hard habit to break, but if I can, then anyone can.

In my research, I have found that when people get dx'd with a illness, some start looking for ways to improve their life, and learning about food is something that I have found to be a great help for me

problem is more like...

You know that feeling when you first wake up in the morning? That groggy, dry eyed feeling. I am like that most of the day. Smoking actually seems to clear it up a bit. Wierd. Although I am not sure if it is making everything else worse.

j1p

J1P

I can relate...I'm also a smoker...I'm with you, I'm trying to quit, it's just I'm apparently not trying hard nor am I putting in the effort right now..

It's almost like an instaneous thing with me...I get the groggy/doped up feelings :dizzy: when I'm not even thinking of anything, so it's not like I forget my what I'm doing, saying etc; like when I was washing my hands in the bathroom, and all of a sudden had that drunk feeling... It went away after I stared in the mirror and concentrated on "being normal." Not like we'd have to concentrate on things like that. :D

Lisa

I use to get that too. Turns out it was the Baclofen I was taking. Cut way back on the Baclofen and the world got clearer. That stuff just doesn't seem to agree with me.

J1P - "Cognitive difficulty", the most frightening thing to me about MS. I guess people are noticing that I don't always finish sentences. I've been trying to make my sentences shorter when I talk! Can't find words, can't focus, etc. I still smoke, but have set 9/8 as my quit date. The smoking might ease the anxiety associated with feeling like a cottonhead but replacing oxygen with corbon monoxide is not helping us think more clearly! It also can speed up the progression of MS. It just isn't a good idea. Pray for me, I'll pray for you!

You got it LilC. Trying to quit myself. I actually quit for six months (more like a long pause ;)

Hey Just1....I guess you're finding through the posts you're not alone in the cotton-head department! <grin> I like to think of it as feeling "other-worldly." ha! ha!

True story: two days ago I stood staring at my ceiling fan for a good sixty seconds, thinking to myself," I know that I KNOW how to turn that thing off...but I can't remember...." I do lots of mental mumbling and bumbling and after spending time stressed out about it, which only makes the MS worse, I decided to take my neurologist's advice: don't freak out...slow down...think...start over.

Hang in there!!!! And by the way, while I have the presence of mind to say so...if ever you can't recall how to turn off your ceiling fan, either pull the chain or flip the wall switch... :D

KelliD....I know that feeling of searching your mind for answers which should come a bit quicker. Yesterday, I sat watching 30 minutes of hurricane coverage and then I asked myself, "What was the name of the big city that is flooded and they are ordering evacuation?" I searched and searched the "files"....starts with a "B" maybe? Baton Rouge? No.....er......20 seconds later....New Orleans!! And I was sitting there looking at video from NO for 30 minutes and it's all that has been on anyone's minds the last three days!!!

Shadowrider (I'll be riding my horse SHadow again when the dr's give me permission!)

The other day, I stood in my kitchen with a paper towel in my hand, yet I could not for the life of me come up with the words "paper towel."

go figure! :confused:

DO I EVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. MOST TIMES SMOKING IS THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES ME RELAX. TRYING TO QUIT TOO. I GUESS THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF US MSers WHO ARE TRYING TO QUIT SMOKING.

I FEEL LIKE I'M ALWAYS STUCK IN A CLOUD. MY BRAIN IS FOREVER FOGGY!!!

Yeah...thats it. More recently though, my mental state has caused a great deal of anxiety for me. Feels almost like a "psychosis" like I am not here at all. Perhaps my allergies are compouonding an already existent problem....who knows. My eyes feel like they cant really focus. I see fine, just always feels like looking through a marble....

LOL! Kelli, did you have your hands on your hips while staring at the spinny-thing above you? Still lauging!!! But I DO appreciate the reference material in case I need it. Problem is, will I remember where to find your instructions? Several times today I've browsed the board looking for this thread, just couldn't remember what it was, who posted it, etc! :D :D

Ha! Lilc...I don;t remember having my hands on my hips...but I do remember having the quite the coaching conversation with myself!

I think the absolute best way to describe it is...

Like being in a waking dream.

I hate this!

ALL:

I can remember somebody posted that they would forget how to get to certain places when they drove their car, so this individual had a bunch of post-it notes on the dashboard with directions of how to get to places! I thought that was a brilliant idea...

Lisa

14 days since this feeling started, and it is still here, although a little milder than it had been.