Long term 24/7 "brain fog" : Minimizing symptoms with modafilin or methylphenidate?

dsknicker

I haven't been on this board in over a year, but like many have been suffering from the residual effects ("brain fog" 24/7) of damage caused from VN for way too many years (since Aug 4 2001) Like many, I go through cycles.. from seeking a "cure" (and thus reading message boards like this one) to just trying to live your life and plow through the constant 24/7 "brain fog" . At the end of the day, I have found that acceptance of the symptoms is not easy, but required if you want to have some semblance of a normal life and not get sucked into a pit of dispair, anger or frustration with how you have had to adapt your life to cope. In the end, I simply remind myself that things could always be worse and try to focus on treating the symptoms rather than finding a "cure" - which brings me to the point of this thread:

There is much discussion on this board about diagnosis and "cures", but not much on minimizing the symptoms (severe "brain fog") other than via VOR/VRT and anti-depressants for the psychological toll it can take.

In this regard, like many I've seen tons of specialists at some top places (Yale, John Hopkins) over the years, but in the end nothing has "cured" my 24/7 "brain fog" caused by the VN and damage to my right side vestibular system. Like many VOR/VRT proved helpful - especially in regaining my balance in the initial stages; however, the other thing that I have found quite useful is something that ironically was recommended by my local neurologist. Upon my description of "brain fog", she suggested that perhaps I try a very low dose of long acting ritalin (methylphenidate) to help alleviate the fatigue, difficulty concentrating, lack of focus etc. that I experience everyday as I try to function through the "brain fog". She said that although it wasn't the exact same thing that it might help if I was willing to give it a shot.

That said, I have found the medication very useful, but try to not take it very often (rather only on days when I am worse than normal) as these drugs should not be taken without full undertsanding of their affects, interactions, and appropriatness for each person and their own health profile. In my case, I do find it to be an enormous help in my ability to concentrate and focus through the "brain fog" on a bad day when I still need to work/function/think straight.

I have not seen many posts about this on this site so I do not know if anybody else has tried this. I recently read about modafilin which also is being used for ADD and supposedly has fewer side effects and less chance for abuse vs. ritalin so I am talking to my neurolgist about this as a better alternative that I might feel more comfortable using more regularly. Has anybody tried this?

Regardless, if anybody is a long term sufferer like myself of debilatating "brain fog" you might want to consider looking into this as another tool for compensating for the symptoms that cannot be cured. As we all know, the mental fortitude required to cope with our situation is enormous, and clearly it is impossible for those on the outside to understand how exhausting and difficult it is to go through just an average day!