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Anyone got any other experiences with things that cause brain fog? I don't think I have sleep apnea (my wife often falls asleep after I do and she doesn't repor

by rolisz 4y ago

Anyone got any other experiences with things that cause brain fog? I don't think I have sleep apnea (my wife often falls asleep after I do and she doesn't report any kind of weird breathing issues for me, nor snoring). But even though I generally sleep 8 hours a night, I am quite tired during the day and I often have trouble focusing. At night, I fall asleep like a log and I don't wake up during the night.

swah 4y ago
Same. Also not super tired, can go through with coffee, etc. But I don't feel rested when I wake up, almost never. [1] The things I never tried: giving up caffeine completely, eliminating sugar completely, eliminating carbs completely, losing 20 kgs (I'm a bit overweight like BMI 27). What didn't work: Ritalin, Venvanse, Modafinil... [1] I feel like it could just be "stress" ie don't know how to relax and let go (beer does work but I wake up worse). I cling to small stuff like "will my wife remember to pick up the clothes later?" (making up a real example that has zero bad effects if it doesn't happen today)
- alx__ 4y ago
  Unfortunately, there are many things it could be. Doctors are only so helpful (and most are even less so) Here's a list of things I tried that sorta helped with my tiredness spells. Recommend doing any of these changes separately: - Sugar fast for 4 weeks (helps reset your cravings) - Switched from coffee to green tea - Reduced caffeine intake to one a day or 3x a week - Acupuncture - 15 min walks or bike ride every day - Omega 3 oils - Higher intake of minerals I was deficient in (eating more green vegetables) (spoiler alert, I had undiagnosed ADHD which contributed to my high anxiety, which gave me waves of alert/exhausted)
  - rolisz 4y ago
    Sugar fast.... Seems impossible. Most I've done is one week and it was absolutely horrible. I was always hungry, despite eating a lot.
    - alx__ 4y ago
      Yeah, it's pretty rough the first week. It can help to modify the definition of sugar to be processed sugars. I kept fruit in. Some people allow honey
- mgraupner 4y ago
  1. Check your Vitamin D levels, if deficient use liquid drops to supplement. Lot of people suffer from this in winter, especially in the northern hemisphere. 2. Do you suffer from a stiff neck? If 1 does not help to release muscle tension, check for Intracranial hypertension or Intracranial pressure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracranial_pressure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracranial_pressure).
- themoonisachees 4y ago
  I don't mean to diagnose you with a mental illness from a passing comment in an HN thread, but your footnote rings the same bell my partners (diagnosed) anxiety does. They were prescribed xanax for it which helped but made them very lethargic, so they stopped. Since you were prescribed ritalin at one point i'm guessing you went to see a mental health professional, maybe try to get a second opinion? Other things they find effective (that don't require a diagnosis) include breathing exercises (flavor of the month is a free(no ads!) app called RespiRelax+), grounding exercises (name 3 things you can touch, etc) and indulging in dopamine activities (for them it's gaming and cooking, for you it might be sport and model aircraft). Last point is not really going to help you sleep but they find that if they can't sleep because of anxiety, it's better to try to forget about it by doing something they like rather than lay awake in bed.
docandrew 4y ago
Could be a hormone deficiency/imbalance or any number of other things. I’d start with a blood test and go from there. If your doctor doesn’t want to order it, you can order your own labs online and take them to a local lab draw facility (at least in the US).
tootie 4y ago
Talk to a doctor. Idk why OP spent so much time solving what a doctor could tell them. I had similar symptoms and doc pinned it on narcolepsy before I could finish explaining. Googling symptoms never turned it up. Getting tested for sleep apnea is very easy with an at-home device. Narcolepsy is more involved. Long COVID is another candidate. So is thyroid which requires a blood test.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- nvarsj 4y ago
  I guess you've been lucky. Most doctors are crap, in my experience. I've actually had a doctor "diagnose" me by typing my symptoms into webmd and telling me I have IBS (which is basically a non-diagnosis). I've heard countless stories of misdiagnoses from friends, or herculean efforts to diagnose rare conditions. The western medical industry is great at handling common, obvious problems, and pretty much terrible at everything else. Especially stuff related to sleep and digestive tract issues.
  - rolisz 4y ago
    I've had a dermatologist look up my symptoms on Google in front of me...
david2ndaccount 4y ago
Get a sleep study. You can still suffer from reduced airflow at night even if it doesn’t translate to actual obstructive events. Or it could be something else.
Levitz 4y ago
You might be getting poor sleep and there are many reasons that might be happening. Then there is also depression or hormone problems. For me personally it tends to be caffeine preventing me from getting good sleep, which in turn makes me want to take caffeine to focus more, which prevents me from getting good sleep, rinse repeat.
- rolisz 4y ago
  It's not depression - I've had that a couple of years ago, I'm not feeling anything remotely similar. I don't think caffeine is an issue. I try not to drink coffee on weekends and I still feel like this on Monday
eigenrick 4y ago
> Anyone got any other experiences with things that cause brain fog? Allergies and Food sensitivities. These are often incredibly hard to diagnose because there are foods that we eat so commonly, we don't have a good control/variable separation for experimentation. In addition, allergies and food sensitivities don't develop all at once. They increase over time. This makes discovery even more difficult. But it's almost always this. As for myself, I had severe brain fog and fatigue. It turns out I was allergic to coffee. Looking back, I now see that it was something that became more and more severe over about 10 years. It took me quitting coffee for several weeks for an unrelated reason to discover that it was the problem. When I started again, the stark difference in how I was felt made it much easier to diagnose. I got lucky really.
galleywest200 4y ago
When I first wake up in the morning it feels like I have indigestion, and when I get indigestion I get really bad brainfog. It feels like I am thinking really hard but the thought is blank. Usually after an hour or two (and a few big gurgles from the gut later) it resolves itself.
oh_sigh 4y ago
Sounds similar to me,and I don't see anyone saying this yet, so I'll throw in my experience: I believe I was sleeping too much. I was generally in bed for 9 hrs and got 8 hrs and felt that way, but after my kids were born and I started getting 5-7 hours, I've felt much perkier quicker(even if I don't need to do anything with the kids in the morning). Before it would literally take me half or more of a day to start feeling awake.
ignite 4y ago
How are the CO2 levels in your room? Do you sleep with a window open?
- rolisz 4y ago
  I have a Withings Scale that measures CO2 levels. During the night, it goes up to 1600ppm. It used to go over 2000, but now we leave the door half open. I can't sleep with a window open most of the year. In winter it's too cold, in summer it's too hot.
JoeyJoJoJr 4y ago
For me the biggest causes are bread, pasta, and coffee. If I eat a gluten free vegan meal for lunch I avoid the 3pm slump and the associated brain fog.
pbourke 4y ago
> Anyone got any other experiences with things that cause brain fog? Vitamin B-12 deficiency due to lack of intake (a risk for strict vegan diets) or pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disorder. The former is addressed by over the counter supplements and the latter by injections. Deficiency can be diagnosed through a blood test.

by rolisz 4y ago

swah 4y ago

Same. Also not super tired, can go through with coffee, etc. But I don't feel rested when I wake up, almost never. [1] The things I never tried: giving up caffeine completely, eliminating sugar completely, eliminating carbs completely, losing 20 kgs (I'm a bit overweight like BMI 27). What didn't work: Ritalin, Venvanse, Modafinil... [1] I feel like it could just be "stress" ie don't know how to relax and let go (beer does work but I wake up worse). I cling to small stuff like "will my wife remember to pick up the clothes later?" (making up a real example that has zero bad effects if it doesn't happen today)

alx__ 4y ago
Unfortunately, there are many things it could be. Doctors are only so helpful (and most are even less so) Here's a list of things I tried that sorta helped with my tiredness spells. Recommend doing any of these changes separately: - Sugar fast for 4 weeks (helps reset your cravings) - Switched from coffee to green tea - Reduced caffeine intake to one a day or 3x a week - Acupuncture - 15 min walks or bike ride every day - Omega 3 oils - Higher intake of minerals I was deficient in (eating more green vegetables) (spoiler alert, I had undiagnosed ADHD which contributed to my high anxiety, which gave me waves of alert/exhausted)
- rolisz 4y ago
  Sugar fast.... Seems impossible. Most I've done is one week and it was absolutely horrible. I was always hungry, despite eating a lot.
  - alx__ 4y ago
    Yeah, it's pretty rough the first week. It can help to modify the definition of sugar to be processed sugars. I kept fruit in. Some people allow honey
mgraupner 4y ago
1. Check your Vitamin D levels, if deficient use liquid drops to supplement. Lot of people suffer from this in winter, especially in the northern hemisphere. 2. Do you suffer from a stiff neck? If 1 does not help to release muscle tension, check for Intracranial hypertension or Intracranial pressure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracranial_pressure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracranial_pressure).
themoonisachees 4y ago
I don't mean to diagnose you with a mental illness from a passing comment in an HN thread, but your footnote rings the same bell my partners (diagnosed) anxiety does. They were prescribed xanax for it which helped but made them very lethargic, so they stopped. Since you were prescribed ritalin at one point i'm guessing you went to see a mental health professional, maybe try to get a second opinion? Other things they find effective (that don't require a diagnosis) include breathing exercises (flavor of the month is a free(no ads!) app called RespiRelax+), grounding exercises (name 3 things you can touch, etc) and indulging in dopamine activities (for them it's gaming and cooking, for you it might be sport and model aircraft). Last point is not really going to help you sleep but they find that if they can't sleep because of anxiety, it's better to try to forget about it by doing something they like rather than lay awake in bed.

docandrew 4y ago

Could be a hormone deficiency/imbalance or any number of other things. I’d start with a blood test and go from there. If your doctor doesn’t want to order it, you can order your own labs online and take them to a local lab draw facility (at least in the US).

tootie 4y ago

Talk to a doctor. Idk why OP spent so much time solving what a doctor could tell them. I had similar symptoms and doc pinned it on narcolepsy before I could finish explaining. Googling symptoms never turned it up. Getting tested for sleep apnea is very easy with an at-home device. Narcolepsy is more involved. Long COVID is another candidate. So is thyroid which requires a blood test.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
nvarsj 4y ago
I guess you've been lucky. Most doctors are crap, in my experience. I've actually had a doctor "diagnose" me by typing my symptoms into webmd and telling me I have IBS (which is basically a non-diagnosis). I've heard countless stories of misdiagnoses from friends, or herculean efforts to diagnose rare conditions. The western medical industry is great at handling common, obvious problems, and pretty much terrible at everything else. Especially stuff related to sleep and digestive tract issues.
- rolisz 4y ago
  I've had a dermatologist look up my symptoms on Google in front of me...

david2ndaccount 4y ago

Get a sleep study. You can still suffer from reduced airflow at night even if it doesn’t translate to actual obstructive events. Or it could be something else.

Levitz 4y ago

You might be getting poor sleep and there are many reasons that might be happening. Then there is also depression or hormone problems. For me personally it tends to be caffeine preventing me from getting good sleep, which in turn makes me want to take caffeine to focus more, which prevents me from getting good sleep, rinse repeat.

rolisz 4y ago
It's not depression - I've had that a couple of years ago, I'm not feeling anything remotely similar. I don't think caffeine is an issue. I try not to drink coffee on weekends and I still feel like this on Monday

eigenrick 4y ago

> Anyone got any other experiences with things that cause brain fog? Allergies and Food sensitivities. These are often incredibly hard to diagnose because there are foods that we eat so commonly, we don't have a good control/variable separation for experimentation. In addition, allergies and food sensitivities don't develop all at once. They increase over time. This makes discovery even more difficult. But it's almost always this. As for myself, I had severe brain fog and fatigue. It turns out I was allergic to coffee. Looking back, I now see that it was something that became more and more severe over about 10 years. It took me quitting coffee for several weeks for an unrelated reason to discover that it was the problem. When I started again, the stark difference in how I was felt made it much easier to diagnose. I got lucky really.

galleywest200 4y ago

When I first wake up in the morning it feels like I have indigestion, and when I get indigestion I get really bad brainfog. It feels like I am thinking really hard but the thought is blank. Usually after an hour or two (and a few big gurgles from the gut later) it resolves itself.

oh_sigh 4y ago

Sounds similar to me,and I don't see anyone saying this yet, so I'll throw in my experience: I believe I was sleeping too much. I was generally in bed for 9 hrs and got 8 hrs and felt that way, but after my kids were born and I started getting 5-7 hours, I've felt much perkier quicker(even if I don't need to do anything with the kids in the morning). Before it would literally take me half or more of a day to start feeling awake.

ignite 4y ago

How are the CO2 levels in your room? Do you sleep with a window open?

rolisz 4y ago
I have a Withings Scale that measures CO2 levels. During the night, it goes up to 1600ppm. It used to go over 2000, but now we leave the door half open. I can't sleep with a window open most of the year. In winter it's too cold, in summer it's too hot.

JoeyJoJoJr 4y ago

For me the biggest causes are bread, pasta, and coffee. If I eat a gluten free vegan meal for lunch I avoid the 3pm slump and the associated brain fog.

pbourke 4y ago

> Anyone got any other experiences with things that cause brain fog? Vitamin B-12 deficiency due to lack of intake (a risk for strict vegan diets) or pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disorder. The former is addressed by over the counter supplements and the latter by injections. Deficiency can be diagnosed through a blood test.