Thanks,

Its all bad,, I wouldnt worry about the details. Belive me, Ive been there and had all those things.

The anxiety about them contributes to the brain fog and OCD. I KNOW from experience.

My fog is both a physiological sensation and
a neurocognitive issue. I think it's a combo of Lyme and Metals toxicity. Still chipping away at both.

The output that gets lost is usually words. If I get distracted while telling a story I will forget the words I wanted to use. I get distracted very easily, sometimes I listen to what I'm saying to hear if I still make sense, but the listening will distract me from the speaking and I'll just stop dead and forget what I wanted to say.

I also have trouble doing two fysical things at the same time. If I open the door when I have a bottle in my hand I will either drop the bottle or bump the bottle into the door knob several times before the sound tells me something's wrong. Because I am so focussed on not dropping things, I also tend to forget I'm still holding them. Like when I'm cooking I have to remember to hold on to the spatula, whatever I do with the other hand. But then I go to the bathroom, and try to pull down my pants and the spatula is there. Ofcourse then I have to let go of it, and not forget to take it with me when I leave, but having to remember something like "bring spatula from bathroom" messes up my standard toilet routine so instead of getting toiletpaper I'll start turning the light off and on, or I'll get the spatula when I'm not even done yet, and so on.

As long as I can focuss on one thing passively I'm ok. I can still read books, though I'm much slower and don't like vague sentences. As long as I concentrate I can still pull off looking normal, I think, though my friends notice. It takes so much mental energy though. It's like I have to consciously remember where everything is or it will magically disappear. I spend a lot of time looking for stuff, but I have to concentrate on that too or I'll see it but not recognise it as the thing I want.

I find it hard to socialise. I'm quite lonely so I love it when friends come over, but it's so hard to do the stuff I normally do. I used to get a little foggy on days where I had a lot of pain but now with the doxy it's almost constant. I have always been able to concentrate extremely well, so it almost feels like my problems are worse than they seem. It takes the same ammount of concentration to talk to friends and remember about drinks (and refilling) as a double lecture on neurology used to at university. No, actually, it takes more. I feel like trying to follow the lecture on neurology while having a hangover.

I don't know about depersonalization. I don't feel others have become strangers. It's more like I just don't feel as emotional about them as I used to. Like I can't reach their mind, in the same way I can't reach my own. I like having people around me but I don't feel warm inside as much as I used to. I used to be so happy when my boyfriend came home after work and all my attention would be directed at him. Now I even forget he's in the house (and my house is one room + bathroom) when I get distracted by the TV or a book or something.

I also lose the need to touch him. But I think that's just a side effect from not feeling warm. I have exactly the same thing when he comes home from work with a headache and doesn't want to talk for a while. Before I want to get physically close, I need to feel emotionally close. And I just don't feel that way with the fog, even though he is being a total sweetheart and really trying to come closer.

I try to cuddle anyway, sometimes it doesn't bother me but sometimes it feels horrible and I feel the urge to push him away. I try not to but I just don't know what to do about this. I don't want to lose him but it must be so difficult for him. I'm not a lot of fun anymore, and I don't listen (or don't understand but pretend I just didn't hear it so I don't look stupid), and I don't want to cuddle, let alone do more.... This just sucks, I try to tell myself it's a herx so a good thing, but still... I wish someone could tell me how long this will last or explain it properly to my boyfriend. I try, but when I want to express my own feelings I get even more foggy and usually get lost in the first sentence. It also gets worse when I'm upset. Obviously, I can't add anything that corrected the problem. I've only had it this bad for a couple of days. I hope someone else has some good advice on this.

I couldn't and still sometimes can't think of the word for something. I'll be driving and all of a sudden say to myself "Where am I going?"

A coworker stopped in my office last month to talk and for the life of me I couldn't remember her name. The whole time I was thinking "Uh Oh. whats her name? On no. Why can't I remember? I should know this we talk all the time."

The working memory isn't so good at times any longer.

Thank goodness I have always been a list maker. It saves me now.

Okay. well I have to go do something. There was something I was going to do when I sat down and now I can't remember......

--Annie

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I felt blitzed beyond all control, like I drank a six pack and took some vicodin just for the heck of it, except it wasn't fun and I WASN'T giggling and happy about it.

Everything was in slow motion, my brain would think whatever in the hay it wanted to and it felt like my "other brain" took a few second to retrieve everything in the first place. It was beyond horrid.

Amoxicillin 4000 mg a DAY cleared this immediately for me. It has never come back, except at LEAST once a month for three days.