Re: Need HELP for worsening Cognitive Dysfunction!

[Guest guest]

Jen

Have you tried Vinpocetine??? It helped me.

Janet

in San Diego

Jen <MiaNova00@...> wrote:

Hi,

My main problem right now is cognitive dysfunction. I've got pain

under control (thought not completely absent of course) and am

keeping the really heavy fatigue at bay, but my cognitive issues are

making my life, especially my already limited work life (I work less

than 20 hours a week and can barely manage...or at least I do until

I get fired for all the ridiculous mistakes I'm making!)

I have all the usual, short term memory problems, confusion,

spaciness...nothing I seem to do helps.

I've taken tons of supplements trying to remedy the situation in the

last 6 months, NADH, DHEA (which helped a little as it brought my

stress levels down, but not enough) B-vitamins, L-Glutamine, Amino

Acids, RNA/DNA supplements, fish oil...Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jen in CA

[Guest guest]

-If the Vinpocetine doesn't help, (it didnt help me) try DMAE, i use

the liquid one from TwinLab, its called DMAE-H3 and it costs about

$8/bottle which lasts me and my mom about 5 weeks, and we are both on

100mg./day dose. take it only in the a.m. also consider the

prescription med Hydergine, Generic:Ergoloid Mesylates. Its been

around for a long time (about 25 years in the U.S., I think), and is

used extensively in Europe and its available here. It greatly helped

my cognitive problems. zuzu

-- In , " Jen " <MiaNova00@...> wrote:

>

> Hi,

>

> My main problem right now is cognitive dysfunction. I've got pain

> under control (thought not completely absent of course) and am

> keeping the really heavy fatigue at bay, but my cognitive issues

are

> making my life, especially my already limited work life (I work

less

> than 20 hours a week and can barely manage...or at least I do until

> I get fired for all the ridiculous mistakes I'm making!)

>

> I have all the usual, short term memory problems, confusion,

> spaciness...nothing I seem to do helps.

>

> I've taken tons of supplements trying to remedy the situation in

the

> last 6 months, NADH, DHEA (which helped a little as it brought my

> stress levels down, but not enough) B-vitamins, L-Glutamine, Amino

> Acids, RNA/DNA supplements, fish oil...Anyone have any suggestions?

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jen in CA

>

[Guest guest]

--I forgot to mention that a good book to read on this is by Dr.

Singh, he runs a brain dysfuntion clinic in Arizona and has written a

few books. I read 2 books of his about 3 years ago and they helped.

He talks about different supplements, and their doses, depending on

the amount of cognitive dysfunction one experiences and your

diagnosis . The one i especially like was called something like The

Brain Book, or something like that, sorry it been a few years since i

read it. I got it from the library. Its definately worth reading.

Zuzu

- In , " Jen " <MiaNova00@...> wrote:

>

> Hi,

>

> My main problem right now is cognitive dysfunction. I've got pain

> under control (thought not completely absent of course) and am

> keeping the really heavy fatigue at bay, but my cognitive issues

are

> making my life, especially my already limited work life (I work

less

> than 20 hours a week and can barely manage...or at least I do until

> I get fired for all the ridiculous mistakes I'm making!)

>

> I have all the usual, short term memory problems, confusion,

> spaciness...nothing I seem to do helps.

>

> I've taken tons of supplements trying to remedy the situation in

the

> last 6 months, NADH, DHEA (which helped a little as it brought my

> stress levels down, but not enough) B-vitamins, L-Glutamine, Amino

> Acids, RNA/DNA supplements, fish oil...Anyone have any suggestions?

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jen in CA

>

[Guest guest]

--The name of the book is Brain Longevity by Dharma Singh Khalsa M.D..

Zuzu

- In , " Jen " <MiaNova00@...> wrote:

>

> Hi,

>

> My main problem right now is cognitive dysfunction. I've got pain

> under control (thought not completely absent of course) and am

> keeping the really heavy fatigue at bay, but my cognitive issues

are

> making my life, especially my already limited work life (I work

less

> than 20 hours a week and can barely manage...or at least I do until

> I get fired for all the ridiculous mistakes I'm making!)

>

> I have all the usual, short term memory problems, confusion,

> spaciness...nothing I seem to do helps.

>

> I've taken tons of supplements trying to remedy the situation in

the

> last 6 months, NADH, DHEA (which helped a little as it brought my

> stress levels down, but not enough) B-vitamins, L-Glutamine, Amino

> Acids, RNA/DNA supplements, fish oil...Anyone have any suggestions?

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jen in CA

>

[Guest guest]

I found out accidentaly that hydrogenated vegetable oils(margarine,

crisco, etc.) had a severe effect on brain fog for me. After reading

about the supposed ill effects several times in various print media,

I decided to try to cut them from my diet. Within 24 hours, my

headaches and brainfog were noticably reduced.

This has been confirmed numerous times when I would either get lazy

and eat something with trans-fats(another name for hydrogenated

oils) or just not know that something contained them until I started

to have brain fog and would go through the trash to read the label,

or ask what ingredients a certain dish contained.

I still have headaches and brain fog, to the extent of impairing my

ability to function normally, as is the case with most cfs'ers, but

they are noticably reduced when trans-fats are cut from my diet.

>

> - In , " Jen " <MiaNova00@> wrote:

> >

> > Hi,

> >

> > My main problem right now is cognitive dysfunction. I've got

pain

> > under control (thought not completely absent of course) and am

> > keeping the really heavy fatigue at bay, but my cognitive issues

> are

> > making my life, especially my already limited work life (I work

> less

> > than 20 hours a week and can barely manage...or at least I do

until

> > I get fired for all the ridiculous mistakes I'm making!)

> >

> > I have all the usual, short term memory problems, confusion,

> > spaciness...nothing I seem to do helps.

> >

> > I've taken tons of supplements trying to remedy the situation in

> the

> > last 6 months, NADH, DHEA (which helped a little as it brought

my

> > stress levels down, but not enough) B-vitamins, L-Glutamine,

Amino

> > Acids, RNA/DNA supplements, fish oil...Anyone have any

suggestions?

> >

> >

> > Thanks,

> >

> > Jen in CA

> >

>

[Guest guest]

You might be amazed how much your cog. disfunction clears up when

you get away from the ElectroSmog (e.g. microwave radiation) - while

also maintaining a healthy diet of course.

paul doyon

>

> Hi,

>

> My main problem right now is cognitive dysfunction. I've got pain

> under control (thought not completely absent of course) and am

> keeping the really heavy fatigue at bay, but my cognitive issues

are

> making my life, especially my already limited work life (I work

less

> than 20 hours a week and can barely manage...or at least I do

until

> I get fired for all the ridiculous mistakes I'm making!)

>

> I have all the usual, short term memory problems, confusion,

> spaciness...nothing I seem to do helps.

>

> I've taken tons of supplements trying to remedy the situation in

the

> last 6 months, NADH, DHEA (which helped a little as it brought my

> stress levels down, but not enough) B-vitamins, L-Glutamine, Amino

> Acids, RNA/DNA supplements, fish oil...Anyone have any suggestions?

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jen in CA

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, Tate.

That's very interesting. Have you tried adding essential fatty

acids to your diet, such as from good fish oils (Nordic Naturals or

Eskimo-3 for example) or flax oil (both for omega-3 fatty acids) and

evening primrose oil (for omega-6 fatty acids)? If cutting out the

trans fats helped you, it would seem that adding in the fatty acids

that are particularly needed by the brain might help you, too.

Rich

> > >

> > > Hi,

> > >

> > > My main problem right now is cognitive dysfunction. I've got

> pain

> > > under control (thought not completely absent of course) and am

> > > keeping the really heavy fatigue at bay, but my cognitive

issues

> > are

> > > making my life, especially my already limited work life (I

work

> > less

> > > than 20 hours a week and can barely manage...or at least I do

> until

> > > I get fired for all the ridiculous mistakes I'm making!)

> > >

> > > I have all the usual, short term memory problems, confusion,

> > > spaciness...nothing I seem to do helps.

> > >

> > > I've taken tons of supplements trying to remedy the situation

in

> > the

> > > last 6 months, NADH, DHEA (which helped a little as it brought

> my

> > > stress levels down, but not enough) B-vitamins, L-Glutamine,

> Amino

> > > Acids, RNA/DNA supplements, fish oil...Anyone have any

> suggestions?

> > >

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > > Jen in CA

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

On Jun 17, 2006, at 3:18 AM, Tate wrote:

> I found out accidentaly that hydrogenated vegetable oils(margarine,

> crisco, etc.) had a severe effect on brain fog for me. After reading

> about the supposed ill effects several times in various print media,

> I decided to try to cut them from my diet. Within 24 hours, my

> headaches and brainfog were noticably reduced.

>

> This has been confirmed numerous times when I would either get lazy

> and eat something with trans-fats(another name for hydrogenated

> oils) or just not know that something contained them until I started

> to have brain fog and would go through the trash to read the label,

> or ask what ingredients a certain dish contained.

>

> I still have headaches and brain fog, to the extent of impairing my

> ability to function normally, as is the case with most cfs'ers, but

> they are noticably reduced when trans-fats are cut from my diet.

>

Trans fats are just plain nasty. They are full of carcinogens,

impossibly hard on the pancreas (the latest speculation is that

they're the culprit behind the national diabetes epidemic), and cause

inflammation throughout the body -- possibly including joint pain and

neural inflammation leading to brain fog.

One more thing to consider: most hydrogenated vegetable oils used in

processed food come from soybeans. If you're having this kind of

positive reaction to leaving out these oils, you might want to try a

month without soy products as well. Eliminating them is hard, because

they masquerade in processed foods under a hundred tricky names

( " vegetable broth, " " vegetable protein, " " hydrolized plant protein, "

" vegetable shortening, " etc. etc. etc.). But soy is hard on the

thyroid, which is a common enough problem with CFS patients to begin

with.

Also, now that you've removed one problem food from your diet, you

may become more aware of other, more subtle reactions you might be

having to other foods. This happened to me: I had a wheat allergy

that caused incredible brain fog, and which I discovered accidentally

during a couple weeks when I was eating a lot of Mexican food (it's a

very low-wheat cuisine) and suddenly realized I felt much better.

Once I'd been off the wheat for a month or two, I was able to notice

another, much more subtle but deeper and long-lasting food reaction,

and hunt it down. That was the soy. I was able to add wheat back

eventually; but my soy allergy is probably forever (though I'm much

less reactive now that my GSH is higher).

Congratulations on finding a free, relatively easy way to improve!

Sara

[Guest guest]

Thanks, I will check it out Zuzu!

Jen

[Guest guest]

Hi

What has helped my brain fog has been the following:

!) raising glutathione

2)killing off infections

3)improving adrenals

4)improvin digestion

5)balancing phase 1

6)dealing with toxins

7)antioxidants

8)immune regulator

In terms of diet - i did the no wheat / no dairy / no sugry fruit with lots

of veg and salads diet with butter/ coconut oil/ olive oil and sunflower oil.

regards

CS

[Guest guest]

Jen,

I've been taking DMAE for over 15 years and it really keeps the spaciness at

bay. I think that the short term memory problems we have come from difficulty

concentrating (if you're too spacy to grasp what's going on in front of you, it

won't take in your mind as a short term memory)...I used to be spacy alot and

was always forgetting why I walked from one part of my house to the other. If I

stop taking the DMAE now after 3 weeks the spaciness returns.

I originally used the TwinLabs DMAE that someone else mentioned, and found that

30 drops (300 mg) was the level that worked best. I always take it along with

500 mg B5 and 1 capsule of Country Life Phosphatydyl Choline. More recently

I've been using DMAE in powder form from Beyond A Century, along with B5 and a

high strength Lecithin (with 2300mg Phosphatidyl Choline in one tablespoon).

You can mix the DMAE with water or juices, and since I buy the other ingredients

in powder form I just mix them with my daily granola.

You can go to any health food store and buy a bottle of the TwinLabs DMAE for

$10...I think it takes a week or less to know if it's working for you.

But I wouldn't give up if it doesn't work at 10 drops a day; in my case I had to

find the right level before it made a big difference.

If you try it let us know how it works.

in CA

Need HELP for worsening Cognitive Dysfunction!

Hi,

My main problem right now is cognitive dysfunction. I've got pain

under control (thought not completely absent of course) and am

keeping the really heavy fatigue at bay, but my cognitive issues are

making my life, especially my already limited work life (I work less

than 20 hours a week and can barely manage...or at least I do until

I get fired for all the ridiculous mistakes I'm making!)

I have all the usual, short term memory problems, confusion,

spaciness...nothing I seem to do helps.

I've taken tons of supplements trying to remedy the situation in the

last 6 months, NADH, DHEA (which helped a little as it brought my

stress levels down, but not enough) B-vitamins, L-Glutamine, Amino

Acids, RNA/DNA supplements, fish oil...Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jen in CA

[Guest guest]

" Hi

Great list there CS but you missed out the most important thing in

my personal opinion. "

****I agree. Although once you have reversed the majority of issues - you

should be able to return to some normality.

Regards

CS

[Guest guest]

Hi

Great list there CS but you missed out the most important thing in

my personal opinion.

The short answer is you need to get a lot more rest, thats all.

Rest will help you to recover more quickly than anything else, in my

opinion.

And its not just me that thinks so.

I always find that my cognitive function is directly related to the

amount and length of activities I am doing. As soon as I start trying

to do too much my brain goes awol.

The way it works is simply this:

overactivity=overproduction of cytokines=brain damage.

And dont forget this brain damage may not even be reversable, so

every time you blow it and your brain goes, try to remember that it

is a real injury you have caused yourself just as much as if you had

broken you wrist, only the big difference is that wrists mend.

It doesnt matter if they are mental or physical activities either,

computer and tv and anything like that

- conversations and reading are the worst for me,

physically overdoing it is more obvious,

but please remember that you cannot always tell when you have done

too much until its too late and the damage has been done because

there is often no sign until the next day that you overdid it.

so your activities all have to be as short and easy as possible and

you must not push yourself.

You need a period of TOTAL rest and relaxation after every activity

as well as for at least half an hour four times a day,

and if you are experiencing an increase in cogntive difficulties you

need to learn how to pace your activities and take things much easier

in my opinion. some people can hardly use the internet at all because

its too much for them.

Any reputable CFS or ME website will have a page explaining the

proper use of 'pacing' and 'activity management'; and will tell you

how it can help to improve your overall health if you do it properly.

I am not saying its easy but its worth it. Dr Darrel Ho Yen suggests

that you cut your activities right back to zilch, then gradually

increase your activity levels keeping a diary to show what you have

done every day and how you have felt. You will see a pattern begin to

emerge where your activities are followed by a dip in health, until

you learn what your base level is.

I dont agree with everything in his book but it helped me out of a

terrible downward spiral when I did this.

Action for M.E. print a very good 'pacing' booklet for about £2 with

no post and packing charge, just phone them and ask for one.(yes I

know they are politically bad ok?)

I hope this helps,

(get off this internet and go lay down!!)

best wishes

>

> Hi

>

> What has helped my brain fog has been the following:

>

> !) raising glutathione

> 2)killing off infections

> 3)improving adrenals

> 4)improvin digestion

> 5)balancing phase 1

> 6)dealing with toxins

> 7)antioxidants

> 8)immune regulator

>

> In terms of diet - i did the no wheat / no dairy / no sugry fruit

with lots

> of veg and salads diet with butter/ coconut oil/ olive oil and

sunflower oil.

>

>

>

>

> regards

> CS

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi

> Great list there CS but you missed out the most important thing in

> my personal opinion.

>

> The short answer is you need to get a lot more rest, thats all.

>

> Rest will help you to recover more quickly than anything else, in my

> opinion.

>

***Hi - The more I rest, and the less activity I get, the " more "

brain fog I encounter. I was advised by my doctor after being diagnosed

with CFS to stop as much physical activity as I could and to get a two

hour nap every afternoon. After four months she changed her mind about

this as I was turning into a zombie.

We definitely have to pace ourselves, but I personally think it is a

huge mistake not to get any physical or mental exercise each day. Use

it or lose it!!

I believe one of the biggest reasons that I can work part time from my

home is because of the fact that I am able to sleep fairly decently at

night because of being physically active.

Take care.

Bernie