Fuzzy Brains: RA, Pain and Cognitive Issues

Earlier this week, I had a medication-related senior moment so profound that it was the driving force behind the idea to write today's HeakthCentral post. Write what you know, right?

 "In 2004, I was in one of the worst flares of my life, the pain so intense and omnipresent it cast a shadow over everything. For the first time in a long time, I had problems focusing. Where I once was able to relate a conversation in detail, now I couldn't remember what someone said half an hour ago. Where I once could have a vigorous debate lasting an entire evening, now I couldn't follow someone's argument from point A to point B.

Cognitive problems are the dirty little secret of RA. Many of us have problems with short-term memory, logic and focus, but no one talks about it. Admitting that your brain is not sharp as it used to be is really scary."

You can read the rest of the post here.

Comments

Diana Troldahl said…
GREAT article.
Exactly what I needed today. I have fibro and severe osteo arthritis as well as immune issues that mean I deal with a low grade fever most days.
(example of fog, know the word is different than severe, stronger, really bad ass bone eating osteo arthritis, can;t think of the word)
Anyhoo. Pain takes up a lot of room in your head. Perfect!

Trying to write book reviews or patterns with foggy brain means I leave a lot of words out (I put parentheses around a descriptive phrase about the word I am missing) and that helps when a sharp day comes along ot tidy up the loose ends.
2:06 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Farber’s Disease: Could Your Child’s Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Be Misdiagnosed?

Image
Joint inflammation or contractures. Nodules (small lumps under the skin or in other tissues). A weakened or hoarse voice. Children with these symptoms may have been diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) or other types of juvenile arthritis . But do they actually have JIA or do they have Farber’s disease? An equine digression When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. This is an adage in the medical world that encourages doctors to not wander off exploring rare and esoteric reasons for a patient’s symptoms. Because most of the time, that hoof beat of a rash likely isn’t the plague, the joint pain more likely a type of arthritis than the bends (especially if the person has never scuba dived) and you get the picture. But once in a while, it actually is a zebra. And even if it’s first identified as a horse, eventually, the stripes come through. It took five years of my parents running around to different doctors before one finally recognized that I had...
Read more

13 Things to Know for Rheumatoid Arthritis Newbies + Facebook Live

Image
Getting a diagnosis of any type of chronic illness can throw you for loop. There is so much to know and you have so little energy. My new slideshow for HealthCentral collects 13 things you need to know as an RA newbie : "Receiving a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a moment of strange duality. On one hand, you may be relieved to finally have answers for the symptoms you’ve been experiencing. On the other, it can be incredibly overwhelming to find out you have a chronic illness. Wrapping your head around all the new factors RA brings into your life is a long-term process. Here are some of the things you need to know." See the slideshow on HealthCentral . And in case you missed it, here is the Facebook Live I did yesterday talking about this topic:   
Read more