Stay Healthy, Stay Home and Wash Your Hands
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Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, PhD, MSN, RN, IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT —
Written by Sara Lindberg — Updated on May 29, 2020
If you’re living with multiple sclerosis (MS), you’ve probably lost several minutes — if not hours — searching your house for misplaced items… only to find your keys or wallet somewhere random, like the kitchen pantry or medicine cabinet.
You’re not alone.
Cog fog, or MS-related
brain fog, affects many people living with MS. In fact, it’s estimated that
more than half of people living with MS will develop cognitive issues like difficulty understanding conversations, thinking critically, or recalling memories.
MS-ers call this symptom “cog fog” — short for cognitive fog. It’s also referred to as brain fog, changes in cognition, or cognitive impairment.
Losing your train of thought mid-sentence, forgetting why you entered a room, or struggling to remember a friend’s name are all possibilities when cog fog strikes.
Krysia Hepatica, an entrepreneur with MS, describes how her brain works differently now. “The information is there. It just takes longer to access it,” she tells Healthline.
“For instance, if someone asks me a question about a particular detail from days or weeks before, I can’t always immediately pull it up. It slowly comes back, in chunks. It’s like sifting through an old-school card catalog instead of just Googling it. Analog vs. digital. Both work, one is just slower,” Hepatica explains.
Lucie Linder was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2007 and says cog fog has been a significant issue for her, as well. “The sudden memory loss, disorientation, and mental sluggishness that can strike at any minute are not so fun.”
Linder describes times when she’s unable to focus or concentrate on a task because her brain feels like it’s slush in thick mud.
Fortunately, she’s found that cardio exercise helps her blast through that stuck feeling.
For the most part, cognitive changes will be mild to moderate, and won’t be so severe that you aren’t able to take care of yourself. But it can make what used to be simple tasks — like shopping for groceries — pretty darn frustrating.
The science behind cog fog
MS is a disease of the central nervous system that affects the brain and spinal cord. It also causes areas of inflammation and lesions on the brain.
“As a result, [people with MS] can have cognitive issues that typically involve slowness of processing, trouble multi-tasking, and distractibility,” explains David Mattson, MD, a neurologist at Indiana University Health.
Some of the more common areas of life that are affected by cognitive changes include memory, attention and concentration, verbal fluency, and information processing.
Mattson points out that no one MS lesion causes this, but cog fog seems more associated with an increased overall number of MS lesions in the brain.
On top of that, fatigue is also prevalent in people with MS, which can cause forgetfulness, lack of interest, and little energy.
“Those who experience fatigue may find it more difficult to complete tasks later in the day, have a lower ability to withstand certain environments such as extreme heat, and struggle with sleep disorders or depression,” Mattson adds.
Olivia Djouadi, who has relapsing-remitting MS, says her cognitive problems seem to occur more with extreme fatigue, which can stop her in her tracks. And as an academic, she says the brain fog is awful.
“It means I get forgetful over simple details, yet can still remember complex items,” she explains. “It’s very frustrating because I know I knew the answer, but it won’t come to me,” she shares with Healthline.
The good news: There are immediate and long-term strategies for decreasing cog fog, or even just making it a bit more manageable.
Continue Reading direct from @Healthline
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