Can I Have A New Brain Please - My Memory's Taken A Holiday

[gms1976]

Do you ever take random notes, to try to remember things? I do this constantly. My desks (at home and work) are usually covered in post-it's so I remember what I need to do or whatever. My problem is I either forget to look at them, or at work, someone throws them away!

I could have written that. I have a pile of notepads down stairs by my pills and vitamins. I have pens in my purse, in the bathroom, my study and car. I write on the back of my hand so I can see contintual reminders. My desk at work is like a post-it explosion. I also have 5-6 legal pads lying around for notes. I rely on my outlook express calendar at work to remind me for everything from my lunch to meetings to doctor's appointments. I have a dry-erase board on the pantry door and another on the fridge at home. I pin most of my reference materials to the walls of my cubicle as I will forget about them if I don't.

I think my memory's truly taken a holiday and is surfing in Hawaii... LOL!:p

I also found out something interesting this week. One of my docs checked my DHEA levels and they were pretty low. The steroid DHEA that our body makes naturally becomes depleted under chronic stress and results in adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue, I believe, runs rampant through sufferers of PTSD. Funnily enough, DHEA levels also affect memory. I've started to take a low dose DHEA supplement I bought from a natural food store.

Just a note to anyone considering taking this - please be very careful with this supplement as it is a precursor of, and has a direct effect on, the production of testosterone and estrogen and can cause a ton of side effects and hormonal imbalances when taken incorrectly. I'm seeing my doctor in June about it and I started on the lowest dose I could find (10mg daily).

I'm hoping I can maybe do a gentle jump-start. I am beyond burnt out. I went through burn-out and out the other side and am currently playing in the fields of madness on the other side. My problem is I get triggered a dozen times a day - anything with violence (of any kind) or abuse toward animals sets me off with that horrible weak shaky feeling and light-headedness and anxiety. I feel almost paralized at times. This can be anything from a dead animal on the side of the road to the news to a picture in the magazine, an unexpected picture loading on the net. Anything. I feel like I'm ambushed all the time. Ugh!

I hope this new supplement works. I really do.

 

[HëllaBubz]

Hi gms, got some good news for you, my mum is a dietition/natural therapist/live blood analyst and she has said that if you get magnesium chloride in a liquid state and rub it on your skin, it passes through the fat layer and naturally converts it to DHEA.

Not possible to overdose on the stuff either.
You can also put it in a bath and soak in the stuff.
Go search for transdermal magnesium, you can get it in either flakes or liquid, mum just soaked me in a big bathtub of the stuff, and I'm actually feeling a little better.

I'm taking home a big bottle of it!!!!

 

[gms1976]

Thanks, Bubzilla!

I'm definitely going to look into this! :laugh:

 

[thedude]

Hi gms1976,

I have had similar brain function problems and have a family history of Alzheimer's. I went through a period where I used fish oils, DHEA, GABA and other supplements to boost my ability to deal with multi-tasking stress at the direction of a clinic and had lab work done to make sure I was nominal.

I did notice some increase in ability to focus but cannot attribute directly to DHEA. I might have experienced some increased restlessness that could be attributed to the supplement.

The greatest detractor I have from abilities to coordinate effectively is sleep deprivation due to anxiety and flashbacks. As soon as I increased my exercise levels I had to eat more protein then sleep more to process and seemed to make strides in concentration.

Carbohydrates have felt like the biggest detractor for focus. I abuse Starbucks caffeine to compensate.

I've some difficulty with computation problems after a few concussions and have had to try reteach myself math technique. Japanese children use something called the soroban method to quickly calculate in their minds large numbers and its pretty amazing. I bought myself flash cards and use a couple of math programs to work my brain as well.

hope treatment/supplements gets you some help. Thanks for taking care of every body at the Hospital, very hard work.:tup: Just had to send someone to the emergency room today. So glad you are there to take care of us when we get sick.

Ben

 

[gms1976]

Carbohydrates have felt like the biggest detractor for focus. I abuse Starbucks caffeine to compensate.

Hey Ben,

Thanks so much for the compliments! That is just so nice to hear! :):):) Nurses don't hear that very much.

I used to drink coffee almost by the gallon to keep my brain going, but I quit in 2010 as we were (and still are) trying to have a baby. :( And it was becoming an addiction as I was drinking 5+ cups a day. I still love the smell of coffee but get hot chocolate or a caffeine free cream or smoothie now. Ugh, what I would give for a vente latte right now!

I've never heard of carbs affecting memory before - do you have any info on that? I'm the carb queen this end. I love 'em!

I was talking with my therapist in one of my previous appointments about something and I was totally adamant she had never talked about it before. She reminded me that I keep forgetting (the one thing I don't need a reminder for. :p), but normally people remember when reminded. For me most of it goes in the black hole and never comes out.

I'm also sleeping pretty badly these days (weird dreams, nightmares, waking up 100 times a night) so that definitely doesn't help. I'm working on it though.

Thanks again!

Gayle

 

[thedude]

Hi Gayle,

On the carbs, this is from my perspective and the basis on why T's approached my chemical imbalance through diet. My level of training is Wilderness First Responder so I do not have a background is physiology. My guess is glucose levels for PTSD sufferers are prone to high level of variance and as a result try to compensate with food that does not help cognitive function.

My brain may suffer short term memory problems from a variety of causes like genetics, exposure to heavy metals, injury and abnormal activity due to PTSD. My intake is not normal and consume over a Oz/30 grams of sugar daily.

I had a period of bad flashbacks and could barely function, I would forget what I was talking about mid sentence. I would focus on multiple paths of thought (long term memory arousal) and have trouble storing short term memory. I believe the term might be rapid cycling where you can't focus on present events while you are re - experiencing past memories.

I tried to find out the chemical cause or if it was physical damage bar the cost. It seemed like no one said sleep and diet first before medication but that is what it came down to.

When migraines entered the picture from stress and sleep deprivation I had to totally stop eating anything that was a trigger.

As a test I tried doing frontal lobe activities after high carb or high protein foods to see how my level of concentration would be affected after my first intake of the day. Without a high protein diet I suffered. Instead of using the supplements I tried to find the natural sources (lots of fish and protein) and ended up eating way more calories having more energy, then exercising more, hence having to sleep deeper.

When ever I came down from the initial sugar hit of the carbs I would lose ability to focus and store information. The cause may be similar to the stupor and fatigue from hyperglycemia as levels go up and down. Having a detail oriented job as a medical professional you must always have to be "up" and that can be a problem without little breaks. Lots of small meals the way athletes fuel may help as a strategy whenever you feel down but I know the sterile workplace thing.

In the military I got used to fasting and seeing how different substances hit the body. When protein hits your system after a fast its amazing. Its like you are wired. They taught us to hydrate whenever we feel the least amount of lack of concentration and after having heat stroke you can't believe how your brain starts to make you a dummy. Make sure your urine is always clear when you have trouble concentrating.

It sounds like you are going through sleep deprivation and not getting any REM sleep. Just like a mileage log for jogging I tried to start a sleep log. I tried to get into a routine where I was not allowed to intake anything 1 hour before bed and was not mentally permitted to think about work in any way before my sleep period. Only unicorns, croaking frogs or counting sheep you get it.

I'll dig through my paperwork and see if I can find anything regarding nutrition and cognitive function relationship.

Hope you get some ZZZZZ'ssss

Ben

 

[gms1976]

Ben, you TOTALLY ROCK!!:D Thank you for that info and for taking the time to type it all!:):)

How cute is that video!!!:laugh: I love cats, I have 4, actually - 3 of them black - and they rule our house. They are not so much our pets as we are their humans: Squeaky (aka Mr. Squeaky when he's naughty), Salem (aka Waily - because he howls when he wants attention - which is all the time), Moxy (the neurotic diva, Japanese Bobtail) and Munchie, (aka Munchie-bear) the baby of the house and hooligan at large. She would go sideways up the walls if she could and god knows she tried. She brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "Cornering on 2 wheels." Hehe. I love them all. Thank you for that cute video. Loved it!!

Thank you!!!!!

 

[HëllaBubz]

Hehehehe, your cat names are awesome, and I so get the 2 wheel cornering!!!
The funny part was when we moved to our current house, the stairs were polished wood instead of carpet, so they quickly learnt to use centrifugal force up the side of the wall or be splatted on it!

We have Sascha, he is huge, black and white long hair, aka the White Dwarf or The Cow Cat, then we have a short hair black little panther called Meeka, aka the Meekazoid who is a gentle cuddle slut, then we have a grey and white dainty but long and fluffy cat called Pestilence, aka Pest, Pesticles....*ahem* :p and she is a dainty princess who chases bare ankles, and if you ruffle her fur after she has just cleaned herself post eating, she will bite you then retire to a private corner to glare at you whilst she cleans herself all over again!

Then we have a pure white fluffy kitten/cat, 8 months old with a grey patch between his ears, he is called Neo, or Nano (he was tiny, dumped) or the Nanobyte, and he helps tie my partners shoe laces in the morning, steals bread rolls, or freshly folded socks, or randomly cuddles then bites the other cats.

I know its a bit off topic, but they are such good fun.
They say learning languages is hard, but I speak fluent Meow. :laugh: