Brain fogged and breathless
July 2, 2016 12:37 PM   Subscribe

I am 36, 5 ’4’ 130 lbs and have been struggling with learning and retaining information. I've also found myself holding my breath throughout the day and waking up needing air. My husband says that I don't snore.

I have a doctors appointment this Friday. I want to make sure that I frame this correctly and give all of the relevant details so my doctor has the right info. I am currently taking 150mg of lamotrigine. I had a Mirena for a couple of months earlier this year but felt like it was contributing to some of these symptoms. I am done with birth control. I was also taking risperidone but didn’t feel like it was working. My energy felt even lower when I was on the Mirena and Risperidone plus I was moody, ravenous, and gaining weight. To add to this I also feel like I am never done going to the bathroom. Like there is a little more pee to come out but it just wont.

After sharing my symptoms with one psychiatrist he proceeded to give me an exam where he asked me very silly questions. One was what state we were currently in. Since I passed the exam he said that I was just fine. Gee thanks. I never went back to him. My current psychiatrist said that the brain fog/racing thoughts are related to my bipolar 2 and has been trying to help me find the right combo of meds. Problem is none of them have helped. I always thought that my symptoms were ADD/ADHD specific but after trying generic ritalin I’m not so sure. I didn’t feel any improvements in my focus or ability to remember things. I just got a little sweaty and slightly emotional for a short period of time. So I’m not taking it anymore.

I’m in a fairly new role where I am responsible for learning a lot of new processes. It is a great opportunity but my mental issues are an impediment. I am trying to take notes and take advantage of a lot of training opportunities. After many of these sessions I feel as if I haven’t retained any of the info. Same thing with conversations. During the conversation I feel like I’m understanding but once it’s over can’t remember most of it. My notes don’t make any sense either. I also used to be able to read books but these issues prevent me from doing that as well.

Needless to say this is stressing me out. The lamotrigine has been a life saver so I’m hoping that this isn’t related to it. I’ve tried a lot of other meds and none of them have worked. I’m sick of trying all of these other drugs. What is the best way to go over these symptoms with my doctor? Has anyone found any effective ways to deal with brain fog or short term memory issues? Is this caused by my breathing issues? I feel like something is wrong with my brain and it is very difficult to articulate.
posted by puppup to Health & Fitness (8 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I am not a doctor. For me, sleep, exercise and omegas (healthy fatty oils) have helped my brain fog issues. Also I am a kinesthetically inclined learner so writing the info down or moving when I'm given the info improves retention.

Doc might want to do a sleep study. You might want to find out what sort of coverage you have for that.
posted by crunchy potato at 1:06 PM on July 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yeah, do the sleep study. Brain fog may be related to oxygen intake. Do you think you could be subconsciously holding your breath because of anxiety? That could also be happening in your sleep.

I am on lamotrigine as well. My brain fog and focus super ties into to how well I'm sleeping.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:12 PM on July 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


I don't know anything about bipolar meds, but it seems like you may want to ask your doctor to test your iron levels.

Specifically, you want a CBC (to test your hemoglobin and hematocrit to see if you're actively anemic) and a separate ferritin test (to test your iron stores).

It may be that your meds are more likely to blame, but iron deficiency with or without anemia can also cause breathlessness, low energy, and brain fog. Iron deficiency is also easy to test/rule out and relatively easy to treat.

Good luck! I feel you on the tired of trying out meds thing - it took me a couple years of seemingly-constant med and dose changes to find the right meds for my OCD, which was super frustrating, but ultimately totally worth it!
posted by bananacabana at 1:14 PM on July 2, 2016 [4 favorites]


I am not a doctor, but always having to pee and never being done sounds like a UTI, and UTIs can cause mental fogginess in elderly women. I wonder if it could be having a similar effect on you, if that's what you have. Anecdatally I also get mentally foggy when I have a UTI.

So there is my opinion, worth precisely what you paid for it.
posted by tel3path at 2:11 PM on July 2, 2016 [4 favorites]


You can get UTI test strips at the drugstore, which might not give a positive result on a very low-grade infection and obviously doesn't tell you if you have bladder stones or something else going on, but a positive result would be something you could get taken care of this weekend.

I hold my breath as an anxiety symptom, but I don't think I do it in my sleep.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:45 PM on July 2, 2016


Seconding the UTI.

Lamotrigen can cause minor cognitive impairment. Like you, I went from rispersone to lamotrigen, and I definitely noticed a difference in cognitive ability. I switched to the XR version, however, and most of that went away. I can no longer spell quite as well (which is the first thing to go when I can't sleep, FWIW), but I am definitely still able to function.

So I would look into the UTI. I might also look into the XR, if you're not on it -- if it's harder for you to function in the morning and you're on the regular drug, it might be the lamotrigen. But the effects you are describing sound way more extreme than anything I have felt.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 5:54 PM on July 2, 2016


Ask your doc to test your B12 and vit D levels -- low levels of either can cause brain-fog, and low D can cause anxiety and disturbed sleep patterns. If you do need to raise your B12 levels, take it as sublingual methylcobalamin (they sell this kind at Trader Joe's) in case you have trouble absorbing the other type of B12.

Anecdata: one of my college roommates (who had been having an increasingly hard time with studying) found out he had issues with vitamin B12 when he forgot where we lived and had to call me to remind him of our address. I was so worried that I went and picked him up and took him to the hospital where they found that his B12 levels were critically low, and gave him mega doses every couple days for weeks until he was back to a normal level. He's fine now, and as a result I never forget to take some every day.
posted by ananci at 7:12 PM on July 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


If the symptoms have been going on for months, doubt that it's a UTI... they tend to progress to kidney infections and become serious after a few days.

You mentioned ADHD and bipolar 2 but did you list all your medical history here?
posted by treehorn+bunny at 12:00 AM on July 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


« Older What happened... In the Woods?   |   What is Charlotte, NC like - and how is it... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.