I was told many years ago by my grandmother to stury hard when young, really hard, and study everything because when older, over 50, the mind seems to be unable to absorb as well or hold it for a long while. I listened to her and did as she asked but didn't think it was necessarily so. Well I am here to attest to the fact that grandma was absolutely correct. I can feel it happening to me every day. Thank God I did gather info on so many things and they are apparently in my brain because the learning now is so much slower and harder for me.

I have to work every day to keep the brain fog away. Crossword puzzles, playing piano, playing brain games on the computer, playing on the Wii...that brain fog can get so thick that it overpowers me and opens the door for negativity to take over. The more I "play", the better I feel and the clearer my brain feels. Diet helps too...some foods contribute to that sludgy feeling.

Something that appears to be happening is that ever since my operation in November (total hysterectomy, and the surgeon also removed "lots" of endometriosis), I've been feeling increasingly stronger in so many ways - I've lost about 14 pounds, my brain seems clearer, my energy level is more reliable and my mood is much more stable and positive...it would seem that perhaps the chronic pain and fatigue was in large part caused by the endometriosis (which was undiagnosed)...for as long as I can remember, I've felt like I was lugging around cement blocks in my gut...that heaviness (and pain) is gone and my body and mind feel so much lighter now.

Eagle Heart, I am so delighted to hear how much better you are feeling!

I had a similar experience once I was correctly diagnosed with sleep apnea. Apparently I had been experiencing it for so many years I thought it was natural. (Mine wasn't the typical snoring thing, I'd stop breathing in my sleep then startle awake.)

I finally got diagnosed after waking up in the middle of the night and finding myself standing in the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror and trying to figure out why I could not inhale any air. (Apparently the sleep apnea had lasted long enough that my esophagus collapsed on itself and then wouldn't "pop" back open.)

Long story short, I had a bunch of tests including two nights in a sleep lab before they made my diagnosis. But since I began using my PAP (Positive Airway Pressure) machine (mine is a Bi-PAP because my situation is so severe) my daytime brain fog has cleared, I can drive without feeling like I am going to doze off, I can sit in a meeting without falling sleep, and I have so much more energy...

The rewards of having a reliable brain again and staying awake during the day are well worth the challenges related to having to wear the mask at night. In fact, I think I have gotten to the point where I CAN'T sleep unless the mask is in place...

So I would tell anyone who is living with a mind fog to try to find out if there could be some sort of health challenge that is causing your problem.

Like you, Eagle Heart, I am always doing something to keep the brain fog at bay. From brain training games on-line to crosswords I try to push the old brain daily. I
I'd hate to see the shape I'd be in if I didn't as I know things are slower than they used to be.

The brain training via crosswords, etc., is important and I do them too. But now my 81 year old mother, about to have knee replacement surgery, tells me PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - as in walking, swimming, biking, etc. is also crucially important to keeping the brain unfogged and active. (She's been taking classes as well as exercising daily for some time now.)

Judging by the way I feel when I exercise or don't exercise I think Mom may be right Anne. (But then, they usually are right, aren't they)

MIne certainly always is. It amazes me just how intelligent she is and she mostly uses plain old common sense too.

When I think back to the things my adoptive mother and grandmother told me, I'm amazed at how smart they were. And they
used common sense. Neither of these ladies had much education.
But I've known people over the years with tons of college
background that didn't have near the intelligence of these people. God bless the mothers and grandmothers of the world!

Likewise many people with college education have used the priviledge to help educate and heal...to write the books we all read for our personal development and enjoyment..To share the bounty that education can impart.
I also bless those who came before me..honour and respect all they lived through.

Right you are! And I respect education too! Didn't mean to
sound as if I didn't. [Talk about mind fog!] And my folks were born at the turn of the 20th Century. Opportunities were different then.