Anyone know if Lupus can effect speech or memory?..
I’ve recently started finding it difficult stringing sentences together. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s like i know what i want to say, but the words just come out all jumbled or i’ll get half way through a sentence and my mind will go blank.
.. i’m also getting really bad memory. I’ll think of something one second, and then the next i’ve completely forgotten it!!
I’m starting to get really worried. Being at uni, my memory and speech is pretty important and there have already been times in class that i’ve tried making a point and struggled to get the words out of my mouth. I’ve never had issues like this before..
It does get really embarassing. Today it took me several attempts to get a sentence out, i had to slow down my speech completely otherwise i was getting nowhere..
Ann A. said:
Yes, Lupus can definitely impact memory and speech. This is commonly known as brain fog.This link is to an article on lupus brain fog that appeared in Lupus Magazine.
I was just reading this article about navigating through brain fog on the But You Don't Look Sick website. Perhaps you will find it interesting.
As a retired university professor, I definitely sympathize with you about the moments when you can't find the correct word and you are in class, embarrassing. Thank goodness for the increased number of online courses!
Yes it can definitely affect your memory, Lupus can affect you neurologically so I am guessing that yes this would affect your speech too. I often have problems remembering things. I used to be able to multi task things and ran an office, but found it hard to remember the most minimal things. I haven’t had problems with speech yet knock on wood… As stated below - yes I get the Brain Fog.
Hi JZhou, Funny is it ??? , it's okay , the phase will come and go (even at the wrong time) !!! smile It happens to me all the time - it is " LUPUS FOG "!!! sound funny !!! but it will make you think that you are going crazie !!! But just relaxe and go slow and don't let noone rush you !!! My kids now laugh with me when this happens with me !!! Find the humor in it !!! When it first started happening to me , man i thought that i was going completely CRAZIE, and so did my family, LOL but as the time went on and i started explaining it to the doctors at my visits, they then told me that this would happen ( it will come and go at moments ). Well now my kids have to help me handle all my business to get the the message across to whatever the situation is or persons that i have to deal with .. It is so FUNNY to me - NOW !!! so find the humor when this happens !!! and slow down it's okay !!! Well hope that this helps you a little to know that you are not alone , talk with you later .... Beverly L.
I have 2 advanced degrees and a number of certificates and lesser degrees, but I don't dare mention it, because people will ask me questions that I have lost memory of the answers. I often say I have forgotten more than I ever learned. lol. If any of you have fibromyalgia, you also have fibro fog. HERE IS A PICTURE OF A NORMAL BRAIN, A CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME BRAIN AND A FIBROMYALGIA BRAIN. THERE IS A PHYSICAL DIFFERENCE CAUSING OUR PROBLEMS. Then in lupus, it can affect our central nervous system AND our brain, a double whammy.
Hey Ann A. thanks so much for the website on brain fog, it really enlightened me on alot of things that can help me out when this happens to me, and it does happen.
Thank you, cause I also suffer from thyroid disease as well, so like you said it all brain fog to me also. But thanks for the information. I have sorjgens sydrome, polymyositis, and high blood pressure. I also take a ton of medication. They just made an adjustment to my high blood pressure medication cause it was causing me to have a low heart rate. So lets hope this adjustment helps. Many blessings and hugs xoxox
Ha!Ha!ha!!!!! , that's so funny but true Ann, it's funny that so much go on with us and to deal with this LUPUS stuff !!! LOL.... Beverly L.
Ann A. said:
You are welcome, fighter.
Thyroid diseases are also among the many other conditions that cause brain fog. And medications. Several years ago my pain management physician had me try an anti-seizure medication other than neurontin or dilantin or depakote (of course I do not remember the name). When I was on that stuff I could not remember how to turn off the car. Several times I turned the ignition off when the car was still in drive. After that, I would have to sit and let the car idle for a few minutes while I went through the steps in logical order - shift into park and then turn the ignition off - because I no longer remembered them. I can't tell lupus fog from thyrofog or medication fog. So it's all brain fog to me.
Hay there fighter you hang in there , hopefullyone day things will dissappear??? smile .... Beverly L.
P.S. there has to be a cure for this soon ....!!!! HOPE so
fighter said:
Thank you, cause I also suffer from thyroid disease as well, so like you said it all brain fog to me also. But thanks for the information. I have sorjgens sydrome, polymyositis, and high blood pressure. I also take a ton of medication. They just made an adjustment to my high blood pressure medication cause it was causing me to have a low heart rate. So lets hope this adjustment helps. Many blessings and hugs xoxox
I have 2 advanced degrees and a number of certificates and lesser degrees, but I don't dare mention it, because people will ask me questions that I have lost memory of the answers. I often say I have forgotten more than I ever learned. lol. If any of you have fibromyalgia, you also have fibro fog. HERE IS A PICTURE OF A NORMAL BRAIN, A CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME BRAIN AND A FIBROMYALGIA BRAIN. THERE IS A PHYSICAL DIFFERENCE CAUSING OUR PROBLEMS. Then in lupus, it can affect our central nervous system AND our brain, a double whammy.
I get these as well. sometimes it feels like my thoughts go faster than my words can form and i jumble words together. so i laugh and say "whoa, lets try that again." and then speak slowly, which makes me feel stupid and embarassed. It also makes me feel less respected at work because of it.
Thank you for the positive, and spiritual feedback. I agree with you, we will find a cure and soon. I believe in my master above and he always has the last word, right? Many blessings and hugs xoxoxox
I too have brain fog. for me, it is mostly losing words. I know what I want to say and cannot retrieve the word. When I am distracted my daughter (age 28) will sometimes say "Use your words, Mom." and in no way intends to diminish or dismiss the brain fog. I think she is just getting even for all the times I said that to her.
Exercise your brain is the remedy that I have followed - crosswords, lots of reading, computer games, and a web site that I subscribe to called Lumosity. It is a brain development program - lumosity.com. It's worth a look. There is a free part and a paid subscription which gets you much greater access to exercises. I find that it does help and I do improve as I use it.
GINSENG AND/OR GINGKO BILOBA HELPED me quite a bit until my head injury last month. I could really tell on the days that I forgot to take either my ginseng or gingko biloba. There's a capsule that has them both, called MemoryFX. I just used ginseng and it did help. Not 100% cure, but for sure it helped.
I also have thyroid disease, and I learned that often the prescriptions change the blood tests but don't take care of the symptoms, so I found a website called www.StopTheThyroidMadness.com and a book of the same name that tells you step by step how to recover from hypothyroid.
Thanks Janice for noticing. I wondered if even one person noticed the picture. It sure explains things! And that article about how to deal with the problem that was posted here was really helpful. It's not just a matter of us trying harder, but it's a physical problem that we have to adapt to.
I have that sometimes. It was explained to me as Lupus Fog. It stays with you for awhile and then it goes away.At least mine did.I thought my kids were going to commit me. Another great side affect of Lupus. Memory is down the toilet sometimes too. Well meaning people try to give you all kinds of advice like do crossword puzzles, etc...Never helped. It just comes and goes. It is the random nature of Lupus. PS this last bout of Lupus Fog lasted almost a year.
I was and still am Frustrated. I have had it up to my eyeballs in crossword puzzles, etc. Nothing helps. I guess it has to run its course. Keeping active is also good. I am so sorry.
I find that staying focused on a crossword puzzle is my problem. I will start out doing them, but the interest does not last long. I forget my dosage of medication sometimes. I have forgotten to take my meds at times. You are right the lupus fog has no certain length of time that it lasts in my opinion and it gives you no warning signs that it is about to happen.
