What's happening to my brain???

[gphx]

I was reading a medical paper on this yesterday. Apparently Sjogrens inflammation often causes veins to become inflamed which is known as vasculitis. Vasculitis can happen anywhere in the body but when it happens in the brain the result is cognitive disability. Unfortunately it sometimes takes a sharp physician to realize vasculitis is taking place. A shortcut to vasculitis diagnosis in some cases is a microscopic examination of the nailfolds. Red skin between the fingernail and first joint of the finger is a more obvious sign. But it can crop up invisibly anywhere including internal organs such as the brain.

TIAs are another story and are often a result of inflammatory processes and/or vasculitis and resulting venous plaque formation. The body puts a bandage of plaque on damaged vein walls in an effort to protect itself. Sometimes the smaller veins burst from the resulting pressure or the plaques break free and cause blockage. I was diagnosed with a TIA in an emergency room once but the doctor told me he wasn't really convinced of the diagnosis himself so who knows.

Generalized inflammation can take a toll too from the resulting fatigue and is enough to account for many cases of cog fog all on its own. You need not have any of the other things to have significant cognitive disability.

Many years ago I ran a business and a nonprofit organization at the same time. Now I may put off something ridiculously simple for weeks because I'm not sure where to start or I'm worried I'll get it wrong. People with such issues having to navigate health, insurance, and benefit systems on top of such troubles seems especially ironic. We're there in part because we can't, right?

My posts may seem grammatically reasonable but if it takes me ten minutes to write one I spend a lot more time going over and over it fixing the mistakes. Then I usually spot one just as I hit 'Post'. I used to want to be a writer but nowadays it'd take me ten times as long. I'm not working so there's no one to see. When there was it made things a lot worse.

I'm so sorry you're going through this and I hope you find a way to make it through until disability kicks in. Someone told me when things get bad we'll find a way. So far they've been right.

[melo1964]

Jozee I can relate to what you are talking about.  I am a nurse and I went back to school for my Bachelor's degree and graduated 3 years ago with a 4.0 grade point average.  I am now working on my wellness coaching certification and I am having so much trouble communicating that I wonder if I am going to make it.  My job as a health and wellness coach requires me to use special techniques to respond to clients to help them to reach their goals.  I feel like I am of at least average intelligence, but I find myself communicating on a grade school level.  I tend to forget the word that I want to say, even though I know what it is in my head.  I have been on Cymbalta for about 3 years now.  I started taking it for neck pain and it really helped.  It did give me a lot of grogginess and lethargy in the beginning.  I stuck with it and I have been happy with the results.  I am not happy with the fact that it has not helped my muscle and joint aches go away.  I started on Trazadone for Migraines recently and I have wondered if that has caused some of my cognitive issues.  I think getting off the Neurontin is a great idea though.  I don't know very many people that can take that and still function.