H379

I have read a lot of posters mention brain fog. Some have talked about it lifting as late as about a year into recovery. I have tried to Google but have not found any clear information.

So what is Brain Fog?

Thanks in advance for the answers.

Dee74

pretty much what it suggests H379 - a woollyheadedness , difficulty in completing even the simplest tasks, confusion...

D

Ghostlight1

Inability to think clearly.

WaterOx

you'll know it when it comes

least

inability to concentrate

ChloeRose63

It is when your thinking is not clear and it is hard to process simple information because it "does not compute" very well.
Think of it as the brain trying to hear a very faint whisper in a foreign language...

Eddiebuckle

When I went to rehab, for the first week or two I couldn't remember a sentence in the book I was reading once I got to the next one. When on the second weekend I was there, my girlfriend visited me and if something she said reminded me of something I wanted to say, if I waited until she completed what she was saying I couldn't remember what I wanted to tell her. I struggled to express myself because I couldn't string the right words together. It was very frustrating.

I was convinced that I had done permanent damage to my brain - fortunately, that phase only lasted a couple of weeks.

H379

Thanks for the responses.

So what I understand it basically erratic functioning of the brain.

- Inability to chain the thoughts together
- Forgetfulness
- Inability to put 2 and 2 together
- Focus / concentration
- Forget words

And the symptoms could be different for everyone.

dafunbra

And from what I understand it can come and go and be a symptom of PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome) for up to a year or even 18 months after the cessation of drinking. Luckily, to this point at least, I only had it for a few days.

ChloeRose63

It is really scary when you start to experience it. You begin to understand the damage that alcohol does to your brain cells. A very good reason to stop drinking. Permanent brain damage!

SIB

Its what I would get for 3-4 days after a drunk binge. You can't think, barely can form proper sentences, anxiety is like a monkey on your back and the only thing that makes it go away is more booze, which only makes it worse when you have to sober up again. As someone else on here called it "the merry go round of hell"

H379

Thanks Thefunbra, Chloe and SIB.

3 weeks ago I think I experienced it. I was very confused, forgetting simple things e.g. To say thanks to the teller, good morning or checking on someone's health even when I had known they are sick and sound sick while I am talking to them, was having difficulty finding the right words (which was the most frustrating) My mind would wander off, at times while driving. It was scary and very frustrating.

It lasted for 3-4 days. Luckily part of it was on a weekend and stayed home, rested, avoided any communication, just stayed close to SR.

I hope it does not happen again. But the good thing is if it happens again, now I know what is going on.

Thanks again.

August252015

Like you said, everyone is indeed a little different. I had pretty much all the stuff above- one particularly memorable part for me was aphasia, or the inability to grasp words and thoughts that were what I wanted to communicate.

I thought of this stuff as one of the ways alcohol was rolling out of my body from head to toe- everything about me had been negatively impacted by it, and it took time for my body to re-balance, heal, etc. Brain definitely included.

The ONLY way to get thru it and get clear headed is not to drink. Ever. Our bodies have a great deal of resilience- but they are not infinitely patient with the kind of abuse alcoholic drinking inflicts.

Glad you are here.

SnazzyDresser

It's the brain rain and brain thunderstorms you gotta watch out for!

Snowydelrico

I got brain fog today, was talking and the words I was saying didn’t make sense.
I knew what I wanted to say but was missing words and pausing in the wrong places.
I just hid behind my thick accent and watched their confused faces.

Yeah I struggled a bit today.
Think stress brings it on a little.
Got a lot on my plate at the moment.

H379

Hope you are feeling better Snowy.

Snowydelrico

It’ll pass.

saoutchik

As an alcoholic my brain was always either hungover or craving a drink. I suspect that a part of what comprises "brain fog" is just the unfamiliarity of not having one or other of those conditions to deal with.

entropy1964

It's actually a good question. I've always figured I have such severe brain fog that I don't know I have it. Ha!

I do know my memory is not what it used to be.

H379

Thank you all.