Constant Brain Fog and Fatigue After Binge Drinking
 

I am just wondering if anyone has experienced the same symptoms I am feeling now and if they are related to PAWS at all.

Note: I am 25 years old had been binge drinking for about 5 years before this, typically once or twice a week throughout college and a couple years following. These binges would include 6-12 drinks every time over a 3-5 hour period, and yes, I did have a few benders while in Vegas and such. I never had any adverse effects from drinking except general hangovers that would only last about half a day.

So the day everything changed for me was a normal binger and I had a hangover the following day and carried on. Thinking that the hangover would last several hours I was not alarmed how I was feeling at the time. When the evening came I still felt a little hungover but also a little off, almost as if I was in a haze. I went to bed that night thinking that I just had a weird reaction to the booze I drank the night before and anticipated waking up the next morning feeling fine. The next day I woke up in a fog, which had never happened before so I became a little concerned and started to do things to brighten up my mood because the physical fog feeling was bringing me down. I continued with life and weeks leading to months had gone by and the fog was still present.

I was now becoming worried that I had actually damaged my brain from all of the binging that I have done over the years but I wasn't convinced. Along with the brain fog came constant fatigue. Every morning I would wake up and feel as if I had not even slept. So I began to research what was going on with my head and tried to rule everything out before I started to panic. I saw an internist and neurologist to have extensive blood work, EEG, and MRI completed. All of my blood tests including Lyme came back negative. My Neuro then thought I may be suffering from sleep apnea so I completed a sleep study and that also came back negative. I don't and still don't know what is going on and am desperate to find some answers. I even tried altering my diet so that I was eating no dairy/gluten but a ton of good veggies and protein for weeks....that hasn't changed anything. I also haven't completely stopped drinking but am planning to. Initially it seemed that getting drunk masked my symptoms but then they were back the day after. So i'm not sure if this is an addiction PAWS issue or something completely different.

Over the past 2 months my symptoms have progressed and include constant fatigue, trouble focusing, head fog, bad short term memory, trouble finding words, some slurred speech, depersonalization, and difficulty with reading comprehension. Basically feels as if I have dementia. I also feel like I have pressure in my eyes even though an eye exam I had came back negative. At this point I just don't know what to do. It feels like i'm going insane.

If anyone has had a relatable experience and has either recovered or had a diagnosis please let me know.

You recognize the unaddressed variable here, yes? It would be unusual but not unheard of to have these symptoms from a serious binge drinking history at your age, but the only way to find out is to talk to your doctor about everything, including the drinking, and eliminate it entirely to see if things improve over time.

The drinking could be masking another health problem or it’s the root cause. Either way you shouldn’t be drinking, right?

ETA: Are you taking anything over the counter? Supplements, Benadryl, anything you didn’t tell your doctor about or just forgot?

Hi ebaseball16 - welcome :)

I'm not trying to worry you but if I had slurred speech I'd get it checked out.
Maybe nothing, maybe something easily managed, but best to be safe.

D

Could be a number of things.

Check with a doctor.

Agreed, definitely shouldn't be drinking that much. Also not taking any medications at this time. Just some nutritional supplements.

I had the same exact issues. Severe fatigue, head pressure and after 3 months it's starting to decrease.

Most importantly, we are very glad you are here, and we hope that you get and stay sober.

It sounds like you sure need to do so.

Thank you for reminding me exactly how i felt everyday for year.

I got sober as a fairly young person.

You have the opportunity to get sober at an even younger age than i did

I really hope that you seize that opportunity and leave your current misery behind you.

when i quit oxycodone, about the 4th day or so my mind went completely blank. i could not think at all it was scary it was like i was brain dead. the only thing i knew was that i didnt know what was going on. my brain could not process anything. i remember sitting on the couch and my mom watching tv and i said to her mom, i have no clue whats going on. im like i hear the tv, but the words are just disappearing as they say it. nothing would register. i remember saying that to her and that was it. i just felt like a ghost almost. that continued for like 2 or 3 days i think then got better.

i do now have dementia type of things happen. ill type out words perfectly that arent the same words i was thinking. i re read my paragraphs and have to fix all the wrong words. my memory is mush. i use to be a singer who had to memorize songs. i doubt i could do that now. although i think my current issue is that im on clonopin for my anxiety. i notice sometimes it makes me lisp. and my memory has been foggy and messed up ever since i started taking it right after i got off oxys. you may want to check side effects of any medicine your on

also another thing to consider is, there is this theory that people say "withdrawals are only 2 weeks" i find that not true for people who have abused themselves for years. i was on oxys for 10 years. so my withdrawals lasted nearly a year. i coughed 3 months straight. it took about 4-6 months for some of my symptoms to go away. and then after that was alot of mental syptoms. it seems like our brain tries to fix our bodies first, and then tries to fix our thoughts which isnt easy lol.

Brain Fog. Eek. I'd almost rather it be dark...then at least I could see the light better. In thick fog the headlights on the car don't make much of a dent sometimes. So they came out with fog lights which are a little better, still it's hard to see good. So when things seem/feel foggy and dark we need a source of Light. Really, we do. And that light gives us hope during times of poor visibility.

So, I really love the lyrics to this following song, called Dark Road. By Sarah Jarosz. Umm. In it it says if you take your time you will make it fine. In other words: Be patient? This fog IS a temporary thing. It WILL lift. Yes, there is fog, there is darkness. BUT, there is also LIGHT.

Dark Road.


"Dark Road"

You are going down a dark road
And you find yourself alone
And you are seeing things
You never saw before

But the loneliness will leave you
And you find yourself at home
Then suddenly the world
Is knocking at your door

[Chorus:]
The darkness covers you sometimes
The road is long but it always unwinds
And I find if you take your time
You will make it fine

Now the way I feel inside
Is not a mirror of my mind
But I cannot find the way
To be what I should be

With a thousand miles between us
I can feel you in my arms
But it’s just a feeling deep
In my memory

[2nd Chorus:]
The darkness covers me sometimes
The road is long but it always unwinds
And I find if you take your time
You will make it fine

The emptiness that fills me up
Is farther from me now
But it always lingers
On the back roads of my mind

I am falling from the darkness
Up into a swirling light
And I am looking at
The one I had to find

[2nd Chorus]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAdRcQGTmgs

Have you had your thyroid checked?

would you please inform what is the update of your status ? did you discover the reason , i am not addicted to alcohol at all, i drink occasionally but last time i drank only 2 or three shots at 12-4-2018,and i am suffering from what you described, can you please help me, have you discovered the reason ?

Welcome engineer :)

If alcohol was doing all that to me, and I wasn't addicted, I'd stop drinking?

D

Hello,same experience
 

Brother,what u described i have exactly the same experience ,each one of your symptoms are present in me . Started after drinking party and fog never improved after 6 years. What have you done to get rid of this fog?If u see this post. Please text me or reply here.:herewego
Thanks

Hie ,i also have the same experience. Plz reply to this post for sharing experiences.

My brain fog lifted and clarity of mind, vision and speech returned within the first 6 or so months of my getting sober.

I used to scour the internet trying to find solutions to my constant fatigue that didn’t include quitting drinking. I tried all types of supplements. In the end it turned out that alcohol was the root cause of my fatigue and other physical and mental health concerns. Who would have thought!? I just hope you guys won’t waste as many years as me and give complete abstinence a try sooner than later.

Same here
 

hi I wanted to ask if you ever found relief I was not a heavy drinker at all I had just turned 21 and had only casually gone drinking a total of 2 times and on the third time drinking I had a little too much to drink didn't black out or anything like that I even threw up the majority of it but the following morning I started getting brain fog and it's been almost a year and I'm looking for a leaf I think I could really benefit from your experience so if you wouldn't mind responding id greatly appreciate it

Hi TheBlueBird - welcome :)

A year is a long time to deal with something like that, Did you see a Dr?

D

I'm feeling exactly what OP is feeling, everything he said is exactly what I'm going through.
I binge drank 2 months ago, and ever since my last drink I've gotten this hazy hangover that made my head foggy, head pressure, and concentration all messed up and it never went away..
All my medical tests from my heart, CT headscan, and bloodwork came back normal.
I am 21.

Hi have been going through the same
 

Hi, I have been going through the same thing. It happened after one or two nights of binge drinking. I never really drank to that extent until that one weekend where I woke up with brain fog and it never went away. I am 18 and have had it for almost 3 months now with no signs of it getting better.