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Permalink Reply by Shayla on April 23, 2012 at 4:00pm

I feel that way sometimes like my memory is kinda foggy, like I can't remember the simplest things sometimes....I'm definitely not a dr. but I think it messes with your mind!

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Permalink Reply by Maycri on April 23, 2012 at 4:02pm

I hate when I have my humalog in front of me and I can't remember if I just injected for my food or not, is soo stressful!

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on April 23, 2012 at 4:13pm

What is most likely, DW, is that it is stress that is causing these symptoms. You are dealing with a recent diagnosis and trying to get on the right treatment and clarify your type. That is all extremely stressful! Even when you get past that stage, D can cause stress in your life. And stress definitely can affect memory, cognitive function, as well as many other aspects of your well-being both mental/emotional and physical.

What can you do about it? Lots of things! Take extra good care of yourself during this rough time, including eating well and getting enough sleep and regular exercise and fresh air. Whatever you do that helps you relax and de-stress is very important now such as running, going for walks, working out, yoga, listening to music, playing games, whatever you have found works! Also, talking about what is going on as you do on here and in person if possible with other diabetics and/or with members of your personal support team (girlfriend, family members, buddies). Also not taking on extra tasks for now - I think you were able to put off your programming courses for awhile?

Bottom line: Never underestimate the effects of good old STRESS!

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Permalink Reply by Chris Miller on April 23, 2012 at 4:18pm

Extreme low blood sugars could cause brain damage, of course. But I assume that's not what you're referring to in this case.

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Permalink Reply by still_young_at_heart on April 23, 2012 at 5:04pm

I certainly had cognitive difficulties when I was first diagnosed as a result of running very high for several months. Those problems went away once I got my bg under control. There are many possible reasons why you're not as sharp as you'd like to be right now. The good news is that in most cases it isn't hard to get back to baseline.

Maurie

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Permalink Reply by Shawnmarie on April 23, 2012 at 10:44pm

When I was first diagnosed, it tooks several weeks for the fog to clear from my head. My A1C was 9.8, so I had been running fairly high for a while. It felt like I would never be able to think clearly again, but eventually the fog lifted. Hopefully, once you get some stability back to your BG, the fog will lift for you as well.

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Permalink Reply by Buckley83 on April 24, 2012 at 12:47am

I had the same symptoms for a while and was convinced I had brain damage of some description. I was forgetting people's names at work, couldn't remember passwords, emailing the wrong people, couldn't read a full page of text...

Turned out to reaction to an extended period of stress and anxiety. I chilled out, things slowly returned to normal and I got back on track.

Extended and repeated severely low blood sugar can cause issues I believe, especially if you loose consciousness and are out for a while.

It may be worth considering the stress/anxiety side of things though, both cause really powerful physical sensations and symptoms. Wasn't until I experienced a tough time with it that I had any respect for it, I bloody do now though ha!

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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on April 24, 2012 at 1:43am

Part of it is that the diabetic always needs to pay attention to you BS, which is a good thing, but distracts from everything else.

Insulin shock or recurring lows definitely do a number on your brain; blackouts, confusion, etc. When I was on MDI, I would often wake up on the subway, unable to remember where I was coming from or going to (usually work). Sometimes sleep walking.

I'm much more lucid since I started pumping. Just my experience.

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Permalink Reply by Capin101 on April 24, 2012 at 7:32am

I asked my endo about this about a year ago. She responded something like this. Glucose is the main food for the brain and low BGs can kind of starve your brain and cause injury. Low BGs are something to avoid and repeated severe and long hypos have been linked to short term memory loss and mental impairment.

I have inferred that hypos can damage your cognitive abilities similar to how hypers can cause complications. I do not think it is too far of a stretch to assume that a BG in the 40s is doing a little bit of damage just like a BG in the 190s does a little damage?

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Permalink Reply by DiabeticWarrior on April 24, 2012 at 8:35am

Thanks for your insight everyone, this helps.

My A1C was 11 so i guess it was kind of expected i would get foggy memory.
I hope i will be able to bring it down.

Do you think taking some Omega 3 caplets can help the brain remain sharp?

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Permalink Reply by Mikeonline2821 on April 24, 2012 at 9:46am

Omega 3 is a great tool for a lot of things but you also need to make sure you are functioning right. Swinging BG will definitely cause problems and that may manifest in memory issues for you. I would say Omega 3 will help once you get your body functioning more closely to normal. Lower your stress as best as possible. Try to get your diet and insulin correct to get A1Cs of 7 or lower. Because you can put High Octane gas into a car and hope it will make it run better but if all the gaskets are blown and the oil is in need of changing you won't get the expected results from the "better" gas.

The human body is amazing and can heal from many things so once you get all of the stress and diet/insulin and BG levels all correct then your brain should fall in line and start working like it used to. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Maycri on April 24, 2012 at 10:49am

I wish I could like posts like in facebook! /like

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