I Need A Lighthouse On My Forehead

When you have M.S. and you suddenly can't recall the name of someone you've known for years.  When it's just on the tip of your tongue.  When a word like "the" looks really weird all of a sudden and you're not sure if it's spelled T-H-E.  Don't start worrying about Alzheimer's too...

You've got Brain Fog.

I'm quite sure that Brain Fog is not the official medical term for this phenomenon but, it's certainly apt.  For the last three years I've noticed that my usually sharp memory has been failing me at times.  For example, I was telling my friend a story the other day (laughing at just this topic) about how, at her engagement party, I ran into a guy that we had gone to school with since we were 9 years old.  He showed up at her party and when I ran into him, I shouted "Alfred", really excited to see him for the first time in years.  He looked confused and I realized...his name isn't Alfred - that just didn't sound right but, I could not remember it for the life of me.  He corrected me with a hurt look on his face:  "It's Albert".  I apologized profusely and blamed the drinks I'd had earlier.  Totally lame.
When I first saw my neurologist I asked her if the changes in my cognitive function and memory could possibly be attributed to M.S. and she smirked a little, paused and asked me "what else did you think it was?".  I told her that since I'd turned 30, I had been noticing problems with word recall, information retention and the like.  I told her that I thought I was seeing the first signs of aging and that it was normal.  Remember people, denial is a super-strong little creature.  Anyway, she laughed again (more like a guffaw), shook her head and said "Alison, you're a little too young for that!".  So, another little mystery solved.  Brain Fog.

There are a lot of theories out there as to what exactly causes this set of symptoms.  One popular explanation is that having M.S. makes it more difficult for your body to get rid of toxins and that this somehow causes the fogginess.  It is suggested that you can help your liver to detox by eating more garlic, food supplements like Dandelion and drinking green tea.  Fatigue is also said to be a major factor in contributing to The Fog; which all MS-ers know is just a problem in general no matter your mental acuity at any given time!  Other causes on the list include medication side effects, infection, inflammation (again, another no-brainer with M.S.), anxiety...and on and on and on.  So, I have no idea what causes brain fog; it could be little green men for all I care.  I'm just content to know that it's REAL, other people can relate and I'm not going nutter by myself over here.

Now, where did I put my car keys?