Clarification:No, I wasn’t sick before this started occuring. It was a gradual onset.
Feeling really tired all the time. I can sleep well above the amount of hours you need, and wake up feeling like I’ve been drugged up. If I wake up at 10 AM, I feel almost awake by around 8 PM. I don’t have as much of an issue typing but when I’m talking it’s like I’ve had brain damage or something (I haven’t, to my knowledge.) My movement and metabolism seem slow but my doctor says my thyroid function is in acceptable limits.
I used to give massive presentations where I was speaking without a script, I couldn’t even manage a single sentence without suddenly slurring, mispronouncing a word I know the pronunciation of, fumbling grammar, getting a word back to front or “buffering” for 5+ seconds. I don’t know, I just don’t feel as “present” like I used to, and everything seems dream-like. I have a bit of anxiety about talking to people in person now, because talking seems to use up 100% of my brainpower (same with remembering how to make coffee and use the machine), when before it was an automatic thing.
There’s been several occasions where a sentence will come out perfect but in reverse.
I don’t know if this is related, but people have noticed that since then, my movement has also been slow, as if my arms are underwater and are facing water resistance.
I forgot to clarify that. No, I wasn’t sick. It was a gradual onset.
I’m gonna be the donkey with the obligatory “please talk to an expert”.
Joke aside, you might wanna consult with a psycho/speech therapist. The other symptoms you are described might not be related but they could be and you always wanna tackle the problem, not the symptom.
Agreed. OP is really asking: do my problems rise to the level of needing to see some sort of medical professional? The answer is yes, OP is describing medical problems that interfere with their daily living. There’s no way strangers over the Internet can tell what’s going on here. If you don’t think one medical professional is taking your symptoms seriously, get another opinion.
Very likely ME/CFS.
Also, you apparently don’t want to hear this, but this is also very compatible with long COVID. A huge percentage of sufferers of long COVID had no acute symptoms, have no positive test, and otherwise have no reason to believe they ever had COVID except a) chronic symptoms consistent with long COVID b) which came on in 2020 or 2021. Nothing about “I wasn’t” (acutely) “sick” or “gradual onset” sways me in the slightest away from the possibility that this sounds very much like long COVID. Both are entirely consistent, even typical, of long COVID.
This is happening to me, or something very similar!
Tired beyond belief. Sleep doesn’t matter, or at least doesn’t seem to help. Everyday, it takes hours to feel awake, and only lasts for a couple hours at best.
Slow to find words when speaking, though I know what I want to say. It coupd take seconds to think of a simple word. I’ve started speaking in very broken, sometimes reversed, sentences. Someone said it was like listening to a slow version of Yoda, but worse.
The world feels off, as if experiencing everything through a memory rather than actually being there. The best way I’ve been able to describe it is, it’s as if being far back in my head. Everything is at a distance, like my eyes are binoculars turned around, or like looking through tunnels.
I used to have a great memory, now I’m lucky if I remember a conversation from a week ago. Not just what was said, but I might be only vaugly aware that the conversation even happened.
Movement isn’t sluggish exactly, though slower than I used to be. Doing anything, even routine tasks takes a ridiculous amount of concentration.
I’ve also developed weird ticks. I’ll sometimes speak outloud as I’m thinking of a sentence, or lyric, or whatever, but its just one or two words. I then repeat the word over and over without realizing it. Once I notice, it takes me a second to stop. I’ve also started geaturing with my hands without meaning to, when not even talking or anything. Like I’ll randomly point or gesture like I’m speaking.
None of it was sudden, it’s been a slow build up to the point that I don’t know when any of it started. The symptoms are finally enough to overcome my anxiety of talking about it, and I’ve scheduled an appointment with my doctor. Whatever is happening, I figure it will be better to know than not.
I’m not saying we have exactly the same thing, it just sounds like we have some similar symptoms. Whatever it is, know that you aren’t alone. Take care of yourself random internet stranger, and please call a doctor.
You may have sleep apnea as well.
Like others said, you really need to see a doctor.
This person sounds like me before I got on CPAP.
I was living in a deep fog, sleeping 10-12 hours and still needing a nap during work. Would get home from my commute on an 18 lane highway and not remember the whole trip. I would perceive myself talking in slow motion but I don’t know if I actually was or my perception just crashed into the ground.
My life completely changed on CPAP, I felt like a whole new person, so much so that I reintroduced myself to my coworkers. It took me 32 years of my life to feel the concept of awake for the first time. It took a few years to get rid of some of the worst issues but I can’t believe I didn’t kill someone or myself on the road.
This CPAP thing sounds amazing. If only I knew what ot stands for. No, searching doesnt yield anything related
It’s a machine that supports your breathing while you sleep. If you have sleep apnea, you will stop breathing multiple times during the night, which will prevent you from properly resting. CPAP machine connects to a mask on your face and produces a slightly elevated air pressure, which forces air into your lungs.
How do I know of i need one? Also, i see prices from 500€ to 3500€, what is the “OK” price?
- See a Doctor
- Get a blood work, and ask for a CRP panel along with your CBC and WBC
- Ask for an allergy panel
- In the meantime, track your diet and try reducing things with High Glycemic indexes: pastas, starches, sugar…etc. Reduce them all, and try eating just straight up fruits, vegetables, and clean proteins for a few days to see if there is any improvement.
- Check your house for humidity or mold. Look EVERYWHERE, and consider getting some mail-in mold tests. Check vents, behind your furniture, bed frames, under your mattresses, and even the dark corners of your closets behind hanging clothes.
Were you sick any time before the onset of this? It sounds like the some of the symptoms of long COVID or chronic fatigue syndrome.
I forgot to clarify that. No, I wasn’t sick. It was a gradual onset.
Doesn’t even have to be an illness you remember. A mild Corona case, a flu, EBV could all lead to this.
What happens if you overexert yourself? Do you feel sick 0-3 days later with flu-like symptoms? Try to look out for that. That’s the most prevalent symptom of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Long Covid. The worst about it is that the really bad symptoms turn up with a delay from the trigger, making it harder to notice.
Hope that’s not the case and that you manage to find out what it is.
PEM is the pits. Also, this exertion can be mental too, so you might have read a really difficult book or done a course and whammo, here we go.
Between Fibromyalgia and CPTSD this is my brain now for ~8 years.
I feel so much less intelligent/responsive then before.
And knowing how I thought/felt then vs now, makes me more sad.
🥹
R.I.P. my nervous system.
Dissociation is fun.
Definitely see a doctor.
And hope that they know their stuff and don’t just tell OP that they’re just imagining it.
Repeat covid infections. It affects the language processing portion of the brain. I’ve personally noticed that my brain will skip over words when writing a sentence. Simple words like “the”, “of”, etc… It’s like my brain assumes they are there.
Lots of things can cause this.
Long covid ME/CFS Alzheimer’s Magnesium deficiency B12 deficiency Circulatory issues / poor cardiovascular conditioning Frequent alcohol use
You should see a doctor.
something similar happened with me after I got covid. I’m dyslexic but now after covid it “ramped” up. not so much writing things, I’ve always had issues with that but just talking. slur my words more, switch words around, etc.
See a doctor
See a doctor
See a doctor
Severe depression and/or burnout can have similar effects. I’ve been in a brain fog for years and it only started getting better with antidepressants. However, first you’ll need to make sure that there is no physical cause. Any good doctor will check your blood more in detail with those symptoms. There’s also the chance that there are several causes, not just one. You could have e.g. sleep apnea and also some other issue.
Are you taking any medicamentation? Even if it’s a common one like allergy meds, you could be one of the unlucky few with severe side effects.
That’s really good to know because i had the same problem and people were telling me i was burned out and then i had to take a year out of uni and resit some modules. It’s a lot better now
Check carbon Monoxide levels in your home too.
Someone here has to have the link to that Reddit post…
One of my all time favorite Internet stories, and I was there when it happened!
https://old.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/34l7vo/ma_postit_notes_left_in_apartment/
i have diagnosed long covid for three fucking years now & this all aligns with how i feel. diagnosed with bloodwork (unexplained inflammation leading to chronic fatigue, soreness & brain fog) & other diseases (rheumatoid, lyme) ruled out.
My doc refuses to test for lyme “because you might have had it some other time.”
Wut?
