Struggling and frustrated, help or advice?

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Jaseinspace
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18 Jan 2016, 11:47 pm

Hi everyone, I'm a new member here. I've been diagnosed with social phobia and Aspergers and suffer from depression. I'm having a few issues I'm struggling with at the moment and wanted to see if anyone can relate.

Firstly, I've been suffering from a sort of brain fog for years now. My memory is terrible and I have difficulty concentrating. I feel like I zone out when people are talking to me and forget things so easily. The same goes for watching a tv show, or reading a book. I'll be all fuzzy on the details. It's like I'm living inside my own head and there's a barrier stopping outside information from getting in, I guess that's one way to describe it. I also have a lack of energy and little motivation.

Another issue I'm having is discomfort in my gut. Sorry to be gross but I'm suffering from incomplete bowel movements and sometimes constipation. Every time after I eat I feel bloated and uncomfortable in my gut, no pain though. It's enough to make me irritable, especially since I experience it everyday. Oddly, my skin feels more sensitive after I eat too. Like the wind blowing against my skin or my clothes rubbing against my skin will feel annoying when my gut is bloated and uncomfortable from eating. Am I the only one who experiences that?

I should mention I'm taking medication (lexapro) and I drink almost nightly but trying to cut back on that since alcohol seems to make these issues worse. Once upon a time alcohol was like a blessing. I felt happy and confident when I drank but now one beer is enough to make me feel tired and cloudy. Does anyone here drink, or used to drink? How does it affect you? Or maybe I have a food intolerance I don't know about?

I don't want to make this too much longer. Does anyone experience these issues? Can anyone recommend ways to get out of the fog, and make my gut feel normal again?



C2V
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19 Jan 2016, 5:51 am

I responded to your gut topic on its own, since I have some issues there myself and am currently headhunting the medical profession, again, to FIX, not TREAT, it.
So onto this -

Quote:
I drink almost nightly but trying to cut back on that since alcohol seems to make these issues worse. Once upon a time alcohol was like a blessing. I felt happy and confident when I drank but now one beer is enough to make me feel tired and cloudy. Does anyone here drink, or used to drink? How does it affect you? Or maybe I have a food intolerance I don't know about?

Talk about a red flag. I'm a recovering alcoholic and yes, I used to get the exact same thing you're describing when I was drinking. It was like I was wrapped in cotton wool. Everything outside of me seemed like life was raging everywhere, but I was numb and removed, it all seemed dim and far away, like I was separated from it. This persisted even on days when I hadn't drunk anything. Someone in recovery explained to me that, especially as you get older, you don't just bounce back to clean the day after you drink. That sh!t stays in your system, damaging your brain, often for weeks to months after you quit, depending on how much you drank and your tolerance (I drank a hell of a lot, hard stuff, and my tolerance was very high).
That's why they place such emphasis on 90 days in recovery. It can take three months to get that sh!t out of you.
Yes you may have a food sensitivity you don't know about (some coeliacs describe a sort of brain fog in response to gluten) but alcoholics will also make any excuse as to why it's not the alcohol. If you're drinking every day, odds are it's the alcohol. I used to use it to relax and turn off my tearing mind so I could just coast, but it builds up, and sooner rather than later if you're a problem drinker it's going to get you. Considering I've experience what you're describing almost to the word when I was drinking - looks that way to me.
Feel free to PM me if you want regarding the drinking issue. Always happy to help out anyone else in this position.


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Jo_B1_Kenobi
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19 Jan 2016, 6:14 am

I sometimes feel all foggy, although it's not something which happens often. For me a good cure is to go out walking in the fresh air or cycling if my body is up to it. WHen I was young I used to run too. Exercise seems to link everything up inside me and get all my bodies functions working. Just an idea. We're all different so what works for one person might not work for another.


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CockneyRebel
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19 Jan 2016, 7:53 am

I also experience brain fog, but that's what makes me lovable.


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GoofyGreatDane
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21 Jan 2016, 8:00 pm

C2V wrote:
I responded to your gut topic on its own, since I have some issues there myself and am currently headhunting the medical profession, again, to FIX, not TREAT, it.
So onto this -
Quote:
I drink almost nightly but trying to cut back on that since alcohol seems to make these issues worse. Once upon a time alcohol was like a blessing. I felt happy and confident when I drank but now one beer is enough to make me feel tired and cloudy. Does anyone here drink, or used to drink? How does it affect you? Or maybe I have a food intolerance I don't know about?

Talk about a red flag. I'm a recovering alcoholic and yes, I used to get the exact same thing you're describing when I was drinking. It was like I was wrapped in cotton wool. Everything outside of me seemed like life was raging everywhere, but I was numb and removed, it all seemed dim and far away, like I was separated from it. This persisted even on days when I hadn't drunk anything. Someone in recovery explained to me that, especially as you get older, you don't just bounce back to clean the day after you drink. That sh!t stays in your system, damaging your brain, often for weeks to months after you quit, depending on how much you drank and your tolerance (I drank a hell of a lot, hard stuff, and my tolerance was very high).
That's why they place such emphasis on 90 days in recovery. It can take three months to get that sh!t out of you.


Sorry but that's BS. Whoever told you that had no idea what they were talking about. Even with extremely high BAC, alcohol will be completely out of the system in one or two days max. It will never take a person months to get alcohol out of their system.



C2V
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21 Jan 2016, 8:16 pm

Quote:
Sorry but that's BS. Whoever told you that had no idea what they were talking about. Even with extremely high BAC, alcohol will be completely out of the system in one or two days max. It will never take a person months to get alcohol out of their system.

I think they're more referring to the fact that it can continue to affect you for months, given the damage it has caused to body and mind. And I'm not talking just a few too many one night. I'm talking serious hard drinking for a period of months or more. It's strange but you can still feel hungover days to weeks after you quit in this situation, until the body recovers from the damage. Plus, BAC measures alcohol in the blood, it wouldn't surprise me if it takes longer in the tissues and cells, especially in the brain.


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