Re: Constant brain fog

Is the "visual snow" what is sometimes called "floaters"? I had a very mild case of floaters. I was told that they are a form of "hallucination". That's supposedly a technical term for them.

I definitely think you should continue to learn about adrenals and thyroid.

Also learn about "catecholamine depression". With that you don't feel sad or suicidal, but rather, lethargic and unmotivated--unless there is something really interesting happening or an emergency--house on fire or naked 21 yr old girl running through the room : )

You could also look up the symptoms for inattentive ADD since they are or can be very related. They are in me. You'll learn about dopamine and norepinephrine/adrenaline.

There are so many types of "depression". That can be a technical, medical term. Unfortunately there can be many causes and contributing factors. Dr Mark Hyman discusses them here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkxk7nod33o

For example, low T3 thyroid hormone can be involved in some of your symptoms. I wish you had also gotten Free T3 tested.

Selenium (Se) is involved in conversion of T4 to T3. It warms my typically cold hands and helps me to be more motivated. I learned about it when i was at your stage of my health problems. After my thyroid tests were similarly negative but my symptoms matched fairly well, I tried the supplement, Thyroid Helper. Its contents include Se, and tyrosine, an amino acid that feeds into production of catecholamine neurotransmitters. The ashwaghanda in it also has a good reputation for helping adrenals and thyroid.

Se also binds quite well with a number of heavy metals:

Mercury (Hg) in tuna, many vaccines, "silver" dental fillings, etc
Cadmium in pot, a tint in old lead paint, etc.
Several other potentially toxic metals as well.

Therefore if you have too much exposure to heavy metals (HMs) that bind with Se, your body might not have normal levels of Se for its role in protection of the thyroid gland and for T3 production.

Your list of symptoms reminds me of mine. I had a heavy metal problem including the very common hypoadrenal problem that usually goes with it.

Dr Mark Hyman is an example. In his book, Ultra Mind Solution he says he went to TEN other doctors before someone realized HMs were involved in his very long list of debilitating symptoms. He was so sick he was no longer able to work as a doctor.
He describes the situation here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjnGWSyxWJ0

Back around 2006 I was walking through the den and Hyman was on PBS talking about health problems. When he mentioned Brain Fog, he got my attention. At the time it was one symptom I could not control.

At the time I had made some progress with my inattentive ADD and cat Depression with tyrosine, B vitamins, Thyroid Helper , multi with generous amounts of minerals, acetylcholine support, etc. My sensitivity to certain odors resulting in panic attacks was gone and energy levels up.

However, I could not control the brain fog. I knew that by keeping my blood Sugar more stable I did not get so "low" and foggy. I knew the support for inattentive ADD was somewhat helpful. I had brief moments where the fog would clear but just did not know what do to to replicate it.

So I bought Dr Hyman's book and picked up the tip to consider heavy metals. I was really lucky since for me HMs were the big factor. Lots of things improved. I don't have the time to describe most of it but I mentioned some of it in the past.
//www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=1951581
http://onibasu.com/archives/fdc/77047.html

I ended up using Cutler's detox protocol which includes suggestions for possible use of lots of supplements. Since I'm still taking a handful of supplements daily I really don't know what has helped with the fog!

My best guess is that my liver function has improved so I get rid of natural/internal/endogenous chemicals/toxins as well as ones of external origin.

I'm confident that adrenal support, mostly pregnenolone and adrenal glandular has been helpful. Certainly my hypoglycemia is improved.

I suppose by brain is healthier due to HM detox and support for brain repair, including fish oil, lecithin and pregnenolone.

It seems that I was/am still a little sensitive to phenols. They would make me hyperactive then I'd crash with lots of fog and mental fatigue. Honestly most people in HM detox groups report brain fog but most don't seem to have phenol sensitivity.

A. Cutler, PhD chemist and detox consultant--noamalgam.com-- warns that a substantial number, although minority of people who need HM detox will be sensitive to foods and supplements that are high in sulfur, specifically to the thiol/SH form.

Heavy metals, including mercury, love to bind with SH groups. So when we consume foods high in reactive SH groups, they tend to kick up heavy metals. This helps to remove some of the HMs but while they are moving around they can increase symptoms, including brain fog. There is more on that subject here.
http://livingnetwork.co.za/chelationnetwork/food/

Most people in the detox groups report that the fog is worse while taking detox medication and supplements, including me and a close friend.

Dr Hal Huggins, a pioneer in Hg free dentistry wrote a book entitled, "Its All in You Head." It is so common for people with a Hg problem to be diagnosed with "depression" and put on psych meds! They are considered hypochondriacs because they have such a long list of improbable symptoms that don't show up on standard tests. Huggins wrote a humorous article on the phenomena, especially as it relates to fatigue.
http://www.hugginsappliedhealing.com/mercury-symptoms.php

Obviously most people don't have a heavy metal problem! However, the people in the detox groups tend to have a long list of seemingly unrelated symptoms that doctors are having trouble addressing. Dr Hyman is the classic example.

Your symptom list fits very well with those we see in the detox groups. There is virtually always problems with mental performance--memory, fog, alertness; poor stress tolerance--sometimes nasty sometimes anxiety; usually some types of mood problems; some gut issues; food sensitivities ; hypoadrenal symptoms; fatigue. The list could go on.

You might check out the symptom lists under the 1000+ hair tests at this site used by detox group members.
http://livingnetwork.co.za/chelationnetwork/hairtest/hairtest3/

They use the site in part to have the hair test evaluated based on Cutlers' theory on how mercury fouls up movement of minerals in the body and in hair. An early version of the theory is in this discussion with a noted autism doctor.
http://onibasu.com/archives/am/2200.html

Dr Rind uses temperature testing to get a feel for endocrine problems.
http://www.drrind.com/therapies/metabolic-temperature-graph

I'm not stupid enough to try to diagnose someone based on one post in a discussion group! When I was at your stage I was looking for clues, leads that I could investigate.

My life got messed up due to 15+ yrs of clueless doctors. The internet was not so readily available for most of those years, so you have a big advantage there. Hopefully something in this post will turn out to be a useful lead for you.

Please let us know what is helpful to you.

ATB

Joe

PS, if you are a big smoker or renovation construction worker, your local pharmacy probably sells bottles of selenium for $5 ; )