What do you consider to be "mom brain" things? I'm having an issue lately, like 2 years really, that's pretty much concerning to me. I actually went for a brain scan that came back normal, but I'm requesting a neurologist review of it. I have two kids, 20 months apart. I did ivf for the first girl. A bit before I had her, I had trouble reading one word on TV. A while later, I had trouble reading one word on a menu. Super normal words. Then several months later, I had trouble reading a phrase at work. Sometimes I open an email and can't read it at all. Now, those work emails are pretty wordy. It happened again recently with an instgram post - some girl trying to be really wordy. I couldn't read it. I clicked to her husband's post and could read it. I have a post graduate degree, so its not like I cannot read. I love reading and talking out loud. Anyhow.. I'm convinced I have a host of things wrong with my brain. Could this just be stress, lack of sleep, mom brain? It's not like "oh shoot, I can't remember why I came to the kitchen." Its looking at a menu and not being able to say the word "chardonnay" when you want to order a glass of wine. Would you be bothered by this? My mom keeps saying it's lack of sleep and the doctor sees nothing wrong. Would you be concerned?
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I didn't have problems reading, but I avoided anything even slightly difficult for a couple years. I was just too tired. I'd read a paragraph or page or sentence, then not remember it.
Every once in a while, I'd mix up words while speaking. The brain does some crazy stuff when sleep deprived.
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The only times I have had trouble reading a word right in front of me was when I was about to get a migraine- I occasionally got an aura where I just have blurred spots in my vision. Usually it’s minir but the first time it was really scary and I couldn’t read emails at work. I had a similar experience once where I couldn’t come up with words. Any chance it could be migraine related? That doesn’t sound like mom brain to me, but lack of sleep and being frazzled and pulled in a million directions could certainly make the migraine worse?
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Hmm.... I had mommy brain, ended up in the ER two times since DS was born due to different issues / anxiety attacks on top of everything else. One time I mistaken my client, the executive editor at a major publisher, as DS' class teacher over the phone
. But it never affect my reading... And yes I would be very concerned as it reminds me of an episode in The Good Doctor. But then again, that's just TV, I am not a doctor, and I worry about everything. Good for you to request another neurologist to review the scan. Hugs.What did your doctor say? How do they explain the normal scan and what are the plans for them to help you? I hope you'll feel better soon and just get a lot of sleep and try to relax dear
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@agold: Trust your instincts and keep exploring. The worst thing that can happen is that it's nothing big, right? What kind of doctor did you already see and what kind of brain scan did they do? Were they looking for a bleed or a tumor or something?
I have a totally different situation, but I was feeling "run down" ever since I had my 2nd kiddo. Like just super tired and mentally foggy all the time, and my limbs were also tired all the time (like I'd just worked out or something but I don't work out). Anyway, everyone kept telling me that it's normal when you have little kids. I requested for my iron to be checked and that and Vitamin D were okay, so basically my GP was like "it's just because you are a mom". And then I had a huge crazy flare up and had to go to a ton of doctors and do a ton of tests, and as it turns out I have Sjogrens and Lupus. Sooooo.....It took a long time, but it wasn't just being a mom that was making me tired.
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That sounds pretty specific and unlike most "mommy brain" things I've heard of so I would definitely keep digging. Have you done any googling of aphasia or alexia? I mean, yours is so intermittent that I'm not sure any of those even apply. They both say they are associated with brain damage, such as that from injury, infection, or stroke. In theory that should show up on a scan, but my husband actually had a stroke this summer that didn't show up on the first scan he had done (CT I think) but did show up on the next one a day later (MRI). Over the course of trying to figure out what happened, since he's young and healthy, we found a lot of information about strokes in young patients being completely missed or misdiagnosed because the symptoms don't present the same way as they do in elderly patients. I don't mean to suggest at all that this is what happened to you, but I do think that it's worth digging more just in case something was missed on the first scan.
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Mom brain / extreme fatigue does some crazy things to my speech, so it seems possible it could manifest that way ... but I’d definitely keep an eye on it and trust your gut because so often we/women get written off by doctors.
One idea that sprang to mind was to try to keep a journal on it. Maybe rate/note your sleep daily, any extraordinary stress or events, headaches, etc and then also the episodes you have. You might see a pattern that gives you a clue or it might help you show a doctor that it does not correlate to those things they like to blame.
Sometimes things are so hard to pinpoint ... I was feeling so awful a couple years ago after having my second. I basically got written off as you need to sleep and exercise more. In fact my allergies were so bad it was creating a systemic reaction that was seriously affecting my life. -
I would trust your gut. This sounds like a bit more, but I don't know how fatigued you are. Sleep deprivation can definitely be a cause, but this seems like a lot. Is it only on screens? Certain ones - computer versus mobile device?
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I would explore further. I’m sorry, that must be scary
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@agold: oh man, I think this sounds a little concerning. What do you mean you can't read it, like it's blurry,? You can't process the words?
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What is your sleep like? How would you characterize your current mental load - kid behaviors, household tasks, job issues, etc? Do you have any help or do you feel it all falls on you? Do you have to do a ton of multitasking all day or can you monotask (zoom in and focus on a project for a set chunk of time)?
Outside of those questions, research shows that women's medical concerns are taken less seriously by doctors and chalked up to imagination or "mom things."
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I would keep exploring and I like the idea of keeping a journal on the symptoms. My mommy brain is more like forgetting things. Honestly, that would concern me. It may be nothing but better safe than sorry. How much sleep are you getting? Lack of sleep with my 1st made me feel very crazy!
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Thank you for all of your responses and helping me, at least, feel better about my own concern.
@Dynamite: Thanks for sharing your own experience. Did things eventually get different for you, and you felt fine reading again?
@Foodnerd81: Migraines must be terrible. A few people very close to be suffer from them to varying degrees and its awful. I actually never get headaches ever. I don't even carry tylenol or anything in my house. But I can imagine what you are talking about and its not quite what I think I'm experiencing. Hugs to you, with your migraines.
@irene: I watch that show, too! In general, I'm a funny hypochondriac. But also, I'd never actually go to the doctor despite all the times I think I have cancer.
And I actually went to the doctor for this thing I have going on, so I'm legit concerned about it. I'm so sorry you had to go to the ER! I have anxiety a bunch, but like, maybe functioning anxiety. And I'm not sure its triggering what I have. But a good thought and could all be semi related. Coincidentally or not, I also have a messed up knee. The knee issue is actually painful and its made me pretty sad to think I'm going to be this person with a bad knee. And I wondering if it was a joint issue or something that could be linked to my brain. Cue slight anxiety and me laughing with my mom about this. @Anagram: Thank you, and yes, this is why I'm going back to the doctors to ask for more testing. Or just, more anything. It's my brain so of course I'm more concerned that just a problem with my knee. I just went to my primary care physician. He's a DO and he's awesome. Orders any tests I want. So I had a brain scan, an MRI, I think. I wanted to know if I had a stroke or had lesions on my brain. I don't know what the brain scan looked for. I don't know who actually reviewed it. I get a call from the office saying it was good and that was it. I was satisfied and didn't care anymore. My doctor said that since it wasn't a problem that was getting worse, then bla bla bla.. I forgot. Anyways. I wouldn't say its getting worse, but it hasn't gone away and still pops up. The other night I just decided I wanted to get this thing looked at again. I am so happy you finally got a diagnosis. I can absolutely imagine how long and hard it took to finally get answers.
@JennyPenny: Alexia is what I first thought it was, after reading about it on a stroke website. More recently I came upon aphasia and that seems more accurate. I can see the letters, I just can't say the word - out loud or even in my mind. So, basically, am I the youngest person in the world to get dementia. Can I just go on disability payments right now?
I'm so sorry your husband had a stroke. How did he know he had a stroke. (Sorry if that sounds like an absurd question.. but I'm over here wondering if I had a stroke and just didn't know.) @bhbee: Thank you so much for that suggestion. I know approximately the first time this happened, so I'm for sure going to keep a journal. And darn these kids making us so tired all the time!! I hope you got your allergies sorted out. It really does suck to not be feeling 100%. ( and that's a huge understatement, I know.)
@psw27: Nope, not only on screens. Once a menu; once a sign in my MIL's kitchen. And I'm not really any more fatigued than anyone else in my situation. I bought a peloton bike at the beginning of the year. So I'm not too fatigued to want to work out.
@pachamama: No, it's not blurry. I see the words fine. I just can't say the word. Very very simple words, or a couple of times its been lots of "complex" words in a paragraph, so I just give up reading the whole thing. But I can come back to it sometime later and read it just fine.
@DesertDreams88: Full mental load. But I actually have a ton of my help compared to others, not as much as some. But I'm not at all complaining. Even though I do, in general, feel spread very thin.
@Mamatimes3: For sure keeping a journal as of now. Thanks.
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@agold: I’m not trying to alarm you but I was having similar issues for two years after the birth of my youngest. Finally, I remember saying to my mom, “I think something is wrong with my brain.” The next day, I woke up and it was way worse and I had some physical things as well. I went to the ER where I had an MRI done. It came back with spotting so they did another MRI with contrast. Turns out, all that time I had multiple sclerosis that was damaging my brain.
The more I’ve read, it sounds like most people and even primary care doctors shrug most symptoms off. My doctor, who I love, did. It took a large physical and visible to the eye symptom for someone to really hear me. My neurologist said that a large hormonal shift can start MS so they think it was the birth of my youngest.
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@ladybee: Love you friend
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@ladybee: Thanks for your input. I did IVF, so I'm always thinking that all of the hormones I shot into my body could have messed me up in several ways. I'm really quite sad about all of this, but just carrying on and trying to be so happy about all of the good that happened to me last year rather than all the shit. I hope your MS is mild case. My bff has it. I also have a friend with something "worse" that is so random and terrible. She has a giant social media following. Maybe because I'm so exposed to these things, it makes me feel like I have them too because of her drive to recover. But there's no denying the things that I have personally experienced, and neither of my friends have my same issues.
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@agold: It started with blurred vision but after an hour or two showed classic signs of weakness on one side and slurred/incoherent speech. But because the initial scan didn't show a stroke he wasn't treated as a stroke victim until well after it had passed. His symptoms were significant for several hours, but then he was lethargic and just a bit "off" for maybe 12-18 hours afterward. He also had an event a year before hand of extreme dizziness that the doctors thought in hindsight may have been a TIA (a mini stroke that leaves no permanent damage) but there's no way now to know for sure. I did read several stories of young people online who had strokes without knowing until much later. One lady I specifically remember just felt that she couldn't communicate for several hours - kind of like being trapped. I'm assuming its also possible to stroke in your sleep and never notice symptoms but I have no idea.
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I'm sorry you are struggling with this. Intermittent health concerns can be so frustrating, as it's hard to seek help for something that may not even be bothering you when you go to the doctor!
My only thought that I haven't seen mentioned: have you ever had any issues with your blood sugar? I am fairly sensitive to fluctuations in my blood sugar level, and have had a few episodes of the kind of aphasia you describe when I have combined extreme hunger, fatigue, and a busy day.
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@lady baltimore: I have terrible eating habits. I will consider this. What did you have tested? I don't even know what I would ask about for that one. Do you still have aphasia type instances now?
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@lady baltimore: I didn't think of that either when I first read the post but come to think of it yeah, being really hungry or thirsty (/dehydrated) does the same to me. Or missing my coffee sometimes.
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@agold: I hope you get things figured out. Blood sugar is actually one you can easily test yourself. Walmart has an inexpensive glucose meter and strips. (I think it's the relion one) I would just carry it with you and check your sugar if it happens. Low or high could mean something is up. Waking you generally want to be between 70 and 130. You could also try testing an hour after eating to see if they're off then too
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@2littlepumpkins: I just started drinking coffee a couple of months ago. I'll try to start drinking it more regularly. I'm going to try to go to be very soon and start to get more sleep.
@MamaBear87: Thank you for this tip! I'm really going to consider ordering a set.
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I would be worried by the symptoms you are describing and certainly pushing for more medical opinions.
On the flip side, I will say that when the twins were little (maybe the first 9 months of their lives?) I had hallucinations due to sleep deprivation. In the very early days it was visual and quite whacky - thinking I lost babies or had 4 babies as I came to from sleeping in 15 or so minute increments. But as they got older, a couple months old through 9ish months, I had auditory hallucinations where I would hear crying babies only to find my babies asleep. Or I would hear them crying when I was at work. I attributed it to a combination of mild anxiety and sleep deprivation. It is amazing what the mind does with that combination. Once I started sleeping better, it went away.
I read your post about wondering about all the fertility drugs - I have wondered the same about what consequences I will see years down the road. Fingers crossed this doesn't trace back to that!
HUGS and good luck as you explore this further.
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@meadow: I had so many auditory hallucinations. Like every time I turned on the shower I would be convinced my baby was wailing. I asked some people here, and turns out it is super common. I can only imagine with twins and twice the crying...
To the original question, I would keep pushing for more testing, if anything just for your own peace of mind....
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@meadow: @periwinklebee: Thanks, girls. I'm seeing my doctor later this week. And yes, I always hear my babies crying, but only amongst other noise. TV, dishwasher, and church, usually. I attribute that to mom brain, but my husband also hears it!
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@agold: I have an underlying sleep disorder that was exacerbated by pregnancy, so it's gotten better. I've noticed my dad does the same thing when he's really tired.
As for reading, I only had a few times where I couldn't read or recognize words. The rest of the time, I could process individual words, but not higher level ideas or meanings behind them. I still have pretty limited energy for in depth subjects.
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@Dynamite: Thanks for your response. Interesting about your sleep disorder. I'm getting another brain scan done (first one was in 2017) and will be meeting with a neurologist. Hopefully I will get answers.
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@agold: How are you feeling? Have you had any doctors appointments yet?
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@YogiRunner: Hi! Thank you so much for asking. I'm feeling fine and trying hard not to legit worry about it. I saw my normal doctor and am getting another MRI next week. I also got referred to a neuro so I will see him next. I'm really hoping this is something that never happens again and I'm worrying over nothing. I'm *trying* to get more sleep and take better care of myself.
. But it never affect my reading... And yes I would be very concerned as it reminds me of an episode in The Good Doctor. But then again, that's just TV, I am not a doctor, and I worry about everything. Good for you to request another neurologist to review the scan. Hugs.
And I actually went to the doctor for this thing I have going on, so I'm legit concerned about it. I'm so sorry you had to go to the ER! I have anxiety a bunch, but like, maybe functioning anxiety. And I'm not sure its triggering what I have. But a good thought and could all be semi related. Coincidentally or not, I also have a messed up knee. The knee issue is actually painful and its made me pretty sad to think I'm going to be this person with a bad knee. And I wondering if it was a joint issue or something that could be linked to my brain. Cue slight anxiety and me laughing with my mom about this. 
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