Cancer Related Brain Fog: How do you cope with it?

Love your handle; clearly your sense of humor is intact. Is there any way to lighten your load? Cut down on or eliminate time-and-energy consuming things on your plate? Is there anything on your plate that qualifies as a disability for which you can seek an accommodation from your employers or lenders? If you don't ask for what you need, you for sure won't get it. Set fear aside if you can and attack the wall you're hitting brick by brick. Whether that means making a list of the things that are overwhelming you or writing them each on individual index cards to see where you can cut back, with the help of someone without brain fog. I know what it's like to be beyond overwhelmed and decompensated, but you're just one human being with a finite amount of time and energy. Say "no" when you can to people and things that unnecessarily drain your energy and don't serve your well-being. I don't get the sense that you're cutting yourself any slack, either.

I have a sign that says, "BREATHE," because I often forget to do that. However, sometimes I look at that sign and see "brEAThe." Not helpful.

Docs have dropped the information baton on me, too, and my worst days going through chemo have been avoidable, predictable issues that have been known to the medical community for many years. It is maddening and exhausting having to figure out what's wrong on your own and then fighting to be heard while experiencing chemo fog.

One issue did make me laugh. After my chemo cocktail was adjusted because I had terrible adverse reactions to the amount of steroids pumped into me at infusion time, I came home feeling pleasantly giddy. I googled "chemo" and "drunk," and a years-old FDA warning that the amount of ethanol in docetaxel produces intoxication was the first thing that popped up. Woo-hoo! My husband was driving and I'll gratefully take that over the deeply unpleasant side effects I was having to the steroids. The docs' default response to the side effects of chemo is "everyone is different," but I'm pretty sure the effects of mainlining ethanol are predictable and mostly universal; otherwise DWI/DUI laws would be unenforceable. Gee, officer, it was totally unforeseeable that too much alcohol would get me wasted. That seems like something an oncologist would want to tell you in case you don't have a ride, since it would give the uninformed patient an involuntary intoxication defense, and the doc would be on the hook if something bad like intoxication manslaughter happened. The docs sometimes don't even act in their own best interests, much less yours. Oh, well.

Love your name, attitude, advice and sense of humor! Thanx for sharing something we all experience at different levels. Any miracle recipes, be sure to share them as well. Walking , fresh air and just for myself to smile, seems to help. With word games and friends of course. Keep sharing, you’re reaching so many of us in this boat. Why is this sea of experiences never shared prior to hooking up at the chemo I V station? Lol