Does anyone else have word finding issues...

Since I developed lymphedema post Covid I addressed that issue first. I went to a local lymphedema clinic to help with the swelling of my lower extremities. I also eliminated gluten from my diet as I follow an ant inflammatory diet. I have not had a “word finding” issue since going gluten free.

My post-Covid junk is from when I caught it in May 2020, so I've had some time to recover... some of the problems are still here, but the word recall one was so bad for me that I had brain imaging and psych testing for it. I also was having a terrible time typing - I would type at my usual pace, thinking I was writing sensible text, and suddenly a 'word' or 'phrase' would be unintelligible, absolute gibberish :/ I'm a middle school language arts and history teacher, and I wasn't even 50 yet!

The good news in my case is that they didn't see anything worrisome in the imaging or tests, and I recovered, very nearly to my old normal. It was really frustrating and uncomfortable, though. I tried supplements like gingko with no noticable effect. So decided I just needed to 'work out' - I forced myself to play spelling and pattern-recognizing games on my phone (Wordscapes, Bejeweled), and to read a lot of short texts daily. It felt awful - like the ending of Flowers for Algernon! - but after about a year of practice, I started to see improvement. I'm still working, and don't lose words often anymore, although I am worse at names than ever, sadly.

I hope this helps!

Kirsten

Hello. Yes. I find myself at a loss. It is incredibly frustrating to say the least. Words that I should know escape me and I just want to cry

Yes! For me it gets worse if I've pushed myself too much or am stressed out. Mine has gotten a bit better lately. I still have brain fatigue but can find words a lot more than before. For about 4 months I've been doing strict anti inflammatory diet, supplements and recently one of my Drs had me start on salt pills. Plus really trying to stick to the pacing ones self so I don't get anymore fatigued than I am all the time! I also found that reading books is helping my brain
I can't read anything too deep as I can't retain the info right now but lots of easy reading seems to be helping me.

I am so very happy you recovered . I guess it wasn’t my fate. I had covid March 2020 & I had pituitary surgery and have since been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. It feels like major impairment bc I was a highly skilled person trained in a specialized job. I lost my company bc I could no longer do the work. A typical report I wrote prior to Covid took approval 3-4 hours. Post Covid, it took 10 days & 5 hrs. I have spelling problems, problems with simple numbers, and lots of brain fog. I’m trying to adjust to my new life with these limitations and it’s challenging. My hope for others is they recover like you. Take care of yourself .

@amrichardson9, I bet it is frustrating. I can only imagine the more you can't come up with the word the further it seems out of your reach. I just found this article that offers some tips.

- Are You Having Trouble Finding Words? Try These Tips https://www.expressable.com/learning-center/adults/are-you-having-trouble-finding-words-try-these-tips

Have you found any strategies to work around not finding the word you're looking for? Does "describing" the word help?

So glad I found this group. I am 75 and my husband and I got the "Vid" in the Fall o 2022. Light symptoms lasting only 3 days for me but testing positive for 10. However, after a few months, constant Phantom smell (still going on) and horrible brain fog. Every sentence has a word retrieval problem. Thankfully, my husband's memory is better than mine and he fills in the blanks, and remembers names! Working has been a task, to say the least. Well intentioned friends say it is "senior moments,' but I have no issues forgetting where things are and senior moments are just that, "moments" which are not constant. I find myself saying to people in convos, "forgive me, I have brain fog from Covid." I am educated, but I surely don't sound like it these days. 🙁 Anyone else, at this age, 'having "brain fog?"

i got the original virus in dec. 2020 and only lost taste and smell; am 3 yr. post covid (female, 77 yrs. old with compromised immune system all my life)...still dealing w/some insomnia but i don't work and catch up with naps throughout day. yes, i've got brain fog and i tell everyone i've become a moron; in some areas of thoughts/memory/concentration it's very obvious: also can't find a word or words; can have an intelligent conversation with others most of the time, but no longer can do a lot of numbers/adding/subtracting and even my handwriting has changed. i'm a member of survivors corps on facebook where i've found more information from these people than the 3 specialists i saw very early on. i do puzzles, massage my vegas nerve and take many many supplements suggested by other long haulers; i don't expect full recovery and just take my new normal??? life 1 hr. at a time.

Yes, long COVID doc told me to practice mindfulness 2x per day for at least 15 min. They are finding this helps post COVID brain fog. Been doing this since June and it does help. I notice I only have word find issues when I am tired or stressed. Mostly back to normal.