Daily self assessment for brain fog?

Posted by buzzbuzz @buzzbuzz, Dec 20, 2022

Is there a online test (e.g., for speed of response) that I could take to assess degree of brain fog? Ir anything that I could use to quantify at home this symptoms to share with medical providers to assist with treatment?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 Support Group.

@ericy210

I had my neurologist set me up for a neuropsychological evaluation- testing memory, logic, processing, everything. I was very useful and took about seven hours. Tests listed on my chart include-

ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES ADMINISTERED BY TECHNICIAN: Performance Validity Tests (PVTs); Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF); Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-2nd Ed. (WASI-II); Lateral Dominance Exam; Grip Strength; Grooved Pegboard; Boston Naming Test-2nd Ed. (BNT); Auditory Naming Test; Visual Naming Test; Verbal Fluency Tests (Letter/Semantic); Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT; copy trial); Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT); California Verbal Learning Test-3rd Ed. (CVLT-3; Brief Form); Wechsler Memory Scale-4th Ed. (WMS-IV; select subtests); Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R); Wechsler Memory Scale-3rd Ed. (WMS-III; select subtests); Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-4th Ed. (WAIS-IV; select subtests); Stroop Color and Word Test; Trail Making Test; Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST); Short Assessment of Health Literacy-English (SAHL-E); Numeracy Understanding in Medicine-Short Form (NUMI-SF); Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (IADL); Adverse Childhood Experiences Checklist (ACEs); Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ); Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); Beck Depression Inventory-2nd Ed. (BDI-II); Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI); PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5); Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS); Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9); General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7); Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI); Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI); Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI; Short Form); Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP); Quality of Life in Epilepsy-89 item version (QOLIE-89);

Jump to this post

I had the same neuropsych test done, once at 9 months and again at 16 months. The second test showed a decline in functioning despite having 'rehearsed' the test earlier.

REPLY
@rinadbq

Exactly. The 'to do' list is unachievable. I use a small post-it with enough space to write 2 tasks down and use that for direction for my day. Then, of course, I loose track of the post-it! I stick it to the back door to remember what to take with me as I leave the house, then on the car dash to know what errands I am doing, or flagging it off the edge of the laptop screen-kitchen cabinet. A bright color catches my attention. Otherwise, I set alarms on my phone as reminders of what to do today.

Jump to this post

My to do list has headers of the big project. Then below that I write very small steps to make it easier to complete. It may take me months to do what use to be easy to do in a few hours. That gave me some satisfaction of doing something.

REPLY
@rinadbq

Exactly. The 'to do' list is unachievable. I use a small post-it with enough space to write 2 tasks down and use that for direction for my day. Then, of course, I loose track of the post-it! I stick it to the back door to remember what to take with me as I leave the house, then on the car dash to know what errands I am doing, or flagging it off the edge of the laptop screen-kitchen cabinet. A bright color catches my attention. Otherwise, I set alarms on my phone as reminders of what to do today.

Jump to this post

I can relate to this issue. I’ll write up a grocery list and then when I get to the store, I can’t find the list! Fortunately, I can remember a few of the items on the list if I’m shopping in a familiar store.

REPLY
@rinadbq

I keep a daily log of my symptoms and bring it with me to appointments. I can look back and see if I overdid myself a couple days ago and compare to symptoms today. I made an excel chart and filled in which symptoms I had and can look over the month and look for trends.(I am a bit OCD!) I look at worsening breathing, fast heart rate, Exhaustion/, Post exertional Malaise, Headache, sensitivity to light & sound, Muscle Pain, Sleep Disturbance, Chills, Balance, Sweating, Memory/Recall, Brain Fog/Concentration, Word Finding, Spelling, Nausea, Appetite Loss, ringing in the ears, days I've had to cancel plans because I was too exhausted, working beyond my 2-3 hour limits for each cognitive and physical activity per day
My best personal test is Sudoku. Every morning I do a puzzle from the same degree of difficulty (from Sudoku Deluxe app). If I cant solve it, I know I am not tracking well that day-abstract thoughts, patterns, number recognition. I know I shouldn't be doing critical thinking tasks that day like financial/legal decisions.

Jump to this post

I thought I wrote this posting. This is exactly what is happening to me for over 2 years.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.