No, I didn’t forget you all. Huggggssssss. It’s May, or Mayhem as I like to call it, and I am a teacher. An eighth grade teacher, approaching graduation season. That’s it… lol
Yesterday, while working job two, I had a customer tell me all about how she totally forgot her order number and that she had even ordered some clothes. I said it was not a problem and asked for her name. She hesitated a split second and I knew. She looked at me as a smiled…… “Brain fog?” “Thyroid disease?”
“How did you know?” She asked. Oh… I know… believe me, I know. Brain fog and I, we go way backkkkk….. I told her about Dr. Jack and she told me that she really isn’t interested in weight loss. I laughed and explained that is biggest misconception people have about Dr. Jack. He is about soooooo much more than weight. I would say weight is just a tiny portion of his practice. Dr. Jack is about health! Period. Weight is a part of that, but he is all about healthy! Living your best!
When I first told Dr. Jack I was clearing, he was very happy for me but not as ecstatic as me. Ha ha! How could he be? If you never have lived under the big cloud, it is hard to know the extreme joy of seeing the sun!! I can still remember the conversation, “No! You don’t understand! The fog has lifted!!!” “I know, I am so happy for you.” “No! Dr. Jack, you don’t understand! You really don’t understand, this is like….. HUGEEEE!!!!” Ha ha….
I hold that story and the lady asked me for more details and asked for his contact information. I think the next time he orders business cards, I should get a box. A bigggggg box. I can recite his information in my sleep.
It’s hard to explain brain fog to people and the thing is that because it is invisible most people do not have any sympathy for it. Instead you are seen as lazy or forgetful. If I had a dollar for all the well meaning people….. sigh… “You sleep too much…..you just need better vitamins……more exercise….. more sleep…. better planning….make a list…..why can’t you get it done sooner?” Trust me, no one who has it wants to feel that foggy way. As a matter of fact they are struggling, and trying to hide it as much as they can.
Brain fog for me, came in spurts. Some months or times worse. Times of Stress? Unbelievable…… Month of May? Oh gosh, the hairs on my neck just stood up. May was the worst! Brain fog is aptly named. It feels like you are walking in a cloud. Did you ever get startled from sleep and jump out of bed? And for a few moments you don’t know what is going on or what happened? You are confused but people are talking at you like they have been awake for hours? Yeah …..it’s a lot like that, only all day long.
What amazes me is how I made it through all that. Of course, I had a lot of coping mechanisms, some very unhealthy, like coffee, sugar, candy. Anything that would provide a brain surge for a few minutes. I used notepads and post it’s everywhere. And if I lost one, I was toast, I never went to a store alone and didn’t write down where I parked. I forgot all kinds of important things I covered it well. Most of my lifelong friends tell me I gave of the persona of being very organized. That’s funny to me because they have no idea of the energy it took to make it look that way.
The lady at the store told me her story. She is scary foggy….. I was never scary brain fogged. She told me she was so fogged she could fall asleep at the wheel. I was never like that, thankfully. She told me her doctor prescribed all these medications for this menopausal woman and I felt sick for her. Been there….. I told her what I am free from… she was shocked.
But….. and I cringe even writing about it, the saddest part of foggy that she told me about, I could totally relate to, is that you lose interest in things. There were times I had to make sure I was pushing myself to be interested in the things in my life that were important to me. That is the sad truth about brain fog. You go to your child’s concert and you aren’t really there. They talk to you about life movements and you are faking your interest. Dripping tears even as I write this. I know in my heart that my daughter’s pregnancy would not be having nearly the same effect if I was in the black hole. For that? For Dr. Jack helping me to wellness? I am so eternally grateful. That is the ugly truth of brain fog.
It’s not just that you are tired or lazy. It is a different brain pattern. It is that feeling that you are wired differently.
My brain fog started clearing about three weeks into Dr. Jack’s program. I was shocked when it did. I figured he could clear up a few symptoms, but this? This seems impossible. Who knew that food changes could make your head work differently. Well, apparently he did!! And every day it got more clear. I never take that for granted.
People tell me all the time how they can’t believe I can continue to eat this way. That I carry food with me, that I happily walk away from foods that others love, and that I once loved. For me it is a no brainer!! I have come to love feeling this way!
I have eaten some things off plan …..rarely. A few weeks ago, I had three eat out events. I tried to pick and choose wisely but there were things that are not as much a part of my life. Two things happened by the end of that week. My tummy felt weird. And then I felt weird. Groggy, hard to focus, tired, foggy…. foggy scares me the most. I have no desire to ever go back to that place ever again. So rarely having that stuff just turned into like once a year.
You don’t have to live in the fog! Let Dr. Jack push away the clouds. Life is sooooo much better in the sunshine!