BRAIN FOG ALERT

WHERE HAVE ALL MY WORDS GONE?

Do you find that you get half way through a sentence and "BAM" the words have gone! This is really driving me crazy, I can be deep in conversation and completely lose my train of thought. Not only does it make me feel stupid but its yet another constant reminder that my body is going through this relentless change.

I can forget the names of simple things, for example the other night I asked my daughter to pass me the salt, well actually I asked her to pass me the, "you know, the thing by there, that there, there" all the while pointing at the salt getting angry with myself for not being able to find the simple everyday word that I needed. Much to her amusement I must add!!

Putting this in to context though, it has a major impact on my life and undoubtably i'm not alone on this. Many women at this stage in their lives have important, powerful jobs and loosing their train of thought in an important meeting would not go down well so could have major implications personally and professionally.

Just imagine being in a room with all eyes on you and you have nothing, your head is empty, you just cant think about what you need to say. This is an everyday occurrence for some, for teachers, lawyer's any woman who has to stand up and talk in front of a group of people. Yet also just walking down the road and seeing someone you know and forgetting their name, it's embarrassing and frustrating.

Dealing with brain fog is difficult, we have established that it can have huge implications for women in their everyday lives. But how can it be managed? Brain fog like everything else during the menopause is the result of fluctuating hormone levels, YES ladies Oestrogen again is responsible for this. So what can be done to help manage the symptoms.

Brain fog is really an umbrella term for a group of symptoms, you may have all of them or just one or two, the symptoms include:-

• Difficulty concentrating - feeling like you have cotton wool in your head, you cant think clearly.

• Memory loss - Unless its written down its not happening! (thats my new motto)

• Forgetfulness - Why did i go upstairs? who are you?....

• Difficulty finding words - stop mid sentence totally blank.

Having these symptoms can also lead to Anxiety and mood swings putting added pressure on you, making the whole situation overwhelming.

According to a recent Channel 4 Documentary Sex, Mind and the Menopause with Davina MacCall on channel 4 , 73% OF WOMEN EXPERIENCED BRAIN FOG RELATED TO THE MENOPAUSE * (women aged 45 - 55). Thats a huge amount of women!

OK, so there is no magic cure unfortunately, but there are things that we can do that can help us cope better with the symptoms:-

RESTFUL SLEEP - Ok I hear you all saying, restful sleep are you joking? but seriously try and get as much rest as you can. You need good quality sleep as if you're tired you are going to feel even less connected to whatever activity you have to do. Look at your sleep pattern, what is stopping you sleeping? how can you help this? .

MANAGE STRESS LEVELS - Having brain fog can result in losing confidence in yourself and becoming anxious and stressed about many things day to day. Try to find time in your day where you can take time to relax and spend some "you" time, try Yoga, mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) all this can be done at home or you can join a class of like minded women where you can discuss issues together. You really don't need to struggle alone, remember the more stressed you become the worse the brain fog will be.

KEEP ACTIVE - Regular exercise, and this doesn't necessarily mean going to the gym unless you want to. It's believed that regular physical activity can help with memory issues, so keeping active is very important. 20 - 30 minutes a day, walking, cycling, swimming, dancing any form of activity you choose will help.

EAT WELL - It's important to eat well during the menopause and a diet rich in saturated fats and sugar should be avoided. The Mediterranean diet is and excellent diet to follow as its rich in Omega 3 and other unsaturated fats which are known to be good for brain health.

Other foods that are good include:

• Fresh fruit & Vegetables,

• Whole Grains,

• Fish, Beans,

• Nuts

• Olive Oil.

HRT - If symptoms become unmanageable then see your Dr, where you can discuss if HRT is right for you. It doesn't suit everyone however to some its the best thing they have ever been given.

Its important to note that its easy to blame the menopause on every last symptom that you get when you reach a certain age, however please if you or a family member are worried about how you are feeling or behaving then book an appointment with you Doctor for a chat. Your local GP will be friendly and approachable and full of knowledge and guide you in the right direction.

Good luck ladies and I hope that by reading this you get some handy tips to help with brain fog, or at least know that you are not alone or going mad!

REF - Channel 4 commissioned Finestripe Productions to produce the documentary "Davina McCall, Sex, Mind and the Menopause". For that programme Finestripe commissioned Savanta ComRes to conduct a representative survey of 4,014 UK women aged 45-55 who are currently or have previously experienced the perimenopause or the menopause, with support from Fawcett on the survey design.