Oh my god yes!!! Fwip! right out of my head. "this is not the topic I was planning to talk about" lol and my compete sympathy.
*I* think the cognitive focus and memory issues is the brain fog, or part of it. Do you have trouble concentrating too? I have to put a lot of energy into it, often just so I fdon't forget what I was doing... or was about to write about... ;-)
Yes, I've forgotten A LOT... I think, I can't remember...
how do I treat it? not really; I haven;t found anything that helps except for ackonledgine that that's how it is for me now and accepting it with grace as much as I can. I write stuff down on lists, that helps, assuming I can hold the thought long enough to do that.
I wish I had better suggestions... maybe someone else here does?

Oh yes on the trouble concentrating. I am so far behind at work that I'm afraid of getting let go. So far I've treated these things with lists--when I can remember the thought long enough to do it.

For a quick anecdote: Last week I was watching something on my tablet and thought about some item. I thought to myself "I'll just check out Amazon after this video." One minute later I have no idea what that item was. lol

Oh yes, my memory has gotten worse and worse. I also get overwhelmed very easily. Like sitting down at the computer to look at this website and reading so much good stuff/useful stuff and then I can't remember what I was originally going to do. Get overwhelmed and go do something else that overwhelms me.

I keep a steno pad or notebook close to me at all times and write everything down. It is mostly a "To Do" list, but I also write down anything else like books I want to read, goals, doctors I want to check out. The trick is that I have to keep it close by so I can write down things immediately.

Welcome to the site JC! This is such a good group!

OMG YES AGAIN! It is so frequent and common with those of us with this affliction. The other night I was with a few friends and I was saying something in response to the conversation and in mid-sentence I said,
"......and I have completely lost my train of thought!" This happens all the time. Walk into a room, on a mission to do something, and when I get there I have no idea why I am there. Short term memory, forget it ! HA!! (great little pun) Yes, we all have cognitive issues with memory, concentration and focus. I also write notes to myself. The problem is that I lose the notes. So, I have learned to keep specific little journals about specific things I need to remember, they are harder to lose! So, dear one, you are not alone at all. WE are all forgetting with you..... And never, ever, go to your MD or anywhere where you need to ask questions or address topics without written reminders. Sticky notes are a life saver and you have to write things down immediately, as opposed to "oh I'll do that later...." AS you are discovering all to well yourself... Sorry you are going through this.... There are some things we just have to laugh at and this is one of them.....

FWIW, I watched a documentary on how our brain works and REMEMBER (Holy crow!) how memory works. The first [little bit of time], it's not a memory at all;the brain hasn't filed it into short term memory yet. If you can STOP and focus on the idea/thought for a bit, maybe say it out loud a few times, it'll register as a memory.Do *I* remember to do that? Hardly ever... I forget my note before I can ge.tt my pad and pencil out, and keep them in my breast pocket.

Another fun fact: the normal brain files the ST memories of tthe day into long term when you sleep. I doubt if any such studies have been done on us, but it's something to try.

I think a lot of us have been taken in by the propaganda from the CDC that's portrayed our illness as being mainly about "fatigue".

Cognitive issues are a main part of our disability. These include things like short and long term memory loss, inability to focus and concentrate, inability to assimilate auditory information, feelings of being overwhelmed, intolerance of repetitive sounds like ticking clocks, mental confusion, getting lost on familiar roads, etc.

Patients who formerly did well scholastically or worked at highly technical things like science and technology were tested for IQ and found to be just above the level of the mentally challenged. It's not unusual for us to have drops of forty points or more in our IQ scores after we got sick.

This is not some trivial dysfunction. I recently tossed out the shop manual set for my truck, probably put it in the recycling bin when I got rid of some old phone books one day. It's totally irreplaceable, and the info is not available online. Now I'll no longer be able to maintain my truck, and I can't afford to pay mechanics on my social security income.

And if I get one more bonehead sneering at me and trying to tell me that it's all just a normal part of growing older, I might just show him what kind of punch this "old person" can still throw at him.

Yes, being irritable and short-tempered is yet another symptom.

Wow, Richie, thanks for that information. I used to be "gifted," but I'm pretty sure MENSA would not take me now. I drove to town the other day and totally forgot how to get where I was going. The bad thing was that I had been there many times before. I began to panic, but I decided to just pull into a parking lot and breathe for a moment. I was finally able to remember how to get there. I'm pretty convinced that if I had not stopped, I would not have remembered.

Little joke for you: People with CFS think a lot about the "hereafter." They walk into a room and think, "Now, what am I here after?" (Ha, ha). Can I laugh at my own joke? I'll do it anyway. Love and light to you.

That is funny. If we can't laugh about an incurable illness, what can we laugh at? Sometimes humor is the only thing that keeps me going.

Did you see the cartoon where the doctor is at the foot of a hospital bed talking to a nurse? The patient in the bed has a sheet pulled over him and there's a tag dangling from his toe. Doctor looks at his chart and says..."This can't be right, his blood work looks fine. He shouldn't be dead like this."

Richie, that was hilarious. Thanks for the giggle. Smiles.

LMFAO!!! Those were both great! I'd heard the first one, but it's always funny, but never the "dead bllod work" one. LOL!! Thanks for the morning laughs!

I did not know this:
Patients who formerly did well scholastically or worked at highly technical things like science and technology were tested for IQ and found to be just above the level of the mentally challenged. It's not unusual for us to have drops of forty points or more in our IQ scores after we got sick. "
but it totally fits my experience. I used to work in IT, for 15 years, and I was *good* at it. Now I'm all done after I ask the person who wants my help "Have you rebooted?" After that, I got nothin'.
I don't get lost all the time -- sometime -- but I really have to focus hard on here to get from here to there... and often change my mind on the way, 'cos my first choice won't work.

And if I get one more bonehead trying to tell me that it's all just a normal part of growing older and "they get that too" I might just punch him/her in the face"... "Yeahh... Yeah. No you don't. Bite me." That's makes me as angry as "Oh, I'm tired all the time; I must have that too". grrrrrrrr..........

Yeah, that's super frustrating, Jack, when people dismiss our issues as "normal." It is heartbreaking to lose brain function, especially for those of us who, in the past, were able to count on our intellect to get us through. I don't think anybody truly understands what that feels like unless it has happened to them. Sometimes I stand in the kitchen and cry because I seem unable to do simple tasks. But, other days, I remember that my heart is bigger than it used to be and I'm less judgmental. Growing to be a better person can be a rough road!

Just watched the pilot of Zombie on the CW tonight.

Successful, hardworking young doctor goes to a party that gets crazy and unwillingly becomes one of the undead. A lot of it is about how she's trying to accept her new life and give up her old one.

I'm getting into it and identifying with her...she looks half dead all the time...then I realize..."Oh no, I'm identifying with a zombie!"...LOL! This is what I've become??....Oh no!!

Thanks for the jokes T and R! They are funny! I had a joke that I was going to write here, but I can't remember it.... HA!

Ha ha.Thanks for the giggles.Now I did read a joke somewhere recently.I can't remember where when or exactly how it goes due to my memory deficiency but here goes.Two lovely ladies met in heaven. The blond lady asked the brunette how she had died.Oh I had a heart attack she replied.And you ?I froze to death replied the blond.What caused your heart attack? Well, she said ,I suspected my husband was having an affair and I wanted to catch him.So I unexpectedly arrived home during my working hours.He looked shocked and very guilty.I frantically ran through the house searching every room and ran up and down the stairs so many times that I caused myself to have a heart attack.Well thank goodness you didn't open the freezer said the blond.Otherwise we would both have had one.
Aww doesn't sound so funny now.Do I get one point for trying?

Thanks for all your feedback everyone! It has taken me a long time to admit that this is not something that I can control or fix. I am working on a way to change jobs to something that requires less concentration/focus or long-term deadlines. Give me something short and sweet and I can usually deal with it. I haven't experienced too much of the getting lost, but it does happen sometimes. I'm more likely to get someplace and totally forget what I needed. I keep a shopping app on my phone and now I put things on it the minute I know there's a need so I don't forget.

Thanks for sharing all your experiences!

jack--that is great information about memory. I am going to try saying things out loud. After all, it can't hurt. Worst case scenario I forget anyway. lol

RichieD--Great info, thanks. I can totally relate to the desire to punch folks who make light of our affliction. I have not told many people about it for just that reason.

triunfadora--lol about the here after. So true! I've been knownt to walk from dining room to kitchen (about ten steps) for a glass of water and forget why I went there. I'll do this up to ten times. Then I walk in the last time chanting "water water water" to myself as I go so I won't forget. Some of our guests look at me funny, but then realize what I'm doing and laugh with me about it.

aussiedi--great joke! I like that one, too.