question about forgetfulness

Sometimes I will be driving and totally have to reorient myself where I am and where I am going.

Now Iowa cornfields don't exactly rank up there in the attention holding category of scenery (for miles on end) - and I do drive around alot for my job - but this happening kinda freaks me out. All of a sudden nothing will look familiar and I have to think about where I'm headed and what time of day it is even - I have looked at the clock in the morning and had to remind myself it isn't evening.....

Is this part of fibro fog ? And anxiety feels like an electric current running thru me - cuz of course this happening sends me into a panic - am I on the wrong side of the road , etc......is this what you all feel at times ?

Also - did any of you have hyperemesis with your pregnancies - extreme morning sickness ? My keen overenthusiastic sense of smell kept me chained to the toilet and an IV for months on end.

kicking myself out the door to go work !!!! last minute of course...........I bring on more of my own anxiety - LOL

Nmma, I have actually driven down the wrong side of the road.  My daughter & I go grocery shopping in the next town over & I will have to ask her as I am driving into Libby: Now, what did I come to Libby for?  There are days I no longer will drive due to the fog & forgetfulness.  Sorry to say this is just another little gift from Fibro.  After I drove down the wrong side of the road, I was really scared & didn't want to drive anymore. I made a pact with myself that if I am not sure which way to turn or which lane to go into, I will wait to go until I am sure.  I have kept this pact & it make me constantly aware of how I am driving.  I hope you have had a good day at work.  Soft hugs, Denise

This is a tough question and one I'm still struggling with now.  At what point do we need to quit driving.  This probably isn't what you want to hear - since we feel like we "need" to drive - but are you alert enough and "with it" enough that you should be driving?

Since I'm having a lot of problems with multi-tasking and memory - I've decided not to drive until it improves enough that I feel comfortable with it.

But the reality check for me is - (our kids are all older) but I ask myself - "if I had elementary school age kids walking around, would I want other people driving if they are in the condition I'm in?"  Right now the answer for me is "no".  I don't know about anyone else, but I've sure had kids run across the street without looking and stuff like that.  I feel like I have to be with it enough to pick it up and stop in time.  Just my view on all of this.

oh crap

 

nmma,
Part of the forgetfulness during driving is normal cognitive functioning. When you drive somewhere and don't remember getting there, that is because driving has become an automatic activity. Think of tying your shoes. When you were a child you had to concentrate: this goes here, this goes there . . . but now, you couldn't tie your shoes anymore if you did that. You know how to drive now, and you don't need to think about it.

The getting lost stuff . . . I don't know. Does it get worse during a flare or during fog? I have been interning at the public defender's office for a few months now (a few days a week). This time when going there I absolutely forgot which way to go on the freeway! I went the wrong way and had to ask my navigator how to get back on track. Then when I got there I was horribly confused and couldn't find the parking lot!!! It was awful. I was sweating and breathing hard and feeling really dumb! That seems new since the fibro. Doesn't help that I am already spatially challenged!

Be be assured - the fog isn't there all the time, right?
Best,
Sue

so far, i haven't had trouble driving, but i have gotten to where i just HATE it. i feel like i am not as aware of other drivers as i should be and it makes me nervous. i would much rather let my husband drive me someplace.

about forgetfulness, i have that all of the time. i used to have an impeccable memory, but now i stop myself and can't think of what it is i want to say. it's sort of like having the word on the tip of my tongue and not being able to get it out. this has gotten to where it happens several times during the day. i don't like this at all.

well, you girls be careful out there driving!!

julie

Hey Nmma,

This is a major subject for me. Since my husband can't drive.. he's legally blind and can't pass the eye test.. I am the driver in the family.  I don't have the option to let him do any driving what so ever.  My mom is 81 & she still drives.. she's in great shape but I have noticed she's getting closer to not being able to drive.  My sister is disabled and hasn't driven a car in over 10 years.. right now she's considering getting behind the wheel again (I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing)  Since mom & sis live just a couple of blocks away.. we sort of look after eachother.

When I had Lyme Disease driving became almost impossible.  I would get lost all of the time and I couldn't remember which side of the street I should drive on.  But since I'm clear of Lyme I'm not AS bad as I was then.  I do get behind the wheel and experience, not remembering what my destination is, being half way to where I was going and not remembering driving there, start heading in the wrong direction and I've blown through a stop sign here or there.  I still get lost occassionally.. but not that often.

My sister has always had a terrible sense of direction and she has fibro, too.  If the two of us are going somewhere you can almost count on getting lost.

But I do think that feeling of .. Where the hell am I, happens to everyone once in a while.. but I think it happens more often to us.

So, yes, dear N.. we have a tendency to have some issuse with driving.  Welcome to Fibro Fog!!! GRRR!!!

Hugs 4 now..

I just concentrate on what I'm doing.  I don't listen to the radio, etc.  I just drive.  I only have had the "forgetting how to get there" moments but did remember after about 10 seconds of really thinking.  I'm a safe driver, too.  If you let anxiety about driving get to you, you will make more mistakes.  Relax.  You have been driving for years.

Now, I thought I'd share an article about this guy who was given a driver's license in Florida...with no arms and only one natural leg!  Read down through the article because it tells HOW he drives.  He even has to turn on the lights with his teeth!!! 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20113475/

So, relax.  You are driving safely, not driving under the influence of alcohol.  Just be careful if you are one who takes a lot of medication that can affect you and your driving.  You do need to be alert.

Sherrine

Yes, this happens to me quite often, actually. I think it's a combination of fibro fog and the fact that most people space out when they're driving. When I space out and then snap back to full attention, I do get disoriented, but I just rationalize with myself and DON'T PANIC. Panicking makes it worse. I ask myself "Where am I at this very moment, where am I going, am I on the right track?" Pretty much 100% of the time the answers to all 3 questions are yes, I just freak b/c I got disoriented. Like, Sherrine, especially when driving at night, I force myself to focus only on driving. I keep my hands at 10 and 2, drive the speed limit, pay close attention to lights and signs, and just concentrate. The worst part is getting anxious - if I just keep a calm attitude, I am fine. Except the other day when I pulled up to a stop sign and asked DBF "Which way do I turn?" It was a one-way street. He didn't like that very much.

Hi, I space out occasionally, but don't usually forget where I'm going. I did have hyperemesis both times I was pregnant. I was diagnosed when my oldest was one. (It was an incorrect diagnosis of lupus, but it was my current disease.) During both pregnancies (26 and 24 years ago) I was hospitalized to be on an IV because I couldn't keep down water. That is why I had my tubes tied right after the second birth, I was never going to get pregnant again. I suppose it could have been fibro that caused it, but most other fibromites don't seem to have had this problem. Diane