Mentally Fuzzy and Out of Focus

I agree with much of Mary's advice. Your hormones are definitely out of balance. Stress can have so many negative effects on our bodies. Everything that you described can be affected by stress.

The National Geographic Channel had a special a week or so ago called Killer Stress, and scientists actually showed that stress reduces brain cells. There's a great book, titled Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief by Winston and Maimes. From the book "There is a category of herbs called adaptogens that help the human body adapt to stress, support normal metabolic processes, and restore balance. They increase the body's resistance to physical, biological, emotional, and environmental stressors and promote normal physiologic function".

Go to www.VitalHealth.TunguskaMist.com to learn how the ancient wisdom of adaptogens meets modern science. There are many non-medical alternatives (i.e. Zest) that you can research on this site, too.

Adaptogens help to regulate the use of cortisol, allowing the body to maintain a healthy stress response. They have been used for centuries and can help improve your mental clarity and focus, for sure.

I've studied health, wellness, and Kinesiology for a long time. I have a passion for helping people reduce the damaging effects of stress on the body and restoring balance naturally, without medications. Do your research...non-medical alternatives have been around and used throughout the world way before pharmacological drugs...I applaud you for seeking natural alternatives!)

Are you snoring suddenly? Sleep apnea is a bad bad sleep stealing monster.

Thyroid
B-12 deficiency(pernicious anemia)
Iron (too much or too little)
Lead poisoning
Heavy metal poisoning
Late onset Gluten intolerance
Allergies
Reaction to Medication
Beginning of menopause (my sister was very foggy the first couple of years after her hysterectomy).
Depression. I know it sounds weird, but way before I get sad - I get the moving through Jello with cotton for brains sensation.

NO, it's NOT normal.

S.

Yes
I had the same problem and was diagnosed with low iron. This helped but I am still not the same as I was pre pregnancy(much much better though). I think I must be slightly brain damaged???maybe ....Maybe....I had severe morning sicknes the whole 9 months and had slight brain swelling(more common than you think)..oh well she was worth it

It sounds like thyroid. As well, you could be low in B12 or iron.

Please have your doctor check all these things. They need to measure thyroid antibodies, TPO, Free T3 and Free T4, along with TSH (most just measure TSH, but if you have antibodies it is meaningless! but few doctors know this). Also, you need "Free" for T3 and T4 and not "total". The "free" is what is bioavailable.

For iron, please make sure they test ferritin, which is your iron store and that they don't just look at red blood current, hemoglobin and hematocrit. If you are both B12 and iron deficient, those other 3 values can be normal. Also, make sure you get copies of labs. Even if you're borderline low, you likely can benefit from treatment - you have to remember that lab ranges are based on average population and some average folks are sick and just not diagnosed.

Also, eating a higher protein, less simple carb diet can help tremendously. As can regular cardiovascular exercise.

Also, you need other hormones tested, including estrogen, DHEA, cortisol, progesterone and testosterone (yes, girls have this too and if it's too low, your brain is impacted). Finally, have you had any water damage to your home? Even a simple pipe leak or overflowing toilet can result in hidden mold growth (behind baseboards and between the walls). The toxins from mold do impact the brain.

I honestly would not recommend any do-it-yourself herbal approaches, since hormonal imbalances can be tricky to figure out. And, taking iron when you don't need it can be problematic. The B12 is actually okay, because you'll just excrete what you don't need. Also, other B vitamins, especially B6 can be helpful, but with B6 you can take too much. Also, Fish oil is great - inflammation can impact the brain and cause all these problems.

Finally, poor sleep can make any of these problems worse.

But, again, please see a doctor first and always tell your doctor what supplements you might be using.

L.,
Easiest things to check are B12 and Thyroid. And they're easy to fix.

Go get a blood test and find out.

is it possible you are just not getting enough sleep and now you are just pulled so many different ways that it's harder to keep up? that's my story with two sets of twins under 6, and i'm sticking to it.