Fibromyalgia Support Group for Surrey and Sussex

Fibro Fog Stories

What is Fibro Fog? When fibromyalgia sufferers, or even survivors forget what they are doing, saying or where they are going we refer to the temporary memory loss as 'Fibro Fog'! Here are some stories that might amuse you - though it's not really funny when you have FF!! Since Laughter is the Best Medicine why not have a laugh?

Some fibro-fog moments as reported on the Message Board

From Islean
I've completely lost the ability to organise myself - I have to plan out how to make a cup of tea. multitasking is out, I tried to make tea the other night while getting my daughter's school kit ready and caught myself putting bread in the tumble dryer. post its notes are all over the house and I've spent the last couple of weeks slowly simplifying my home so that everything has a place. I can get lost in places I know well, I can't remember the names of people I work with or basic words. It really helps that people from my boss to the bank manager think I'm malingering.

So far I think the best one was that I wrapped all the Christmas presents but ran out of time to put the labels on them then I completely forgot what I'd put in them so I had to sneak back at 2am and open all the presents and re wrap them this time with labels before my daughter woke up to look for Santa.

From Suzanne
Got in the car went to the shops thinking ok what did I need then finally realising I should have gone to work instead of the shops.

From Liz
I sat in my car one morning before a doctor's visit getting angrier and angrier because my automatic car wouldn't reverse..... After about 5 minutes of swearing and reving....... I realised I had my foot on the brake.... (Always driven a manual till recently) I thought it was real funny afterwards but haven't told anyone else...ha ha

From Ellie
I'm with Liz, recently bought an automatic car. Took mum to the shops, got back in car reversed out of parking space stopped, couldn't get the car to move! Thought bother I've broken it! Cars behind me started beeping, I was panicking, turned ignition on and off (all ok) in drive?(check) handbreak off?(yep) mum was asking "whats wrong?" for about the hundredth time.
Anyway you really can't move the car with one foot on the accelerator and the other firmly pressing the break!
Just another of my many fibro moments.

From Lisa
A fellow sufferer I know tried to go to work when she was on holiday, aw bless!

I went out yesterday wearing my shoes on the wrong feet, they did feel uncomfortable but didn't realise till I got home, perhaps I need to sew left/right into them lol!

I've just remembered what I did...........dozy moo............I filled the kettle up with lemon juice, not realising, I made the tea and drunk it, took me a while to figure that one out.

From Corinne
I often make my coffee but forget to boil the kettle first... always takes me a few minutes to work out why the granules haven't dissolved properly!
Also I keep going to put coke in my coffee instead of milk- I also have been known to top up my glass of coke with milk.... nice- NOT!

From Linda
I do that all the time with the coffee. sometimes I make the coffee without coffee lol. I have also put milk in my blackcurrant tea and wondered why it tastes so awful.

Many times have I found the car keys in the fridge. I remember one christmas day I was searching for the salt and finally found it hours later in the freezer?!?!?!?!

From Allison
Not so long ago, my mother asked me if I would drive her to the doctors for her 11am appointment the next day. I said I would but to please call me in the morning so that I wouldn't forget. She did ring and I said...."Of course, I haven't forgotten." I then proceeded to gather up my husband and daughter and drove off for a relaxing morning..........at the garden centre!!!!!!!!!!! I arrived at the garden centre and we all got out of the car and of course then came the phone call......."It's 11.30, you are coming to get me aren't you??????" So in a hysterical outburst of stress, anger and upset, we all get straight back in the car and head back. Luckily, there was the usual appointment delay when I finally got her to the doctors so not all was lost! I can just about see the funny side of it now but I don't think my mother has quite forgiven me yet. Oh well!!

From Corinne
Well today I managed to get on the wrong bus home from my Fibro group- I need the 24, or possibly the 26.... so why I got on the 25 to the universities I dont know ??? ::)
It meant I ended up going all the way back into town & having a wander along the London Road & a look round the shops 8-)
My feet are killing me, but it made a change lol.

How close I came this morning to putting bleach in the washing machine instead of fabric softener......

From Carli
I was recently standing in my pharmacy collecting my prescription When I heard a familiar voice, so turned, to see one of my boyfriend's mate's girlfriends. I grinned said "Hi, how ya doing.. blah blah blah."
Then my prescription landed on the counter, so I turned away and picked it up, completely forgetting about her. As I turned round, I saw her again and did exactly the same, put a smile on my face said "Hi, how ya doing......" she looked at me with very poe faced.. took me a while to realise that we had already had that conversation.
How very embarassing, but still makes me smile!

Having to bear in mind that there isn't just the foggy head moments, there is also as I say the other brain that takes control of the body, i.e the tics and spasms.
Last year back in the summer (hmmm...what summer!) I was walking down my local high street, when I briefly thought about crossing the road, but then decided to wait till I got to the traffic lights. So as I carried on, my right leg decided it was going to go with the original command,and step out into the road all of its own accord. I managed to regain control,looking very sheepishly around to see if anyone had noticed, before absolutely killing myself with laughter.
I must admit I find great enjoyment out of my quirky moments - when they are safe ones.

My latest Fibro-fog, or am I just using it as an excuse for early senility? – by Sandy Ferguson

I went to put the bird in the oven and found a cold burnt Pizza. Strange, I thought, where has that come from, as for nearly the past year I have lived off of 'Micro wave' meals, as my previous attempts at cooking have resulted in the cooker catching alight, because I forget that I have put it on. I was wracking my brains thinking well it doesn't look like it has been there that long. When I suddenly thought well what am I going to the cooker for anyways? I suddenly realized that I was about to put my pet cockatiel into the oven and I should have been putting him back in his cage. So in a way that burnt pizza saved his life, still can not remember when I tried to cook a pizza.

Where's The Car???

I was expecting a fellow Fibro sufferer to help me with the Web Site, when a car I did not recognise arrived. My friend got out of the car and pointed to the car declaring "I am using my partner's car today." Taking his coat off he sheepishly told me, he had lost the car!!!

"When did you use it last?" I asked.

"Last night" he said. "I had a really busy day. I was on the go all day and into the evening. I remember taking some friends to a restaurant and then I'm lost."

"Well where could you have left it?"

"Along the road, or in the garage, I did not look there."

Anyway we settled down to work when we realised I did not have access rights to the web site so he would need to pop home for his password.

Off he went in his partner's car. When he returned, low and behold he had his own car.

"Where was the car?" I asked, sniggering.

"In the neighbour's garage." he said. "We are looking after the place and they said we could use it!!!!!"

Walking the Dog.

An 'old' friend told me recently he was forgetting things.

Last week he took the dog for a walk, about half way through the walk he realised he'd taken the lead but forgotten to take the dog!

Who is a Tomato?

A thought for you all re Fibro Fog: I answered the phone and the caller asked for my wife. I replied: “she's at work but I can take a message as I'm her tomato.” I never did get a message - I wonder why!!?!!

“Never Mind Fibro moments here’s my recent FIBRO WEEK” - by Jackie Clark

Monday:

Put dogs in car to take for a walk. Realised that I was actually heading the opposite way to go to work!

Tuesday:

Put milk bottle top in fridge- You’ve guessed it. Threw the milk into the rubbish bin.

Wednesday:

Off for dog walking again. Half way to favourite walkies I realised that the poor dogs were sitting in the car with the hatchback wide open - I had driven someway - good job they didn’t see a cat!!!

Thursday:

Put my kitchen broom out on the step for the milkman! Well, I was sweeping the step when I remembered I must put out the empty milk bottles! Hubby asked if I’d come home on it. CHEEK!

Friday:

Went to the dentist for 1.45 pm appointment - got there to find my appointment was 11.45 am. Oh well, at least I know now that I am not alone. Grateful for FM support.

P.S. On the previous Sunday when we set out for a car ride, I’d remarked to my “ever-loving” that we had forgotten our sleeping bags – seat belts of course, what else!

Jo Fisher Adds

Also, I thought I would share with you my experience at filling my dishwasher. There I was getting on with my household chores i.e. filling the dishwasher. We all know how difficult that can be on a bad day bending over etc. Once the machine was full I went to the kitchen cupboard under the sink and got out the tablet to put in it (so I thought). There I was trying to place (ram ) these two round, yes two round tablets, not one tablet into an oblong hole which was meant for just one tablet and they were in fact the washing machine tablets.

It took a good few minutes for me to work out what I was doing. The room was a haze of blue due to the swearing and cursing I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t fit and why I couldn’t shut the flap. The stress was incredible and then it suddenly dawned on me what I was doing and I felt such an idiot.

To make things worse I had managed to get everyone’s attention by then and they wanted to see what all the fuss was about. They just took one look at what I had been trying to do and just walked off in amazement and I know they were thinking: “Oh my god, how can you be that stupid!”

Well I feel I can answer that: “They have never experienced a fibro fog moment. The problem is that at the moment they seem to be far too regular.”

Here are the stupid things I did the other day. - Sue Hale

I filled the washing up bowl with dirty dishes, ran the water and sprayed Mr Muscle into the water - to wash the dishes with?????

When preparing dinner the other day I chopped up some peppers. I had chopped too many to use so thought I would store the extra in the fridge. I got a tupperware (good old tupperware) dish out of the cupboard and put the peppers in it and then promptly put the dish back in the cupboard with the rest of the dishes. It was only later when I needed another dish that I realised the peppers were rotting away in the cupboard not keeping fresh in the Fridge.

Just For Fun

We probably have all experienced ‘Fibro Speak’ when what comes out of one’s mouth bears no resemblance to what one is really trying to say. With that in mind, we thought it would be a bit of fun to compile our own ‘Fibro Dictionary’. If enough of you let us know of your own Fibro Speak we could make it a regular. Let’s see if we can get from A to Z. Here’s a few to start the ball rolling:

• Bananas = socks

• Blarda = ashtray

• Face aid = first aid

• Fletta = telephone

• Gravelling Letter = Covering letter

• Par Cark = Car Park

• Seat Belt = sleeping bags

• Smale smet = Smell sweat

• Tomato = husband

• Wable Lun = Label run

• Wish Dosher = Dish Washer

He's found it - well done Ted!

Our Ted is very happy;
He's now remembered where
He left his flowing ribbon.
What a happy fibro bear!