Any treatment for Cog Fog?

[football-mom]

My cog fog comes and goes, and is mostly worse during the summer months. Unfortunately, it can effect my work as well as my balance. I have to exercise iron will to get through the day a lot, and sometimes that still just isn't enough.

Is there any real treatment for cog fog? Any trials? ANYTHING? I ca't take any "uppers" type medication like provigil because I am most likely allergic. Anyway, those are really for fatigue, and that is not my underlying problem right now. Thanks in advance for your help.

[kelm10]

Sharing a link

I am sharing a link from the nutrition forum. Take it for what it is. It may not work for you. But, as far as one poster said in the link try it for 60 days and see.

http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthr...e-diet-stories

I also have used alpha lipoic acid and acety-l-carnitine, dietary supplements and it has helped. I have been able to stop them (unlike in the past) since I have been on Tecfidera for a whole year.

[jreagan70]

Nope, there's no "magic pill" for cog fog. Depending on what the cause of it is, there can be some things that might help to some degree. Maybe, maybe not.

My cog fog comes and goes, and is mostly worse during the summer months. Unfortunately, it can effect my work as well as my balance.

Cog fog can be one of those heat-related, Uhthoff's phenomenon things. If it is in your case, lowering your body temperature -- especially your head temperature with, say, a cooling scarf -- might help.

I ca't take any "uppers" type medication like provigil because I am most likely allergic. Anyway, those are really for fatigue, and that is not my underlying problem right now.

That's looking at only a small part of the picture. Stimulant medications are not prescribed primarily for fatigue.

Provigil/Nuvigil were approved for narcolepsy, which isn't really fatigue, but they work well for MS-related fatigue. Amantadine isn't even a stimulant (it's an antiviral), but it helps with fatigue in some people with MS. So these three medications really are used for fatigue in MS and they wouldn't be expected to help with thinking abilities. Some people with MS find that they do help with cog fog to some degree, but that isn't their purpose.

But the majority of stimulants -- like Adderall and Ritalin -- don't fit fit the assessment as being for fatigue. They really ARE prescribed for concentration and focus because of their effects on brain chemicals, and they have nothing to do with fatigue.

For people whose slow thinking and inability to focus have a chemical basis, one of the stimulant medications can be helpful. So to dismiss one of the meds because you think they're only for fatigue might be to deny yourself a chance at a medication that might help.

The question in MS, though, is whether cog fog in any person with MS is due to chemical issues rather than the usual electrical issues. You would have to try one of the meds to know. (It will have to be up to your doctors to determine why you would "most likely" be allergic to two or three different classes of medications simply because they have stimulant qualities.)

There have been some reports that Ampyra has been helpful for cog fog in people taking it for improvement of physical symptoms. Ampyra helps in the transmission of electrical signals through nerves. It was approved to help with walking, but the improved signal transmission can also help with thinking. Since it's FDA approved, Ampra can be prescribed off label. There's a clinical trial in recruitment right now to assess Ampyra's effects on MS cognition. It could be worth trying.

Finally, as was suggested, cleaning up any lifestyle issues can help a brain that's already struggling with MS. There are many anecdotal reports from people with MS that their mental and physical functioning improved somewhat when they started eating better, cut out as many stressors as possible, and got a better balance of exercise and rest.

As for what has been shown not to work in MS cog fog: the dementia/memory loss/Alzheimer's meds. Aricept, Namenda, Namzeric, Exelon and Razadyne have no effect on cognitive issues caused by MS.

So depending on how much effort you want to put into looking for relief, there are at least a couple of things you can try. Hopefully, something will give you some help.

[its2much]

Is there any med

for both cog fog and fatigue?

[hunterd]

I do not know of anything for both of them, but during a visit to the Cleveland clinic Mellen Center, the doctor I saw there told me to take evening Primrose oil to help with cognitive issues. I do not know if it works or not, all I can tell you is that ever since that day I have taken it. Good luck

[Seasha]

There have been some reports that Ampyra has been helpful for cog fog in people taking it for improvement of physical symptoms. Ampyra helps in the transmission of electrical signals through nerves. It was approved to help with walking, but the improved signal transmission can also help with thinking. Since it's FDA approved, Ampra can be prescribed off label. There's a clinical trial in recruitment right now to assess Ampyra's effects on MS cognition. It could be worth trying.

I took this for awhile to help with my walking, and although I was one of the unlucky ones that experienced no help with walking, I felt it lifted the cog fog I was having at the time. I also benefited from increased energy! So, yes! It's worth a try.

[JerryD]

Why are there no effective treatments for progressive MS?

I have been focused on finding any new and effective treatments for 'progressive MS', as I have PPMS. At the beginning of the year, it was mentioned that there would be an increased focus on developing treatments for 'progressive' MS as that population was sorely 'underserved'. I feel like treatments for me are non-existant. What is happening? I am waiting for something but I see and hear nothing!

[knuckle]

Is there any real treatment for cog fog? Any trials? ANYTHING? I ca't take any "uppers" type medication like provigil because I am most likely allergic. Anyway, those are really for fatigue, and that is not my underlying problem right now. Thanks in advance for your help.

LDN, Low Dose Naltrexone, usually clears-up "cog fog" almost immediately after starting it because of it's endorphin-producing action.

There's a sticky thread all about LDN.