One symptom that hypothyroid patients complain of often, is the one called “brain fog”. This symptom can be frustrating and concerning because when it flares up, it causes a person to experience difficulty concentrating. They will experience less mental clarity and sharpness when trying to function mentally. Brain fog occurs commonly in hypothyroid patients but can also occur with other diseases and also with emotional disorders involving anxiety and depression. Some thyroid patients report that this symptom improves with treatment for hypothyroidism but that it still remains to a certain degree and can flare up when they are extra fatigued or stressed. It can be especially troublesome when experienced at work, when you need your mental clarity the most.

I can personally attest to experiencing this symptom on occasion and I can also relate the fact that when I first began to experience it, I was very concerned about how much affect it was having on my cognitive function. Just previous to being treated for hypothyroidism, I experienced more severe spells of this symptom and at times found I even had a problem with word-recall. This was something I had never experienced before but would find myself having a hard time filling in the blanks with words I needed to complete a sentence, recalling people’s names, short term memory, etc… I wondered if it was a sign of mental deterioration or of the onset of some serious mental disorder but over time, I realized that it was related to fatigue and stress intolerance, caused by my hypothyroidism and my co-morbid conditions, including adrenal fatigue.

As I began to search on the web about symptoms experienced by thyroid patients, I found that brain fog was a very common one. I also read that the symptom is neither harmful nor dangerous, other than when it affects driving or operating machinery. It does not cause mental deterioration or loss of intelligence, despite the fact that it can be extremely unpleasant.

Some thyroid patients and those with other disorders that cause the brain fog symptom, have reported improvement in it, when taking supplements that help increase mental clarity/sharpness and those that, help to better oxygenate blood flow to the brain. I have found in my case that B-vitamin supplements help with this symptom, by increasing my overall energy. I take a sublingual (liquid) B-12 that also contains vitamin C, B-2, B-3, B-5 and B-6. I also take CoQ10 which has been studied in medical research and found to help better oxygenate the blood. Herbal supplements, such as Ginkgo Biloba have also been found to help with oxygen flow to the brain but in the case of an herbal, I would discuss any possible contraindications (adverse effects, interactions with other drugs) that might be involved in taking one, with your doctor. Another thing that helps with brain fog is regular exercise, which also helps oxygenate the body and improve overall energy. Studies on the effects of exercise on anxiety and depression have shown that it helps with these a great deal as well and in some cases is as effective as an antidepressant.

If you suffer from bouts of the brain fog symptom, remember that in the vast majority of cases, it is not harmful or dangerous and that there are ways you can improve this symptom as we have touched on above.


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