Cognitive changes

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Cometsmom
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Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:49 pm

Cognitive changes

Post by Cometsmom »

Does anyone experience difficulty learning new information? I just started a new job and have been training for three weeks. I just can't seem to wrap my head around what I'm supposed to be (and feel I should be) learning. It's like I'm hearing the new info for the first time every day. My husband was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer as well and I'm having trouble remembering the information we are being given I not know whether it's the stress of the situation or something more common in MS
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jimmylegs
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Re: Cognitive changes

Post by jimmylegs »

hi :)

in my post dx nutritional learning curve, i often found i had the same 'a ha' moments several times before i could retain a new piece of information long term.

a number of ms' nutritional knowns can affect cognition. one of the ones i personally found most noticeable was zinc deficiency.

i think my deficient zinc hampered my body's ability to deal with toxic ammonia (a byproduct of just eating). i don't have tests to back up the ammonia suspicion, but my zinc was certainly single digits, and there is research that links low serum zinc and high serum ammonia. "Ammonia, a byproduct of the metabolism of nitrogen-containing compounds, is neurotoxic at elevated concentrations." https://bit.ly/2I3eXMM (cleveland clinic info)

i prefer serum zinc in the high teens (in umol/l.) although as long as it's higher than serum copper, that is a step in the right direction.

at my worst, in terms of low zinc status, i had next to no short term memory. couldn't remember what show was on if it was the ads. driving became difficult. i have no idea how i continued to function. zinc repletion brought everything back into fighting form and then some. it's been no problem ever since.

i would say my cognitive status is better than it's been in a long time, even going back to before it got really bad. i often used to lose my train of thought when down a conversational tangent. now i consider it a warning sign to shape up my act if that kind of lapse happens.

and that's just one of the nutrients needed to keep the brain in tip top condition
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ElliotB
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Re: Cognitive changes

Post by ElliotB »

I had some terrible issues when first diagnosed. Most have improved/gone away (not all). I found going gluten free helped a lot - noticed a big difference after just a few months. I also take a brain supplement called Phosphatidylserine (commonly known as PS) which I also strongly recommend. Here is a link to some info on it:

https://draxe.com/phosphatidylserine/
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jimmylegs
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Re: Cognitive changes

Post by jimmylegs »

interestingly, it makes sense that gluten free diet would help. digesting gluten creates a drain on zinc status. without gluten inputs, the body can redirect incoming zinc resources to other priorities such as cognitive function.
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