help....I can't focus anymore - I can't read, I can't concentrate on anything....

[Pster]

....is there some vitamin I can take to help increase my ability to focus? ~something I'm missing? Cause if it's just getting older - I'm stuck with it unless I move into my own house!

I just can't read anything anymore (on the computer, in books, cookbooks, with the kids during school, etc) while there is ANY other noise in the room! I just can't focus on it. I have to read it over and over till it starts to sink in. It drives me nuts. I think I've almost given up actually reading a book from cover to cover. I skim & take notes (cause I know I'll forget it if I don't!).

Figure it has to be bugging me enough to post here for help! lol

:)

[theodwyn]

I've been trying the rhodiola supplement. I'm not a big one for supplements but this had a good amount of research, is not addicting, and has no major side effects. I really think I can concentrate better since I started taking it but it could be the placebo effect :-)
Here is a web site about it. http://rhodiolarosea.org/
Wendy

[Sharon H in IL]

Has your health recently improved?

An odd question, but for me, that had the odd side effect of making it harder to concentrate on my reading. For most of my life, it turns out, I had allergies most likely to something utterly common like dust, which kept me in a physical lethargy that I could shake off only rarely.

The only thing I could do with depth and ease was to read and absorb information. Which made lots of graduate school possible, but made working for a living pretty hard. Finding sinus meds that cleared up the permanent infection suddenly made me soooo full of energy. My house was clean, I was able to exercise, I had tons of energy. But I couldn't read much.

Every time I sat down, I would think of some chore I could do, and jump up to work on it. My volume of reading went way down. I'm only just now, about two years later, beginning to figure out how to find those spaces in the day when I can concentrate on Just Reading, without feeling obliged and really wanting to jump up and Do Something.

So here are my suggestions for when to read in peace: After the children are in bed. When they are at someone else's house. When DH has taken them out to a movie.

When possible of an evening, I put on some low baroque music on the CD player in my bedroom to cover up the noise of my husband watching TV, adjust the pillows just so, heat up a cup of decaf green tea, and settle in. I can get a couple of hours in on a good night.

I cannot read with any noisy kerfluffle going on either. It may be old age, it may be newly-received good health, whatever it is, I've had to adjust. Good luck. It's worth the effort to figure out a strategy. Without new ideas to chew on, I get stupid.

[Hen Jen]

when was your last physical? really. I have been having a hard time thinking, reading anything deep, couldn't write anything deep...would sit down at the computer to look up something specific and totally forget what I wanted to do and surf instead..forget to return emails. I was really starting to worry. I went in for a physical, not for that reason...and found out I had really low iron, confusion is a symptom. I'm starting to feel better after 2 weeks of supplements. I would suggest you go for a physical and make sure everything is as it should be.

[3lilreds in NC]

I am there too. I've been trying to read "Midnight Folk" for a couple of weeks now. I just can't get into it. I usually try to read at bedtime which is way too late.... and I've only been able to get in snatches here and there and I can't figure out what's going on that way!

I think Omega 3's are supposed to help with this too. At least, my Melaleuca gal said she started taking Omega 3 supplements and was having wonderful results with being able to focus better.

[Mamagistra]

Dh has experienced memory improvement with gingko biloba and B-complex.

Me? Well, I forget... ;)

[Kathy in MD]

You may need more than the 7-7.5 hours many adults get, or even more than the 8 that's recommended.

Or if you're starting to snore :eek: or have other sleep interupting habits, you may not be getting enough good sleep.

[Karin]

Are you over 40? It could be related to hormonal changes. This is one of the common symptoms of pre/peri menopause. Or a symptom of pregnancy. Or poor sleep, allergies, etc. I take Ginko.

[Jean in Wisc]

I also had problems with staying focused when reading.

I'm past the stage of perimenopause where the brain simply decides functioning normal is a no-go, and I am reading again. :D

I find that Vitamin B6 helps a lot--but be careful not to overdose. Stay under 200mg/day (at least that is what I've read).

[Pster]

What can I do to fix this? I know I asked this before and I think the general consensus is that this is just from having kids!! lol I couldn't find my post and I am now occasionally reaching the brink of tears from frustration!! My head is kinda in a fog - kinda like when you take a sinus medicine and you feel better but are in that weird brain-fog. Except this doesn't seem to fade away. kwim? Dh thinks I'm burned out and need a break. I can't be burned out from everything already! We just started our hsing journey and things are just starting to go WELL!!

This is driving me nuts! I have a ton of books I want to read and just can't. There is school stuff and things I want to read online and I haven't. I cut and paste and save articles on my computer for "later". I have to admit too that we haven't done many read alouds lately and maybe this is why I've avoided them. I couldn't read and comprehend the directions to make a Magic Rocks crystal kit on Friday with the kids! I got frustrated and said we'd have to do it later.

Am I missing a vitamin? Do I just need sleep? Should I cut something out of my diet? Have any of you noticed any mark improvement after doing something differently? (I know someone mentioned an herbal supplement or something too but I don't remember the specifics....) Am I just getting old? Is this some other mental problem?

any thoughts? :(:confused:

[SnowWhite]

When my thyroid level is low, I am always in a fog. You might see a doctor and try to get some blood tests to rule out hypothyroidism. It can cause low energy levels, weight gain, constant chill, etc.

[CLHCO]

It's funny because I was just commenting to a friend the other day about this. I used the Sudafed analogy and everything. I get completely worthless at times from it.

For me it's not all the time, just occasionally. I am beginning to think it's a reaction to something. I've always been very sensitive to Sudafed and it's the same feeling you describe. I noticed when I take my vitamins it is worse so either it's the vitamins or it's a combination of the vitamins with caffeine or whatever. They give me energy but zap my brain. They have herbs in them so I'm thinking it may be one of the herbs.

I haven't taken them in a couple days and I'm feeling okay.

Look around and see if you could be reacting to something. Some people are very sensitive to things like laundry detergent or fabric softener, etc.

[CLHCO]

Hmm... I should consider looking into that myself. Runs in the family.

[Pster]

now how did that happen? I couldn't find my original post - posted again - and now all of a sudden it was added under my original post? I must *really* be losing it!!

[Plaid Dad]

Lack of focus is a red flag for me that I'm sliding into a depressive episode. I don't know if depression is something you struggle with, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. Other less dramatic causes for me are fatigue, side effects from pain medication, and (ironically enough) overindulgence in caffeine. As others have said, I wouldn't discount the perennial distraction of parenthood either.

Hope you're feeling better soon! It's so frustrating to feel scattered.

[CLHCO]

If you're losing it, so am I. I saw the original and now it's under a second one.

[Hen Jen]

the second post struck me as funny, since I've been dealing with the symptoms you were describing...I was seriously wondering if I was suffering from early onset alsheimers... I'm actually used to being scattered and irrational- so when I saw this post up again, I was thinking it looked familiar, but wasn't sure- I almost replied to it again until I saw my own answer. sheesh.

really, tho, go get a physical.

I was so bad that I would ask my husband 4 or 5 times in a row each night if he had locked up our chickens. I drove to my mom's old house, after she had moved 6 or 9 months earlier. I'd forget things, mix up dates. Drove up to my daughter's camp on the wrong day...I was seriously an airhead.

[Kimber]

I think it may be estrogen dominance caused by either too much estrogen or insufficient progesterone. Either way a progesterone cream will help if this is truly the cause. I have had a progesterone deficiency from my 20's and took progesterone with all 4 pregnancies.

But now that I'm 40 it's way more pronounced and the symptoms you describe are really, really common for me. My productivity has been cut in half. I can barely function. I have added progesterone cream to my normal regimen. Btw, I regularly take B Complex vitamins, omega 3's, enzymes, and cal/mag supplements.

The progesterone helps a lot. And I just saw my doctore last week about this. She said use the progesterone, get on bcp's or take a mild form of prozac. I'm not sure I agree with her options, but I chose the progesterone.

Kimberly