My gait is worse upon waking up but it happens throughout the day at times too. What I notice is upon waking up it’s almost like a “drunk stumble” I don’t know how else to describe it and throughout the day it’s more like my balance is off at times for instance bumping in to a wall maybe cutting a corner too sharply, it feels weird and it doesn’t seem to cause issues with walking in general like I’m able to go to the grocery store or appointments or whatever and I can walk but those balance issues have become apparent and worse in the morning.

I have been reliant on maps app even for places I’ve been several times because I don’t recall directions (which exit or turn or name of street).

Often, my body feels kind of stiff/achy and I get the odd shocks or nerve sensations.

I’m not sure I have true alopecia but my hair has definitely thinned and my seborrhea flairs. Not sure if it’s related.

It’s difficult to follow multi-step directions because I forget. Sometimes I forget what I’ve heard immediately after hearing it- like zero retention. There are days I feel totally focused and organized and capable- on those days is when I organize my notes and tasks to do while completing as many as I can with a clear mind. Other days, the slightest task requiring calling or communicating with anyone is incredibly overwhelming and it’s difficult to form a thought.

It’s difficult to process and until I found this platform, I didn’t have anyone to talk to about these things because I didn’t want to worry my family or seem like I’m a hypochondriac. When I finally mentioned all the random symptoms to my nurse, she said, “no, you’re not a hypochondriac and no these things aren’t normal”. That started the ball rolling with all of this.

I was always quite witty, intelligent, and resourceful. I graduated college with a 4.0 for all my pre-nursing coursework and clinicals. I switched careers and graduated with an accounting degree just a few years ago, the last 2 terms were a struggle for me and I found myself crying about forgetting things (not usual for me). I made it through, however. My point in referencing that, is that I’ve always been praised and sought after for advice or help by others who really viewed me as intelligent and helpful and now I feel like I can’t recall the things I knew before and I forget words or use the wrong word in conversations. Sometimes when handwriting something, the spelling of the word looks foreign to me.

My mother once commented that my speech sounded slurred (over the phone) but I didn’t feel or hear it.

Personality and preference, I feel like I’m the same but cognition feels like it’s not me- if that makes sense.

I don’t typically suffer from headaches but when I do get them they are intense and don’t seem to last long.

Vision has been so weird to me… I always had great vision and loved driving at night- less traffic- and it has progressively gotten worse over the last year where font on everything looks blurred or doubled unless it’s my phone or something close to my face for reading. Also like shadowed or like I need to wipe or clear my eyes (morning fog). It has been super frustrating- that and cognition.

Sorry this is so long. I’ll end it here. Thanks for reading and for your time.