started 75mg pregabalin three months ago. nerve pain went from a constant 6-7 to more like a 4-5 on good days, which should feel like a win. and it kind of is. but the cognitive side is something i was not ready for.
my job is admin. i track appointments, manage files, answer questions, type fast. it’s physical sometimes but it’s also detail work all day. pregabalin makes me feel like i’m operating through wet cotton.
i’ll be in the middle of typing an email and lose the word i need. i’ll read the same line three times. i had to reschedule a meeting because i sent the invite to the wrong person twice. the thing that gets me is i’m already masking the pain - walking normally when my legs want to buckle, keeping my face neutral at my desk when the tender points are screaming.
now i’m also masking the fog. “oh i just zoned out, sorry!” like it’s a personality quirk. my prescriber said the fog usually fades around 6-8 weeks. i’m at 12 weeks.
still waiting. i added a cognitive sharpness field to my daily check-in in careclinic - just 1-5, takes ten seconds. the pattern that came out is pretty consistent: fog is worst about 90 minutes after my morning dose, and again mid-afternoon. bringing that graph to my next appointment bc i feel like “my brain doesn’t work at work” isn’t going to land without something concrete.
anyone figured out a workaround? different timing, splitting the dose, something else? because i can’t keep explaining away foggy emails to my manager.