Oh yes, that is a big problem for me. I love to read and many days I just can't and that really sucks. Having a conversation is hard for me too. Sometimes all I'm hearing is wha-whaiwha like on snoopy and my brain just can't compute. I look at them and think to myself, "I wonder if they are saying something important?" That is why sometimes I take my husband with me when I go to the doctor so he can remember what the doctor said. Sometimes I turn on a TV series on netflix and it goes from one episode to the next but I don't really know what is going on. Most of the time I just listen to music because it helps my mood even if I don't hear ever word.... most of the time I already know the lyrics.

Yes, depends on how exhausted I am. I can't get through even 5 pages a lot of the time. When I drive to Wellington for meetings I'm either too stuffed to follow the gist of things (lucky we have notes or minutes of the meeting sent out) or I'm ok until the avo if I'm really lucky. I have spoken to my bosses about this and the other managers at the meetings since we are all ok with mental illnesses and physical illnesses and my boss steps in and finishes my sentences if he sees I'm stuck. I also have overnight stays in a motel or hotel covered by work if I'm having 2 days in a row down there. Mostly they know to avoid putting the meetings on the same week as it increases the cost to my service's budget. I have talked to them about air travel and taxis instead because my concentration driving for more than 1-2 hours is dangerous. I burst into tears last Manager's meeting because I thought my job was at risk with my fibro symptoms getting so bad. Its ok if others see your vulnerability if the environment is safe and everyone knows what is going on.

I found that audio books are the only way I get any help with understanding of a topic I really want to know about. I have to pay more, but it's so worth it.

@A MyFibroTeam Member I hate it that you are dealing with that. I know how frustrating it is. My sons like to play video games and my younger son wants to learn programming to design them. Having this would really mess that up. I used to be a receptionist in a loan department and I handled so many different tasks (multiple phone lines, walk in customers that I had to stop from going past me, scheduling appointments and office duties etc.) I was really good at that job and did a lot of multi-tasking and had to be fast. There is no way I could do that now. I can't even type without messing up and I don't even notice the mistakes until I see what I wrote much later. It is so frustrating. It is even hard for me to count out money because I forget where I was at before I finish. I hope your doctors can find a way to help you feel better without losing the ability to concentrate and focus.

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A MyFibro...

I get a lot of problems like that. I end up reading the same line over and over again and it still doesn't seem to go in!
Conversations are really tough too, a lot of the time I end up nodding along saying "yeah" but I don't seem to process the information. I don't know if anyone else gets this, but I also find it depends on who you are talking to as to how tough it is to keep up with the conversation.