oh no!

[msuder0583]

ok i went to the link about memory problems and i searched through it and it really didn't answer this problem that i'm having. because of my meds i've always had memory problems but as of late there will be times when if i look at something i forget how to read or if im typing i completely forget how to spell even the most basic words...does anyone know whats could be wrong?
=(

[CrunchyFrog]

I don't know why it could be getting worse. Have you been more stressed or anxious lately, I think when you run yourself down it can affect things. I know when I'm over tired my memory is shocking and I become completely scatter brained.
Maybe if you're really concerned you should see your doctor.

[Nakamova]

I think that could be med-related. It's happened to me, and then gone away once I switched meds.

[mel239]

something similar happens once in a while to me.I have a 3rd grader and kindergartner -pretty basic math-but some days I cant even check an answer because I have no clue.Its not just math either,it seems as if information goes into my head but cant be processed at that particular time-if that makes sense-Im obviously no expert but I dont think its just the meds,in my case I think its more like sensory overload combined with degrees of stress and sleeplessness

[Endless]

Time to call your neurologist. He needs to know you are experiencing this.

I have something similar but different - I can read info and know what it means, but I can't analyze it and put it together to make decisions or do some kind of analysis. I had it before I was on meds, so I know it isn't the meds. It was deeply impacting my job.

I still get it but it's less frequent. For me it is postictal (after a seizure) and it can last hours to days. Yours could be postictal or the meds. Do you remember when it started? Was it with a new med, or after a dosage increase?

Do you keep a siezure journal? Does it seem to happen more or be more intense after a seizure? If you don't keep a seizure journal, here's a list of different pre-made formats:

Seizure Journals

[msuder0583]

well *fingers crossed* i haven't had any seizures, and it just started about a month ago. but i did a major med increase (added a med and increased one of my meds) a few months ago, so if it was the med increase im not sure why it would take so long in order for it to be a side effect. and if i haven't had any seizures, it couldn't be an after effect of that. however i have been having alot of panic/anxiety attacks, but i didnt think they would be related to the processing of information. argh and school starts in less than a week

[Endless]

Side effects to meds can develop immediately, or after someone has been taking the drug for 20 years. Postictal symptoms can also change over time, because our seizures change over time. Even if they feel like the same kind, brain waves could be different, and/or the length or intensity of seiuzres could be different. All this is why a seizure journal is so important. It helps sort all this out.

What does your neurologist say?

[msuder0583]

well i know i know its not a postictal state because all my seizures are t/c. and i dont know i havent spoken with her about it yet. but i know shes going to say its the side effects of my meds. i know her so well, because ive been seeing her for 10 years. i know how she is

[Jfpinell]

Ginseng and ginko help with memory. If your magnesium and vitamin "K" levels are low that might be a part to it.

[Endless]

Natural remedies are usually a good way to go, compared to more drugs.

Before you take any herb, be sure to check out it's safety with seizures and/or anti-epileptic drugs. Natural herbs can slow the metabolism of seizure meds, and/or cause more seizures. Below is the site for a major regional epilepsy center at a teaching hospital. Most sites on herbs don't look at them specifically for their effect on epilepsy, but this one does. It sounds all doom and gloom at the beginning, but keep reading. There are several herbal remedies they say are relatively safe.

http://pcs.hmc.washington.edu/Epilepsy/EpiInfo/CAM.html

Once you are on the website, use the "edit" "find on this page" function (or control f) and search on ginko. Also very useful are the tables at the bottom of the article.

[epileric]

Ginseng and ginko

Just be careful because they supposedly increase memory by increasing the firing of neurons. That tends to increase the probability of a seizure lowering ones seizure threshold.

I personally used to take both gingko & ginseng for years & eventually stopped because I saw no difference in my memory, even after stopping.

[mel239]

just a thought,but if ginseng and gingko increase the firing of neurons maybe I should take some of that along with aspartame before my video eeg on July 26.Was in for 8 days with no success 2 yrs ago and it was not only a financial mess but a childcare mess so Im anxious to get this done quickly.I told my epileptologist at clevclinic if he would coldturkey the meds and induce the seizures to expedite and he said they could take me off meds but they do NOT induce.Guess that explains why I couldnt even get a strobe light last time and all they gave me was some pedals for exercise

[epileric]

Personally I've got to see any sort of scientific study that say aspartame has any neurological effect on people.

[epileric]

Natural remedies are usually a good way to go, compared to more drugs.

Before you take any herb, be sure to check out it's safety with seizures and/or anti-epileptic drugs. Natural herbs can slow the metabolism of seizure meds, and/or cause more seizures.

One of the (many) books my naturopath used was called "Herb Contraindications & Drug Interactions." by Francis Brinker, N.D.

I've found it to be an excellent reference book that speaks in terms of what percentages of people were effected in a certain way so that one has a better idea of the probability of each interaction/contraindication

[Nakamova]

There have been studies showing results on both sides of the aspartame issue; below are some that have found a link between aspartame and neurological side effects:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1579221
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15510910
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2420032
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3319565

Based on my own experience, I think aspartame can play a role in lowering seizure threshold, but is safe for the vast majority of people. (It is similar to MSG in this way). Without being too paranoid about it, the aspartame lobby IS incredibly powerful -- the company that invented it, G.D. Searle, was run by Donald Rumsfeld, a govt. insider (later secy. of defense) who played played a major role in getting it approved: http://www.rense.com/general33/legal.htm

[valeriedl]

I can sort of relate to what you are talking about.

I do alot of crossword puzzles. There have been quite a few times that I won't beable to read the clue, I'll know what the letters are but the words just don't make sense to me. Even if I know what the answer is I won't know how to spell the word. I've been on here and it's happened to me a few times too. Same thing - I won't understand what the person is asking about or when I reply to them I just won't understand what to type. I'll pick up the puzzle or get on here about an hour or so later and the stuff is as easy to read or answer as ever and I couldn't figure out why I didn't understand it.

Turns out that I was having a seizure. I usually don't know that I'm having seizures unless there is someone there to see me have it but lately I know that I've had one but I don't realize it till later.

I had the same thing happen to me today. My husband cooked something and told me to look at the container that it came in so I could see what it was. I could tell you every letter that was on the box, but I just couldn't understand how to pronunce the words or what they ment. I only realized that I had a seizure when I went into the kitchen and saw that I had fed the cats twice (bet they were happy).

As I said, this would happen to me alot and I didn't realized that I was having a seizure when it would happen until recently.

[Jfpinell]

It's more than likely it was the quality of the herb that caused it to not work. You can't just go grab an herb off the store shelf and expect it to do any good. There are places that watch the quality like a starving cat watches a mouse. You won't hear about that of course. I wonder why that is. Could it be that the FDA Commissioner has a direct interest in 1 of the major drug companies so as I've recently heard? (Present or former, I forget. But I do know he had a connection to them.) Talk about conflict of interest!

[gabbyg2000]

ok i went to the link about memory problems and i searched through it and it really didn't answer this problem that i'm having. because of my meds i've always had memory problems but as of late there will be times when if i look at something i forget how to read or if im typing i completely forget how to spell even the most basic words...does anyone know whats could be wrong?
=(

hi I'm new to this sight bit I have every single symptom you mentioned. The forgetting things when you just knew it is just annoying I usually won't remember what it was til later in the day sometimes it's just embarrassing when you're talking to someone and cant figure what youre trying to say i completely understand your feeling and I know it sucks
Gabbyg2000

[msuder0583]

Hi gabby. Yeah it totally sucks. I had to get a doctor to write a note to all my professors saying that I couldn't do any oral presentations cause I would just stand up there and just look like an idiot and forget everything that I did it on.

[gabbyg2000]

Hi gabby. Yeah it totally sucks. I had to get a doctor to write a note to all my professors saying that I couldn't do any oral presentations cause I would just stand up there and just look like an idiot and forget everything that I did it on.

hii my guidance counceler is going to set that up for me in my senior year since it was becoming a big problem at the end of the school year and they couldnt set it up in time
gabbg2000