OMG! I felt like an IDIOT!!!

[iloveshelties]

O.K....I'M standing in line making a purchase in Kohl's with my husband and 19 yr. old daughter. I was buying a purse and a wallet. I had Kohls cash...you know...from past purchases...when you buy a certain amount and you get "free money" on your next purchase...so I had $60 of Kohls cash and my purse was $85 on sale for $62...and the wallet was $34 plus tax I think...something like that...I can't remember the exact amounts now...but that's close enough..Basically, my new purse was going to cost $2...WOOHOO! The wallet was $34 plus tax...and the extra $2 from the purse.

....anyway, the cashier says my total was $42...I stood there staring at her and said," No..that CAN'T POSSIBLY be right!!!"...my daughter looks at me, my husband looks at me, and the cashier looks at me like I'm some kind of idiot...NO one bothers to explain it to me, and my brain goes into TOTAL shutdown...and I SWEAR I couldn't make ANY sense OUT OF IT!!! what the hell!!! I could not understand in my Topamax brain fog, that this wasn't correct??!!! If course it WAS correct, bu tin MY brain fog, it made NO sense whatsoever!!! My daughter finally took me by the arm and said,"come on mom...it's o.k....let's go"...I walked out of the store like I was in the Twilight Zone or something! I got in the car and started crying! I know this may not seem like a big deal to you all, but to me it WAS! i felt utterly STUPID! i couldn't make heads or tails out of the situation! has anyone else had this happen?? Does anyone else feel like this from this medicine? Is this going to get BETTER??? mY FAMILY ASSURES ME THIS IS ONLY because I have been on this increased dose for 2 weeks and it WILL get better as my body adjusts...HOW DO THEY KNOW??? They are just saying that to make me feel better! While I appreciate that, it's not helping!!! How can I explain that this totally ruined my entire day! I feel like this is never going away. My once intelligent brain feels like it's gone....in some kind of fog! PLEASE someone tell me it's only temporary!!! I am on 200mg of Topamax and am told I have to remain on that dose. Like I said, it's only been 2 weeks on that does.

[Nakamova]

Give it some time, often the body will adjust to the new dose or med, and the side effects will decrease. You may find the link below -- it's to the "askapatient" site with Topomax ratings by patients -- people include their side effects, dose, how long they've been on it it etc.

http://www.askapatient.com/viewratin...length&order=0

[survivor]

Hey dear please dont panic! this happens when u increase the dosage. When I was small and I increased the dose of Epilex, I would sit in front of the TV and say what a great coordination seeing the three beautiful ladies dance with all the elegance. And then my mother told me that there was only one lady!!!!!!!! Can u imagine how I felt.................yes stupid ofcourse................but why to feel bad.............its not our fault.............its the medicines! So cool down and just give some time to ur body and brain to adjust! Take care!
Shagun

[Bluesbrkr]

Happens to many of us. I've been in business meetings and been talking and all of the sudden, can't remember what I was talking about, or can't come up with the word for something simple... and just stood there like an idiot. I often start talking about things with my wife that we talked about the day before, or just a little while ago. Definitely easy to get confused or get back on track sometimes. Fortunately, most of my friends at work know what is going on and will often chime in to help out. But as survivor said, it's not our fault.. you just learn to accept that it's gonna happen from time to time, and yes, it's very frustrating, but it's just part of the fun... lol.

And often it does get better after you give your body time to adjust to a new dosage or new medication.

[jyearta]

Well this should help you to fell better.

I went in for my 6 months dental check up. after the cleaning and check up my dds. asked if I was having any problems, I said NO. I HAD 4 TEEH THAT WERE HURTING ME.
when I called into his office to complain of the hurting teeth, he asked why did I not say something when I was there just 4 days before.
I just sat there, I just didn't want to HEAR that something else was wrong.

I mean for goodness sake, My Teeth were hurting and I was at the DDS.

This one is costing me big time.



When I had to call him and since insur. lonly covers 2 visits. HOW I am paying for extra visits

[iloveshelties]

Jyearta,
Yea...that IS bad...I'm sorry! Hard to top THAT one. Guess we are all here together. Can I ask how log you have been on your meds that you had that major "brain fart". My family thinks this is going to go away after I get used to this dose for a little while...since I've only been on this dose for 2 weeks...I sure hope that's the case, but I'm thinking that may not be the case. That's why I'm asking how long YOU have been on meds and had this happen to you! Just curious and hope you don't mind me asking. Thanks.

[jyearta]

I'm taking Dilantin 100mg 4 tablets a day, and klonopin 0.5mg 1/2 tablet every 4 hours except at 10:00PM I take a whole one.

I don't want to discourage you, but I have been on E. meic. (diff. ones) since 1971.

I having a lot of problems with B-12 deficiency - I just have the energy to do much of anything, or carry on a conserv.

I don't understand what make me do such a foolish thing.

I am the queen of IDIOTS.

I used to be the one to make our dr. appt. ask the questions, until I understoold what they were saying. --How in this case, there was NOTHING to ask, just answer the question. DURRRRRR --

[valeriedl]

Well this should help you to fell better.

I went in for my 6 months dental check up. after the cleaning and check up my dds. asked if I was having any problems, I said NO. I HAD 4 TEEH THAT WERE HURTING ME.
when I called into his office to complain of the hurting teeth, he asked why did I not say something when I was there just 4 days before.
I just sat there, I just didn't want to HEAR that something else was wrong.

I mean for goodness sake, My Teeth were hurting and I was at the DDS.

This one is costing me big time.



When I had to call him and since insur. lonly covers 2 visits. HOW I am paying for extra visits

I've learned to make out a list of things that are going on with me and that I want to ask the dr (doesn't matter what type or dr) because I always end up forgetting them. Plus the fact that the drs seem to rush into the room do a real quick exam and then rush back out. Needless to say - my brain doesn't work that fast!

[mel239]

Just took me ten minutes to warn my boyfriend that they have installed cameras on all the traffic lights when my son and I were getting on highway earlier and on the intersection right after and when I finally got the proper words out,he told me they have been up there for years and I must not have noticed them.But that is NOT TRUE!!! They stand out today like they are new-I cant explain it--brains sure can play tricks on you eh?

[Endless]

It may get better, it may not. But it probably will.

Medication can cause our brains to slow down. But even after changing meds I'm still having problems. I'm not worries so much about having this happen around friends and family, but in a highly formal workplace, it's definitely not good. It's seen as incompetence, no excuses. Brain freezes are not seen as an accomodation.

In any case, keep the faith. Give your meds another couple of weeks. For any med I'm on, four months seems to be the magic point when things start getting better.

[iloveshelties]

Four months...oh, my...that sounds SO long...I know everyone is different and it may or may not take me that long, but if it DOES take me that long, I'm going to lose my mind. I wish I had the patience my friends and family have...they are all saying , " It will come, hang in there." or my personal favorite, " You are doing better now than you were in the beginning...you just don't see it!"...OMG!...WHAT MUST i HAVE BEEN LIKE BEFORE????? i must have been in a stupor!!! lol...

[huskymom]

Am I the only one??? DID YOU GET THE PURSE AND WALLET?? That's what I want to know! And don't feel bad, I have read through that math in your story and still can't figure it out

[knothing]

This is where one of the hardest part is.....patience to wait for the side effects to reduce. I too want to know if you got the purse.

[iloveshelties]

LOL...YES!!!...I got the purse and the wallet...and they are adorable...the purse is an ELLE purse...so super soft in black leather with 5 rosette flowers across the top. It has double handle shouder straps and a zipper closure.If you want to see what it looks like, you can go on Kohls website, it's under the Elle section and it's called "Rosie Rosette"
...and the wallet is also leather and animal print/ clutch type... black,white, and a touch of tan...really cute!

The end result is...I was upset about the whole brain fart thing, I'm TOTALLY over it, and now, I can enjoy my new purse and wallet!!!...YAY!!!

[motorbill66]

WOW!
This thread really helps. I used Depakote for many years, and though it wasn't great for a number of reasons, it didn't seem to give me "the dumbs". About a year ago I had to be switched to Lamictal, and immediately was a real mess in this respect. I would be having an interesting conversation with a couple of friends, and when it was my turn to respond I couldn't even remember what we were talking about. I had trouble remembering what I was doing, even while I was in the middle of it! I still have some problems with this stuff, but not as badly. The problem is that I'm sixty three years old and it's really easy for me to start to suspect that I'm going into some kind of early onset dementia or alzheimers. It's as frightening as seizures themselves. I was always a pretty sharp thinker and had a great ability to concentrate and remember, if I do say so myself. I have won a car racing championship, and believe me, that takes concentration!

Well, it hasn't all gone away, but I have gotten somewhat better, and my friends and family assure me that I'm not "losing it". Still, I wish I was a little sharper, because sometimes the memory thing leads to some nasty arguments with my wife! For the most part, she understands, but it's still tough.

It's good though, to know that I'm not the only one...

[CathyAnn31]

I had to double make sure it wasn't me who write this!!!!

Sounds exactly like something that would happen to me, and exactly like how I'd describe it. AND I also shop at Kohls.

Unfortunately I can't use the excuse of a med increase. I think for me it's more of a brain cell decrease..

[iloveshelties]

Thanks, CathyAnn...misery loves company I guess...lol...Nice to know someone else is like me out there!

[sandhya]

hi
i was on topomac 100mg for about a month, this was a drug switch from valproate due to pregnancy. it was a nightmare, i couldnt tolerate the drug, i felt a blender running inside my body all time, though seizures were well controlled, i felt extremely abnormal, couldnt eat proeprly, vomitting, diahorrea, trying to cope with pregnancy, couldnt eat anything or think properly and forced my doctor to changed this drug and took me 3-4 months to get back to normal, though another known person to me tolerated this drug so well no issues, so it depends on the induvidual i think