Is your memory getting worse, was it worse before or after meds?

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AngelwithDentedHalo

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I've been told I have brain atrophy that can cause memory loss & it has but Im also wondering if the meds I take Levitiracetam can be making it worse. Has anyone had worsening memory loss since starting meds or how bad was it before?

I know mine's gotten worse cause today I was making change at work and got it backwards, thinking I should be giving 84 cents but it was 48, well not exactly but you get the idea. I've never done that in the 10+ years I've worked in retail. Bad part is I don't remember if my memory was this bad before meds or not.
 
It can be hard to tell, can't it? And plain old aging can be a factor too. A few years ago I had a neurospych evaluation done for just this reason -- so that I have a baseline against which to measure any future cognitive changes. You might want to have a similar test done now. It can give you a snapshot of how you're doing, and depending on the particular kinds of issues you may be having it might provide some indication of the cause. The neuropsychiatrist can also help you make a plan to deal with the memory problems -- tools, workarounds, etc.

I had my most noticeable memory problems with the medication I was on before my current one. It particularly messed with my vocabulary. Once I switched off of it, those problems went away. There can be indirect cognitive effects from the meds as well: If your med is making you anxious or depressed, it can be causing memory issues because of way those states of mind interfere with attention and encoding.

Have you talked about the memory loss with your neurologist?
 
it is depressing,i also have similar problems...i asked for help and i got small pamplet book chucked at me telling what already knew.
i did not realised it can effect volcabulary as mine is awful...i have A'level english but watching me and my englih grammer spelling and just trying to retrieve a common word you think i was moron.
as for brain atrophy my dr said on mri scan my brain also atrophid but went on to say women who menapausal their brain shrinks as a norm....just shove the woman on scrap heap
 
My memory and taking into information and processing it along with saying what I want to say by speaking and writing has ALL gotten worse.
 
Jyerta: I read your line above and thought did I just reply? My memory/word loss is exactly as you say.
 
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I haven't mentioned it to the Neurologist and most of the time it's just mild things I forget, nothing important and I find lack of sleep can contribute to it cause if I get enough sleep, I'm sharp for the most part.
 
I too have short term memory loss directly related to long term use of meds.
I've been on DILANTIN and PHEONOBARB since 1979.
In 2004 my employer sent me for a NEURO/PSYC test, like Nakamova.
As a result of this test, I found out that I had developed a slight learning disorder and could no longer "multi-task" at my job as an Administrative Supervisor b/c my meds were affecting my job.

My vocabulary (speech especially) has been affected the most as well as my recall.
My Neuorologist calls this "speech arrest".

As a result of my memory loss and speech arrests (I sounded DRUNK all the time) a lot of our clients were complaining and so I was forced in to an early retirement (13 months short of 30 years which really pissed me off) at 47 years old.

As Nakamova said "plain old age can be a contrbuting factor" although at 47 y o I don't think that was that was the case here.

This really SUCKS to have these limitations but it could be worse.

Randy
 
RanMan I am 47 too and I think I've had bad short term memory all my life but long term memory is great. I can remember stuff that happened to me 35 years ago and longer. Short term memory isn't so great, although I think short term memory is called short term because it's not meant for remembering things for a long time.

We have millions, if not billions of things that have happened or been said that go to our short term memory that we'll never remember again because they're not meant to be remembered. I think our brains must be meant to remember things long term that mean the most to us like our friends, family, loved one's, favorite things in life, etc.

That's what we keep with us always, especially when we've lost loved one's, we remember the best things about them. It's kind of like the saying If you love something, let it go, if it's meant to be, it'll come back, if it doesn't, it was never yours. I don't know if that's right but you get the idea.

However, things happen to us that are out of our control that take memories that are meant to last. Perhaps if all of us started a journal to write down our favorite memories or favorite other things, when we forget, we can read them.

Keep a scrapbook of things like concert ticket stubs in a book where you can write next to them your favorite part of that concert, etc.
 
Haha funny you should ask this question. I was going to ask the same one about Keppra. I've choreographed quite a few dances over the years (I teach dance for a hobby). I always seem to remember the dances I choreographed before keppra - but the ones I created after keppra, I forget them! I have to write them down word for word otherwise I can barely recall them. Normally, the music is enough to jog my memory, no notes needed. My memory has been a bit shady in other areas too. I don't know whether age is catching me (I'm nearly 43) or whether it's the Keppra. But aside from that, Keppra has been pretty good.
 
Memory is always something that bugs me, but I recalled more on Keppra or at least I think I did. I know my ability to type and talk wasn't as hindered without meds. Before the first seizure things were way more clear. Hard to tell anymore what it is!
 
I find myself worrying now if I forget something in public, people will notice and wonder. Kind of the same as worrying if I'll have a seizure at any time. I often have the most side illnesses when I'm sick with something else, even something simple as diarrhea, I get that, I become dehydrated, I get dehydrated, I go into kidney failure if it goes on. I had kidney failure second time, I had a seizure two days out of the hospital for that.

Then the brain bleed (probably started bleeding before). I worry about seizures the most when I'm sick. Like now I have a cold and with me, that can turn into something else, luckily it hasn't last two times I had one but I never know. My seizure risk goes up the most when I'm sick with something else and all of it can affect my memory.
 
Off subject for a second. MuayThaiFighter, did you pick your name after the sport? Was curious cause I was seeing what was on TV other night and I saw a Muay Thai fighting match that was on a channel.
 
After being on Carbamazepine for 20 years, I have a great long-term memory but terrible short-term memory. If you ask me what I ate for dinner the night I broke my wrist in 1992, I can tell you down to the dessert. However, what day of the week I saw my dad this week, I would stare at you blankly. My doctor says it has to do with the location of the anomaly in my brain.
 
I would have to say yes my memory is defintely getting worse after the meds. After I was put on the topomax I was getting foggy then I was fine for a bit now it is getting worse. I think it has stopped working and needs to be readjusted. I have not had it adjusted in 3 years.

Tina
 
actually I have a good memory.After I came off Dilantin my memory returned.
The other drugs I've taken have never done anything to my memory.
I've been on The original Tegretol since 1975 and countless other AEDs.
 
Since my head injury years ago my short term memory has never been quite the same anyways but I've noticed since taking Topiramate, my word recall is abysmal! I have to write shopping lists even if I'm buying a few things from the supermarket because I'll forget what I want as soon as I get there. I'll see what happens as soon as I work up to the correct dosage on Lamictal cos right now I'm Zzzzzzz
 
truthfully, during my coma I lost five years of memory, and after I came out of it, i couldn't form new memories for a bit, I would be hard pressed for my memory to get any worse.
 
My memory got a little better after I first started getting seizure control because I wasn't constantly having simple partials and subclinical seizures--my EEG was a mess during that time. But as I kept increasing Topamax it took a nose dive again. I noticed when I levelled off at 150 mg it slowly got a little better, and then when I raised it to 200 it got bad again. Up down up down!!
 
Clearly we are all different in how different meds affect us individually. In my case, I took dilantin and had no memory complaints. After ending that, going with neurontin alone for a year, and then switching now to keppra, I would say my memory is clearly worse. I think it got worse after ending dilantin and then it took another bad turn after starting keppra. For me, I feel like keppra is part of the problem.

I worry because I work as a writer/editor right now, and those details are becoming difficult to stay on top of while taking keppra.
 
My mom has been on Dilantin/ Phenytoin for 40 years. Her memory has declined significantly in the last 3 months and sometimes can't communicate. It is so hard for her. She says she feels dumb and she doesn't want to be in social gatherings because of it.

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