Please Read... Tablets and Thinking/Memory Loss?

Does your tablets cause mind problems?

  • Yes

    Votes: 25 69.4%

  • No

    Votes: 11 30.6%
  • Total voters
    36

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Deb12345

Deb12345

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Hello all :)

I haven't been on here for sometime but am getting very worried about my mind in general. :( I call my brain at present brain-dead because I find it very hard to think of things/concentrate and finding new challenges at work difficult, even though I know they are simple tasks. Even thinking of words (even for talking), spelling etc is hard. Plus tired. I am getting worried it could be down to the tablets I am on. I've been on Lamotrigine (200mg) since 2009 and Citalopram (20mg) for 10 years, though more like 8 and half because I came off them for a year and bit but put back on them when developed epilepsy out of the blue in 2009. I haven't had a Tonic Clonic seizure since 2009. Luckily for me they found the correct tablet, Lamotrigine nearly straight away which has prevented me from having them. I still get the odd aura (simple partial seizure).

Has anyone else developed mind failure whilst on tablets?

I am also thinking it could be down to a mixture of things i.e. past serious depression, anxiety since I can remember, worrying, epileptic. Maybe even hormones. I have no idea but getting concerned and appears that the hospital I attend has forgotten about me. Grrh!!! People may say come off the tablets but its easier said than done. If I forget to take my Citalopram at a certain time of day, boy my body tells me. Do other people get the same feeling? I am frightened/terrified that coming off or reducing my tablets will trigger off my epileptic Tonic Clonic seizures again. They were horrible. :( I also suffered Psychosis after one fit. Think that's the correct name.

Sorry I seem to be going on. Any reassurance/advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Debbie :)
 
Hi Deb --

Like you I'm on Lamotrigine and it's controlled my tonic-clonic seizures for a number of years. I haven't experienced too many cognitive issues with Lamotrigine, but I have noticed that it can be hard to maintain focus in a conversation, particularly when I'm tired.

If you think your medications are causing side effects that are becoming problematic, get in touch with your neurologist to find out what your options are. You might be able to slightly reduce your dose, or try a different medication altogether.

You should ask about having a neuropsych evaluation done. It's a set of memory-related cognitive tests that can help to measure brain function. The neuropsychiatrist may be able to tell which areas of the brain are affected, and may also be able to get a sense of what the primary cause of the problems could be (i.e. meds vs deporession vs seizure damage).
 
Thank you both for your replies. It’s nice to be able to talk to people who understand. I can’t say I’ve heard of Neuropsych Evaluation before but sounds good. :p

The only problem I have is getting in touch with a proper neurologist again. I used to be under two hospitals, City Hospital and Q.E. mainly because I had a bad spell of Psychosis a week after having a big seizure. Very frightening. City hospital took me off their list because they knew the Q.E. was so called better for this kind of thing. Well I saw a lovely lady neurologist Dr Mo at the Q.E. for around a year. Then she moved to a different department and not long after, went on maternity leave, so never saw her again. A year passed on by and I had seen no one so got in touch with the hospital who said, “We do apologise, we are just in the process of getting round to contacting everyone who saw Dr Mo”. This was a year on!!! :eek: They eventually made me an appointment but never got to see the neurologist who I was meant to see because she was on an emergency call out, so saw someone else from the office who didn’t really have much of an idea about i.e. epilepsy. That again was a year ago and as of today heard nothing since. I am not very happy with them. The thing is, I really want to see the top guy at City Hospital again because he definitely knew his stuff but not sure how I go about doing this when I’m not on their books as such. My normal doctor is rubbish so no point in asking her to get in touch with him. Grrh I’m frustrated. :mad: Probably guessed that. lol Didn’t mean to type an essay. :?

Cint, I will have a proper nose at the link. :)

Thanks again for your replies (and having to read the above. lol)
Kind Regards
Debbie
 
Have you ever tried writing things down and reading them over and over.
That might help with memory I use it to remember things I have to learn in short time.
Other than that my memory is good.
 
I was diagnosed with grand-mals in '05. No cause has bben found but I have been doing reserch and I think that It may be associated with the breast audmentation I had in '03. I also have pectus excavatum, where the sternun is sunken in, I had it repaired, or so we thought when I was 6. I spoke with a few surgeons and found out that females with that condition have little or no breast on the right my prob, (I know TMI) but tht was my reason for getting them. Noe I have epilepsy, and fibromyalgia. Could it all be auto-immune related? Anyway, After each seizure, my short term memory is effected for quite some time, as is mt ability to concentrate. Even just on the meds I have problems. My previous neurologist, insurance changes dictated who I could see, suggested that I get a ninetendo ds game device and get any games that have puzzles and brain teasers in them. One of the games I got was brain age 1 and 2. It tests your "brain age" against your chronological brain age. When I started my brain was 77 and at the end of the month it was 24. I found that my memory was better, as was my cognititive skills and concentration. It's worth a shot. I've never tried that luminosity, but it sounds like it is based on the same principles as the brain age games that wer designed by a neuroscientist. Crosswords help too, I attempted sudokoo and lit the paper on fire, not my thing. Hope I"ve helped
 
I found when I was taking Tegretol it felt like everything was in slow motion, I had real trouble talking because I couldn't think of which words I wanted to say and my memory was absolutely horrific. Now that I'm on Lamactal I find that I still have a terrible memory, but I think thats just the E in general, its just not as bad as it was on Tegretol. Also you know that feeling where you go from one room to another but you can't remember why you went in there, I get that all the time except with talking, I will be halfway through a sentence and completely forget what I was saying. I should probably add though that my neuro suspects my E is caused by traumatic brain injury so some of that probably accounts for it too.
 
I have poor short term memory although I am not sure if it is from my meds, lamictal and Keppra or the seizures. My doctor has not been very helpfull saying there should be no long term effects. I love to make to do lists to deal with memory issues but sometimes forget where they are, lol.
 
Wow....this topic is right down my alley! Just trying to read the first post was hard. Yes, I've been losing the ability to read and focus on topics, (memory). I had a serious car accident and am also on pain meds, plus my E meds. I think we have a problem here!

What ever though. I'm just happy to be alive and loving it! :woot:
 
I am on Lamotrigine, 300mgs a day, and I'm on a low dose of Crestor which apparently has memory issues as a side effect. I was walking to the gym yesterday with a guy is in my circuit training group. I introduced myself as I didn't know his name and he told me his name. I glanced towards him about 30 seconds after he told me his name as we walked and I didn't have a clue what he told me. Almost too embrassed to ask him again. I have to ask people I see everyday what their name is until I somehow get it memorized. Daily interaction that is more regular easier. Daily interaction that is sporadic is not very good.
 
When I was talking to my wife yesterday and I told her a few stories about my memory issues she told me I needed a pill container. I take one 150mg tablet of lamotrigine in the morning and one 150mg tablet of lamotrigine and crestor in the evening. I have had times were I took my medication and less then five minutes later forgot that I took it. Sometimes I go to take it and completely forget after leaving the bathroom where my pills are if I even took it. I can't take it in case I'm doubling my dose by accident. Pretty bad when you only take one pill in the morning and two in the evening and you doubt yourself with regard to if you actually took it.
 
Hi Debs, it might be worth seeing if you can be referred to a neuropsychologist. I'm also in the UK and my neurologist sent me to one a couple of years ago, it was certainly enlightening. In my case, the neuropsychologist believes it is the seizures rather than the medication which affects my memory and concentration.

I'm not sure whereabouts in the UK you're based, but it's best to ask about a neuropsych asap if you think it will benefit you, since their waiting lists can be huge (took me over two years i think to actually see one, maybe closer to 3 years).

I did notice when i was on lamotrigene - way before i had the cognitive appointments - it caused me to be really "slow" in my thinking, it was like a permanent fog. If it's controlling your seizures though it may be worth sticking with it.

So... yeah have a word with your neuro, or your epilepsy nurse if you have one, and see if they can refer you.
 
I'm on 400mg/daily of both Topamax & Vimpat. Both of them are known to cause memory issues/loss. Topamax is well known for "word-loss" problems. On the other site I had been on, we called it 'Dopamax'. There are often times when I can literally see what I want to say in my mind, as if its on paper, but can't get my brain & mouth to connect.
 
Not everyone gets these side effects of the drugs.
I took vimpat I didn't get any side effect s like that I ended up with allergic reaction.

I take Topamax in the beginning I had problems and I've taken it since 2004.

side effects go away with me after 2-4 weeks.
 
Meds to improve memory that the holy grail.that and cure for cancer.....the poor memory is most debilitating thing there is you have have to know it to understand it,people just say anyone can forget things but sort of memory I have and suspect others on here have is very different,it cause me tears every week.I even thought there entity in my house moving things about.I even got God person come to cleanse it but of course that load of twaddle but you get desperate.I Personly don't know how much more I can take it becoming such liability I even bforget simple spelling.Took me months to rember my phone number and my mob phone I had same number nearly 20years but no rember number
 
seagull said:
Meds to improve memory that the holy grail.that and cure for cancer.....the poor memory is most debilitating thing there is you have have to know it to understand it,people just say anyone can forget things but sort of memory I have and suspect others on here have is very different,it cause me tears every week.I even thought there entity in my house moving things about.I even got God person come to cleanse it but of course that load of twaddle but you get desperate.I Personly don't know how much more I can take it becoming such liability I even bforget simple spelling.Took me months to rember my phone number and my mob phone I had same number nearly 20years but no rember number
Click to expand...
On the advice of my wife I'm going to get a simple pill case for am and pm. I take one pill in the morning and two in the evening. There are days I absolutely can't remember if I took them. Do I take it or not take it? If I don't take and didn't to start with then it's a missed dose. If I do take because I doubt the fact I took it then I'm doubling up the dose. What's worse, missing a dose or doubling up on a dose? I don't want to do either really.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
I have had Epilepsy 40 years now , think I have been on every med. I had a stroke during status epilepticus because of an infection in my brain. Sometimes people with epilepsy just start losing there memory.My son has epilepsy to and I was in my coma about 15 years ago I totally lost my memory. So what I did was take a meditation class that my insurance paid for, and used my son's computer games to learn all over again. Like the bones in the body, the states and capitals. Focus cards. My son and I did it together. Even playing a family game anyone you like. And get a pill box . They have them in AM ,noon,Evening and bedtime.Taking fish oil Vitaman D And are all good for you and your energy and thinking. And a sleep neurosyche is very important. Teresa
 
I actually did get a pill box today. It seems almost silly with so few pills at this point. I said to my pharmacist what if one day I missed a dose or two and the next day I'm doubling up due to doubting myself. What a recipe for something to go wrong.

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Yea! No it isn't! Because now you can add your vitamins instead! Like B12, Fish oil, or krill oil, vitamin D. Good Job!
 
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