[Ms manic]

Can long term use of lamotrigine / lamictal cause memory loss? Ten years plus and I'm starting to think I have dementia.

[bizi]

Have you talked to your psychiatrist? I think that you may have good results talking with a pharmacist too. You can ask to be evaluated by a neuropsychologist. They can tell you if you have any dementia. Your general practioner can refer you to one.
I am sorry that your memory has been effected so much....mine has been over the years but started before I was put on the lamictal. So I can't blame that. I have been fairly stable(still have periodic breakthru mania at times). I am BP1 so I run pretty high normally.
keep posting we are listening.
bizi

[Mari]

Hi,

Lamictal can cause impaired cognition. You can talk to your psychiatrist about reducing the amount or switching to another medication for you.

Mari

[Dmom3005]

My son had some problems with memory loss on lamictal. He has /had
seizures. And had been on lamictal along with two other medications
for many years. As we took him off lamictal, which was maxed his
memory started to get better.

But he never has gotten completely better.

Donna

[Ms manic]

Thanks. It's been years since I've seen a psychiatrist. I suspect that mine has retired. Lamictal worked so well for so long that I dropped off the radar. If it was just day to day living I wouldn't be sweating the memory loss - price well paid if you know what I mean - but I soon may be unable to do my job. I'm young (50) for other diagnosis but twenty years of meds can wreck your brain and I took every drug available before we found lamictal. I'm bp2 so it won't take long to find out what cutting back will do.

[Ms manic]

I'm wondering about b12 deficiency too. Will see doc and ask. Probably grasping at straws. I need to keep things in perspective. Being stupid is pretty small potatoes compared to what many folks deal with.

[Mari]

Dear Ms. Manic,

Do not diminish what you are going through or compare yourself to others. You have valid concerns and dealing with cognition problems counts as big potatoes.

I hope that your doctor can help you and provide answers.

M

[Dmom3005]

Dear Ms. Manic

Mari, is so right. And please keep talking to us. You are very welcome here.
And we really want to be here for you.

Donna

[Ms manic]

VENT:
I'm gunshy about doctors. A few years ago a pdoc added seroquel to my lamictal. Within a month my normal brain function was gone and I started tripping all the time. Within three months I'd had a fall resulting in surgery and was melting down over being stupid at work. I was an emotional train wreck and I was drama queen venting to him - not the patient he was used to seeing. I couldn't problem solve well enough to make the seroquel connection and my pdoc didn't bother. About a year later (by this time I'm tripping at least once a week) I do my own research and find out that Seroquel can cause imbalance. Weaned myself off and I haven't fallen since. Most of the foggy thinking went away but it's been two years off it now and my brain never has completely returned to the way it was before the seroquel. I can do my job and do it well but I'm slow and it frustrates me to have to keep going to get things I've forgotten.
The guy:
- gave me a medication that made me ill (honest mistake - psych meds are a crapshoot as we all know)
- didn't question why his normally stable patient was an emotional wreck
- didn't question a bad fall taken while on a new med
- never noticed how stupid I was getting.
My gp renews the lamictal prescription and I think I'll keep it that way for awhile. The worst result of all this is that my professional self confidence is gone. My brain gets slowly better all the time but I despair of ever completely recovering. I went from being a respected professional, one of the key players, to being the worker who gets the job done but is seen as merely competent.
Be wary of doctors.
END OF VENT

[waves]

Dear Ms Manic

I feel so badly for what happened to you.

I am used to "doing the arithmetic" myself when i have side effects, hmmm, added this.... could be that... not likely to be the other... etc.... and when i added topiramate this summer and it made me incredibly stupid for while (just an adjustment period - and i wasn't working). But i couldn't figure left from right, i could hold thoughts straight. i wanted to travel to the past so i could talk to an "old version" of myself that could still think. my neuro was away, my pdoc was for a while and i was literally in tears from feeling like i had to choose between migraines and being really stupid.

i can't believe your ordeal went on so long, and that your doc was so unresponsive. it is hard when we are too messed up to articulate well what our problems are. I am glad to hear you finally figured it out and are recovering!

I wonder if you have a therapist you can talk to. Might help you regain the self-confidence. Now that won't change the lamictal-memory issues, but regarding the Seroquel oddities i mean. After that ordeal the low self-confidence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy as far as what you can achieve. If you believe you are still a bit muddled up, you might try seeing a neuropsychologist for testing... they may also be able to provide exercises for you to do to help you recover your abilities.

I wish you the very best. And btw, are you taking lamictal brand, or a generic, and how much? A lower dose might be effective... also i had nasty side effects from a generic that i did not have from brand. not memory but... i don't trust any generics where lamictal is concerned.

take care and *WELCOME* to the forum!

~ waves ~