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Anyone stop medication because of academic issues/cognitive issues ?
Mon, 09/19/2011 - 21:45Hello All...I have 9 year old triplets, 2 of them have been diagnosed with benign rolandic epilepsy. They both take 300mg of Trileptal 2x's a day. We have noticed a sharp decline in their cognitive abilities...they were once very bright and gifted students...today they struggle with subtraction...one of them seems to be living in a literal fog. Both are at risk for not passing this school year and being help back ( would have been last year, but we were at a private school ). They were doing very well until the seizures and medication started. We had some preliminary testing done this past Summer, and are looking at the possibilites of some severe processing disorders that is severely hampering academic progress. We go tomorrow for a check up with their neurologist, and we are going to ask about going completely med free. I fear what will happen, will they have more seizures ?? I'd love to hear about any experiences with this.
Amy
Anyone stop medication because of academic/cognitive issues?
Submitted by hnubtshiab on Tue, 2011-09-27 - 17:16
I was on Tegretol and Trileptal when I was in high school. I took Trileptal for about two years in undergrad and then stopped taking them. I didn't stop because of the medication but because I hated being controlled by seizures. That's all for another day though. I am back on medication. I took Keppra for about a year but it didn't control my seizures. I am now on lamotrogine and have been on it since the beginning of this year. I am in law school and am performing decently. I would like to do better but that's not the fault of the medication.
The lamotrogine sometimes affects my visual focus so it's difficult for me to read because I'm basically cross-eyed. Changing my routine though has help with that side-effect.
My memory is shoddy but I'm not sure if that's just a part of me or if it's a result of the medication.
Other than that I don't believe the medications have caused cognitive issues. I graduated college with honors and am now finishing up law school so hopefully this attests to something. Of course the effects differ for each individual but hopefully this helps some.
I was on Tegretol and Trileptal when I was in high school. I took Trileptal for about two years in undergrad and then stopped taking them. I didn't stop because of the medication but because I hated being controlled by seizures. That's all for another day though. I am back on medication. I took Keppra for about a year but it didn't control my seizures. I am now on lamotrogine and have been on it since the beginning of this year. I am in law school and am performing decently. I would like to do better but that's not the fault of the medication.
The lamotrogine sometimes affects my visual focus so it's difficult for me to read because I'm basically cross-eyed. Changing my routine though has help with that side-effect.
My memory is shoddy but I'm not sure if that's just a part of me or if it's a result of the medication.
Other than that I don't believe the medications have caused cognitive issues. I graduated college with honors and am now finishing up law school so hopefully this attests to something. Of course the effects differ for each individual but hopefully this helps some.