Anyone stop medication because of academic issues/cognitive issues ?

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Hello 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

Comments

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.

Re: medication and academic issues/cognitive issues ?

Submitted by echo on Mon, 2011-10-17 - 10:44

hi Amy, my daughter with BRE, now 8, was on Trileptal for 3 years. She started at 200mg morning & night, and that was eventually increased to 200 morning/300 night. The neuro weaned her off the Trileptal 6 months ago, because her EEG has improved significantly enough, although there is still BRE activity there. She has done ok at school, but has always struggled somewhat with concentration, and I have always felt that her marks do not reflect her smarts, even though she works quite hard (although that's probably the case for many parents!) More to the point, I have to say it seems to me that her performance is the same or perhaps even worse now that she is off the drug. (As I mention in another discussion I started recently in these forums regarding academic problems, I finally have an appointment to talk to her teacher this week, and I will hopefully have a better idea after that about how she is doing.) It is difficult to tell if the Trileptal had any affect, given that she was in the early years of school when she was on it. That is to say, we did not have any previous BRE-free academic performance to compare it to, so I don't know for sure if her struggle to concentrate has been due to the BRE, to the drugs, or is just how she is. However, as I have said, she seems to be doing no better --and is perhaps even doing worse -- now that she has been off the drug for half a year. So if I had to state something definitively, I would say that the Trileptal did not worsen her performance.

stopping meds

Submitted by Kaeli on Mon, 2011-10-17 - 11:25

With certain medications, the "brain fog" can go away, but not all medications. Also, depending on your chilren's seizure types, if it is something that is not life threatening, than I'd say it is better that they get their early childhood education. If they have a type of epilepsy that could lead to brain damage if not controlled, then that is another story. Essentially, if they are having partial seizures; that is annoying (as that is what I have and they SUCK) but they won't hurt you, but if they start having tonic-clonic seizures, then they need to be medicated because that can lead to permanent bran damage due to lack of oxygen to the brain. Even with them not being on medications, I'd keep making appointments with neurologists just to be safe.