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Epilepsy and Memory
Tue, 04/05/2005 - 21:21I have to do a paper for my Cognitive Psychology class and the topic I wanted to do was "The Effects Epilepsy Has On Memory".
My youngest sister has suffered from epilepsy since she was 6yrs old and has gotten to the point where she cannot (or will not) recall any of our childhood 'good' memories. I was just wondering if anyone has had/or has similiar experiences or knows someone who seems to have problems with thier memory.
Would really appreciate it.
Thank you,
Michelle
RE: Epilepsy and Memory
Submitted by jmmjmm1 on Sun, 2005-04-03 - 12:59
Sounds like you are a relatively educated woman, Michelle. Grad degree, perhaps? I was working on my MD degree within 2 years of completing it when I began to notice, without a doubt, significant cognitive impairment due to my JME. I was in academic jeopardy so far that the med school threatened to throw me out but I quit before they did that becaue I knew I could never get into another with an expulsion on my record.
That was 2 years ago. I lost my job on Friday April 1, 2005, too. Similar effects. Only I was able to recognize what was happening to me. I was having too many absence seizures. And my bosses refused to see that the things they fired me over were really the results of my seizures.
They say absence epilepsy is benign. I disagree. Your brain is de-oxygenated for breif periods-- how can you not lose brain cells over time? I have had E since I was 13 and I am 26 now. And I have hundreds of bursts in a day-- thats a whole lotta life I get to miss out on. So perhaps it is not specifically memory loss, just that I never really experienced it in the first place, in my case. (Absence seizures are when people do not lose consiousness but awareness.)
I was once an honors student and I had a full paid college scholarship which I used to finish a BS in Biology with a minor in Chemisty. I had decided since I was seven that I was going to be a doctor, but instead I became someone who tumbled down an imaginary spiral to a point which I could not even read. Luckily I have a genius IQ and neuropsych testing implies that I easily compensate. Its getting harder as I get older to do that, though, now that I am not in school and out in the world. I should operate on the level of someone with an IQ of mental retardation, according to my docs and their fancy tests. But I don't, which amazes them every time. But you can't imagine how terribly pathetic it is to see me in mid-seizure. And when I am so disappointed when they are comfortable with seeing me in a role as a secretary or a nursing assistant, when I was supposed to be the doctor. Its a constant struggle I have not come to grips with yet.
And I lost life memories, but they pop out now and then. It helps so much when friends and family cue me about stuff. Like, "remember that time at aunt so and so's when we...?" or something like that. It comes back. Lots of stuff I learned in school feels buried. I had 8 years of formal French education and I can not really speak English very well any more, not to mention expensive French education. But it has saved me a few times, especially in travelling, even if it was fragmented speech.
In case you are wondering, I was on Tegretol for 10 years, which exacerbated my condition-- you should never place a patient with absence seizures on Tegretol, according to the FDA. Inserts and PDR state so. This worsened my condition. Things might not be so bad for me if it were not for the medication error. But things really are not as bad as they could be, since I mentioned I can compensate, too. So I do consider myself a really lucky person. After all, I am educated and I can get a really good job with good health compensation, unlike lots of folks with E. Thats a tough battle in itself.
I hope this helps you in your paper and if you have any more questions, please feel free to reply. I have done some looking into cognitive effects, myself and might be able to help you a little more. I am not sure exactly what you are looking for, though. Just reply! And thanks for helping taking care of your sis. She is lucky to have your support-- the fact you are doing a paper on her illness shows you care!
Jamie
Sounds like you are a relatively educated woman, Michelle. Grad degree, perhaps? I was working on my MD degree within 2 years of completing it when I began to notice, without a doubt, significant cognitive impairment due to my JME. I was in academic jeopardy so far that the med school threatened to throw me out but I quit before they did that becaue I knew I could never get into another with an expulsion on my record.
That was 2 years ago. I lost my job on Friday April 1, 2005, too. Similar effects. Only I was able to recognize what was happening to me. I was having too many absence seizures. And my bosses refused to see that the things they fired me over were really the results of my seizures.
They say absence epilepsy is benign. I disagree. Your brain is de-oxygenated for breif periods-- how can you not lose brain cells over time? I have had E since I was 13 and I am 26 now. And I have hundreds of bursts in a day-- thats a whole lotta life I get to miss out on. So perhaps it is not specifically memory loss, just that I never really experienced it in the first place, in my case. (Absence seizures are when people do not lose consiousness but awareness.)
I was once an honors student and I had a full paid college scholarship which I used to finish a BS in Biology with a minor in Chemisty. I had decided since I was seven that I was going to be a doctor, but instead I became someone who tumbled down an imaginary spiral to a point which I could not even read. Luckily I have a genius IQ and neuropsych testing implies that I easily compensate. Its getting harder as I get older to do that, though, now that I am not in school and out in the world. I should operate on the level of someone with an IQ of mental retardation, according to my docs and their fancy tests. But I don't, which amazes them every time. But you can't imagine how terribly pathetic it is to see me in mid-seizure. And when I am so disappointed when they are comfortable with seeing me in a role as a secretary or a nursing assistant, when I was supposed to be the doctor. Its a constant struggle I have not come to grips with yet.
And I lost life memories, but they pop out now and then. It helps so much when friends and family cue me about stuff. Like, "remember that time at aunt so and so's when we...?" or something like that. It comes back. Lots of stuff I learned in school feels buried. I had 8 years of formal French education and I can not really speak English very well any more, not to mention expensive French education. But it has saved me a few times, especially in travelling, even if it was fragmented speech.
In case you are wondering, I was on Tegretol for 10 years, which exacerbated my condition-- you should never place a patient with absence seizures on Tegretol, according to the FDA. Inserts and PDR state so. This worsened my condition. Things might not be so bad for me if it were not for the medication error. But things really are not as bad as they could be, since I mentioned I can compensate, too. So I do consider myself a really lucky person. After all, I am educated and I can get a really good job with good health compensation, unlike lots of folks with E. Thats a tough battle in itself.
I hope this helps you in your paper and if you have any more questions, please feel free to reply. I have done some looking into cognitive effects, myself and might be able to help you a little more. I am not sure exactly what you are looking for, though. Just reply! And thanks for helping taking care of your sis. She is lucky to have your support-- the fact you are doing a paper on her illness shows you care!
Jamie