Community Forum Archive
The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.
Epilepsy and Memory Loss
Sun, 10/08/2006 - 19:36Comments
Re: Epilepsy and Memory Loss
Submitted by sryates on Tue, 2010-09-07 - 11:48
I know this may not be much help but I was in a bad wreck myself and lead to my epilepsy, I've had it for nearly a month now and already my memory loss and confusion have been growing by the day, it may well be my meds but I know for a fact I have Epilepsy as had a seziure infront of a whole best buy full of people.. They say it takes a long time to find the right meds as the side effects will be diffrent for everyone, I can't go a day without my meds or I have two to three seziures so I won't wrisk that as I hurt myself alot got the marks to prove it.. My advise is pretty simple thou keep a planner, I use a phone easier for me to work with but use what is best for you. Try not to let the little things stress you, I know remebering new things and even some old things or assosations within them becomes harder to remember, I suppose I'm heading down hill a bit faster then most, but we all have to do what we can.
Steve
I know this may not be much help but I was in a bad wreck myself and lead to my epilepsy, I've had it for nearly a month now and already my memory loss and confusion have been growing by the day, it may well be my meds but I know for a fact I have Epilepsy as had a seziure infront of a whole best buy full of people.. They say it takes a long time to find the right meds as the side effects will be diffrent for everyone, I can't go a day without my meds or I have two to three seziures so I won't wrisk that as I hurt myself alot got the marks to prove it.. My advise is pretty simple thou keep a planner, I use a phone easier for me to work with but use what is best for you. Try not to let the little things stress you, I know remebering new things and even some old things or assosations within them becomes harder to remember, I suppose I'm heading down hill a bit faster then most, but we all have to do what we can.
Steve
Re: Epilepsy and Memory Loss
Submitted by just_joe on Fri, 2013-11-08 - 10:31
Terri
I have had epilepsy for 50+ years. I know some people will be saying their memory loss is all due to epilepsy. I also know that there are meny things which can cause memory loss. Medications can do it in SOME people. I am talking about medications and not just AED's. My memory comes and goes at times but I atribute that ti age. My memory is just as good now as it was when I was young. Back then I had to write a Thesis. I had moved from one state to another and the state I was in never called anything a thesis. I heard report or essay.I turned in a thesis whit what it was to have been on followed by blank pages. The next day the teacher asked me to stay after class. When I told her my issue she started asking questions. With each question she asked where I got the information. I gave her the took name page and paragraph. Sfter he had asked the questions I was released and I went about my business, The next day she held up my thesis with a grade on it and passed it around the class so the other students could see all the blank pages. They had questions becasue the grade was a A/B. She explined that she had asked the questions and had written down what I had said and she had written the page used for looking up the information. She then read what she had heard. In many ways I still have a good memory but now and then I might forget something but later it comes back.
Think about medications I was taking phenobarb and dilantin at age 12. The first time I took dilantin I had something wierd happen. My equilerium go wacky. I was taken off it for a week. After starting it again I had no problems. I was on dilantin for over 30 years. I started losing my equilimruim. I didn't know why but it came and went for days. I started thinking and it hit me. The feelings and things happening were exactly what was going on when I was 12. Doc and I lowered the doasge and I set up an appointment at the hospital in Lubbuck. During the visit they ran blood tests. My problem was deffinately the dilantin. After being on it for 30+years I it was toxic levels. They changes my medications. I still have seizures but with the new medications that are created for types of seizures they do not drug the entire central nervious system down so they should help stop seizures and you can still do things better and not walk around like a zombie.
As I stated earlier there anr many things that cause memory loss medications are some of them and those can even be OTC drugs. The older you get the more loss there is but it is there. I can still remember things that happened when I was a kid. Like being hollered at when a storm was there. Hey it was raining and it was only on 1 side of the streetno rain on the side I was on. there are many things I remember that after saying something when Mm was here it triggered her memory. She is now 83 but she had not thought of many of those things but they are trapped in our brains. All we have to do is trigger them and there are doctors working on that as we post.
Terri
I have had epilepsy for 50+ years. I know some people will be saying their memory loss is all due to epilepsy. I also know that there are meny things which can cause memory loss. Medications can do it in SOME people. I am talking about medications and not just AED's. My memory comes and goes at times but I atribute that ti age. My memory is just as good now as it was when I was young. Back then I had to write a Thesis. I had moved from one state to another and the state I was in never called anything a thesis. I heard report or essay.I turned in a thesis whit what it was to have been on followed by blank pages. The next day the teacher asked me to stay after class. When I told her my issue she started asking questions. With each question she asked where I got the information. I gave her the took name page and paragraph. Sfter he had asked the questions I was released and I went about my business, The next day she held up my thesis with a grade on it and passed it around the class so the other students could see all the blank pages. They had questions becasue the grade was a A/B. She explined that she had asked the questions and had written down what I had said and she had written the page used for looking up the information. She then read what she had heard. In many ways I still have a good memory but now and then I might forget something but later it comes back.
Think about medications I was taking phenobarb and dilantin at age 12. The first time I took dilantin I had something wierd happen. My equilerium go wacky. I was taken off it for a week. After starting it again I had no problems. I was on dilantin for over 30 years. I started losing my equilimruim. I didn't know why but it came and went for days. I started thinking and it hit me. The feelings and things happening were exactly what was going on when I was 12. Doc and I lowered the doasge and I set up an appointment at the hospital in Lubbuck. During the visit they ran blood tests. My problem was deffinately the dilantin. After being on it for 30+years I it was toxic levels. They changes my medications. I still have seizures but with the new medications that are created for types of seizures they do not drug the entire central nervious system down so they should help stop seizures and you can still do things better and not walk around like a zombie.
As I stated earlier there anr many things that cause memory loss medications are some of them and those can even be OTC drugs. The older you get the more loss there is but it is there. I can still remember things that happened when I was a kid. Like being hollered at when a storm was there. Hey it was raining and it was only on 1 side of the streetno rain on the side I was on. there are many things I remember that after saying something when Mm was here it triggered her memory. She is now 83 but she had not thought of many of those things but they are trapped in our brains. All we have to do is trigger them and there are doctors working on that as we post.
Re: Epilepsy and Memory Loss
Submitted by Clarasmommy08 on Wed, 2009-12-30 - 04:24
I feel ya there. I have horrible horrible horrible memory loss due to my seizures. My memory loss was fairly normal until this past june when they performed an EEG on me, and i ended up having a bad seizure.. ever since then my memory has been ****. I haven't really understand how to help myself yet. Other then having people remind me. Good luck