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Word recovery and speach

Fri, 05/18/2007 - 20:37
I am taking Lamotrigine for my E and was wondering if anyone out there taking the same meds has had problems with speach. I seem to have difficulty verbalizing my thoughts even though they are straight in my head. Sometimes I also have difficulty recalling words (i.e. I see a dog, know what it is but cannot remember it's called a dog)

Comments

Re: Word recovery and speech

Submitted by kdiamondidis on Wed, 2009-11-18 - 14:51
At first, I thought it was the Topamax, but I went off it for awhile and still had the problem.  I believe it is actually an effect of the epilepsy.  I joined Mensa when I was 21, but didn't develop epilepsy until age 30.  The word-finding difficulty makes me feel like an imbecile when I cannot carry on a simple conversation because I can't find the right word.  And I also do the rambling-on thing when I talk.  It has also affected my memory.  There are chunks of time that have completely escaped me - my family will talk about something that happened several years ago and I don't have any recollection of it whatsoever.  Sadly, it includes parts of my children's lives.  And sometimes I can't remember how to write a letter in cursive or how to spell, even though spelling was always my forte.

Re: Word recovery and speach

Submitted by tonialpha on Wed, 2009-11-18 - 15:45

I think everyone has explained it perfectly!  It took me 15 years before I went to a doctor or take medications, I had trouble w/ word and speech pre-ictal , ictal  or post-ictal .  When I took medication my word recovery and speech and the duration was definitely shorter. 

When I was in college I had deja-vu seizures alot.  Whenever my family would drive in certain areas.  The deja-vu would go!  That started in my late teens to early 30's.  My auras changed my old auras, stayed, too.       

 

I think everyone has explained it perfectly!  It took me 15 years before I went to a doctor or take medications, I had trouble w/ word and speech pre-ictal , ictal  or post-ictal .  When I took medication my word recovery and speech and the duration was definitely shorter. 

When I was in college I had deja-vu seizures alot.  Whenever my family would drive in certain areas.  The deja-vu would go!  That started in my late teens to early 30's.  My auras changed my old auras, stayed, too.       

 

Re: Word recovery and speach

Submitted by coopernicus on Sat, 2007-05-19 - 01:27
Hi Biogal- I am not on meds and have this experience periodically. I have tle and my seizures affect my memory (deja vu and short term memory problems)and cause spaciness. These things come and go when I am tired and/or stressed, or have my period. The difficulty verbalizing thoughts is so embarassing. I'll be in a meeting and have something great to contribute, but I won't be able to get it out in order. The thought comes out in pieces. Then I feel like I am rambling on in hopes that my thought will be understood. I always feel like saying that I really am an eloquent speaker as long as I don't open my mouth ;) It really is a drag. That is why I enjoy writing. Did you experience this at all before the medication? What type of seizures do you have? -Coopernicus

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