New - Canuck needs help!
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UPDATED: Sun, 03/23/2008 - 4:47pm
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pdremes
seizure drugs interference with thinking clearly
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My daughter, 19, is a college student with a part-time job. First diagnosed with seizure disorder at age 9, she was seizure free on Lamictal for 7 years. At age 17 she took herself off the Lamictal and a year and a half later had a grand mal seizure in her sleep. Since then ( a month ago ) She's had 2 more seizures. Her doctor prescribed Keppra and then changed to Topamax. We are now back on Keppra. The problem: she is extremely upset and frustrated because she says she "can't think", read well, or retain anything that she reads. She is rebelling against meds because she thinks she will flunk out of college. Of course, she has to take them to drive! Any thoughts on this?
By pdremes at Sun, 03/23/2008 - 4:47pm | 160 views | 11 comments
Topic: Medication Issues
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Recent Comments on this Discussion
Topamax was the worst drug for my daughter because when she reached a high enough dose to reduce her seizures, she could not remember 3 or 4 numbers in a row! She is on lamictal and keppra now. Good luck! My daughter is in high school, had epilepsy surgery last year which really improved her life.
Hello, I would very much like to talk with you or your daughter, or others with this problem. I'm 25, have been on medication since I was 16 and have been fighting my way through college for 7 years in which I still have not even achived an associetes degree. This topic is very interesting to me since I recently was in human anatomy and by some mericle found I got a D in the class. Each week I tried to memorize for quizzes, working harder then some others to get less then 50% on the majority of my quizzes. It is so hard for me to read and then comprehend material I feel it is a waste of money to buy the book, not sure if anyone can relate to this. I take 4000 Keppra, 600 Lyrica and 400 Lamictal.
Some brain fogs can be put down to been prescribed a to higher dose of any AED. Then again some can be put down to a person reacting to any (or group of) AED's. Some brain fogs can dissapate after a short while and maybe come back for a short while with any increase in dosage. If the problem persists whilst the person is on a or a group of AED's then trace it back to when it started to when a new or add on AED was introduced. Inform the Nuero about the problems and what might be causing it and work from there. Also point out that the problem has to be addressed as it is causing undue stress which is a factor in causing episodes.
Hope your daughter gets good results!
The 'brain fog' on Keppra is supposed to dissapate in 3 to 4 weeks. I never got that far with it due to the rather extreme side effects that I had including all of the symptoms you describe.
I refused to continue with the Keppra after a trip to the ER and my neurologist just raised my Lamictial dosage which I tolerate quite well.
If she stops with the medication or is unsure if it is working, do NOT drive. I have had an accident due to a breakthrough seizure with Lamictial after having been seizure free for a year or so.
I agree that almost any seizure drug can cause "brain fog" but some are much worse than others. My worst was Dilantin, but Depakote was pretty bad too. I liked Lamictal, very few side effects, but I had too many break through seizures for my taste. I'm on Keppra now and I have good days and bad days, mostly good luckily. Everyone's body deals with each med differently. I got through college on Depakote but I slept a lot and was so darned determined to not make epilepsy an inhibitor to the life I wanted to live I made it through it. If she can schedule her classes for her best times of days and plan on taking classes during the summers-- then if she has to drop a class or two here or there she could still get done in a normal amount of time. Also, I was lucky enough to have an on-campus job I could only work 8 hrs per week, they were very flexible and understanding and that made life easier. Good Luck!
With my wife, it was Depakote that turned her into a zombie/vegetable. I think all the AEDs out there have the potential for "brain fog" as a side effect.
Vitamin B6 supplements are reported to help with the KepRAGE side effect, but I haven't heard if it helps with brain fog too.
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Check out my chart of alternative epilepsy treatments.
wow she went from topamax to keppra and she thinks keppras worse!
i can actually think on keppra. Topamax made me the most retarded person ever!lol
i couldnt spell! lol.
but i feel her pain ..when i read things i have to read them about 3 times just to remember or understand what ive read.
I guess..well i would just stick it out. taking extra time to read and write things over takes work but its better than having seizures....or NOT driving and relying on other people.
i go to college aswell and i just carry around a tape recorder and play things back if i do not remember them. not only does it help me it helps out my class mates aswell.
Goodluck!
Hello, my name is Laurie and I have had epilepsy for 14 years. I was previously on Topamax for a short period of time( due to the fact that it caused me to have hallucinations). I have been on Keppra for two years now. I have found that it has lessened the severity of my seizures without any bad side effects. I do, however, have memory loss and a hard time concentrating when I read or when I am in conversation. I sometimes feel that my responses during a conversation are limited to things like "oh yeah", or "uh huh". I have to really concentrate hard to give actual input when talking to others. Sometimes I feel like very "simple minded" compared to the people around me. However, I believe that this is due to the damage from the actual seizures themselves rather than the medication. My doctors have told me that every time you have a seizure it causes more damage to the part of the brain that the seizures originate. I know that it really sucks to feel like you have the memory of an elderly person sometimes. I have a hard time remembering things that happened the day before. It is also very frustraing for my family to see me go through this. Hopefully, for your daughter, maybe a different medication will work better for her. But you need to take into consideration that it might be the actual seizures causing the memory loss also. I wish the best for your daughter and hope she is able to work through this.
I can really relate to a lot of what people are talking about here. Like sometimes I think it is the medication and sometimes I am not sure. I don't know a lot about all of this. I had a gran mal seizure about 6 weeks ago and was told that the feeling I had before the seizure was an aura and since I had had the feeling lots of times for the past 18 years, well I guess I have been really having siezures that didn't generalize. I'm really confused. I have been reading a lot on this web site and learning a lot, but I still have so many questions and I am not sure how to find the answers.
I have been on Keppra for 5 weeks now. I haven't had any siezures or auras or anything, but I sure feel weird some (most) of the time. I can't really talk right anymore. And I can't think clearly most of the time either. Some days are better than others. I have had some really good days where I feel almost normal (whatever that means) and like myself. And I have had some really wierd days, some really off days and some pretty bad days, too.
I feel really lucky to have had my big seizure in a safe place and not to get hurt or anything. And I am relieved to have the doctors find that there is nothing really wrong with me. But still, I don't think I will ever have my old life back. And I now think I know why I have always had memory problems. I mean if I have been having seizures all this time, it really does explain a lot. Like why I can go on vacation with my husband and he remembers things that we did and places we went, and I just don't. Its like I wasn't even there some of the time.
How do you people get those pictures by your names?
Thank you for your comment. I was having a hell of a time w/ my vision and recall yesterday. I had a flurry of seizures and I wanted someone to do something. Maybe blame it on something. I knew I needed to sleep. After having seizures I have a bad trouble w./ recall. It is not the medication. I have been on Keppra for 4 years and my seizures are a challenge to handle. I also take Zonegran and Klonopin and for flurries I take liquid Valium. I also have a Vagal Nerve Stimulator. My recall and memory are good somedays and terrible the next. It depends on my seizure threshhold. I have had 2 brain surgeries. I can keep up w/ a lot of people that do not have seizures. It's when the seizures start kicking in, my recall is bad, my speech is bad. I wanted to blame the meds. The blood levels have been normal. The doctor told me. It is the seizure activity. Being a Neurodiagnostic tech and seeing the EEG. I can see what he is saying. I am surprised I can think. The discharges were continual on each page, except when I was in third stage sleep.
When you first start taking a medication you can get confused easily until you are used to the medication. It varies approximately 2 weeks. It varies. I hallucinated on Topamax. Dilantin I had a rash. Tegretol my blood had problems w/ clotting. Tegretol did great for my seizures. Each medication has its set backs and I always waited a period of time. I wish you luck!