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Memory Loss/Side Effects - Lamictal vs. Topomax

Fri, 10/30/2009 - 20:17

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone can tell me their experiences with the side effects of different medicines, particularly Lamictal and Topomax.

I have been on Lamictal for about 2 (going on 3) years now and since then I have had a lot of difficulty with my memory as well as other side effects that I didn't have when I took Tegretol XR. I take 300 mg twice a day of Lamictal.

I really have never felt controlled with Lamictal, have become fairly clumsy, am SUPER tired (moreso than when I was on the Tegretol), have migraines, and NO MEMORY. My short-term memory, especially is VERY bad. I had fogginess and tiredness with Tegretol, but I don't remember it being nearly this bad.

Now, I am having significant auras multiple times a day, every couple days, and had a breakthrough partial complex last week so my neuro and I are talking about switching meds. Apparently the Lamictal levels in my blood are too high and I am showing signs of toxicity b/c of the way I am metabolizing the meds, so increasing my dosage of Lamictal isn't an option. My neurologist suggested putting me on Topomax for control purposes and to help with my migraines which I was totally fine with until I started reading some of the posts here about Topomax.

Topomax sounds. . .scary. I am terrified of switching to a medication that will not only sustain my clumsiness, tiredness, and memory loss, but also increase depression, make my hands tingle, give me extreme weight-loss, etc., etc.! The brain-function issue and the tiredness issue are huge for me. . .I am in the middle of writing my thesis and need all the brain-power I can manage. I am so tired of being tired and like I can't function. While my friends go to work at 7, then exercise afterwards, go out to eat and to a concert all in one day (!). . .I go to work or school and am so tired that I can't do much of anything else. It's terrible. If I am already struggling with that while being on the Lamictal, will Topomax be worse? Now I feel like both medicines aren't good choices for me.

Does anyone have any advice about this? Has anyone out there ever had positive results with Topomax? Is there ANY anti-convulsant that DOESN'T cause such horrible cognitive fogginess and tiredness??? 

Sorry for such a long post, but any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

~JLSB 

Comments

staying alert while on Lamictal

Submitted by smiletdy on Thu, 2009-11-12 - 03:23
Ask your doctor about Nuvigil. It is tradionally used for shift worker adjustment or for those with narcholepsy. I am also on Lamictal. In the morning I take a very small dose of Nuvigil- the smallest tablet is 50mg and I take half of that. It helps me with staying awake during the day. Thereby I sleep better at night.

Re: Memory Loss/Side Effects - Lamictal vs. Topomax

Submitted by henigushi on Sun, 2009-11-15 - 09:18

I have simple-partial seizures and take Lamictal and Keppra. My seizures are only partially controlled with medication, but the incidence of seizures is much lower on medication than off. Lamictal is a drug that is typically started at non-therapeutic levels and then scaled up. This is due to a severe potential side-effect which I fortunately did not have. For me, once I reached the therapeutic dose level for Lamictal, I did notice a significant decrease in seizures, but it turned out to be a honeymoon effect (it lasted for a limited period of time). I've noticed an increase in memory problems since going on Lamictal, though it's difficult to conclusively identify Lamictal as the cause (since Lamictal initially reduced seizures, my memory may have temporarily improved, followed by a reduction in Lamictal's effectiveness, which might have led to an increase in memory problems, etc.). I am going to talk to my doctor about going off Lamictal completely to see if the extent of seizure-control that I have right now is coming from Keppra alone.

By the way, about Keppra -- it is definitely working for me, albeit not perfectly. My doctor had me go off Keppra (in a controlled environment) and there was a significant increase in seizures. I don't think I have the psychological problems that I've heard some people on Keppra complain about -- increased irritability, anger issues, etc. -- but that's just my own opinion!

I have simple-partial seizures and take Lamictal and Keppra. My seizures are only partially controlled with medication, but the incidence of seizures is much lower on medication than off. Lamictal is a drug that is typically started at non-therapeutic levels and then scaled up. This is due to a severe potential side-effect which I fortunately did not have. For me, once I reached the therapeutic dose level for Lamictal, I did notice a significant decrease in seizures, but it turned out to be a honeymoon effect (it lasted for a limited period of time). I've noticed an increase in memory problems since going on Lamictal, though it's difficult to conclusively identify Lamictal as the cause (since Lamictal initially reduced seizures, my memory may have temporarily improved, followed by a reduction in Lamictal's effectiveness, which might have led to an increase in memory problems, etc.). I am going to talk to my doctor about going off Lamictal completely to see if the extent of seizure-control that I have right now is coming from Keppra alone.

By the way, about Keppra -- it is definitely working for me, albeit not perfectly. My doctor had me go off Keppra (in a controlled environment) and there was a significant increase in seizures. I don't think I have the psychological problems that I've heard some people on Keppra complain about -- increased irritability, anger issues, etc. -- but that's just my own opinion!

Re: Memory Loss/Side Effects - Lamictal vs. Topomax

Submitted by smayer on Sat, 2009-12-26 - 02:46
I take 300 mg of lamictal per day. I don't have memory loss. But if I have forgot to take my pills I so start to feel really out of it. Like clumsy, lost and tired. I have also been taking this ex for 3 years. My Dr also has me on keppra and I think Lamictal and keppra are working good for me.

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