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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

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

Submitted by tomebrown on Thu, 2011-05-26 - 14:58
I am having basically the exact same problem. Lamactil was working great until last May. I had a seizure and since then memory, vision and coordination issues almost daily but it is spotty. If I have a bad day I can't see and can barely walk. On a good day I can usually get by and can even run. I also am having insomnia. Which is bad as sleep deprevation sets me off. I have been out of work almost a year and it's driving me nuts. If anyone has found a doctor that can handle this please let me know.

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

Submitted by djalomo on Wed, 2011-07-06 - 14:22
I don't know about the insomnia, but when I took Keppra XR with Lamictal XR and Topomax all at the same time, I never felt sleepy and I could think perfectly clearly. I can't really help you very much with information about what type of seizures i am having because I am hard to diagnose and am going to have a VEEG soon, but the Lamictal in my experience made me happy and alert and the Topomax makes you sleepy and reflective. They balanced each other well in my case.Since my Lamictal was XR, by the nightime dose of Topomax, I would fall asleep easily.

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

Submitted by nzquail on Wed, 2011-07-06 - 20:55

nzquail

Hi guys, 

I was on topamax only and it made me lose weight, not sleep etc.. my life was a nightmare on it and didn't stop the seizures, so I went off the topamax on to the Lamictal. Lamictal didn't 100% work so the topamax got added in with it, and I haven't had a seizure now for the first time 24 years. Though I had problems with Topamx as a singular med, it balanced out the side effects with the Lamictal for me, it freaked me out going back on topamax. Everyone is different and what works for someone, won't work for someone else. I had 4 medication changes within 3 years having a big emotional toll on my life and affect my family etc, it was worth it (looking back). Im now a mature student (after 20 years of no education) studying at University in Christchurch New  Zealand, (where we are going through the aftermath of a major earthquake).

Memory loss - is a big worry for me since Im studying but i find the more you use your brain eg. study, reading the better it helps with being able  to pronounce words etc. Even though we have cognitve difficulties from medications - excerise your brain! it helps. Don't let the side effects control your life. 

For me, I live in the moment, and when I see my grummy teenage smile, I smile and value that moment. 

 

 

nzquail

Hi guys, 

I was on topamax only and it made me lose weight, not sleep etc.. my life was a nightmare on it and didn't stop the seizures, so I went off the topamax on to the Lamictal. Lamictal didn't 100% work so the topamax got added in with it, and I haven't had a seizure now for the first time 24 years. Though I had problems with Topamx as a singular med, it balanced out the side effects with the Lamictal for me, it freaked me out going back on topamax. Everyone is different and what works for someone, won't work for someone else. I had 4 medication changes within 3 years having a big emotional toll on my life and affect my family etc, it was worth it (looking back). Im now a mature student (after 20 years of no education) studying at University in Christchurch New  Zealand, (where we are going through the aftermath of a major earthquake).

Memory loss - is a big worry for me since Im studying but i find the more you use your brain eg. study, reading the better it helps with being able  to pronounce words etc. Even though we have cognitve difficulties from medications - excerise your brain! it helps. Don't let the side effects control your life. 

For me, I live in the moment, and when I see my grummy teenage smile, I smile and value that moment. 

 

 

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