Poor concentration symptoms and conditions

I had the Mirena removed after 5 weeks. In addition to bleeding which I expected, I experienced hair loss, 5 lb weight gain in 5 weeks, fatigue, muscle pain, poor concentration, lower back pain, blurred vision, foggy feeling.
I may have underlying thyroid issues which I will address.

I was diagnosed with peti-mal epilepsy aprox 17 years ago. I tried many different anti epileptic drugs and had many negative side effects from teeth problems to depression and none of which controlled my seizures. 12 years ago I went on lamictal (600 mg a day) and I haven't looked back, I feel I have my miracle. So far I have no side effects, am completely seizure free and I have a life. BEFORE lamictal some side effects were poor concentration ( when reading a book I could not remember what was written on the top of the page by the time I got to the bottom), little co-ordination with sports (most times I could not catch a ball when thrown to me, this caused a lot of social problems), forgetfulness and I was quite clumsy. I hope you all can one day find a medication that works just as well for you or even better a cure. My heart goes out to you all.

I am a 34 yr old woman who has suffered from migraines for 13 yrs and chronic head pain for most of my life. I have had sinus surgery, my vision checked, TMJ corrected and anything else I could think of to alleviate my headaches. I took various anti-depressants to treat for chronic pain. About 3 yrs ago I began taking Topamax after my grandmother & both my sisters went on it for migraines. We all have experienced success in treating the headaches and both sisters lost weight. Grandmother and I did not. We all still have migraines occasionally and my youngest sister cannot miss a dose w/out having a headache. My grandmother has had to discontinue Topamax because it was effecting her memory, speech, and concentration so badly. All of us experienced the "loss of words" problems at first, but learned to adapt and became used to it. But grandma is in her 70s and its not as easy for her. However, in the past month, I have been experiencing the same thing--memory loss, calling a place or object the wrong name, and poor concentration. I feel like I can't even read today. I was taking 150mg and thought I was pregnant so I started decreasing my dose down to 100mg to wean off. I'm not pregnant and I'm thinking of discontinuing the Topamax anyway. It's bad enough when I can't remember things at home, I can't work like this. I have always raved about how great Topamax is and that if it kept my head from hurting, I would take it forever. Now I feel like I'm in the early stages of dementia.

have to agree with Mrsbarrett's post right below mine...I have been a lurker on this board for the past couple of months and thank God for it or who knows how crazy i'd be right now!! Here is a list of my side effects and pertinent information:
DOI: October 2008
Side effects were gradual and most evident around the Christmas Holidays:
Dizziness
Weird eye/vision disturbance where i'd lose focus for a moment and then be okay.
Constant spotting of "old blood" nothing much but did require pantiliners 24/7
Anxiety
Hypertension (more than ever, like when I was pregnant, 150-170s/100)
Panic Attacks
Face Dryness
ZERO SEX DRIVE
No "natural" lubrication, but who cares when you have no drive, are spotting all the time, and it hurts to have sex
Vaginal Odor
Mood Swings
Depression
FATIGUE to the point of wanting to stay in bed despite having to care for my 7.5 year old.
Chest pains (kept thinking maybe I had heart trouble, had cardiac workup that came up PERFECT and bloodwork was perfect, Thyroid test was perfect)
Nausea (morning sickness type, would get slightly better in evening but not so much)
IBS symptoms (diarrhea)

DOR: January 23, 2009
2 days later heavy bleeding for a couple of days.....had somewhat of a "crash" the first week where I was still not better. By the 2nd week post removal I was still nauseated in the morning but improved in the late afternoon and got energy boost in late afternoon.By the 3rd week I was totally back to normal!!!!! (well what's normal for crazy me! hahahahha)

My husband came with me to the doc, and she had no problem with removal. I went back for a follow up this past Friday and she saw how normal I am and that I have lost several pounds as well. She realizes I am extremely sensitive to hormone changes but says i'm the only one that she has seen like that. (how many have problems that don't think it is the Mirena...that's what I want to know???)

Anyway, that's my story and i'm sticking to it!!! If anyone would like to chat or share please let me know. I will also add that I have a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies (just not practicing since becoming a SAHM) and so I looked up tons of information to figure out what was wrong with me, I really am thankful to have found this site....medical mumbo jumbo is NOTHING when you have your body telling you something and all you fine ladies......Thanks again!
~G

Hi ladies, i have had mirena coil since august 2003 and was supposed to have it removed august 2008. Due to a crap childhood i don't like anyone coming near me and my doc will not let me get it removed under general anaesthetic, but i so want to get it removed.
I have had the same problems, weight gain, depression (which doc gave me prozac for, and still taking), pains in the stomach, hair loss, mood swings (felt really sorry for the person on the other end of them), stringy brown blood (old blood),poor concentration, really bad memory and so on.
I put all my problems down to an under active thyroid which i do have, because some of the symptoms are the same. I am so glad i found this site and to know i am not the only one.
For anyone reading this site and considering having a Mirena coil fitted, i strongly suggest you think about it long and hard, i know some people have no problems at all and think it's the best thing since sliced bread, they are the extremely lucky ones.
Good luck everyone

i was put on topamax for migraines back in aug 07.

well, i stopped it like 5 months ago. (2june 08) i still feel "out of it" like i'm here but im not. headaches came back but i would rather deal with them than all these side effects. i got severe panic attacks and nervousness, MAJOR HAIR LOSS, AGORAPHOBIA (FEAR OF LEAVING MY HOUSE CUZ IM SCARED TO HAVE ANOTHER PANIC ATTACK), i constantly feel dispatched from my family (i have 3 boys and a husband) every day i feel sick or tired, or both. which led me to stop the meds. (25mg am and 25-50mg pm) i weaned off over like 2 weeks (on my own cuz the neuro told me not to stop it and its all in my head.

i had to quit my job cuz of the panic attacks that just happen for no reason.

i still feel all the side effects even though i have been off topamax. hair loss, panic attacks, depression, "high" feeling all the time, cant hold a normal conversation. i have changed soooo dramatically from when i first went to the neuro and started this HORRIBLE DRUG. poor concentration, i don't feel like i want to be involved in anything- i just wanna lay on the couch with an ice pack on my head. i don't know what to do. my neuro doesn't know i stopped the drug and i was so mad at him for putting me on it that i didn't go to my last appt. now i have to wait until January to see him.

HI I AM 37 YEARS OLD AND 1 WEEK AGO I WENT TO THE DR FOR HEADACHES EVERY DAY, AND MY DR TOLD ME IT HAD TO BE DUE TO STRESS, BECAUSE MY BLOOD TEST AND PAP SMERE CAME BACK NORMAL AND I WAS PERFECTLY HEALTHY. SHE PRESCRIBED CELEXA AND SAID THIS SHOULD HELP. ALL OF A SUDDEN I HAVE NO SEX DRIVE, HEADACHES, NAUSEA, DIZZY, LOSS OF APPETITE, SHORT OF BREATH, MOUTH IS DRY, VERY EMOTIONAL, MY WHOLE BODY ACHES. IM GOING TO THE DR. AND HAVING HER TAKE ME OFF I WOULD RATHER JUST HAVE THE HEADACHES. DOES ANY ONE ELS HAVE THESE SYMPTOMS?????

This is tough. I was on Topamax for about two years. But then I wanted to detox my body from all meds. Topamax helped with my chronic headaches. I had headaches 23-24 days out of the month. Topamax helped me quite a bit. But the side effects were horrible. Once my body got used to it, it was not too bad, not great but somewhat bearable. But after getting off of it again after a year, I got the worse headache ever, I blacked out. It felt as if someone was shoving an icepick through my eye. This started to happen more than once. My doc suggested I go back on because it helped me before. So here I go again. I lost 12 pounds in seven days. I forget what I am going to say. I have poor concentration. I am hyper-aware. And I cry quite a bit. This is NOT ME. But I try to keep walking along and doing my best, because neither the medication nor the headaches are going to get the best of me!!!!!

Our son is nearly six and has been on Singulair since he was 2 y/o. We put is bad behavior down to the "Terrible Two's". He has always displayed signs of poor concentration, impulsive behavior, hyper and the list goes on. Last December his PED proscribed Bactrim for a resp problem and it was just last weekend where we hit breaking point. His behavior has become aggressive along with all of the other bad behavior to the point we have been called for meetings with his new school to have a Physical assessment done.
I researched Bactrim last weekend and it was described as poison which we took him off right away and, it was pure luck i stumbled across this website to find that Singulair may be the EVIL after all.

We took him off both medications 4 days ago and we are praying we see behavioral changes soon....Already i have noticed he is more settled and relaxed while watching TV etc.

Can anyone tell me how long it takes for the medication to leave their system?

Wow, what an eye opener. I have taken Lisinopril for years and for months now I have been feeling blah, burned out, bored, apathetic along with muscle aches, poor concentration and a frog in my throat - and then I read that other had the same effects

High time to talk to the doctor.

I've been on Topamax since just Tuesday, 10/9/07. I find that I get very tired a couple hours after taking it and I have horrible nightmares and very dark thoughts, too. Diet coke tastes so HORRBILE which is bad because I loved my diet cokes, but then again I guess that's good b/c I need to stop drinking them anyway. My worst side effect is that I have horrible mood swings. Is this normal? Is this going to go away over time? Because if not, I'm going to stop taking it now. This is not like me and I am not going to subject my family to this - losing weight is not THAT important to me. Thanks for any help. :(

P. S. I'm taking 25 mg in the morning, afternoon and evening.

I started taking Lisinopril for my bp about 2 1/2 months ago and even though it did lower my bp, I started having strange side-effects. It started out with drowsiness throughout the day, no matter how much sleep I got. And, waking up feeling drowsy even after 8-10 hours of sleep. Then, I started getting strange aches and pains throughout my body, like I was getting over a stomach flu. My asthma also flared up and I started having to use my inhaler for the first time in almost 15 years (usually I just need it after exercise.) The side-effects continued to get worse over the next months with increased fatigue, drowsiness, coughing, anxiety, muscle aches, poor concentration, feeling like my nerves were "shot," headache, weakness, tightness in my lungs, numbness in my hands and feet, and just plain feeling bad.
I made an appointment to see my doctor because I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. It crossed my mind that I might be feeling this way because of the Lisinopril. I stumbled across this website and after reading everyone's testimonials, I decided to stop the Lisinopril. I haven't taken it in 3 1/2 days, and I am already feeling much better. I would rather try a more holistic approach to lowering my bp then taking Lisinopril.
I hope this helps someone else out there who might be going through the same thing.

I have had several. Tired,weight gain,low sexy drive, and memory loss, and poor concentration.

I've been on Topamax for almost a year and a half now. I'm up to 300mg a day. My worst side effects are extreme tiredness, aches and pains, memory loss, poor concentration, tingling, and numbness in my face. I take it for migraine prevention, only it doesn't prevent them, it just keeps them from happening so often. I'd hate to see what would happen if I came off of it now. Depression is an issue too. I take Zoloft for that. Just hang in there and try to stay healthy. Shel

While I was on Nuvaring I became gradually depressed, gained weight, had sluggish thoughts, poor concentration , and also vision problems. My normal athletic self was weak, and I was angry all of the time. It never let up. Finally the depression became to much to bear, and so I went off. For a week and a half I have suffered from constant headaches, jaw and neck pain, and tingingly in my limbs. My concentration is poor. Then I developed panic attacks. Sometimes I start to cry for no reason (and I am not typically a crier -- its rare for me). I work in market research, and I spent my entire lunch break today crying on a bench in a mall I was sent to evaluate. I do not know what's wrong with me. I've read of similar side effects for other pills (Yasmin) and that they eventually fade, but there's not much info for Nuvaring... I despise the thing and its made a mess of the last few months of my life.

i've been on tegretol since october 2002- i've noticed lethargy, double vision ,lack of mental aquity(poor concentration and memory), and my favorite - 30 lb weight gain. i have decreased my dosage on my own and the side effects seem less-good luck and God bless