Train of thought symptoms and conditions

I too have been taking 100mg Lamictal for about a year for rapidly cycling Bi Polar, and am very concerned about my short term memory loss. I lose my train of thought in the middle of speech, can't remember what I did on the weekend when asked on Monday in conversation, and generally wonder if I have to put up with this somewhat debilitating and frustrating symptom just to have the plus of controlling my mood swings...Also recently have notice trouble spelling words - this was my pride and joy that I could spell pretty much any word and now that seems to be going too. Anyone know if these symptoms will dissipate if I stop taking Lamictal?

I have been taking the generic equivalent of Wellbutrin for nearly a year. A few months ago I noticed my hair is thinning on top, in front. It has steadily become worse. I finally did a search on Wellbutrin, hair loss and found this site. I will start weaning myself off it now! Losing my hair will make me more depressed than I was to begin with. Can anyone tell me, does the hair grow back? How long does it take?

I feel somewhat reassured that it's a possibility that my memory loss is a side effect of lamictal. I was diagnosed with BP I and the medication has done wonders. I still get very depressed sometimes, but not as severe as it was without the med. I experience(d) rapid-cycling which I was told is less common for this disorder.
My short-term memory is horrible. Sometimes have trouble remembering conversations and even things that happened a short time ago. For example, I recently played a few games of pool with my son and on our way home, I couldn't recall whether or not I won any of the 3 games. It's pretty embarrassing and scary when someone "catches" you or notices that you have completely blanked. I have to write things down if I want to discuss them with my therapist, because I won't remember what my issues were within the last week or two. Sometimes, when someone asks me if I remember something, I act like I do, because I probably should remember it. Again, I feel like an idiot because I don't. At work, it's not too much of a problem, because I insist that everyone sends me a reminder email, so I have a task list to work from instead of recalling things from memory. I also get completely lost in my train of thought during conversations. I tend to go off in tangents and completely forget what point I was trying to make.
I also have trouble focusing and my mind is always because obsessing over some thought, usually something negative. I feel like I waste a lot of time doing unproductive thinking. I'm not sure if this is a symptom of the disorder of not.

I have been on lamictal for about 7 months. I was not happy with the side effects I was experiencing (no sleep, bad motor skills, brain working slow) plus I was still having fits of rage and suicidal thoughts. I finally had enough and last week told my doctor that I wanted to get off to see if I felt any difference, because I pretty much felt the same on the 200mg than before I started. I'm slowly being weened off and now I am down to 100mg. So far I have not been getting up in the middle of the night as much and actually slept a total of 7 hours and only woke up once in the middle of the night for like 2 minutes versus the waking up every 1 to 2 hours and sometimes not being able to go back to sleep at all. My conversation ability has been returning and I'm not so nervous to talk and lose my train of thought or try to search for the right word. I've been dealing with a difficult situation in my life and I actually feel like I'm handling it better now than when I was on the full dosage . The only downside so far which is probably withdrawal is that I'm extra sleepy and I've been having to take 2 hour naps during the but I have a feeling that will go away. Besides my body might be making up for lost time from the 3-4 hours of sleep I was getting. I'm looking forward to being off of it soon.

I have been on Topamax for four years. 25 mg in the am and 25 mg in the pm. I have experienced the weight loss and the migraines have completely gone away along with my wittiness and ability to remember why I am in the bathroom with my pants around my ankles. I have passed up my exit on the highway on my way home several times.... not really sure why or where I think I was going........ I have found myself on a freeway and had to search the signs to figure out which direction I was traveling and then realized I was going to moms.........don't even remember getting in the car but have stuff with me that I was bringing her. I have woken up in the middle of the night in a panic and always have the word right on the tip of my tongue. I feel like I have alzheimers. I am 34. I started out having severe ocular migraines when I was 17 (I don't have head pain) and ended them at 30 after spending weeks in bed, days in ERs and hours heaving into the toilet........ hours, straight, not even able to take a complete breath. I wouldn't even have the strength to hold my head up anymore and I would just lay on my side an heave in my bed, until I would pass out. The MRI showed brain damage and necrosis (dead brain tissue) of my brain from my migraines. I was originally diagnosed with strokes. Imitrex would raise my blood pressure so high the MD's and RNs would hold me out of fear I was going to stroke out. My life just stopped..... I couldn't even move.... ever, I couldn't look out a window, listen to a radio, watch T.V, have a conversation, smell food, perfume......... anything without getting sick. Topamax stopped it all. And yes, I got stupid with the meds....... I lost my train of thought, but I can go outside. I lost some weight, but I can eat, I have lost some, hair but I can work...............I feel like I have more of a life now than I did before. Anytime you introduce a drug to your body you are going to have effects........there are trade offs. If you had what I had, you will be willing to have the trade off. I had gotten to the point that I would have been better off dead, because I wasn't living. My migraines started off manageable and progressively got worse over time. I have to admit, I have tried to come off of the medication... who wants to be tethered to meds all of there life? But when the migraines came back, I quickly went back on the meds.....Drink plenty of water, stay off other stimulants, don't smoke!!!! titrate your doses and then don't miss them.

Thanks, everyone! My (brand new) doctor had convinced me that I was simply experiencing anxiety to explain my side effects. After being off Lamictal and all medications for several months, and then restarting on Lamictal only, I noticed all the following side effects, some of which I've had before, and some completely new. Also, the ones I'd had before came back at a level of severity which I had never experienced.

One familiar side effect was hand tremors and general shakiness which sometimes also affected my speech. Even strangers would notice and ask me if I was ok. Luckily, this was during this past winter, so I would basically lie and just say I was cold and a bit shivery. Another familiar side effect that a lot of others are mentioning are cognitive issues and short term memory loss. Sometimes I felt like my tongue was lazy or I felt tongue-tied, and I couldn't get it to work right to say the words I was thinking. Sometimes, I just plain lost my train of thought or couldn't think of the words to express what I was thinking. I'd all my life been prone to mishaps of speech like occasional spoonerisms and such, but on Lamictal it was happening probably daily, and I'd even started stuttering. Teaching and explaining often difficult concepts and public speaking is part of my job, so this was causing me a lot of anxiety. I, too, completely blanked on spelling out words when friends and colleagues relied on my spelling abilities more than their computer's spellcheck. I also thought I was having sudden leaps in experiencing getting older (early 30's) because of my memory, I typically have an almost photographic memory and can picture where I saw my keys last or what have you, but all of the sudden I couldn't even piece the photo together anymore or it was foggy in my memory.

The newest side effect also experienced by others was clumsiness not only of my own body but of my surroundings. I suddenly noticed that I was doing things way more often like tripping, falling, stubbing a toe, nicking a finger, dropping things, etc. Where I was an excellent parallel parker before, I'd get out of my car and realize I'd parked 2 feet from the curb and crooked.

I decided to look up Lamictal's side effects after discussing this with my excellent talk therapist because I was extremely frustrated with my new doctor telling me I was just anxious and there was really nothing he could do for my (imagined) "side effects." And here everyone is experiencing the same thing. I don't think I should be made to feel like I don't know any better and that I should suffer the REAL side effects of this drug. I didn't study medicine, but I still have a degree in biology so I'm not so stupid that I'll believe anything any doctor tells me.

I think I would almost rather suffer a mild mood swing than suffer these side effects. I'm going to try to look for something else.

When I started my little emotional rollercoaster @ age 35, they classified me as being bi-polar with generalized anxiety disorder. I put myself into a treatment center after feeling like I was going to go crazy. I used to work in the medical field and I should have known better. They doped me up on 1000mg of Lithium, and 9oomg of Depakote. Lithium can be hard to regulate and dangerous; coming from a person who can sneeze and lose two pounds Depakote just turned out to be a fat pill (180 to 210 in three months). I went through the guinea pig stage Every SSR they put me on had a very bad side effect, Paxil being the worst. After two days of taking it the racing thoughts and feeling out being out of control made me want to jump out the window. I could not even call 911 as I felt I would go even more insane. I really almost did not make it through it. I discussed it with my new Dr. and he suggested Lamictal. I have been on Lamictal for over 4 years at 300mg a day. It has stabilized my moods but I still argue with the doctor about my diagnosis as I feel I am more Cyclothymic , my mood swings are not as pronounced and can last from a few hours to a few days. Since first taking the med I noticed the memory loss, my train of thought going out the window, bloated, the feeling of having a fever, but not. One of the most important affects, if I am an hour or so late from my regular scheduled dose I get dizzy and my shoulders and neck start to tingle and get numb. Just two weeks I requested an increase in the dosage to 400mg to see if it would help with my underlying depression that every other combo has not addressed. Since then I have been a bit more of a whack job. (Emotionally)Two days after the increase I had a very hyper mania day, I had to leave work early for fear I would lose control of my mouth, do or say something very ADHD. I took two days off and seemed to be fine after that. This Sunday I went downhill as soon as I woke up. I wanted to cry, but couldn’t and I did not know why; I felt void of emotions except for sadness, lacked the energy to want to deal with people, even my other half, wondering why I was even here. (Physically) I have noticed heart palpitations and muscle spasms in my face and arms. I looked up side effects and found this site and wanted to add to it. I have tried just about everything out there that I can and nothing will really work as good as this one. Combos with it do nothing for me either. It really freaks me out that the thing I am taking so I do not feel the way I do is making me feel that way to the extreme. I am letting my Dr. know that I will be taking myself off this dosage.

I just HAVE to add my story here!! I was on Lexapro 20mg for 2yrs. All was pretty well. It somewhat controlled my anxiety & panic attacks (I have GAD) and it helped stabilize my moods (I am Bipolar), BUT I DIDN'T like that it made it to where I couldn't cry when I wanted to but yet cried at inappropriate times! I basically came to a stand-still with the lexapro and it KILLED my sex drive, so bad that my relationship was at risk (well, thats what I think, cuz no man is happy with NO sex!!) So, I SLOWLY came off them over a month, and even though it was very slowly, the WITHDRAWAL from this drug is just a horrible experience that I hope none of you that are taking now, will ever have to go through what I did!! I seriously thought at one point I was going to die!! I was severely sick for one week-- nausea, vomiting, the runs, hot flashes, cold flashes, the shakes, internal tremors, severe migraines, dizziness when I sat up or stood up, and I got bad electrical zap feelings in my hands & brain (which, even one month & 3 weeks later, I am still having!!) But to you all still on them, I also had weight gain on them, head rushes, dizziness, headaches, internal tremors, and I didn't like that it made me generally dumb!!! Since coming off, I still have the "duhhh" moments, getting less & less, thank goodness, now if only these darn "Zaps" would go away. But yeah, the side effects of this & the withdrawals are HORRIBLE!!! I will never take this again!! So much for newer drugs eh!!

I hate Effexor XR. I don't really know how long I have been on this medicine because I have almost no short term memory since I have been taking it. I am so hot all the time it's just unbearable. I am sweating when my house temp is 68 degrees. I freeze everyone out of the house, out of the car, etc., because I am never comfortable. I no longer own a winter coat because I don't need one unless it is below zero. I don't own any long sleeve shirts except for a denim one in which I wear as my jacket. I wear short sleeve I have discussed this with my doctor whom always tells me he doesn't think the medicine is the cause of this. Although every time he increases the strength I'm taking, the sweating intensifies. I also wake up in the middle of the night gasping for breath, with an irregular heartbeat and/or my heart beat soaring. I have also experienced the problem with taste. Many things I used to love to eat or drink are no longer tolerable. Nothing tastes quite right. I too have had the dry mouth/cotton-throat problems. I have noticed my emotions are screwed up also. I can hardly cry about the most saddest things I have faced, but will cry about stupid things that don't truly matter. I worry about everything, and I DO mean EVERYTHING, luckily it doesn't last too long because nothing can hold my train of thought for very long. My doc has had me on Zoloft, Celexa and others and there were problems with those also. But I feel that Effexor XR is the worst one I have been on that has caused so many other problems while helping the depression/anxiety disorder. I think the bad outweighs the good, but my doctor refuses to agree with me on this and I have no health insurance to take my problem elsewhere. I have never taken Xanax, Valium or any other "controlled" substances because my doc is afraid of his patients becoming addicted to these drugs. Although Effexor XR is apparently addicting too since you have to be weened off of it. I wish I had NEVER begun to take Effexor XR, good luck to all of you that do! If I knew then what I know now, I would NEVER take it!

Blurred vision, 15 lb weight gain, irritability, insomnia, excess hair growth (exacerbating my PCOS), nausea, nightmares, fuzzy thinking, bad memory, lose train of thought mid-sentence. Been on 100mg for 3 months. Doctor upped to 200mg but after 3 days on it and 3 days of no sleep, I dropped back down. Helps a bit with my depression, but I feel sort of numb. Not as bad as on some, but not good.

I am 21 yrs old and I have been on Aviane for 1yr. now. This would be my third different BC. I was on the patch before taken Aviane I was having these side effects on the patch :dizziness, blurred vision and many more just to name a few. Since being on Aviane I have had a lot to side effect: depression moody, anger, (very bad) hair loss, slurred speech, loss train of thought, weight gain (about 15 lbs), decreased sex drive, headaches, severe cramping and other side effects. I wouldn't recommend this BC to anyone.

Hello, I have been on Topamax for about 2 months now for severe and unexplained dizzy spells\vertigo. I am at 100mg. The spells are gone thank God, because they were debilitating, but the side effects are HORRIBLE! First it was me just feeling like an idiot, dropping everything, forgetting words, losing my train of thought mid sentence... I am a hair stylist so this could be quite embarrasing. Then I got the crazy weird tingles everywhere, but they are kinda cool. Except when they wake you up in the middle of the night. AHH! But luckily the stupidness has worn off, and the feeling like I never get enough sleep has too. But now I AM LOSING SOOO MUCH HAIR! Like handfulls of it. I took a ziplock bag of it to my Dr. and (extreme, I know...) he says "yeah, that can happen..." not to me! I'm a hairdresser! I think I may go off of it... Has anyone else experienced this??? Soda still tastes like crap most days, but I don't like it much anyways. It can up your anxiety level at times too, i think. The positive is that it keeps you from overeating. The side effects get better, as in not as constant, but they never completely go away.

I have been taking Topomax for quite some time.Tried it several years ago, the mgs were not high enough (only 25mg/day).My doctor didn't really know the prpoer dosage.It didn't help the migraines.My new doctor has me on it again.50 mgs/day.Here's the good - NO MIGRAINES! Here's the bad: Acne at 45 years old, tingling doesn't even describe my legs or face, ringing in the ears, remembering names and places just doesn't happen, I'm eating less but gaining weight quickly,& one last thing- Itchy spots that I would describe as "hot spots" if I were speaking of my dog. Still sticking with it because I don't have the migraines.I tried to slowly take myself off and the headaches came back.What choice is there?

on Topamax 1 mo experienced nightmares, could not spell, remember my address, phone #, ringing in ear and since off drug going on 2 mos. also altered personality; slight hair loss; trouble driving. Trouble typing. Horrible drug............

Really hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toe's here, but... the big thing that everyone here is worried about is the effect that topamax is slowing down their sex life, along with train of thought.
Not everyone must have migraines as bad as mine, or as often! Mine are everyday , and bad enough that well it's hard to say how bad they are. Anyway mine bother me enough that they effect my thought's, what I can remember (or not), And I feel like a somby with the migraines! Oh and well let's see, sex? hmmm I wake up in pain and go to bed in pain, do I feel like sex? NO ! Thank God my husband is worried about me felling better more than sex.
We own a small business, I try to do the phone and running part of the work. With the migraines as bad as they get, I have a hard time remembering who I was talking to on the phone when I got off. I have to take note's (bad one's at that) just to remember what went on in the blurr of the day. And I have had these for many year's off and on, till the last 4 to 5 months then it's become a everyday non-stop thing. I can NOT live with the migraines. My girl's help me as much as they can and my husband also, but it's hard. Each day we all just pray for help and that I can reclame my life again.
All being said, I have only started the topamax for 9 day's now and am startting to see a tiny little help. But would like to ask those here that are upset about the lack of sex and train of thought, was it better with the pain of migraines? And if so then my thought's are that maybe the topamax is too strong for you, and you should see another doctor for a 2nd outlook on your type of migraines. Beacuse there are so many types, and mild to strong.
Like I said in the start, I'm sorry if I did step on your toe's, but just not undrestanding. Don't mean to hurt feeling's at all, just my feeling's.

I'VE BEEN ON EFFEXOR FOR THE PAST 2AND A HALF YEARS. BEFORE THAT, CELEXA. BEFORE TAKING EFFEXOR MY MIND WAS SHARP AND I HAD PLENTY OF ENERGY TO CARRY ME INTO THE WEE HOURS OF MORNING. NOW I CAN'T HARDLY FIND THE ENERGY TO GET THROUGH THE DAY. MY HOUSE IS NEVER CLEAN ANYMORE, I HAVE NO DESIRE TO EVEN TRY. AND THIS IS FROM A WOMAN WHO'S HOUSE USED TO STAY VERY CLEAN. MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT RAMBLES AND I CAN NO LONGER CONVERSE WITH MOST ADULTS. I FORGET THE APPROPRIATE WORDS TO USE. I MAKE MY LIVING WRITING. I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO WRITE ANYTHING DECENT IN THE PAST TWO YEARS WHICH HAS CAUSED MY BUSINESS TO SUFFER. A YEAR AGO MY DOCTOR TRIED TO CHANGE ME FROM EFFEXOR TO WELLBUTRIN. I FELT ASTHOUGH I HAD LOST MY MIND. I CRIED CONSTANTLY AND NOT THINKING RATIONALLY,SUDDENLY DECIDED TO SELL MY HOME THAT I LOVED DEARLY. NEEDLESS TO SAY WITH MY LUCK, IT SOLD RATHER QUICKLY LEAVING ME WITH NO WHERE TO GO. THINKING THE WELLBUTRIN CAUSED ALL THIS CONFUSION, NEVER THINKING ABOUT POSSIBLE WITHDRAWAL FROM EFFEXOR, I STOPPED THE WELLBUTRIN AND STARTED AGAIN ON THE EFFEXOR. I TOLD MY DOCTOR ABOUT LOSING MY MIND AND SELLING MY HOME AND WAS TOLD HE FELT I MAY BE BI-POLAR. TALK ABOUT DEPRESSION! I WANT TO THANK EACH OF YOU THAT HAS POSTED ON THIS WEBSIGHT YOUR BATTLES WITH THIS SO CALLED WONDER DRUG. AT LEAST I FEEL I MAY HAVE A CHANCE OF GETTING BACK TO NORMAL IF I CAN BEAT THIS HABIT. I'M AS ADDICTED AS ANY JUNKIE TO ANY STREET DRUG AND HAD ALWAYS PRIDED MYSELF ON BEING CLEAN EVEN AS I GREW UP IN THE FREE LOVE AN DRUG GENERATION. ALL I CAN SAY IS GOD HELP US ALL.

I have been taking Coumadin / Warfarin since June 14, 2005. Two major complaints are clumsiness & I am very weak. On a lesser scale, I lose my train of thought and have to fight for the right words to use when speaking. Nothing comes normally or easily anymore. I can't keep my PT/INR in check. I was given a fairly wide margin before increasing or reducing the amount I take daily. but that doesn't seem to make any difference. My surgeon said once it was regulated I could have my monthly labs reduced to once every 2-3 months. I don't see that ever happening. Is there something else I can take that would be easier to regulate and not have these side effects?

severe indigestion, and very bad heart burn, mental confusion, shortened memory-lose train of thought often. irregular heart beat, quickened heart rate. overall weakness and lack of energy.

Well it is now three weeks since my last posting here, and 3 months on Topamax at 200mg per day. My sleep pattern is back to normal and my migraines which were 2-3 times a day before topamax are now only 1-2 times a week which is so much more tolerable! My trigeminal neuralgia is completely under control, I never have any pain while I take this medicine. I have lost 26 pounds in 3 months since I started taking topamax. I used to drink diet soda all the time and now just drink water with an occasional crystal light. What a difference. I must say my energy level isn't what it used to be but that is something that I can try to work on. I have to try to find energy to exercise. My appetite is much lower, so I don't eat as much as I used to...and it takes quite a bit less to fill me up at a meal. Even before Topamax I was on the weight watchers plan, so I eat right and know that I am not starving myself or making bad meal decisions. I don't sweat like I used to, and that is something we need to be aware of so we don't overheat. I still have the tingling in my feet and hands every day but am getting used to it. I don't seem to lose my train of thought or "lose my words", like I used to when I first started taking this drug. I hope that is a good sign for us all. Overall, Topamax has been a very positive experience for me and I hope that others of you out there have the same good experiences that I have had. Good luck!

I have great difficulty in concentrating. also have tremors and sweating. lately, i have been in mid sentence and completely lost my train of thought and did not know what i was talking about. if it happens once, it happens 3 times because i than start to worry about this occuring during converstations at work. it occurred in interviews and i felt like an idiot. has anyone else, lost their train of thought in mid sentence??? this is very disturbing. im stopping cold turkey because i have another interview next week, they are giving me a second chance (due to my break in concentration on the first interview)

My entry is slightly different the the ones I have read so far. Iam writing in behalf of my 10 yr old daughter who has recently been diagnosed with a pretty sever case of hypothyroid. She has been on Levothyroxine for 6 months. At first it was amazing.She went for being anti social and extreamly lazy to finally acting like a 10 yr. old and playing and making friends. She has grown almost 4 inches and lost 26 lbs. Of course she is more to handle but I enjoyed seeing her act like a kid. How ever she did have insomnia, but has over come that. But in the last 3 months she has NO train of thought she has gone from a gradeA student(i know alot of it was because she had no friends or social life,childrenare very crule and all she did in school was work, no socializing) But now her 5th grade teacher does not belive she is the same child.She began the meds in july, so her teacher never knew the old Dani. But of course she looked up her previous records and saw she went from being in the 98th percentile nationwide to failing this years Terra Nova testing. The teacher knows Dani is a wonderful child and this is not rebelling. But at the same time she has not learned anything this year. I spoke to her doctor and she blew it off, because her "T" tests are finally in range and no longer has 400 cholesteral level. Hypothyroidism took every effect on my child, just short of hospitalization. I was told she has to be on this for ever.She says she feels so much better, but she will have to repeat the 5th grade.I have no problem! Healyh comes first but her side effects are getting worse every day! Will she ever be able to live a productful life when she can't remember anything.Even things she learned years ago! I am just a very worried mother that has no answer! 4 hours too do 20 SIMPLE math problems! Please help!