Lamictal and memory problems

I have pretty serious memory problems, and I notice the problems at work. Maybe the stress of work makes it worse at work than at home. But my boss and i talked the other day, and I said I felt scattered - she said I come across as very scattered, forgetting stuff, not following through, etc. I said I would write things down more to help me remember, and she said maybe I might try a different drug (she knows about my bipolar - I told her, and I use a service dog to help with anxiety and tardive dyskinesia from another psych drug). When your boss tells you to maybe try a different drug, it's a bit scary - am I going to lose my job?! But when I forget to take the Lamictal even one day (I take 200 mg. in the morning) I can feel the difference within 24 hours - agitated, depressed, irritable, impatient, etc.). So I have to be careful to take it every day. Along with my other meds...
I don't want to go off the drug, but the memory and cognitive crap is really hard. It's nice to hear I'm not alone.

50 y.o. female suffering from severe depression (or so I thought) since mid-teens. Finally sought professional help 8 mos. ago - diagnosed w/ bipolar disorder/depression/anxiety. Lamictal (now up to 300mg/day) has literally been a life-saver for me. I feel calm, rarely depressed, a bit more patient w/ myself and others, and the suicidal thoughts I've had for 30+ years are gone. I feel happy. The side effects, however, are disturbing. W/ the higher dose, I feel emotionally well but the memory problems are scaring me. When I write, I know which words I should use, but now I frequently omit or misspell words - not a problem before. I've always been a fast, accurate typist but I feel clumsy when typing and frequently hit the wrong keys. I misplace things and since I'm a bit OCD about losing paperwork, etc., it's happening. My job requires me to handle important financial docs. for people and I'm worried that I'll miss or lose something. Some days I can be very articulate w/ great use of vocabulary and other days I feel lucky to put a string of words together that will make sense. I'll lose a thought in mid-sentence. My doctor recommended that I take 1 mg of folic acid per day; it seems to help the memory issues and I may increase that amount. I grind my teeth at night so badly that I'm wearing a night guard to avoid ruining my molars. I find myself frequently rubbing parts of my hands together - especially when my hands aren't otherwise occupied. My dreams are vivid and I recall most of them, which is a pleasant side effect because I went many years without remembering my dreams (maybe due to alcohol abuse?). Another unpleasant side effect is clumsiness. I'll reach for something and miss it or jam my hand into a solid object, I drop things, I hurt myself more often - stubbing toes, smashing fingers, and cutting my hands more often in the kitchen. My doctor has put me on two different anxiety meds but the side effects were not acceptable so I stopped them. I'm considering lowering the Lamictal dosage to see if the memory issues improve; I can deal o.k. w/ the other side effects. I can't imagine not taking this drug, so I'll most likely endure the side effects for as long as possible.

I would like to let people who are new to the Lamictal "experience" that it was VERY uncomfortable for me during the first few months also. In fact even at the very low introductory doses, I did not think that I could ever function in society.

The extreme confusion, the memory problems, the spaceyness, the feeling of detachment from everything that surrounded me... at the time I felt that I would never be able to function as a worker, a friend, or as a social being.

As time went on though, things did clear up for me. It took a few months, but I'm guessing that my brain function/chemistry finally somehow regulated itself, and my side effects did clear up. I am at a dosage of 600mg per day now, and yes, I do sometimes feel detached, but I certainly can function. My memory has also improved. It sometimes takes me a second or two to find the "right word" during my conversations, but a simple, light hearted mention of the problem resolves the issue for the person that I am speaking to.

If you are just getting on Lamictal, try to be patient. I have found that in time, it has helped me much more than the side effects hurt me. It did take a few months to get used to, and I did have to explain to others at work that I may be acting strangely for a couple weeks because of it... but the overall effect is quite nice now.

Lamictal now helps control my seizure problems almost completely, and has the added benefit of making me feel much more confident, and balanced.

I have been on Lamictal for about five months for bipolar II. I has been increased slowly over these months and I am now up to 300 mg a day. I have a tendency to sometimes forget things but remembering numbers has never been a problem for me. In fact I can look at someone's tag number driving down the road and remember it for days. Phone numbers of people I have known for 20 years would stick and I wouldn't even have to call them on a regular basis to know the number. However, recently while trying to use my bank debit card at the store I was asked to enter my PIN number and totally could not remember. I tried it several times but it never came to me. I felt like a fool!. At this time, that was three days ago and I still cannot remember it!

This is very, very distressing to me. I feel like something has been wiped clean and that I will never get it back.

My Lamictal dose has been increased in the last couple of weeks and I thought maybe Lamictal or one of my other meds could be making this happen so I started researching and found this site where other people were complaining of memory loss while on Lamictal.

Headaches are another common side effect for me while on this med. It has really helped me emotionally and I need to know if the memory loss is just going to be a temporary thing and it will get back to normal or if I will be forgetting more and more over time. PLEASE HELP!!!

lamictal controls seizures if you take it at the right time. i am on 200 at night and 200 in the morning plus epilim. sometimes i just sit and cry wen im trying to concentrate on reading books i have to study or trying to remember work i learnt at school which has left my brain. im failing school not matter how hard i try, i study all the time then the next day i have forgotten it. im so young and i havnt even started my future yet and i may have screwed it already. failing exams because i forgot wat i learnt the night before hurts so bad. its hard to say "hey everyone the reason i failed is because lamictal screws my memory" i know thats what it is. i was extremely intelligent before i started taking it, but now im a failure. i guess deep inside i know really im not a failure, but lamictal makes me one. : ( p.s add a constant hand tremor and sudden jerking movements every now and then.

I take 5 diff. drugs and am trying to figure out which side effect is associated with which drug. I have a really shotty memory now where I have lost perception of time. I thought I had spoken to my friend two weeks ago and I spoke to her two days ago. I read the news all day at work and can't remember any of it. This could be from the Ativan, Ambien, Geodon or Provigil that I am also taking, but I have no idea which or if its the combo of a few. I am on all of these drugs because i have Bipolar 1 disorder. I take 400 mg of Lamictal at night. Any insights? Thanks.