Hi all,
I`m not very active on the forum but I had to reply on this post because I was looking for a reply to this question for a long time. I`ve been on Elavil and Valium for 8 years. Went off of them 2 years ago after a year taper because of the decline in cognitive capabilities. From that point on all my cognitive functions became dramatically impaired to the point I couldn`t work anymore: short term memory, loss of vocabulary, logic and perception of space gone. I got stupid. Couldn`t fallow a conversation anymore, felt humiliated because I had to fake understanding what my colleagues (at work) were talking about, wasn`t sure about the accuracy of my thoughts… My personality changed because I was feeling so insecure…

I thought I was damaged beyond repair by the medication.
To make a long story short… it went on for 18 -20 months(without any break) and I am somehow sure now that it was due to depression, not to medication. I am better now, functional.
Let me tell you something I didn`t know and would have made a difference to me: all memories are there 100%. Once you get over the depression, you will find them. Short term memory is getting restored to some 85%, recall of words and association while talking 75%, perception of space 60%(I`m talking space because I`m an architect, I think normally it`s not a big problem).
Some 2 months ago, when I begun to feel better, I thought maybe I`m going manic (I am not bipolar for the time being, never had a manic episode), I thought the ``approach`` to my cognitive decline changed but the status is the same. But I can actually talk, work and recovered my old personality… I have real feelings and emotions(those too were impaired)…
Even if my depression will come back I will remember that things are coming back to normal…

If I did any grammar mistake is because English is not my native language 

I`m so sorry we have to go through this…