Quote:
Originally Posted by Stugrad98
Hi,
My friend is bipolar. She is presently having bigtime issues with a mental or cognitive fog and is asking for help from others who have experienced the same thing. I can verify that in the 3 weeks since I last saw her: her memory and mental acuity is noticeably "off." She is presently on: 500mg of Lithium, 200mg of Seraquil, and 0.5mg of Clonozepam. She also has had a really bad cold if that matters. Has anyone experienced this before? Do you know how to "fix" it?
Thank you,
Stu
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Hi Stu: Yes, I have most definitely experienced this before. Multiple times some for a very long time. What a lot of people don't know about bipolar depression is that it can affect someone very cognitively. Slowed down thoughts or lack of thoughts, trouble thinking and processing information are all signs of bipolar depression. It's not just about up or down mood.
It can be very debilitating as it has been for me and sounds the same for your friend.
Has she experienced these cognitive symptoms before she was prescribed medication? It is possible that certain medications can have a negative cognitive profile. I experienced these severe cognitive symptoms before on medication that led me to be hospitalized and then thankfully not much later to be diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder. So because of this I know it is not my medications that cause the problems, medications have only improved and nearly got rid of my symptoms for periods of time.
What one of my doctor's has told me is that lithium is very good for preventing manic symptoms but it is not that effective for bipolar depression symptoms. I don't know if that is for type 1 only or for 1 and 2.
I was first prescribed Risperidone because I had depression with psychosis and lithium. Later in life I was prescribed Latuda and then Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin worked really well for me, it is an antidepressant that is one of the least likely to cause mania and very unlikely if you are on a therapeutic dose of lithium. My symptoms became fairly minimal after being on the Wellbutrin for a couple of months. I was doing well until this past winter when I didn't take my Latuda for a couple of days by accident. My symptoms started to get worse and at the time I did not have a psychiatrist and the symptoms progressed and I became quite unfunctional. Then I got a new psych. a couple of months later and he prescribed Lamotrigine and over a number of weeks my symptoms improved greatly and I've being doing quite well lately.
In all of that information, (sorry it was a lot.) I would tell your friend to ask her doctor about other meds such as Latuda or Lamotrigine depending on the type of bipolar she has. Rule out if her current meds are causing cognitive problems. Also, it is always good to get a lithium level check once in awhile to make sure it is therapeutic. It is very important to take meds every day unless your doctor says otherwise!
Hope this helps