[mllelystigre]

Like a lot of you, I've had the misfortune of experiencing severe cognitive impairment when on the following prescription medications: Lamictal, Propranolol, and (possibly) Wellbutrin.

I'm still on Wellbutrin and have been for five years. In the few months that I was on a very low dose of Lamotrogine/Lamictal, it was as if all short term memory ability disappeared. It got so bad that I had to drop a graduate course.

When regularly taking Propranolol, I suffered the same cognitive difficulties. I ended up getting fired from my job as an administrative assistant and am now nannying full-time.

Obviously, I'm still depressed and in serious need of some suggestions as to which specific meds could actually HELP me in the cognitive department. I won't take SSRIs or antipsychotics (Latuda). Seriously. My psychiatrist recently prescribed me Strattera, which I'm excited to try. I'd just really love to go back to life as it was when I had a functioning brain. Can't focus on anything now and am officially starting grad school in the fall. 😳

[with or without you]

This is the first time I've ever heard that psych meds *other* than benzos can cause this. I began experiencing memory slips in Sept. 2013. I was 32 at the time. I believe I was on Effexor and Wellbutrin at the time. This was a good 2 years before I started taking benzos regularly (which I am weaning off now).

I actually went to see a neurologist for a completely separate issue but I brought this up with her. She said my concerns were warranted given the timeline. She ordered an MRI of my brain and they didn't find anything abnormal. She also ordered a neuropsychological exam which I will be having in about 1 month. She thinks my description of symptoms getting worse is because my chronic back pain is "overriding" my thought process but I don't think it's the whole reason. The benzos and chronic pain are probably exacerbating it but I still maintain that things got bad years before either of these aspects came into the picture.

It is hard for me to describe what's going on, but the worst part for me is coming up with adjectives for things and short-term stuff concerning names, dates, and events that have occurred within the last 3 years or so. I also have a pattern of not remembering that I just told someone something and I constantly have to ask if I already told them XYZ, etc. It is hard for me to multitask anymore and when I have a distraction at work it can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes to get back on track.

It makes me really sad because I have a high IQ and my long and short term memory were always superior. I'm horrified by the prospect of what could happen to me if I ever tried to get another job, especially in an interview situation. "Sorry, what did you just say 5 minutes ago?" "What's the term I'm looking for...it's on the tip of my tongue..." "You just told me that"

I have heard that depression itself can cause cognitive deficits but I don't know if that's only true if the depression goes untreated for years and years. I was being treated in therapy and by a psychiatrist this entire time. I just haven't gotten better because I didn't respond to any meds. For whatever reason my mood is responding positively to acupuncture.

Sorry I can't give you more of an answer. FYI - I'm not on any medication at the moment other than Valium which I am titrating from right now. My new pdoc wanted to try some other meds I had never tried before but they interacted badly with the Xanax XR I was "stuck" on thanks to my former pdoc, so he cross-tapered me to Valium because it has a longer half-life. We tried tapering off Xanax first but that was an immediate disaster. The Valium taper has gone much better. *fingers crossed*

[Walkingwithspiders]

Lamictal is an an anti-eplieptic and most seizure meds cause mental fogginess. I spent years on topamax and came to refer to it as dopamax. Keppra was worse, but seizure meds almost always come with some degree of memory trouble and fatigue for me. On topamax I have to work a lot harder and often felt like giving up on school. So I know this class is a tough one.

Propranolol is a beta blocker. I have taken it in the past and found it made me too lethargic. I had a friend who took it for blood pressure issues (not at all depressed or anxious, a big Harley kind of guy) and he had to stop because he could barely get out of bed. My daughter is on the same dose as my friend (for social anxiety disorder with panic attacks) and is doing wonderfully. Lots of energy. Straight A's and graduating high school early with Honors. So I think it just depends on the person with beta blockers... Keep in mind lots and lots of people take beta blockers as they are used to treat illnesses like hypertension and heart problems.

I had no cognitive issues with Wellbutrin, but it didn't help my mental health issues either.

Stattera is often used to treat ADHD. It can help with depression and anxiety especially in women since ADHD presents differently in women and adults and may be an underlying cause of depression and anxiety. It can also help with mental focus. I found the ADHD meds didn't have that effect for me (I have tried dextroamphetamine, vyvanse, strattara, and ritalin), but they did boost my energy.

I hope that you can figure something out before grad school. School is hard enough without worrying about the impact of meds.