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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Serzone and memory loss
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Serzone and memory loss
by Leslie, Sep 13, 1999 12:00AM
I am a 32 year old female who has been taking 150 mg of Serzone twice daily (300 total) for depression for 2 or 3 years now, after dabbling with other antidepresants like Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac. The Serzone seems to keep me stable and everyting's been going smoothly, except for an extremely noticeable memory problem I seem to be developing. Sometimes it seems like early-onset Alzheimer's. I cannot remember people's names or faces - I can be introduced to the same person 6 times, and on the 7th time they won't even look familiar to me. I have problems remembering what movie I saw recently, or what I did over the weekend, etc.... I can remember stuff from childhood a little better but the recent years are really becoming difficult - and I know I used to pride myself on "never forgetting a face." Now I can barely remember any! My question is: is Serzone known to be a possible cause for memory loss or could there be another problem?
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS.MD-AJ, Sep 16, 1999 12:00AM
Leslie,
You appear to be having difficulty with your short-term memory. Memory impairment would be an unusual side effect of Serzone (Nefazodone). The incidence of memory impairment associated with Serzone is about 4%, compared with 2% in patients on placebo (a sugar pill).
There are a number of treatable medical conditions, including depression, hypothyroidism, to name a few, which can affect memory. You may find it helpful to discuss referral for a thorough medical evaluation as well as neuropsychiatric evaluation of your memory problems with your treating psychiatrist/physician.
You appear to be having difficulty with your short-term memory. Memory impairment would be an unusual side effect of Serzone (Nefazodone). The incidence of memory impairment associated with Serzone is about 4%, compared with 2% in patients on placebo (a sugar pill).
There are a number of treatable medical conditions, including depression, hypothyroidism, to name a few, which can affect memory. You may find it helpful to discuss referral for a thorough medical evaluation as well as neuropsychiatric evaluation of your memory problems with your treating psychiatrist/physician.
Although it is nice to know that I am not alone suffering this problem I am sincerely sorry that anyone does.
This won't be of much help to you but perhaps researchers may be interested in the difficulties we both seem to be experiencing on this medication.
I am noticing worse memory problems and marked confusion re daily events and commitments. I do not feel that this is coincidental, although I can't be sure.
Once again, my purpose in responding is to record my concerns re the potential yet unnoted side-effects of this medication.
The following is my experience with serzone/memory loss.
I am not a medical professional, nor am I a qualified dietary
advisor.
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I started taking serzone about 2 months ago. I started experiencing memory loss immediately. I have never had that
problem in my life! My doctor did not take me seriously and
repeatedly stated that serzone does not effect memory.
Recently, I started taking a zinc supplement for my immune
system. The zinc cured my memory problem!
I looked up zinc on the web and found that it plays an essential
role in memory. I believe (in my own uneducated oppion) that
serzone effected either my absorbion of zinc or exposed a
diffencency that already existed.
It is possible to overdose on zinc so please consult a medical
professional or a qualified dietary consultant.
I don't know if zinc will help you. All I know is that zinc
solved MY serzone/memory problem!