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Anti-depressants and memory/concentration
About 4 years ago I was going through a tough time - a breakup of a 4 year relationship. Until that point, I was not a real emotional type of person. I had a demanding job and was going through the breakup. I found myself going through crying fits - VERY out of the norm for me. For the first time in my life started to ask myself if there was something wrong with me. I went to see my family doctor about the situation. I was "diagnosed" with depression and put on Wellbutrin and Lexapro.
Within 6 months, I began experiencing a high level of confusion, lack of concentration, lack of memory, lack of coordination and . . . what I can best describe as dizziness? I also experienced a lack of motivation and periods of "zoning out" as well as uncontrolled muscular movements (whole arm, hand, foot or leg).
As I began to notice these conditions, I went back to the doc who said these are not common side effects of the medications. Stated it must be some other physical issue. We did all the blood tests TWICE (came back ok), an MRI and an EEG - looking for issues in the brain (no fault found there either). I was sent to a psychiatrist - two visits with him resulted in the conclusion that it was NOT a psychiatric issue. I was sent to a specialist to evaluate cognitive ability - I was said to be all good. ALL of these tests say I am fine - but I KNOW for a fact that I am NOT fine. I MAY meet "the norm" for the average person on all tests but there has to be something that is not normal for ME. Of course we never took any of these tests OF ME when I was well. We have only taken tests of me when I am not well and then compaired the results to that of other people. In the end we did end up changing the meds - as I recall, I was then on Provigil for a short time and then Cymbalta. I was on Cymbalta for a couple years but went off of that about 9 months ago and have NOT BEEN ON ANY anti-depressants since.
I decided to go off ALL anti-depressants because the ONLY effect I got from any I took was the side effects - everything from MASSIVE night sweats, to a TOTAL elimination of my sex drive AND all of the previously mentioned issues relate to cognitive ability. Did any of these meds help with the original issues of sadness related to the breakup? WHO KNOWS? I was so distracted with all the "new problems" once on the medications, the sadness / moodiness was actually LESS of a concern for me. Trying to keep my job of 12 years became much more important - even though I LOST THAT JOB because I could no longer perform the job which required multi-tasking ability which I simply no longer had. Additionally, it is hard to tell if the meds helped with my original concern - for the fact that you have to wait through the "ramp up" period - maybe I would have just rebounded on my own within the 6 months and not had any of these crazy side effects.
Fast forward to today. I have been off all meds for 9 months and have been HOPING my cognitive ability will get back to what it once was. That has not happened. Confusion, lack of memory, lack of ability to prioritize and follow through are all really big issues for me to this day - although BETTER than three years ago. I have been in and out of the doctor’s office more times in the last 4 years than I had ever been to the doctor in the previous 30 years of my life - all to no avail. I have lost my job, I have gone bankrupt, I have ended up living with family and currently have no job - no income - no insurance. I can't even play the game anymore - even if I wanted to.
The way I see it, there are two possible situations - #1 I had a MAJOR mental melt down 4 years ago and the fact that the timing was exact, on the dot when I happened to start taking anti-depressants was nothing more than a coincidence OR #2 the anti-depressants CAUSED all these issues. I am not 100% sure which it is but I can honestly say that if I had known then what I now know about anti-depressants, I would have NEVER started down that road. I believe they have ruined my life. The ironic thing is, if there was ever a point in my life I SHOUILD be depressed, anxious and having crying fits, it now but I'm not(!?).
Question is, does ANYONE out there know what the correction is for what either Wellbutrin or Lexapro (or the combination) has done to me? Will I ever get back to "normal"? Can anyone help?
Sincerely,
Confused
Within 6 months, I began experiencing a high level of confusion, lack of concentration, lack of memory, lack of coordination and . . . what I can best describe as dizziness? I also experienced a lack of motivation and periods of "zoning out" as well as uncontrolled muscular movements (whole arm, hand, foot or leg).
As I began to notice these conditions, I went back to the doc who said these are not common side effects of the medications. Stated it must be some other physical issue. We did all the blood tests TWICE (came back ok), an MRI and an EEG - looking for issues in the brain (no fault found there either). I was sent to a psychiatrist - two visits with him resulted in the conclusion that it was NOT a psychiatric issue. I was sent to a specialist to evaluate cognitive ability - I was said to be all good. ALL of these tests say I am fine - but I KNOW for a fact that I am NOT fine. I MAY meet "the norm" for the average person on all tests but there has to be something that is not normal for ME. Of course we never took any of these tests OF ME when I was well. We have only taken tests of me when I am not well and then compaired the results to that of other people. In the end we did end up changing the meds - as I recall, I was then on Provigil for a short time and then Cymbalta. I was on Cymbalta for a couple years but went off of that about 9 months ago and have NOT BEEN ON ANY anti-depressants since.
I decided to go off ALL anti-depressants because the ONLY effect I got from any I took was the side effects - everything from MASSIVE night sweats, to a TOTAL elimination of my sex drive AND all of the previously mentioned issues relate to cognitive ability. Did any of these meds help with the original issues of sadness related to the breakup? WHO KNOWS? I was so distracted with all the "new problems" once on the medications, the sadness / moodiness was actually LESS of a concern for me. Trying to keep my job of 12 years became much more important - even though I LOST THAT JOB because I could no longer perform the job which required multi-tasking ability which I simply no longer had. Additionally, it is hard to tell if the meds helped with my original concern - for the fact that you have to wait through the "ramp up" period - maybe I would have just rebounded on my own within the 6 months and not had any of these crazy side effects.
Fast forward to today. I have been off all meds for 9 months and have been HOPING my cognitive ability will get back to what it once was. That has not happened. Confusion, lack of memory, lack of ability to prioritize and follow through are all really big issues for me to this day - although BETTER than three years ago. I have been in and out of the doctor’s office more times in the last 4 years than I had ever been to the doctor in the previous 30 years of my life - all to no avail. I have lost my job, I have gone bankrupt, I have ended up living with family and currently have no job - no income - no insurance. I can't even play the game anymore - even if I wanted to.
The way I see it, there are two possible situations - #1 I had a MAJOR mental melt down 4 years ago and the fact that the timing was exact, on the dot when I happened to start taking anti-depressants was nothing more than a coincidence OR #2 the anti-depressants CAUSED all these issues. I am not 100% sure which it is but I can honestly say that if I had known then what I now know about anti-depressants, I would have NEVER started down that road. I believe they have ruined my life. The ironic thing is, if there was ever a point in my life I SHOUILD be depressed, anxious and having crying fits, it now but I'm not(!?).
Question is, does ANYONE out there know what the correction is for what either Wellbutrin or Lexapro (or the combination) has done to me? Will I ever get back to "normal"? Can anyone help?
Sincerely,
Confused
To comment on your question. I too have memorty loo, lack of concentration, lack of abliity to priortize. I lost my I was a Hospice nurse. Thr powers that be said I spent too much time with patients, plus I have a W/C case that is active. My paperwoek was NEVER turned in on time, I believe this was the result of my problems. The firing me was the best thing I could do, I think. I was getting so far behimd. It was afraid that I could have caused have harm to a patienr, and I wouldn't live with myself.
I am on Provigil 200mg daily, Wellbutrin 100mg 3x day, Lamictal 100mg 2 tabs twice daily, Effexor 75mg 4 times daily, Neurontin, plus other B/P meds KCL, diuretics,pravachol, and numerous vitimins after gsdtric bypass. I can remember an an incident fron the past , say45 years ago. I can see how a chair was sitting and a shell fo a door, butI can't remember if I ate breakfast this morning soooooooooo I just eat when I am hungry. As for the side effects, I will deal with then rather deal with them than the condition I was in. My husband said I didn't bath for a month. I slept or stayed in bed to myself most of the time that month.. I have posted above, but forgot. See I told you I amLlosing my mind. Well I willl close. TTYL.
I am on Provigil 200mg daily, Wellbutrin 100mg 3x day, Lamictal 100mg 2 tabs twice daily, Effexor 75mg 4 times daily, Neurontin, plus other B/P meds KCL, diuretics,pravachol, and numerous vitimins after gsdtric bypass. I can remember an an incident fron the past , say45 years ago. I can see how a chair was sitting and a shell fo a door, butI can't remember if I ate breakfast this morning soooooooooo I just eat when I am hungry. As for the side effects, I will deal with then rather deal with them than the condition I was in. My husband said I didn't bath for a month. I slept or stayed in bed to myself most of the time that month.. I have posted above, but forgot. See I told you I amLlosing my mind. Well I willl close. TTYL.
Okay yes I know, but the thread still comes up in searches so I figured someone might find it useful reading in the future..? Didn't want to start a new thread for the same issue. No worries, just felt like sharing and had nothing else to do. Not expecting answers if that's what you mean.
You do realise you are trying to talk to someome who posted this post over a year ago don't you? The likelihood is they are gone and you are resurrecting a thread that is irrelevant. Please, if this problem is current for you, start a new thread, don't dig up old discussions.
Hi there, I came across your experiences while googling ADs vs. memory loss.
I was on Effexor for 7 months in 2002-2003 and it changed my life. Not for the better either. I think my salvation was a great psychiatrist, whom I saw weekly for a year and twice a month for the following year after my divorce. When I was first diagnosed with depression and started taking the drug, I felt as if someone pulled me into a tunnel where everything moved in slow motion. That was spooky! I've always relied on my quick thinking and held responsible jobs: suddenly it took me 2 hrs just to write a single email.
The side-effects diminished in about 3 to 4 weeks and Effexor effectively "zeroed" my anxiety-levels (as well as all positive feelings...), enabling me to go through the first months of intensive cognitive therapy. Anyhow, I cried from the beginning to the end of every session for the first six months. After 7 months on the AD, I suddenly began experiencing high BP, dizziness and my ASAT/ALAT-labs (indicating liver function) popped up. My shrink saw this as a sign to get me off it, so I stopped incrementally, experiencing all the same horrid side-effects all over again.
I really expected to "be myself" after quitting the drug, but guess what. I wasn't. I've tried to describe how it was... It's like everything familiar in your head has been re-organized, re-indexed somehow. I KNEW I remembered a certain name, issue, amount, person etc. BUT COULD NOT recall the details. It's as if pretty much everything was "on the tip of my tongue", but refusing to come out. I can only describe this as F...ING SCARY. (Pardon the French.) My shrink didn't have answers either. Apparently, I too was somehw "over-sensitive" to the effects of the drug?
What is interesting, is that I don't think I've ever gone back to be the same person. I know, life will do that to ya! :0) But that's not what I mean. You have a certain cognition, a way of thinking, you know what you're made of and what you can do: then suddenly, all that familiarity is gone and you have no way of knowing how you'll do and what you'll remember. THESE I consider to be effects of the AD Effexor.
I've not taken any ADs after Effexor. At the time, I was 31-yrs old and pretty frieked out. Had a great job though and incredible friends, so I pulled through somehow. Started writing everything down at work and in private, made lists, post-it notes everywhere, coped. Somehow. I must have spent at least 3yrs re-learning how to think and remember. Figuring out the "indexing" in my head, if you will. What took the longest to come back was creativity. I used to write poems, articles and songs for my own amusement and small publications. I don't think I'm exaggerating if I say, that innovativeness and creativity started coming back to me 5-6yrs after stopping the drug. This is how it happened for me. Needless to say, I will never EVER in my life knowingly ingest psychotropic drugs again. NEVER.
Like I said, I've had the best shrink. She helped me sort out the divorce and just about all the very human misconceptions about myself and relationships I had accumulated until that age of 31. I now am a happy mom, re-married, working and studying a master's in politics. So I just want to encourage all of you who have gone through a similar hell with ADs. The human brain has incredible healing power. I think my recovery was possible because I had very concrete and "reality-based" cognitive therapy on a regular basis and submitted to that painful experience we humans call "growth". This, I believe, gives me a totally different starting point, should my depression ever occur again. I've done my homework. I am now realistically responsible for my own life and accept myself with a healthy dose of mercy, humour and love.
I am under the impression that huge global pharmaceutical companies are not too keen to investigate this phenomenon we have experienced. Por que sera...? ;0) But it seems that ADs can really alter the brain's functions (=destroy them, in plain English!!) to a far greater extent that we know. This is why I would never recommend ADs to anyone without proper guidance and regular controls (and I mean WEEKLY!), preferably not at all without some sort of hard-core therapy that gets to the bottom of the real issues.
So, don't give up!! :0)))))))
I was on Effexor for 7 months in 2002-2003 and it changed my life. Not for the better either. I think my salvation was a great psychiatrist, whom I saw weekly for a year and twice a month for the following year after my divorce. When I was first diagnosed with depression and started taking the drug, I felt as if someone pulled me into a tunnel where everything moved in slow motion. That was spooky! I've always relied on my quick thinking and held responsible jobs: suddenly it took me 2 hrs just to write a single email.
The side-effects diminished in about 3 to 4 weeks and Effexor effectively "zeroed" my anxiety-levels (as well as all positive feelings...), enabling me to go through the first months of intensive cognitive therapy. Anyhow, I cried from the beginning to the end of every session for the first six months. After 7 months on the AD, I suddenly began experiencing high BP, dizziness and my ASAT/ALAT-labs (indicating liver function) popped up. My shrink saw this as a sign to get me off it, so I stopped incrementally, experiencing all the same horrid side-effects all over again.
I really expected to "be myself" after quitting the drug, but guess what. I wasn't. I've tried to describe how it was... It's like everything familiar in your head has been re-organized, re-indexed somehow. I KNEW I remembered a certain name, issue, amount, person etc. BUT COULD NOT recall the details. It's as if pretty much everything was "on the tip of my tongue", but refusing to come out. I can only describe this as F...ING SCARY. (Pardon the French.) My shrink didn't have answers either. Apparently, I too was somehw "over-sensitive" to the effects of the drug?
What is interesting, is that I don't think I've ever gone back to be the same person. I know, life will do that to ya! :0) But that's not what I mean. You have a certain cognition, a way of thinking, you know what you're made of and what you can do: then suddenly, all that familiarity is gone and you have no way of knowing how you'll do and what you'll remember. THESE I consider to be effects of the AD Effexor.
I've not taken any ADs after Effexor. At the time, I was 31-yrs old and pretty frieked out. Had a great job though and incredible friends, so I pulled through somehow. Started writing everything down at work and in private, made lists, post-it notes everywhere, coped. Somehow. I must have spent at least 3yrs re-learning how to think and remember. Figuring out the "indexing" in my head, if you will. What took the longest to come back was creativity. I used to write poems, articles and songs for my own amusement and small publications. I don't think I'm exaggerating if I say, that innovativeness and creativity started coming back to me 5-6yrs after stopping the drug. This is how it happened for me. Needless to say, I will never EVER in my life knowingly ingest psychotropic drugs again. NEVER.
Like I said, I've had the best shrink. She helped me sort out the divorce and just about all the very human misconceptions about myself and relationships I had accumulated until that age of 31. I now am a happy mom, re-married, working and studying a master's in politics. So I just want to encourage all of you who have gone through a similar hell with ADs. The human brain has incredible healing power. I think my recovery was possible because I had very concrete and "reality-based" cognitive therapy on a regular basis and submitted to that painful experience we humans call "growth". This, I believe, gives me a totally different starting point, should my depression ever occur again. I've done my homework. I am now realistically responsible for my own life and accept myself with a healthy dose of mercy, humour and love.
I am under the impression that huge global pharmaceutical companies are not too keen to investigate this phenomenon we have experienced. Por que sera...? ;0) But it seems that ADs can really alter the brain's functions (=destroy them, in plain English!!) to a far greater extent that we know. This is why I would never recommend ADs to anyone without proper guidance and regular controls (and I mean WEEKLY!), preferably not at all without some sort of hard-core therapy that gets to the bottom of the real issues.
So, don't give up!! :0)))))))
OMG !!! It sounded like you were describing me to the tee. All the symptoms and side effects. Sad thing though these are the only meds that come near helping my depression and severe anxiety. I am on Wellbutrin, Effexor, Provigial, Neurontin and Lamictal. MD finally got these meds and they have symptoms some. Man those night sweets, nightmares, confusion, concentration, memory loss have me wondering if I have Alzehimer's (sp) .My disease has resulted in me being disabled and unable yo work. Filed for SSA Disability. Probably will deny. I was forgetting things at work. Also getting further and further behind in my paperwork. Lost my job. See, I am a nurse (RN ). After a while I was glad they terminated me for I couldn't and wouldn't live with myself had I caused any harm to anyone. I am sorry I dumped all this out to you all that read this. Thanks for allowing me to. BTW, it's been a while since you last posted. How are you doing. Are you off meds? Did MD change your meds? Hope I am not being too nosy. Tell me if I am. Hope to TTYL
Blessings,
Madlyn
Blessings,
Madlyn
1 Comments
The thing that worries me is that these meds are so potent, that people are forced to resign..they lose their jobs. Really people! These drugs are so dangerous, imagine how your depression will increase if you have stress coz you dont know where your next paycheck is gonna come from??Im sticking to my testimony..Ive been on lamatical, flunxol, risnia and i even sometimes forgot where my workplace is. For me personally, ive started applying for more serious jobs with more responsibility because i feel im ready to take them on. With Miradep, and Zopivane (and relislim for the weight control) i feel in control, im more often in a good mood and on top of things, at work and at home..the therapist said the meds helps 20%, the circumstances affects your well-being 80%. my circumstances at home is crappy at the moment, but im coping with it, and i feel like the best thing i couldve done for myself , is to leave all those drugs which made me lose my concentration, and turned me into a zombie. There was a time where i couldnt even carry out the simplest of tasks..but now im 100%
Have you ever considered getting tested for ADHD (predominantly inattentive). You don't have to be hyper to fit the diagnostic criteria! But, lack of concentration, distraction, impulsivity and disorganization are the hallmarks of this disorder. I suggest you do some extensive research about it and maybe read some reputable books.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/adhd_in_adults/page3_em.htm
This disorder usually responds well to stimulants such as caffeine; which heighten the ability to concentrate.
Other possible reasons for cognitive difficulties: bipolar disorder (which responds better to mood stabilizers and is worsened by antidepressants), Alzheimers, schizophrenia (this is more extreme and involves hallucinations), or medical reasons such as low blood iron (though you have said that you had blood tests, low iron can cause dizziness, moodiness, and brain fogs).
Good luck!
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/adhd_in_adults/page3_em.htm
This disorder usually responds well to stimulants such as caffeine; which heighten the ability to concentrate.
Other possible reasons for cognitive difficulties: bipolar disorder (which responds better to mood stabilizers and is worsened by antidepressants), Alzheimers, schizophrenia (this is more extreme and involves hallucinations), or medical reasons such as low blood iron (though you have said that you had blood tests, low iron can cause dizziness, moodiness, and brain fogs).
Good luck!
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