lunyolo

[lunyolo]

I am 33 years  but i realised that i had epilepsy in 1998. since then i was put on tegretol tablets .  but for 1 and ahalf years now , my memory is not very active. i forget things so fast. the worst is that i forget as fast as two minutes after doing something.
the problem is i went back for studies but when it came  to exams , i almost forgot all i had mastered  few hours before the exams! and this is affecting me  and my future .  my question is; is it tegrettol that is affecting my memory or the attacks because i take tegrettol of 400 lgms daily and i get an attack each month. and what can i do to regain my memory?

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

There are two aspects to your memory loss.

One is the side effect of Tegretol. Short term memory loss is a known side effect of Tegretol.  Whatever we learn, goes to our short term memory. And unless we revise it a few times, the information will be lost. The way out is, convert your short term memory in to long term memory. This can be done by forming a plan for memorizing, or learning. A weekly revision plan does help.

Second, I guess you may be suffering from 'partial epilepsy'. (as you are receiving Tegretol, which works best for partial epilepsy). Partial epilepsy involves, amongst other brain areas, the Hippocampus, which is responsible for memory. Especially the short term memory.

The practical solution would be to put the information you learn into your long term memory. It is a little time consuming, but it will help you a lot.

I wish you all the best.

Regards