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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
Well I see things have not really made a positive turn, the original post to this thread was almost 4 years ago! Guess what, people are still going through the same things, and I speak for myself. So even though somebody posted that it is an old thread and ignore it, well it still is of help as you can see people are still deriving information out of it. MANY people are still going through the same things.
My case is exactly what the original post here described: (4yr relationship,all the same situations with forgetting things..etc) Just right now I got really angry at somebody for taking a drink I left in the fridge, and guess what, I had placed it on the counter maybe ten minutes before! That's why I am here now posting, I went directly to Google because situations like this have started to become the norm! I have been on a generic Wellbutrin (Bupropion) for 3 months now, I take 300mg a day, and it is my first time to ever take anti depressants in my life. I want to stop taking them now, especially now that I have been reading that it might take a loooong time to get back to normal if at all even possible now. By normal I mean concentrating and focusing and not doing really absent minded things.
My question is now that I want to stop taking the meds, I have heard that it is really bad to just stop taking them cold turkey, is it? Should I gradually stop taking them? I really would just like to stop TODAYbut im not sure that is wise, yet I feel as as if my few remaining brain cells are at stake! Anybody please advice..
God Bless
My case is exactly what the original post here described: (4yr relationship,all the same situations with forgetting things..etc) Just right now I got really angry at somebody for taking a drink I left in the fridge, and guess what, I had placed it on the counter maybe ten minutes before! That's why I am here now posting, I went directly to Google because situations like this have started to become the norm! I have been on a generic Wellbutrin (Bupropion) for 3 months now, I take 300mg a day, and it is my first time to ever take anti depressants in my life. I want to stop taking them now, especially now that I have been reading that it might take a loooong time to get back to normal if at all even possible now. By normal I mean concentrating and focusing and not doing really absent minded things.
My question is now that I want to stop taking the meds, I have heard that it is really bad to just stop taking them cold turkey, is it? Should I gradually stop taking them? I really would just like to stop TODAYbut im not sure that is wise, yet I feel as as if my few remaining brain cells are at stake! Anybody please advice..
God Bless
It seems by your posts that your cognitive abilities are fine. They show reason and the ability to analyze and focus on topic. If you were as bad off as you think you would not have been able to communicate so effectively. I agree with what you say, I have been damaged by the psych drugs like you but still have the depression and anxiety with many more diagnosis's to boot, now personality disorders too. Mental Health has no accountability or expectation of results for payment, plus you get a lot of bad treatment in many mental health facilities. It's up to you to fix you is what I hear and everything else is not provable one way or the other, whether it's the meds or the illness. Psychiatrists will never admit the meds are a problem. If your dsyfuntional now it's your problem, I know cause my life is a shambles now too, welcome to the world of Mental Health. Feel lucky your not locked in a hospital on drugs or you haven't tried to kill yourself yet. I have experienced those too. Good Luck and wish you the best.
I'd like to add a comment about my experience with Wellbutrin. I don't tolerate drugs well, and so was put on a fairly small dosage a few years back. I started driving strangely having problems with left hand turns, and then eventually right hand turns. I drove the wrong way on one way streets, and curbs seem to appear out of nowhere. Sounds bizarre, doesn't it? My prescribing Dr., a psychiatrist, said Wellbutrin was interferring with my executive functions. The dosage was lowered, and my driving problems stopped. Now, several years later, at 150mg SR I've noticed that my concentration is poor. I am constantly misplacing things, and forever, having to waste time looking for them. My age is 67, so it could be age related with the medication adding to it. I play computer games, and have a record of my scores from previous years, and they are all considerably higher than my recent scores. So I've decided to again cut back my dosage gradually to see if there's any improvement. I don't want to lose my mind prematurely.
Hello,
Wanting to find influence of antidepressant on cognitive abilities I find this forum and uau....exactly the same problems with memory and concentration loss as axadent1 describe it.
I'm writing from Slovenia, 26 years old and I was taking Zoloft for only 2 months but because of dizziness I stopped taking it. Now its more than 2 months I've been off Zoloft but my cognitive abilities wont come back???!!!!
I do exactly dumb things as axadent1 described, very f...scary! I also feel tired, have less enegy, worsen appetite, I also find my personality has changed - but I am not depressed at all!! This is side effect from antidepressant but why is still present after taking the drug for only 2 months?!?
I told psychiatrist for this problem but he said he has never heard for this kind of side effect taking so long. It must be some another disease. But I know it is from antidepressants!!! I know how was I before started taking it and how am I know. I would NEVER have taken the drug if I had known this would happen! And taking it for only 2 months!?They totally fuc....up my brains. I am not able to work at the moment because of this. And I am just praying my cognitive abilities to come back.
Next week I have CT test, I have also appointed for EEG. I did blood test yesterday and next week I'll find out the results. I did some "brain" tests with my doctor but everything was ok. As axadent1 said, tests were ok but if I done it before this they would se huge difference!!!
What is happening?!?
Wanting to find influence of antidepressant on cognitive abilities I find this forum and uau....exactly the same problems with memory and concentration loss as axadent1 describe it.
I'm writing from Slovenia, 26 years old and I was taking Zoloft for only 2 months but because of dizziness I stopped taking it. Now its more than 2 months I've been off Zoloft but my cognitive abilities wont come back???!!!!
I do exactly dumb things as axadent1 described, very f...scary! I also feel tired, have less enegy, worsen appetite, I also find my personality has changed - but I am not depressed at all!! This is side effect from antidepressant but why is still present after taking the drug for only 2 months?!?
I told psychiatrist for this problem but he said he has never heard for this kind of side effect taking so long. It must be some another disease. But I know it is from antidepressants!!! I know how was I before started taking it and how am I know. I would NEVER have taken the drug if I had known this would happen! And taking it for only 2 months!?They totally fuc....up my brains. I am not able to work at the moment because of this. And I am just praying my cognitive abilities to come back.
Next week I have CT test, I have also appointed for EEG. I did blood test yesterday and next week I'll find out the results. I did some "brain" tests with my doctor but everything was ok. As axadent1 said, tests were ok but if I done it before this they would se huge difference!!!
What is happening?!?
I didn’t read what other people have wrote... but i'm a 27 year old female that has gone through TONS of sad and trying times over the past 7 years.... It was funny when I read about your cognitive abilities and your lack of concentration/focus and your dizziness/vertigo...
I've just started Depression/Anxiety meds for those symptoms.. as well as the hopelessness feelings. A possibility could be that those meds that had you on weren’t the right ones and your depression/anxiety increased. Don’t give up.. my doctor told me that the reason why there are so many meds on the market (besides the pharmaceutical companies trying to outdo one another) is because one drug may work for some, where others it doesn’t. It takes time and effort with your doctor to determine which one works for you.
Wish you luck!
I've just started Depression/Anxiety meds for those symptoms.. as well as the hopelessness feelings. A possibility could be that those meds that had you on weren’t the right ones and your depression/anxiety increased. Don’t give up.. my doctor told me that the reason why there are so many meds on the market (besides the pharmaceutical companies trying to outdo one another) is because one drug may work for some, where others it doesn’t. It takes time and effort with your doctor to determine which one works for you.
Wish you luck!
I just ran across this thread after having similar problems. I took fluoxetine for 6 months. I have been off it for about a year and a half and am still having memory, concentration and sleep issues that are causing job performance problems for me. As others have described, it is like my mind is completely different than it was, and it is very upsetting. The side effects are worse than the original depression! Had I known this would happen I never would have taken the drug. I am worried that I will never get my mind back. I ran across this book while searching and wanted to recommend it to the others who are having similar problems: Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? the Rest of the Story on the New Class of Ssri Antidepressants Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lovan, Luvox & More by Ann Blake Tracy. The summary described our problems very well and I'm hoping it has some help for us.
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