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Posted Yesterday 1:47 PM (GMT 0)
sad  I am so scared. I take Lamictil for 3 years now and then suddenly got memory loss. My doc then gave me seroqual. After a while I got terrible sick and now have problems with my pancreas, digestions and lungs. Now he gave me abilify, but I've read the side-effects and it seems to be almost the same.

Does anybody here take Lamictil and Abilify, or just Abilify? I have temporal lobe epilepsy with Bipolar.

I'm so desperate for advice and my doc things I'm just paraoid, but he is not the person who now has health problems which is permanent because of HIS meds. sad  

Posted Yesterday 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
I loved Lamictal, but I am allergic to it and developed a dramatic rash to it. Seroquel is not something I could tolerate because I am too sensitive to medications and it made me lose my balance. I have not tried Abilify.

If you have epilepsy, you really need to be seeing a neurologist over a psychiatrist. It would be most helpful for you for one of each to work closely together, as many of the bipolar medications are anticonvulsants generally used for seizures. It may be too much to ask that one medication treat both your difficulties, but only these doctors in close consultation can tell you that.

I don't know what you mean by sudden memory loss on Lamictal. It is possible with epilepsy to have seizures on medications and such seizures can have far reaching and lasting effects on the brain. If you live alone, you don't always know if you are having seizures if they are petit mals or just absent-type seizures.

I do think it is time for a couple of new doctors and see what you can figure out here. Abilify won't really treat seizures and Lamictal may not work on both problems if taken alone. Like I said, you need a couple of doctors, one psychiatrist and one neurologist and make VERY sure they can and WILL talk to one another see what they can do for you. You aren't the only person around with two difficulties that overlap, yet really don't overlap.
Posted Yesterday 10:36 PM (GMT 0)
sinden,

i have gone on rages before in this forum and it seems that i will go on one again.

doctors work FOR you, they are an emplyee, like a gardener.  you, or if you are lucky, your insurance company pay the dr for his expert opinion.  drs are NOT gods.  they are educated human beings.  the only difference between me and my gp is two yrs of school and puting in a residency.  period.  of course or majors and the subjects that we took were different.  i lost my interest pretty quickly when i cut up a fetal pig.  and rosie has more education than i have.  if she had so chosen, she could easily have been a dr.

i call my drs by their first names at least once.  only one dr got upset.  he is no longer my dr.  of course i'm usually 20 yrs or so older than the dr, too.  i almost always call my gp by his first name and my pain management dr by his forst name.  i call my therapist by his first name, and my psychiatrist occationally by his first name (i can tell that he is uncomfortable with it but won't say anything to me about it.  i'm not out to make anyone uncomfortable, jsut to lay down some ground rules.)

if a dr doesn't listen to you, change drs or give the one you have a tongue lashing about who pays his salary.

drs lost their mystique with me when i was in college.  my next door neighbor was a med student.  on friday nights we would get pie eyed together.  i watched him practicing making suters for hours on end.  he was a really nice person anad i miss him.  we lost contact after we both graduated.  when a dr gets uppidy, i just imagine my old next door neighbor sloppy drunk on a friday night.

i know that i can be a crotchety old man who is overly opinionated.  i also have bp and chronic pain (i'm suffering from that right now and hurt like he**).  but you have to be your own advocate with the medical community or it will roll you up and compact you.  a few yrs ago one of my best friends was dieing of cancer (it happens when you get older).  they had him in a room by himself after he came out of icu.  my wife and i cam e up to visit him and found him drowning in his own vomit.  i got ahold of a nurse immediatly and gave the hospuital administrator a good piecr of my mind.  if my wife and i had not been there for my friend, and acted as advocaes for him, he would have died right then and there.  he died about 6 mos later.

be strong.  be forceful.  be aware.

end of rant.

warren

Posted Yesterday 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I have taken lamictal for years also and have very bad memory loss and did not know which med was doing this. I am also on seroquel which is my miracle drug for me. I also take trileptal and hope I may not need both anymore. I have friends that are doing very well. I understand fully about the side effects. I would continue to discuss this with your doctor so you can feel ok to start it. Remember, if it does not work for you you can always d/c it with the doctor. I had to do that with risperdal and zyprexa. Good luck and I hope your physical problems resolve also.
Posted Today 5:20 AM (GMT 0)
Hey-

Yeah, I currently take Lamictal and I know what you mean by memory loss.  I really noticed the effects during the first 3 months when I couldn't remember how to spell words or recall details in the books I was reading.  Lamictal is a very good medication in my opinion.  Great stabilising effect with mild antidepressant properties.

Aside from this, Lamictal can and will give most people a serious case of the dumbs.  Fortunately, I can only vaguely remember what I was like before I started taking it.  Most of the memories were also of depression and less than adequate mental performance at that time.

Right now, my Lamictal dosage is steady at 200mg once a day.  I cannot really notice any effect except if I drink alcohol (which is seldom ever now).  Lamictal will give me a terrible hangover with only 2-3 drinks even if I remain hydrated.  Alcohol doesn't allow the medication to work, so then Lamictal hits my brain the next few days in the form of extremely vivid dreams.  That's about it.

I want to quit Lamictal too at some point but I think its much better than lithium or seroquel.  So is this memory loss possibly permanent?

-D 

 

Posted 12/3/2006 11:37 AM (GMT 0)
This is all very interesting. I was put on Lamictal within a few weeks of having a small stroke a couple of years ago. I KNOW I had memory loss, but it stemmed from before the Lamictal. What I remember about Lamictal was feeling really good and "on my game" when I was on it, but had significant word finding problems and difficulty speaking. I still attribute this to the stroke, but it is an interesting question if it was the Lamictal.

I have not taken any bipolar meds in over a year. I still have difficulty speaking and finding words, and I think this is permanent, but it is not the Lamictal...I promise! This is lupus fog on my part and on days when it decides to strike me in the kisser, I can't speak in a straight line and I'll know the word, can see it in my head, can spell it, but cannot, for the life of me, speak the word.

You just can't go by me, I have plenty of health "issues" and they aren't really drug related, per se. The stroke was from a drug interaction and darned if I don't still have the odd little seizure/black out and do myself damage. D_J right about meds giving a profound case of the "dumbs" but I don't need meds to give me the "dumbs" it is just who I am...sad, but so.
Posted 12/4/2006 8:28 AM (GMT 0)
Thanx for all the input of you all. I'm so glad I don't feel alone anymore.

I quit the seroqual and had some withdrwal symptoms for 3 days and now only have difficulty sleeping. I haven't take theAbilify yet. I first wanna see what is going to happen, because this time of the year I have little luck to get hold of doctors.

D-J, yes, interesting question. The seroquals help for my memoryloss which they said was due to stress and not the lamictil, but I have the same question: Is it the Lamictil which looses it's effect, or is it a side-effect of lamictil which will get worse or is it my TLE which gets worse. The problem is, I must find a way to improve my concentration and memory. I think the main thing a short is a holiday. I'm tired and it is almost 2 years since I've been on holiday.

I will be glad to hear from people about this memory loss story of Lamictil. I discociated a lot from reality before I took Lamictil, but this is a total different kind of memory loss....it is like stricking a blank.

Thanx for all the input and hugs to all.

:-)
Posted 12/8/2006 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
I have beem taking Lamictal on and off for about 2 years, never had the memory issue.  My memory issues are now related to the lithium I am on, but they are slight, nothing to worry about.
Posted 12/9/2006 6:20 AM (GMT 0)
I was doing a search for a forum that relates to diabetes to help a friend out and happened aupon this one. I saw that it had some of the issues that I am currently dealing with and joined. I agree that the Dr works for you. If he'she is not someone that you are comfortable with or you're having trouble finding a solution, then by all means keep looking. This doesn't mean that you should be looking soley at the physician for all the answers as we are all responsible to make an effort to help ourselves. With that said, I have tried more medications than I can remember (that's one of the areas that my wife really comes in handy :D) and it seems that they either don't work or stop having any benefit once my system has gotten used to them. Like you, I'll keep looking, and hoping that there is somehting out there that will help.
Posted 12/9/2006 10:42 PM (GMT 0)
meow,

you're probably too young to remember marcus welny and ben casey.  they set the measure for caring learned doctors.  of course it was a myth, but we, the american public, wanted that myth too badly that we accepted it.

i am 60 yrs old and have through several lifwetimes during this incarnation.  no, i don't trust drs to know everything and being able to cure all illnesses.  house is just a character on tv.  by the same token i have one of the greatest cpcs in the world and will defend him against all comers for any reason.  my pain management dr , likewise, is first rate.  do they know everything?  he** no.  do they try?  he** yes.  for that i give them credit.  i have reserced feelings about my new pdocc.

the ama ruled medicine in the use for almost 100 yrs.  we were taught theat fdrs don't make mistakes and that the way to good health is through following the advice of your md.  dos were relegated to the depths of medical he** and chiropractors were regarded as charletans.  i remember all of this.  you wonder why i take drs with a big dose of salt?  they lied and cheated and murdered thousands of patients because they wouldn't admit that alternative therapy might be efficastious.

i do not work for any drug companies and my only relationsip to this websdite is that i admire the founders, the moderators, and the people who take thiem off from their own suffering to share with the rest of us.  the economics of hosting a web site is that it takes money.   how much have you donated?  have you purchased anything from the hw store?  the shortfallmust came from somewhere and the drug companies have a budget that allows them and encourages them to advertise on web sites suh as hw.  persnally, i ignore the ads.  but then, again, learning to do this comes with maturity.

if you want to persue conspiracy theries, i might invite your attention to the relationship between our executive branch and they payments that they have receivesd from government contracters, such as haliburton.  much more interesting and you can really get wourself worked up.

warren

Posted 12/17/2006 10:28 PM (GMT 0)
confused  Oh goodness! My psuchiatrist took me off seroqual and put me on Zyprexa...lol....both causing diabetes! sad

Anyway, my problem has become more complex! They diagnosed me with Lupus. Lamictil can coz drug-induced Lupus, but we also have Lupus in the family. My problems are getting so complex now, I don't know which medicine or diagnose I can trust. Maybe I must trow all my meds down the toilet!

I'm doing great on the Zyprexa so far, but I'm getting the one sickness after the other. Hopefully I'll have some more answers soon.

Thanx for all the input. It really helps a lot. :-)

 

Posted 12/18/2006 7:37 PM (GMT 0)
eyes  Oh goodnes....my doc took me of seroqual, then put me on Abilify (which didn't work) and now put me on Zyprexa...lol,well.....It is working real good and I also have cravings. I have a new problem now. They diagnosed me with Lupus. They did a screen tests (ANA). Now I'm waiting for the second test results to confirm it. My sister has Lupus, but never had bipolar or TE. Now I've read on the net that Lamictil can cause drug-induced Lupus????

Now it is really complex. Lamictil was the only drug which worked. I don't know what I'm gonna do, but my doctor and psych is aware that I know Lamictil can cause it and that it is reverable when you stop taking Lamictil.

This will never end and I had to tell the doctor to test for Lupus, otherwise he would never think of it. Me and my sister have the same symptoms. She also developed pancreas problems and irritable bowl syndrome and fibromialgy.

I'll keep you all up date. Thanx for all the information. My doctor cant take me for a ride easily or use me as a test bunny anymore, coz he knows I do research on everything. This time was not the first time. I previously ask him to test for Coxaci and it tested high positive.

Thanx everyone....I'm getting more clever by the day. :-)

 

Posted 12/18/2006 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
Oh geeez...sorry for the double posting, but my internet got cut off, so I couldn't see if it was posted.

lol

:-)
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