Posted by SLS on March 30, 2009, at 6:57:22
In reply to Lamictal - Permament brain damage??, posted by F00TBALL on March 30, 2009, at 0:23:01
> I'm a college student who began taking Lamictal in the summer.
>
> Side-effects involving memory and concentration resulted in me getting off it in early November. The problems HAVE CONTINUED, however.
>
> I'm having severe concentration/focus and short-term memory problems. I have extreme difficulty reading, and have to reread lines multiple times to begin to comprehend the text. Basically, I just feel like my brain and my mental processes are running at half speed.
>
> After finding some information about Deplin possibly being beneficial, I tried it...nothing changed.
> I'm seeing similar information about Cerefolin NAC. Is it worth trying even if Deplin did nothing for me?
> Is it possible that these cognitive impairments may be some sort of permanent brain damage?
>
> Any information would be helpful...
> - Thanks
Sometimes, people mistake the symptoms of the underlying illness with the side effects of the drugs they have been on, especially when there is so much overlap. The things you describe are exactly what one would expect for depression in the absence of Lamictal. I don't believe you have permanent brain damage. I was on Lamictal for over 3 years before I realized that it was affecting me cognitively. I thought all of my cognitive impairments were due to my depression. When I lowered the dosage to 200mg, the Lamictal-induced impairments disappeared immediately, leaving me with those impairments that are a normal part of depression. I can't say for sure that there are no residual impairments with you due to your exposure and discontinuation of Lamictal, but I doubt it.I doubt Cerefolin would be helpful if Deplin was not. However, the problem with trying to advise someone on manipulating their brain chemistry is that so much of treatment is trial and error and fraught with paradoxical effects. What I am trying to say is that, although there are differences between the two preparations, I doubt that the addition of the two substances to Cerefolin would make it work better than Deplin. However, I can't know that for sure. If money is no object, I don't think it can hurt to try it.
Which drugs have helped you the most?
Which drugs have hurt you the most?
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:887679
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090330/msgs/887697.html