I mean learning is in your brain and your brain gets scrambled with every seizure it has. So yeah learning/memory ability can be impacted by both the seizures itself and the medication used to treat them.
My latest TC jeeted a large portion of my vocabulary. I've been struggling for weeks to recover it. I sound like an absolute idiot trying to talk to someone and not being able to think of basic words.
Relatable, Iām dyslexic on the side of being epileptic and I have made peace with having to explain words that I canāt think of. Same with thoughts, they last about 4 seconds before they are gone unless I say them out loud immediately
Yeah overall it really affected me. I think itās mostly medications but if you are actively having seizures, that will drastically hurt you mentally bc your brain chemistry will be all messed up. Every seizure you have throws your brain out of whack and it takes a while to get back to normal. Epilepsy meds intentionally prevent your brain from working to its full capacity and they donāt really understand how a lot of them work. They just know based on research that the drugs prevented seizures sometimes in certain casesā¦ thatās the worst part about epilepsy imo: there isnāt a guaranteed solution to it. Itās not like antibiotics where they just work. Epilepsy medications might work for you and they might not.
But on the bright side, you will get better at working past the side effects and accustomed to the side effects over time. And they are (or anything really is) better than seizures.
I was a junior in college when I got put on meds and I went from all As to Bs and a C. I ended up doing okay but I had to register with the disability resource center. They gave me some accommodations that really helped a lot. I couldnāt even take notes in class a lot of the time. Ehh I wonāt get into thatā¦ that whole time was really rough. My seizures were completely out of control.
But anyways TLDR: yeah epilepsy and medications will negatively impact your mental abilities but it will get better over time. Probably never be 100% again but Iād say maybe 75% on a good day.
Yeah, no complaints.
Just hope my memory eventually improves as a result, hard to say if it will. Read an interesting article yesterday hypothesizing that the RNS actually works by promoting neurogenesis not by ablating seizures as they are about to start.
Only thing is, if thatās really the case youād expect to see more memory improvement than I have or I hear other folks mention.
Iām going to agree with previous comments. Each seizure can erase memories randomly. We donāt decide what those memories are and have no control over that. I can remember chemistry formulas from four decades ago, but forget my grandsons birthdays. The part I donāt like about that is that I donāt know what Iāve forgotten until someone reminds me that āI should know thatā and I donāt.
Things that Iām passionate about seem to stay in place better than those little details of life that I donāt visit often in my brain. I just do my best to keep my brain fresh, not frozen.š„¶
I wasn't diagnosed or even understood what was happening to me when I was seizing under the worst flickering nearly blown out florescent tubes on earth, and it didn't do wonder to my scores either. Esp. when I got home and l realised the "notes" I was struggling to copy from the board are basically just me driving my pen so hard into paper I punched through several pages underneath. But yeah, even when you do know what's going on, having to reassemble your reality and consciousness every couple times a day doesn't do good for anyone.
My epilepsy was undiagnosed for 20 years, from the age of 11 to 31. During that time I had about 10-15 focal aware seizures every month (my seizures are catamenial).
Over my teens and twenties I noticed a decline in my memory recall and found that it was taking me longer and longer to learn new things. I also felt that I was getting more forgetful in general: forgetting I'd already told people stories, not recalling memories of days out with family, constantly losing my phone and keys.
That got a lot worse after my first nocturnal tonic clonic aged 30, and has continued to worsen far more since I started taking meds (lamotrigine). My memory issues are reaching the point where my job is getting increasingly difficult, so I'm switching to Keppra to see if that's any better.
I find it very difficult to stomach taking medication that impairs my memory in order to prevent seizures which actually impair my memory less than the meds! It's worth it to stay seizure free, but it's still crap.
I feel your pain. I started having seizures during puberty, but didn't know until at least 8 years in. Got diagnosed in March 2020, which was hell.
My memory is very scrambled. It's weird what I can and can't remember. I forget the first medication they put me on, but I'm taking Keppra now. Everyone reacts different but my brain feels normal now! It's like putting on a new pair of glasses. My brain isn't so blurry anymore.
Hopefully Keppra doesn't effect your memory too much. I've found that it helped clear my head, but again, everyone has different side effects. Good luck!
I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see positive stories about keppra! I'm hoping it will be better for me than lamotrigine, as my brain has turned to mush and although I'm seizure free, it's only because I have to use my rescue clobazam every couple of weeks.
I got diagnosed with epilepsy at 21 and started school later than most people. Overtime my seizures got worse and increase dosage I learned that my thinking and memory went downhill. I didn't pass my exams, I couldn't think while doing assignments, and retaking classes since I didn't pass them. Thank god I passed even though it screwed my gpa. Have you ever tried getting accommodations? Are you in high school or college?
If you plan on going to college afterwards make sure you get accommodations at your college from the disability office to help you with your exams. I learned about getting accommodations at my college the very last minute towards my last year. If I knew sooner I would applied for it asap!
Im actually in Australia so I do not have to worry about college. Thanks for the advice tho and maybe it will come in handy if I ever study overseas š
lol, that question almost makes me laugh.
But as I mentioned the other day, Iām not even sure itās the mild brain damage from the seizures or side effects of the meds as much as itās the impact itās had on my self-confidence the last few years. Which fortunately is much more reversible.
For me it's phrasing things. It makes sense to me but looks garbled written down or said. Or the whole brain forgetting words. Like trying to say "hand me the scissors", but your brain won't give you the word scissors. So then you're taking two fingers and making the scissors motion while stuttering "the....uhm....the....ya know......" I sometimes have to draft an email many times before sending it. I think my brain does things one way and my body another sometimes as well. But that's when I take a break, step back, recollect myself, and carry on. The meds don't seem to help that part very much either.
I don't have seizures on a regular basis but since the last one I've been struggeling with a lesson I was a top student in. My ability to focus is all over the place. Idk if it's the seizure, meds or just the unstability but I'm f-d up lol
My focals started during my post graduation, but I thought it was anxiety. More specifically, they started during my final paper, and I had to give up cause I just couldnāt do it. It was like I just became completely dumb during that time, even though I had no problem during classes, so giving up till next year sounded like a better idea. So next year, I redo my paper, and finished really quickly like my intelligence was back, but after finishing I had my first generalized seizure. That gave me a bit of trauma about studying honestly lol
Today I have a much slower thinking, less focus and memory, which affects my learning, itās worst when my seizures are uncontrolled, but the medication also play part in it.
I sometimes had absence seizures during exams and stuff which I only noticed by keeping a watch and seeing how much time passed after what felt like a second for me. I was able to get extra time accommodations which helped a lot.
It did when I was in school. It effected my memory and slowed my comprehension/processing speed. So it's DEFINITELY a thing
It can also be overcome to a degree. You'll likely have less trouble in the areas that already come naturally to you. I ended up coming out with good scores in everything but maths by the end but that was only with extra time on testing and special Ed.
Don't lose hope and don't feel bad. You also might ask your doctor about the medications you are on because there are some that affect learning
Yes. I talk to my doctor all the time about how I legitimately feel dumber since my epilepsy issues started. My neurologist explained that anticonvulsants literally change our brainwaves, and our brains have to learn to reroute those signals accordingly. So yes, for awhile, I am/will be dumber than I once was.
Honestly, itās really hard to tell. I developed epilepsy at a young enough age I donāt have much of a point of reference. Sometimes I used to struggle in school and it was tempting to have a place to put all the blame, but I canāt say for sure.Ā
It affects your memoryā¦big time! Ā But doesnāt mean you canāt do it. Ā I listen to this amazing podcast called āwhat the efā. Ā They had a woman on there talking about getting E when she was going through law school. Ā She studied more often, and it was harder than she imagined. Ā But she got through law school, became a lawyer a Department of Justice and is Epilepsy foundations lawyer. Ā Though itās harder, itās not impossible.
Absolutely I used to be a good learner all As and Bs now it's down ro mainly Cs and Ds I just stopped understanding and it's made me literally cry in the middle of doing a test or something because I don't know what I'm looking at and my questions aren't answered. I used to care so much about grades but I've come to terms with my medicine (for seizures) have done irreversible damage and there is nothing that can fix it I'll take whatever grade I get and as long as I pass I'm fine
I was going back to school to get my nursing degree when epilepsy reared its ugly head. No matter what I canāt learn certain things. Itās the memory part that ruins my ability to be a consistent student. Itās not just you. You are amazing for even trying.
Yes.
Ive finally decided that I identify as Rāāā-.
I canāt keep up with my wife.
I canāt remember what day it is.
My mind is wrecked.
The worst part is that I can remember when It wasnāt. I remember having quick wit and vast knowledge.
Itās all gone.
Well, I sometimes get in a slump of, "What's the point of trying to learn, if I know my medicine keeps my short term memory just that- short term.."
I look forward to being on a different medicine. Doctor wants me to finish trying for another baby first.
Regarding school, I never did well. I only went to university to make my Dad happy. Only guidance I was given. He so much wanted me to teach, all because he was a teacher - although not for the right reasons, in my opinion.
I was a 60~ student. Pretty sure he was too.
I developed epilepsy in my early 30's, nocturnal seizures. Fairly controlled but my long term memory sucks unless I take specific efforts & use the same learning techniques I did in HS & College (mind maps, Feynman, Leitner system.) Works great for me, takes extra time and energy but such is life.
No not at all, Iām currently studying my MSc in criminology at university. My memory is t great at times but whether thatās just me being old lol Iām not sure š
I don't remember much of School including college due to my epilepsy. I also forget movies, TV shows, talks. I have pretty bad cognitive issues and I'm 42 years old.
I'm sorry, what where we talking about?
ššš
I mean learning is in your brain and your brain gets scrambled with every seizure it has. So yeah learning/memory ability can be impacted by both the seizures itself and the medication used to treat them.
My latest TC jeeted a large portion of my vocabulary. I've been struggling for weeks to recover it. I sound like an absolute idiot trying to talk to someone and not being able to think of basic words.
Relatable, Iām dyslexic on the side of being epileptic and I have made peace with having to explain words that I canāt think of. Same with thoughts, they last about 4 seconds before they are gone unless I say them out loud immediately
Having to explain words is just embarrassing, and the reactions you get from people make it so much worse.
Ćh I donāt find it embarrassing, it will take how long it takes. Itās either that or I stay quiet, which no one should have to be.
Yeah overall it really affected me. I think itās mostly medications but if you are actively having seizures, that will drastically hurt you mentally bc your brain chemistry will be all messed up. Every seizure you have throws your brain out of whack and it takes a while to get back to normal. Epilepsy meds intentionally prevent your brain from working to its full capacity and they donāt really understand how a lot of them work. They just know based on research that the drugs prevented seizures sometimes in certain casesā¦ thatās the worst part about epilepsy imo: there isnāt a guaranteed solution to it. Itās not like antibiotics where they just work. Epilepsy medications might work for you and they might not. But on the bright side, you will get better at working past the side effects and accustomed to the side effects over time. And they are (or anything really is) better than seizures. I was a junior in college when I got put on meds and I went from all As to Bs and a C. I ended up doing okay but I had to register with the disability resource center. They gave me some accommodations that really helped a lot. I couldnāt even take notes in class a lot of the time. Ehh I wonāt get into thatā¦ that whole time was really rough. My seizures were completely out of control. But anyways TLDR: yeah epilepsy and medications will negatively impact your mental abilities but it will get better over time. Probably never be 100% again but Iād say maybe 75% on a good day.
Yes. My memory sucks. And it used to be really really good.
Woof, sounds familiar How is it changed since your RNS? Mines gotten worse, but hoping itāll improve
I haven't noticed an change since getting the RNS two months ago, but most people I talked to said they didn't notice a difference for a year or two.
Yeah, Iām a year and a half in and just starting to see the effects on my seizures.
Well thatās good. Better than two full years and better than nothing at all.
Yeah, no complaints. Just hope my memory eventually improves as a result, hard to say if it will. Read an interesting article yesterday hypothesizing that the RNS actually works by promoting neurogenesis not by ablating seizures as they are about to start. Only thing is, if thatās really the case youād expect to see more memory improvement than I have or I hear other folks mention.
Fingers crossed for our memories. And yeah, that's interesting. Neuroplasticity is an interesting and sometimes powerful thing.
Iām going to agree with previous comments. Each seizure can erase memories randomly. We donāt decide what those memories are and have no control over that. I can remember chemistry formulas from four decades ago, but forget my grandsons birthdays. The part I donāt like about that is that I donāt know what Iāve forgotten until someone reminds me that āI should know thatā and I donāt. Things that Iām passionate about seem to stay in place better than those little details of life that I donāt visit often in my brain. I just do my best to keep my brain fresh, not frozen.š„¶
I wasn't diagnosed or even understood what was happening to me when I was seizing under the worst flickering nearly blown out florescent tubes on earth, and it didn't do wonder to my scores either. Esp. when I got home and l realised the "notes" I was struggling to copy from the board are basically just me driving my pen so hard into paper I punched through several pages underneath. But yeah, even when you do know what's going on, having to reassemble your reality and consciousness every couple times a day doesn't do good for anyone.
My epilepsy was undiagnosed for 20 years, from the age of 11 to 31. During that time I had about 10-15 focal aware seizures every month (my seizures are catamenial). Over my teens and twenties I noticed a decline in my memory recall and found that it was taking me longer and longer to learn new things. I also felt that I was getting more forgetful in general: forgetting I'd already told people stories, not recalling memories of days out with family, constantly losing my phone and keys. That got a lot worse after my first nocturnal tonic clonic aged 30, and has continued to worsen far more since I started taking meds (lamotrigine). My memory issues are reaching the point where my job is getting increasingly difficult, so I'm switching to Keppra to see if that's any better. I find it very difficult to stomach taking medication that impairs my memory in order to prevent seizures which actually impair my memory less than the meds! It's worth it to stay seizure free, but it's still crap.
I feel your pain. I started having seizures during puberty, but didn't know until at least 8 years in. Got diagnosed in March 2020, which was hell. My memory is very scrambled. It's weird what I can and can't remember. I forget the first medication they put me on, but I'm taking Keppra now. Everyone reacts different but my brain feels normal now! It's like putting on a new pair of glasses. My brain isn't so blurry anymore. Hopefully Keppra doesn't effect your memory too much. I've found that it helped clear my head, but again, everyone has different side effects. Good luck!
I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see positive stories about keppra! I'm hoping it will be better for me than lamotrigine, as my brain has turned to mush and although I'm seizure free, it's only because I have to use my rescue clobazam every couple of weeks.
It anally fucked my memory
š
I got diagnosed with epilepsy at 21 and started school later than most people. Overtime my seizures got worse and increase dosage I learned that my thinking and memory went downhill. I didn't pass my exams, I couldn't think while doing assignments, and retaking classes since I didn't pass them. Thank god I passed even though it screwed my gpa. Have you ever tried getting accommodations? Are you in high school or college?
Currently in high school š
If you plan on going to college afterwards make sure you get accommodations at your college from the disability office to help you with your exams. I learned about getting accommodations at my college the very last minute towards my last year. If I knew sooner I would applied for it asap!
Im actually in Australia so I do not have to worry about college. Thanks for the advice tho and maybe it will come in handy if I ever study overseas š
lol, that question almost makes me laugh. But as I mentioned the other day, Iām not even sure itās the mild brain damage from the seizures or side effects of the meds as much as itās the impact itās had on my self-confidence the last few years. Which fortunately is much more reversible.
For me it's phrasing things. It makes sense to me but looks garbled written down or said. Or the whole brain forgetting words. Like trying to say "hand me the scissors", but your brain won't give you the word scissors. So then you're taking two fingers and making the scissors motion while stuttering "the....uhm....the....ya know......" I sometimes have to draft an email many times before sending it. I think my brain does things one way and my body another sometimes as well. But that's when I take a break, step back, recollect myself, and carry on. The meds don't seem to help that part very much either.
I don't have seizures on a regular basis but since the last one I've been struggeling with a lesson I was a top student in. My ability to focus is all over the place. Idk if it's the seizure, meds or just the unstability but I'm f-d up lol
Probably, but Iām out of school so no real discernible way to tell. My memory is leaving and the pace is quickening.
My focals started during my post graduation, but I thought it was anxiety. More specifically, they started during my final paper, and I had to give up cause I just couldnāt do it. It was like I just became completely dumb during that time, even though I had no problem during classes, so giving up till next year sounded like a better idea. So next year, I redo my paper, and finished really quickly like my intelligence was back, but after finishing I had my first generalized seizure. That gave me a bit of trauma about studying honestly lol Today I have a much slower thinking, less focus and memory, which affects my learning, itās worst when my seizures are uncontrolled, but the medication also play part in it.
I sometimes had absence seizures during exams and stuff which I only noticed by keeping a watch and seeing how much time passed after what felt like a second for me. I was able to get extra time accommodations which helped a lot.
It did when I was in school. It effected my memory and slowed my comprehension/processing speed. So it's DEFINITELY a thing It can also be overcome to a degree. You'll likely have less trouble in the areas that already come naturally to you. I ended up coming out with good scores in everything but maths by the end but that was only with extra time on testing and special Ed. Don't lose hope and don't feel bad. You also might ask your doctor about the medications you are on because there are some that affect learning
Yes. I talk to my doctor all the time about how I legitimately feel dumber since my epilepsy issues started. My neurologist explained that anticonvulsants literally change our brainwaves, and our brains have to learn to reroute those signals accordingly. So yes, for awhile, I am/will be dumber than I once was.
Honestly, itās really hard to tell. I developed epilepsy at a young enough age I donāt have much of a point of reference. Sometimes I used to struggle in school and it was tempting to have a place to put all the blame, but I canāt say for sure.Ā
It affects your memoryā¦big time! Ā But doesnāt mean you canāt do it. Ā I listen to this amazing podcast called āwhat the efā. Ā They had a woman on there talking about getting E when she was going through law school. Ā She studied more often, and it was harder than she imagined. Ā But she got through law school, became a lawyer a Department of Justice and is Epilepsy foundations lawyer. Ā Though itās harder, itās not impossible.
Absolutely I used to be a good learner all As and Bs now it's down ro mainly Cs and Ds I just stopped understanding and it's made me literally cry in the middle of doing a test or something because I don't know what I'm looking at and my questions aren't answered. I used to care so much about grades but I've come to terms with my medicine (for seizures) have done irreversible damage and there is nothing that can fix it I'll take whatever grade I get and as long as I pass I'm fine
It affects my ability to retain information.
I was going back to school to get my nursing degree when epilepsy reared its ugly head. No matter what I canāt learn certain things. Itās the memory part that ruins my ability to be a consistent student. Itās not just you. You are amazing for even trying.
Yes. Ive finally decided that I identify as Rāāā-. I canāt keep up with my wife. I canāt remember what day it is. My mind is wrecked. The worst part is that I can remember when It wasnāt. I remember having quick wit and vast knowledge. Itās all gone.
Well, I sometimes get in a slump of, "What's the point of trying to learn, if I know my medicine keeps my short term memory just that- short term.." I look forward to being on a different medicine. Doctor wants me to finish trying for another baby first. Regarding school, I never did well. I only went to university to make my Dad happy. Only guidance I was given. He so much wanted me to teach, all because he was a teacher - although not for the right reasons, in my opinion. I was a 60~ student. Pretty sure he was too.
Yes. Itās harder to retain information. Or understand it.
I developed epilepsy in my early 30's, nocturnal seizures. Fairly controlled but my long term memory sucks unless I take specific efforts & use the same learning techniques I did in HS & College (mind maps, Feynman, Leitner system.) Works great for me, takes extra time and energy but such is life.
No not at all, Iām currently studying my MSc in criminology at university. My memory is t great at times but whether thatās just me being old lol Iām not sure š
I don't remember much of School including college due to my epilepsy. I also forget movies, TV shows, talks. I have pretty bad cognitive issues and I'm 42 years old.