Re: Do your meds make you dumb?

[Heather Alger]

I have been on meds continuously now for 12yrs. I did graduate from college but it was much more difficult for me to learn. When I didn't take meds I felt like I had more of an edge and I could concentrate better. I wish I could have that edge back. I know the trade off is worth it cuz my meds make me stable so I can hold a job and what not. Sometimes I feel like I'm not me because of the meds............I just wonder what I could do if I weren't on the meds. (not going to go off them or anything). I come from a very intelligent family (doctors, dentists) and I feel like the dumb one.

[dymphna]

im not sure. sometimes i think the meds made me a certain way, and sometimes i think they just made me have to work for things that came easily to me before. like searching for words on the tip of my tongue. *shrug*

who knows, maybe i wouldve lost friends and gained weight anyway?

[Summerbreeze]

Possibly they contribute to lack of concentration, or forgetting words, but it could also be menopause.

[withavengeance]

LOL, Summer, you took the words right out of my mouth. So, get outta my head, LOLOLOL!

[Judy W]

Oh lord Menopause and bp! Mmmmm seems like an interesting mix!
I think my meds have affected my ability to remember and to process information. I just do not think quickly or clearly any more.

[dymphna]

i should hope not! i started the meds when i was 14. lol

but if my periods stop, i could forgive the fogginess (WEG)

[Daisy]

No, they've made me smarter, than I was when I started taking them

I went for so many years with it untreated that it affected my cognitive abilities or at least that is what I understand happened. I have a degree in computer science with a minor in math but in 2004 I couldn't do basic math anymore. I would get the study guides for entrance exams for college and do the practice exams and I did less than 50% on reading comprehension. Since then I've gone back to schoole and gone a cert in Proj Management and now I'm taking IT classes online. My mind works again. I'm not as smart as I used to be but it's better than it was a few years ago and I think that the meds have reversed whatever had gone wrong with my brain. I've read the bp untreated can cause brain damage and that the bp meds can reverse the damage. I don't know if this is proven research but it seems to be true for me. Since I'm not going off of the meds I won't know if I'm not smarter without them. I don't think I will be because it would be a stupid thing for me to go off of them so that isn't smarter.
.

[withavengeance]

Eh, my short term memory sucks, big time. Meds or menopause, or both? Who the heck knows? I just have paper and pen close by all the time to write notes to remind myself of stuff. Plus my son keeps me straight, lolol.

[Donna]

I wouldn't use the term dumb, I would say my meds make me numb. Prior to my illness, I managed on OB GYN office. And I was damn good at it. Now I feel like I can't walk and chew gum at the same time. I also have a hard time gathering my thoughts and remembering things (too many ECT treatments). I feel like the meds just make you stable in one way, but unstable in another if that makes any sense.

[Heather Alger]

Why did u do ECT? It sounds like it doesn't help at all? Just curious...........I don't know anything about it.

[kat]

I have the "if only" syndrome too. Kay Jameson's book 'The Unquiet Mind' helped some. Even though I didn't reach my potential doesn't mean I haven't done something with my life, even if it's only having a semblance of self-sufficiency.

[Ken Poole]

I think I know what you mean. While I had the times of depression before taking these meds, I generally had more of 'an edge', although some of that was the mania times.
I agree that the trade-off is good, but I'm considering dropping out of my online college that I've been at for a year and still have a year to go, because it is pretty hard for me to learn the way I used to.

[Heather Alger]

Try not to drop out. I felt the same way my junior year of college but I hung in there and got a BS. My friends kept telling me if I knew everything that I wouldn't have to take the class. You may learn slower and have to work a little harder but you will feel better if you stick it out. I know you can do it. For me I had to do everything perfect before but its ok to get a C if you put in your best, which for us bps can be tough sometimes.