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Can Epilepsy Medicine Cause Adult ADD?

by admin

I am a 29 year old that has had Epilepsy for about eight years now...Ever since I had my two only seizures my attention span got very short..I started on Dilantin..then Depakote..then Topamax..and now Keppra..I used to be a quick thinker and I used to write poetry and I used to read many books..I can't do that anymore...I also can't pay attention to people when they talk to me..After a few minutes I get irritated and sleepy..and bored...and its embarrassing..I'm not bored with the person..I just can't pay attention..People have told me things and I forget so fast and have to ask over and over again 6 or 7 times...How am I supposed to do anything with my life if I can't concentrate...Who should I talk to about this...because I'm so frustrated with this and I feel like I'm brain dead..My mind used to be my greatest asset..Now its mush

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Tagged as: attention span, depakote, keppra, t pay, topamax

1 comment… read it below or add one

starinajar13 May 15, 2009 at 2:26 pm

I take Tegretol for epilepsy. While I'm not entirely sure if certain medications can cause ADD, I know for a fact that medicines such as Topamax and Lamictal can cause mental slowing (my neurologist said to me that Topamax was really bad for that). A seizure happens when neurons fire rapidly, so it would only be natural to make sure that anti seizure medications would slow them down. I believe that as a result, all epilepsy medications will slow your mind to varying degrees, but some are worse than others (Topamax, Lamictal). I think your best bet is to check out product monographs for the drugs you are taking (these can be found on the drug company's websites) and just skim over the documents to look for potential side effects.

Drugs.com is also a very informative website and a trusted resource :)

Best of luck!

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