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Help: Brain Fog
Wed, 09/12/2018 - 12:52Topic: Epilepsy.com Help
Hello, I have a very mild case of epilepsy that was diagnosed in 2015. I was 18 at the time and I am now 21 years old. For the first two years I was on Trileptal, however, when I switched doctors around this time last year I was put on Lamictal 250 mg. I've only had one seizure since so I remained on the meds. I don't really have any side effects but I did notice waves of "brain fog" which I had never experienced before. It's difficult to describe other than not feeling in your own body, forgetfulness, inability to focus, warped time perception, just to name a few. These waves would happen after drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana and hating the feeling, I gave up these habits and replaced them with better habits such as healthy eating, mostly natural and organic foods, and fitness. I'd been feeling pretty good with these changes so I never reverted back to those habits, however, a week ago, I had a really weird experience while I was sitting in class. Suddenly, I was overcome by a wave of anxiety, feeling like I wasn't in my body, not being able to concentrate, extremities going cold, my touch not feeling like my own, dizziness, and head buzzing. I thought that maybe it was an aura, so I removed myself from class to sit in the hallway where I tried to calm myself down by drinking water, relaxing my muscles, and trying to put my mind elsewhere. This feeling went away for the most part after a few minutes so I began thinking maybe it wasn't an aura. Although this feeling went away, immediately right after I began experiencing the brain fog that I discussed earlier. The brain fog has been constant for the past week and it is unbearable. It is hard to be productive and takes away from anything that could be even remotely enjoyable.
I need help because I am not sure of the source of this brain fog. Could it be because of the medication or is it just some external factor, completely unrelated to epilepsy? I am desperate for advice because I can't live with this feeling forever. Any and all feedback would be immensely appreciated!
Comments
It could be one of many
Submitted by wmi3@aol.com on Sun, 2018-09-30 - 03:01
It could be one of many things as epilepsy can affect different people in many ways .Of course the medication you are on is possibly one reason and you should definitely have a talk with your neurologist about how you feel.Personally I have had Epilepsy for many years and had many different medications but up to now none have worked .In fact I had a couple of seisures just days ago and it often has side affects .Its different for everyone so really its hard to give advice .Sorry I cant be of more help
POSSIBLE THE MED. JUST READ
Submitted by OM on Fri, 2019-02-01 - 22:38
POSSIBLE THE MED. JUST READ THE INFO OF THE MED IN THE PACKAGE OR GOOGLE IT
Much of what you felt are
Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2018-09-12 - 19:49
Much of what you felt are auras to some people. However an aura is basically a seizure in itself. You do need to call your neurologist and tell them about these since they could be seizures, But if it has gone on for some time then they need to know that so since if it is a seizure you could have cluster seizures or could be in status. But then your neurologist knows more than I do So call and leave a message and do tell them you want an answer to this issue. They have assistants that can answer questions. If the assistant doesn't know then they generally get the answer from the neurologist and can give it to you and set up an appointment for a later date.