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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by psychlover on January 11, 2004, at 13:02:47
I have always had an unusually sharp memory and an exceptional ability to spell words. I won spelling bees at the school, district, county, and state levels. I also played on the college bowl team in high school and college and was always a star player. At trivial pursuit I was always the one to beat!
But now I am noticing some rather disturbing difficulties in my reading, spelling, and recall. I am only 30 yrs old, and now I find myself reading words wrong quite a bit. For example, if the word says "soup" I might see "soap" or I might see "good" if it says "mood", etc. I had my eyes checked, still 20/20, so I know it's not my eyes.
I also have difficulty remembering a lot of stuff. I can't remember details very well at all, even though I used to remember them exceptionally well. Especially things that happened in the last year or so seem to be difficult to recall.
And lastly, when I type (as I am doing now), I find myself forgetting how to spell words properly (which is more of a shock than it may sound like) and frequently misspelling words and having to go back and correct them.
I have been on Lexapro 20 mg for about a year and a very small dose of Klonopin (0.5 mg down to 0.25 mg currently). It would be easy to blame the Klonopin, but I have been on such a tiny dose for the last few months, and if anything, my reading/spelling/recall has gotten worse in that time.
I wonder if it is the SSRI. I never consciously felt any kind of "brain fog" on Lex (or Prozac or Paxil for that matter), but I wonder if the SSRI is making me forget. I know there have been studies showing that SSRIs regrow neural matter.
I am not sure it is the meds at all. I first noticed these probs a year and a half ago when I was really depressed before I was on any meds, but it seems to have gotten worse in the last few months.
Any thoughts?
Posted by helenag on January 11, 2004, at 14:03:54
In reply to Spelling memory problems from meds? , posted by psychlover on January 11, 2004, at 13:02:47
check out psychobabble..the med board. they'll be able to answer/help you there.
Posted by Dinah on January 11, 2004, at 14:32:58
In reply to Spelling memory problems from meds? , posted by psychlover on January 11, 2004, at 13:02:47
And here's a link
Posted by cubic_me on January 12, 2004, at 6:02:03
In reply to Spelling memory problems from meds? , posted by psychlover on January 11, 2004, at 13:02:47
I'd go to your generaly doc too, just to rule out anything more serious. But lots of people get memory trouble with meds.
Posted by Elle2021 on January 13, 2004, at 5:34:54
In reply to Spelling memory problems from meds? , posted by psychlover on January 11, 2004, at 13:02:47
> I have always had an unusually sharp memory and an exceptional ability to spell words.
Me too, and I'm experiencing the same thing you are describing. It's sorta frightening huh. I told my pdoc about it and he said he thought it was neurological. Which really scared me, so I dismissed that theory. I'm also on Klonopin, so maybe there is some correlation there. But I have noticed a marked change in my ability to word sentences and properly communicate thoughts. I didn't have any problem with it prior to taking meds (particularly Paxil and Lithium). Another thing that bothers me is (I'm still in college) one of my professors always asks me to read aloud. I never used to have trouble with it, but now I find myself reading very stacatto-like. Sometimes my eyes can't focus
in on one line and they drop to a line below the one I'm supposed to be reading. It's quite embarrassing really. I know my doctor did say something about the Lithium causing vision troubles, but he never did say whether they can be corrected after discontinuing the drug, which I have.
Elle
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