Decline in cognitive abilities?

I'm on meds, changed a few until my doctor found the right ones (hopefully), so things seem to have gotten better after the diagnosis and the therapy.

What I've been noticing though is a decline in cognitive abilities. I remember I was able to write more, engage in philosophical debates, I was able to read long texts, think in more complex ways, etc.

Now I feel like my brain's just slowed down a lot. I wonder if it's the effect of medication. I miss being the old me, after all. I don't miss the mood swings, obviously, but I miss the rest. It seems like one part of me has been put to sleep, and I miss it.

What am I supposed to do? I certainly don't feel like stopping the therapy.

Is it irreversible? Has my brain been damaged somehow?

I think what you are describing is quite common from what I have read here and from my own experiences. I think this can be a part of BP in and of itself but that meds can also blunt things too. In my case I have decided to put up with it so I can be stableish from a mood pov but it is not ideal. Have you told your Dr about it?

Hugs

Cracked

Hi there,

Unfortunately the majority of scientific research on bipolar affective disorder shows that patients' cognitive abilities deteriorate over time. This is a side effect of the condition.

However, I do think that medication can also have an effect which is why it is important to get the type of medication and dosage right for the specific individual.

I've talked to my doctor about this and he said the rate at which the decline takes place also depends on your environment i.e. the amount of stimulation that you get daily and whether you take recreational drugs or not.

I'm not sure if the "damage" that having bipolar does to our brains is reversible or not, but there are a lot of brain training games available to help improve memory and other executive cognitive functions - worth a try at least?

Hi,

I can relate to the mental slowing that, like others have said, seems to be part of the disorder itself but can be brought about by other factors. I find it quite upsetting that I'm nowhere near as sharp as a few years ago.

Partly, I put this down to having an antipsychotic as part of my cocktail for over 2 years now, because of the sedation and its action on the brain. I think being less active (I've only been able to work part-time recently) is contributing, too.

Another thing is that I sometimes compare myself to when I was younger and not on meds, and I think the feeling of being switched on and being extremely productive may have been the influence of hypomania, actually. Compared to most others, I used to definitely be 'over the top' in terms of achievement, especially academically.

It's something I'm tolerating for now, as I need to take the Seroquel because of a recent mixed episode, but my hope is to get stable enough to only be on a mood stabiliser, as I was previously.

I'd recommend talking to your pdoc about it, and also building up to being as mentally active as possible.

It's certainly been difficult saying goodbye to aspects of my original thinking/behaviour through having my bipolar treated, but in my case, I have to recognise that being a little slowed down (as long as it's not too much!), is probably much more 'normal' than 'firing on all cylinders' as I mostly used to. Hope this helps x

Forgot to add - I do things like play scrabble on my phone and do puzzles to try to keep things active

Cracked

I feel when I'm stable, my memory is terrible (don't know if from meds or because of anxiety/bp) and conversations with people lack a certain quality as when I'm not stable. When I'm hypo, I have the best ideas running through my head and interesting topics to debate about. I'm not much for small talk, I usually like the deep questions and intangible topics. atm I am stable, and I feel like a complete idiot.

It's the same for me and I'm not on any meds. I do believe it can be improved with practice, but not sure as to the extent.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19538691
http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/ ... -disorder-
http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/457153

Seems like it's part of the disorder + treatment