Mood stabiliser that doesn't cause memory problems??

Hi everyone

Does anyone take a mood stabiliser that doesn't cause them any problems with their cognition and memory? The only one I've tired is Lamotrigine (Lamictal) and when I got to a therapeutic dose I had a really hard time reading, writing and remembering names. I was drinking very heavily however so the alcohol might have reacted badly with the Lamotrigine.

Does anyone have experience with alcohol and mood stabilisers?

All of the research I can find online says that Lamotrigine is the mood stabiliser that affects cognition the least, but does anyone have experience with a variety of mood stabilisers? Which ones do you think are best for cognition?

I'm currently on Mirtazapine (Remeron) 45mg and Quetiapine (Seroquel) 100mg which is working quite well but I don't want to take Quetiapine long-term because I've read it can cause loss of grey matter and tardive dyskinesia. Mood stabilisers in contrast seem to be good for your brain long-term. I'm also hoping to stop the Mirtazapine when I get on a mood stabiliser.

Thanks for any input. I'm really in two minds about what to do.

OMG. Lamictal and alcohol can cause strokes. Twice I drank not even that much in the evening, took lamictal in the morning and lost control of my legs a few hours later, just falling to the floor and staying there. My husband was terrified and I was like "but I am very comfortable here". PLEASE don't mix those two anymore.

Quetiapine XR did call tardive dyskinesia for me which is a shame because from the mental point of view it worked very well for me. But, well, nope. I have to cope without it now. Remember though TD doesn't have to happen.

My personal "favourite" mood stabiliser was depakine. Which started murdering my liver for a change even though I stopped drinking already (if you want to drink while on depakote/depakine, put yourself on liver transplant list already to save time...) Generally drinking heavily and taking brain meds is... not a good idea.

You're absolutely right that alcohol is terrible for anyone on psych meds, but it's very hard to resist since it temporarily gets rids of all your problems...

I was interested to see you preferred depakote to lamictal. From the research I've seen online, it seems that lamictal is supposed to have the best side effect profile with respect to cognition, but a comedian I really like, Maria Bamford, said in an interview that she stopped taking lamictal because of problems with her memory and now take depakote instead which she prefers. I suppose, like everyone says, everyone responds differently etc etc

Do you have fewer cognitive problems with depakote than with lamictal?

Now – I don't think I expressed myself clearly.

Lamictal is my favourite med because it is the one and only that I used that never had side effects unless I drank alcohol. Sadly though IN MY CASE it does not work as mood stabiliser. It has antidepressant effect, because my normal baseline is depressed, and with lamictal it's, well, stable in the middle. But I still have ultra-ultra-rapid mood swings.

Depakine (depakote XR) slowed down my mood swings. Didn't remove them, no med did that yet. But my longest stable period, 4.5 months was on depakote + seroquel combo.

The problem with cognitive problems is that, well, this kind of sounds funny maybe but I don't remember if I had them with depakote a few years ago... My memory has always been terrible. My IQ however seems higher (i.e. like before meds) on lamictal than depakote. But that may again be my memory playing tricks on me. Sorry...

I've always had a pretty shoddy memory, even pre-meds, but certain ones, like the Seroquel I'm on, definitely seem to make it worse and affect my cognition. I've never been on Lamictal or Depakote, so can't comment on those. However when I was on my mood stabiliser, Carbamazepine/Tegretol alone, I didn't seem to have any memory or cognition issues, and was able to function highly on it, study to a high level etc. It's only since having to add antipsychotics to the mix longer term that my memory and cognition have taken a nose dive.

Perhaps Carbamazepine is one to consider if you haven't yet? Obviously everyone reacts differently, but I've found it to be fairly light on the side effects, with only some manageable sedation, persistent sore throat and occasional skin problems. Sometimes doctors might tend to shy away from it because it has a whole range of interactions with other meds, including most contraceptives.

As for alcohol, as others have said, it's not a good idea with most psych meds. Nowadays I'm pretty much teetotal but admit I used to drink in the past as a student, when on just Carbamazepine. Although I certainly wouldn't recommend it, thankfully it didn't seem to do me much harm, though perhaps I was just lucky. Hope this helps and good luck in finding a suitable mood stabiliser.

I've tried almost every medication you can think of (except Depakote and Tegretol) and the only mood stabilizer that has caused cognitive problems for me is topamax, and it's really not bad enough to the point where I'm dying to get off of it, I prefer the stability it gives me. I feel like it's really not a common occurence, and it's definitely not something you should settle with.
I'm also going to echo the point that you should never mix alcohol with your meds though. Not safe. At all.

Lurasidone drastically improved my cognition. But it didn't work as a mood stabilizer. Kept me from getting to psychotic levels of mania, but that's about it.

For me personally my memory used to be fab I could remember everything down to the smallest of details, appointments, telephone numbers and I was very organised arranging everyone else's things at home. However when I started on lithium almost 3 years ago it seemed to decline and I was much less organised and quite forgetful I've since changed meds and I've been on sodium valproate for approx 4 months now and my memory is terrible yet to be fair I have had quite a few periods of being unwell the last one being a hypomanic episode hence the change in mood stabiliser and so maybe my memory problems are linked to that too. But I do feel my meds have had an impact.