Bipolar Support Group

Hey, I got a question.

Does anyone else have trouble with their memory and/or with night time sweats??

It's not hot flashes. I've had those before. But when I go to sleep, I'm fine. When I wake up, my hair is soaked, as is my pillow. Does anybody else have this problem?

And memory problems...OMG!!! I am lucky to remember what I had for dinner the night before. I'm constantly forgetting things. If I don't write it down, I won't remember it! I'm going to have to really prep for my pre-op visit with my orthopedist and the psych visits for my girls. If I don't write down everything, I will never remember...not in a million years! And the last thing I want to do is to walk in and tell her I don't remember why it is they needed to come!

If anyone else is having either of these problems, please let me know! I'd love to hear any hypothesis or any suggestions!

Thanks!

Zin

Hi Zin. I had the night sweats for a while, as you said, wake up soaked! I thought it was starting a new med, but I hadn't started anything recently. I do think that Depakote or anat-anx may have something to do with it. It was worse when I was very (well more than usual!!!) stressed. Ususally accompanied by dreams where I often couldn't tell the difference between reality and the dream. So yes, it did affect my memory.

I don't know if this has been anyhelp, but I do understand the night sweats

wow i am not the only one!!! I thought the night sweats were just due to it being too hot at night, even tho I have gotten them in winter, I feel like i just had a shower. As for the memory well mine has been getting worse lately, I will forget something as soon as im told sometimes. Embarrassing asking them to repeat it so much...

Zin.... I"ve had the night sweat in the past, but not since I've been on Topamax, because it really dries me out in that regard. I used to have that pretty bad though. My memory is horrible compared to what it used to be! There are some things that really stick for some reason, but never anything that I truly NEED to remember. I have an iPhone that I keep EVERYTHING written & organized in. All of my notes and schedules are all in there. I have alarms going off on that thing all the time to remind me of anything and everything or I swear some days I wouldn't remember to put my freaking shoes on before I walk out the door!!! LOL!!! My pdoc & tdoc even think it's funny because I always pull out my phone and read outloud from it when I first sit down in my appointments so I know what it was I wanted to talk about that day. So you're definitely not alone! I have talked to my pdoc about it & for me at least, it is DEFINITELY Med related! I was never like this before meds. It's a trade off though, because the meds I'm on do work well so I just accept it.

Bpjourney i do the same thing on my phone but i have walked out without my shoes on...didnt realise till i got to my destination!!!

LMAO!!! I brought that up because I really have done it too!!! In the summer I HATE wearing shoes! I'm always barefoot & when I go somewhere I usually just bring a pair of sandle's with me in the car to throw on when I get somewhere. I've forgotten to bring them more than once and had to come back home! Hahahaha

Well, it's nice to know I'm not alone! These sweats are driving me insane.

Memory, too. I've had to start writing things down. My phone won't hold that much info...lol.

Yeah, I'll take the memory loss with feeling better, but sometimes it gets so annoying. Like in a discussion where you know you're right, but a part of you is wondering if you really are...then you can't remember the details. I hate that!

Just as a curiosity...Is anyone taking the same meds? Maybe it's possible to figure out which one(s) are contributing.

I'm taking:

Wellbutrin XL 450 mg

Lamictal 500 mg

Ativan (lorazepam) 1 mg twice a day

Lexapro 40 mg

Seroquel XR 150 mg

Also taking...

Remeron 500 mg twice a day

Protonix 40 mg

Mirapex 2 mg

minocyline 100 mg

I just got started on Advair 100/50 (joy) for a cough that won't go away...unfortunately it works...

( I have a bad problem with getting yeast infections...and that stuff will cause yeast growth)

I think that's it. LOL...I did start a vitamin that looks like a algae tablet for fish and smells like it, too....LOL. I also take Omega-3.

Other than some ibuprofen for pain, I think that's it.

What about everyone else?

Well..... It started for me when I started on meds 4 years ago & I started on Lamictal, so my personal belief is that is the culprit... although, that doesn't mean the other meds don't have the same effect or at least contribute to it as well. I was off the Lamictal for a period of time when I started Topamax, but then added it back in after a while. I can't remember (go figure...LOL) if I had the same problem while I was off of it. However, I've been so ingrained in the routine of writing it all down and keeping all the alarms going off that I don't know if I would have noticed.

I can't stand when i KNOW that I'm right about something, but I truly just can't pull out the information that is somewhere in my head (or maybe it's gone) that I need to articulate it!!!! Drives me batty!!!!!

Yes I definitely do get both and I've been told many times that it's just a side effect from my meds. The short term memory loss was part of my brain fog, but now that I've eliminated my brain fog (with Nuvigil & Vyvanse) I still have long term memory loss. I have a droid phone and I have 2 notes apps and a calendar (and a "woman calendar") that I depend on. I also have a to do list and work and I may ask for a white board.

I get night sweats almost every night, and some nights are horrible and I wake up in the middle of the night freezing and drenched in sweat. When this happens I usually try to get myself out of bed and change, and then go back to bed and sleep on top of my sheet. I have naturally curly hair that I flat iron, and I always have to flat iron it again every morning. I also take a bath every morning to rinse off.

I was on Lexapro and Lamictal for about a year (at separate times) and Lexapro gave me night sweats in the beginning, but Lamictal gave me profuse sweating all day long AND cognitive impairment. If you just started Lexapro then the night sweats might be from that. If not, then it must be Lamictal in my opinion. They took me off of Lexapro for mania (when I was first diagnosed BP1) and they took me off of Lamictal for the cognitive impairment and mixed mania breaking through.