Cognitive functioning in cycles

Over the years, I have had problems with my cognitive part of mind. I could not remember large time spans of memories, much from my childhood. A couple years ago, the first time in my life,, much has come flooding back to me.

Now here are the cycles part. There are times I seem confused, and at its worse, have trouble putting simple sentences together. Then some time later, I think close to a year or more, I have no trouble doing this. At its best, words come to mind that in the past I did not remember the meaning to, even words that I thought I did not know.

Right now, I am a bit confused, misplacing things, and not remembering instructions. However, most of the time, I still can communicate well.

Has anyone had these problems? Is it the meds? Is it a feature of BP? Initial scientific studies indicate that there may be a link between BP and cognitive dysfunction.

Yes, I definitely have a problem with cognitive function. I attribute it to the effect of medication, especially because I've been taking meds for decades. The problem is difficult and it's upsetting.

Can you ask your doctor to refer you to a neurologist? They specialize in problems with cognition, & brain & neural functioning. But problems related to drug side effects or nutrition maybe could be handled by your doctor, or be referred to a different specialist.

My pdocs have always said that my problems with memory and searching for words are related to my depression rather than meds or other possible issues.

I have raised this issue with not only my pdoc but also pdocs at a special clinic where they do research into mental health disorders and they said the same thing - it's the depression.

Depression is my primary issue with my bipolar.

I have always believed bipolar disorder is associated with cognition problems. Mine was childhood-onset and I remember very little of my childhood. I clearly have cognitive issues at 56 that outstrip my age.

I've always (at least since my teens) had periods of time where I'm much more productive and I am seemingly able to think much more clearly and comprehend things much more easily. Similarly, I have periods where I'm much more forgetful, distracted, and dull. To me these periods have always been strongly correlated with hypomania and depression. I haven't noticed any permanent cognitive decline yet and I'm hoping that won't happen. I have noticed that some of the negative symptoms linger between episodes but I think that can be contributed to the fatigue of trying to recover from months of depression. Some of the meds can definitely make me a bit loopy as well.

Also, anxiety can cause cognitive issues. A vicious cycle...you're anxious/ Have cognitive problems/ Become more anxious/ Cognitive problems worsen

What terrific suggestions! Depression, anxiety, and meds. At least in my case, I am not sure about mania being the cause. First, I should reduce my meds if possible. I will ask my pdoc about this. I am taking CBD to manage the anxiety. I also take Adderal for depression and focus. My pdoc thinks I have ADD. I have run out of the CBD med.

My cognitive function is definitely affected during cycles... When I'm hypo I'm the most eloquent person who gets accused of swallowing a dictionary, manic... my racing thoughts make sentence structuring and word recall a challenge. I often lose my train of thought very easily which is obviously terrible during conversation... Also I could either find basic math a challenge or suddenly be adept at it, it's a toss of the coin.

When I'm depressed I have no such cognitive issues.

Only time outside of an episode I had cognitive issues to the point of impairment, was while on Lithium. I had memory issues, (long term, working memory and short term), dimminshed vocabulary, and just generally felt dumber than a rock. I swear their were days I could feel brain cells shrivel up and die while my IQ points steadily dropped.

I haven't felt that bad since quitting lithium, I can put up with a few weeks/months a year of what happens to me these days.

It's more frustrating than debilitating, so with a little change in my perception I can turn it into a DBT exercise if I try hard and prepare enough.

TLDR:

From my experience;

Bipolar + Meds = Affects Cognitive function.

In addition to the factors already mentioned that affect my cognition to where I am loopy and have memory issues, I would add insomnia or poor sleeping. Poor sleeping for me also raises my stress and anxiety levels, which don't help.

Drinking alcohol didn't help my cognition either.

In mania, my brain is amped up and I make poor decisions, but I am not confused or at a loss for words.

My cognition is poor when very depressed - my brain is like cement. Otherwise I feel mentally reasonably sherp.

@Trippin2.0: May I ask which meds, if any, you're taking now instead of lithium? The reason I ask is that I'm hoping I can get off the lithium once I have my Lamictal up and running. It would be great if dropping the lithium came with more clarity of thought.

I am not bipolar, but this is a great discussion!

I'm currently on Lamictal (AM) Clonazapam (afternoon) Risperdal (PM)

Valium / Ativan as needed.

(I was on an additional MS, Tegratol for a year or so, but it interfered with my white blood cell count, so my Pdoc discontinued it)

Also I'm supposed to be taking an AD for a few weeks (I haven't been RXd an AD in years) but I lasted exactly 10 days before my hypo kicked into gear so I quit it.

To be fair, the Lamictal is the only constant, the others get tweaked or temporarily stopped depending on my cycles.

Idk if this is common practice but it works for me because I hate being a mobile pharmacy, I'm far too spoiled having had to only be on like 2 pills for years..

I've had a really good response to the Lamictal, I hope it works out for you.

Thanks for the reply, this sounds hopeful! I'll keep my fingers crossed while ramping up on Lamictal and drop lithium as soon as I can!

Yes, I have horrible cognitive issues. I write very well, but when I speak, I often mix up words and sentence fragments. My short and long term memory has also been effected. As others have mentioned, medication plays into this but my pdoc has also explained that my severe manias have put the equivalent of scars on my brain and each time I have an episode it only becomes worse. This is why medication is so important. It’s awful.

In all seriousness, if brain scars are an actual thing, and not just a psychiatric theory,...
Then I'm going to tell my neurologist I want pictures!

Now if only Covid19 would let me have my CT scan during lockdown.

I would sOooo frame that baby.

For me stress and the anxiety that results causes me to walk into a room often not remembering why I went there. Im having that right now. I am trying to decide how to have my 2 shoulder replacements in this covid mess because Arizona is now extremely challenged. Wait and the cortisone may run out. Have it out of state? Accommodations and travel are complicated and expensive. This is a case of the caregiver needing a caregiver.

It is becoming increasingly clear that even basic MRIs of bp 1 people are different than those of neurotypicals. Patience? It will come. It will.

luvyrself, remember to love yourself!

Caregiving is challenging, especially in these times. Caregivers are susceptible to burn out and not loving and caring for themselves.

Best wishes and prayers!