“Can my memory loss be due to antidepressants?”
I'm 32 years old and I am taking medication for depression. But I've noticed that my memory is increasingly bad. Do antidepressants cause memory loss?
4 Answers
Less likely antidepressants help brain derived neurotrophic factor to nurture neuron
It is not common for antidepressants to cause memory loss, that's usually a factor with benzodiazepines that are sedatives/hypnotics.
That is a very good question. As far as my over 30 years as a psychiatrist goes, I now believe that just about anything can been caused by medication. I used to think otherwise, but so many years of experience as a clinical psychiatrist had led me to think more broadly (meaning I treat patients -- I am not a researcher). The problem for YOU is, there is really only one way to find out. Here it is:
Stop taking the antidepressant medication. See if your memory improves. If you want to be super thorough, go to a clinical psychologist and have a battery (meaning a bunch) of tests, given to you, which will test your memory very thoroughly. This testing can be quite expensive, if you have health insurance, make sure such testing is covered by your insurance or that most of it ( for example 75-80% of the total fee) will be paid for, and get it in writing, so you can prove it, if the insurance company later decides to NOT cover this memory testing. Then stop your medication for at least 4 weeks. Completely stop it. Do not take any other antidepressants. Again, this can be a huge problem, you may end up very depressed or anxious, or whatever your symptoms were/are may return, causing you to feel worse mentally.
If you are able to function without the antidepressant, get the whole battery of testing done once again. See if your memory has indeed improved. If it is better, then it is highly like the medication was indeed affecting your memory in an adverse (bad) way. This is not a very good option, but is the only way I can think of to truly find out the answer to your question.
Best wishes to you,
Laura J. Seed, M.D.
Stop taking the antidepressant medication. See if your memory improves. If you want to be super thorough, go to a clinical psychologist and have a battery (meaning a bunch) of tests, given to you, which will test your memory very thoroughly. This testing can be quite expensive, if you have health insurance, make sure such testing is covered by your insurance or that most of it ( for example 75-80% of the total fee) will be paid for, and get it in writing, so you can prove it, if the insurance company later decides to NOT cover this memory testing. Then stop your medication for at least 4 weeks. Completely stop it. Do not take any other antidepressants. Again, this can be a huge problem, you may end up very depressed or anxious, or whatever your symptoms were/are may return, causing you to feel worse mentally.
If you are able to function without the antidepressant, get the whole battery of testing done once again. See if your memory has indeed improved. If it is better, then it is highly like the medication was indeed affecting your memory in an adverse (bad) way. This is not a very good option, but is the only way I can think of to truly find out the answer to your question.
Best wishes to you,
Laura J. Seed, M.D.
Dear Asker,
I am not your doctor and the following is not medical advice. That is a question you should discuss directly with your prescriber. It is possible some medications utilized to treat psychiatric conditions may negatively affect your thinking, but it would depend on which specific medication you are taking. Keep in mind also depression can at times contribute to poor concentration and inattention, which may affect recall. Best of luck.
I am not your doctor and the following is not medical advice. That is a question you should discuss directly with your prescriber. It is possible some medications utilized to treat psychiatric conditions may negatively affect your thinking, but it would depend on which specific medication you are taking. Keep in mind also depression can at times contribute to poor concentration and inattention, which may affect recall. Best of luck.
