Posted by g_g_g_unit on June 9, 2009, at 7:50:22
i've been having some pretty interesting experiences on this drug, which i was wondering if someone more familiar with it (and attention issue in general) might help me decipher.
i've been on 20mg for the past 5 days. prior to starting memantine, i literally felt like there was a 'fog' inside my head that was blocking normal thinking habits. memantine has totally cleared that up; i swear, the fog was almost like a physical sensation that's somehow been swept aside. i feel like my perception of the world is somehow clearer. i have less trouble remembering phone numbers; words come to me with more ease; i have begun to recall experienes more vividly which somehow felt 'lost' or had less impact while i felt foggy.
so since there's less noise inside my head, i have a better attention span or more patience i guess to sit down and involve myself in a task. i don't have to get up and constantly stimulate myself. it's kind of blocked the more impulsive, addictive side of my personality.
On the downside though, when i do sit down to watch a movie or read a book, it's almost like i can't actually anchor or direct my attention to the object of interest. it's not a 'fog' that's stopping me from concentrating, which is how i felt before. it's more like i'll be watching a movie, and then somehow it's like i'm not actually imprinting what's happening; my attention just drifts away (without ever descending into panic) so certain moments might suddenly stand out as my brain kicks into gear and i try to make myself more vigilant, but then more packets of time will be lost in between; i can only kind of muster a general skeleton of the movie plot, or what i just read, as if my mind was just lightly skimming the surface the whole time without properly absorbing anything.
reports of Memantine's effects in 'healthy' (or non-Alzheimer's) patients are so varied that i can't really get a grip on it. i am also aware that each dose brings transient cognitive side-effects, so maybe 5 days @ 20mg is too early to tell. but i am just curious if anyone else has experienced anything similar, or if maybe i missed my target dose and am experiencing too much NMDA inhbition
poster:g_g_g_unit
thread:900115
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090531/msgs/900115.html