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New here, I never had a seizure until I was in late 20s. Later diagnosed with epilepsy. Was put on Topamax and I swore up and down it was making me worse. I did finally get off it but what I and my family/close friends call my 'word thing' is getting worse daily. I have to describe things bc I don't know the word, I go mute bc I can't speak correctly, I'll feel like the missing word is on the tip of my tongue yet can't say it, write, or describe it. I was never like this until that med. Mentioned it to multiple specialists and they all keep saying the Topamax is out of my system (after 5 yrs) and that I should see a psychologist. A friend is fearing its aphasia and now I am too. I'm wondering if I should request another EEG. Would it even show up?
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@marie03 I can see how frightened and frustrated you are feeling. Word finding problems (expressive aphasia) is real and there are many reasons why people experience this. Are the words you have trouble with mostly nouns such as names of people? Places?
What is your age now? I couldn't quite figure that out from what you wrote.
Are you taking any other medications? There are medications for hypertension (high blood pressure), for instance, that can cause the type of word finding problems (expressive aphasia) that you describe. Also, some of the older antidepressants such as amitriptyline that are rarely prescribed for depression these days but are prescribed for migraines can cause word finding problems.
Do you have any difficulty with speech comprehension - understanding what is said to you (receptive aphasia)?
Do you still have epilepsy? Seizures? I don't know if an EEG would give you the information you are after but you can ask your doctor that question.
I know, lots and lots of questions from me! I'm trying to do some problem solving here to help you figure out where to go next.
If you'd like to be evaluated for aphasia in the context of brain-related disorders I suggest that you ask for a referral to a clinical neuropsychologist. Clinical neuropsychology is a speciality within psychology that evaluates for memory, language, and thinking skills.
-- https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/neuropsychology
Can you provide me with more information so I can support and help you?