Aphasia
That’s the word I’ve been looking for. Tonight I was trying to put Pumpkinhead to bed and I said, “Okay, now, get up on the car.” Of course he looked at me like I was crazy. 
I think I may be doing that at work which may, of course, be why certain people think I’m a little nutty right now.
Anyway, thanks to Beth for this hilarious site with all sorts of information about the various neurological medications out there. I’m on Topamax right now, but I was on Neurontin last fall before it stopped working in January. Here’s part of what CrazyMedz has to say about Topamax:
Topamax’s Typical Side Effects: The usual for anticonvulsants. A pins & needles effect that usually goes away after no more than a week or two. Weight loss and appetite suppression - but please note that not everyone gets this side effect. Sodas and other carbonated beverages will utterly taste like ass, so you may as well give them up now if you’re considering Topamax. Memory loss, aphasia (weird words coming out in place of what you meant to say or write), word find problems (not being able to recall the names of people, things or concepts), and a general cognitive impairment that has earned this drug the nicknames “Stupamax” and “Dopamax.”
Apparently it also interferes with the effectiveness of hormonal methods of birth control I learned today as my cycle started on the first day of my third patch week of Ortho Evra. 
NOT good. Add one more thing to the list to worry about.
Anyway, isn’t it ridiculous that the medication that is supposed to be helping to stop the pain (instead of painkillers) causes so many side effects that it’s practically worse than the pain itself (although really the pain itself is soooooooo much worse, but I forget when I don’t hurt how bad it is when I do)? I met with a nutritionist last Friday and she put me on a wonderful new regimen including some new injectibles and several chewable vitamins so I’m hoping that when those come in later this week, I’ll be able to get started and within a few months the neurologist can start to taper me off these nutty drugs and get me back to the smart person I once was (you know, the competent, intelligent, motivated one who took the LSATs and got into law school in the first place?!?)
UPDATED TO ADD (now that it made the Roundup): I spoke with the neurologist Friday and he agreed to put me back down to a lower dosage of Topamax because the side effects of the higher dose weren’t good and the pain was controlled fine on the lower dosage. I think he was trying to prevent the rebound pain cycle I was having (six weeks of the med working and then wearing off) by raising it from the get-go but I was just a littlecrazy the past 10 days on the higher dosage (weepy, paranoid, hyper-defensive, etc.) Chapin even suggested going back to the libido-killing tri-cyclic meds for pain management because that would be way preferable to this weird body-snatching med that has given him a 15 year-old teenage girl for a wife, complete with cat-like bitchiness and cystic acne. 
Hopefully the lower dose will work because other than my emotional state, the drug works great.
February 12th, 2008 at 10:45 am
I went on Topomax the summer before 3L, for migraine prevention — and quit two weeks into the semester because I couldn’t keep up with lectures. (My typing speed also dipped from 80+ wpm to around 40.) It took weeks for me to even get to that place and to not sleep all the time. I figured in the pain vs. thinking dilemma, I’d choose thinking. Sigh. It’s a crappy choice to have to make. Good luck to you!!!
February 12th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
oh man, I hate when I think one thing and totally say something else. I think its just the attempt to multitask what we say and what we think.
good luck on the meds!
February 12th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I say deranged things all the time and I have no neurological excuse. I think I’m just deranged.
February 12th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I use the wrong word all the time, too. My kids constantly tease me because the strangest random things come out of my mouth. Like, “Sweetie, please go put your underwear up in the refrigerator.” And unfortunately it has started carrying over into my writing. Yesterday I kept writing “language” when I meant to put “negligence”.
I hope you get everything figured out. And if you come up with a cure for the aphasia, please share!
February 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am
That stuff sounds deadly! My mom had chemo last year and had some of the same side-effects - especially the soda tasting like ass. I wonder if they use this wonder-drug in chemo?