Every year, prescription drugs are responsible for more than 100,000 deaths and lead to over 20 % of people taking such drugs to be hospitalized because of severe side effects. By the way, these do not include deaths cause by doctor’s mistakes.
Every prescription drug carries some risk, but one of the most common side effects is memory loss.
3 Types of Medications That Cause Memory Loss
Most prescription drugs fall into one of the three categories listed below, and are known to cause memory loss and many cognitive problems.
- The “Anti” Drugs
Every drug that starts with “anti” including antidepressants, antihistamines, antipsychotics, antispasmodics, antibiotics or antihypertensive will affect your acetylcholine level.
The primary neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory is acetylcholine. When the level of acetylcholine is low, the following conditions may occur:
- Delirium
- Mental confusion
- Blurred vision
- Hallucinations
- Memory loss
- Dementia
- Sleeping Pills
Sleeping pills are notorious for their potential to cause memory loss. Ambien, the popular drug, was named “the amnesia drug” because those who use it experience sleep walking, night terrors, hallucinations and sleep driving.
It has been determined that sleeping pills can cause a state similar to being drunk or being in a coma. So, people who use these pills do not experience the restorative sleep the brain needs in order to maintain and repair itself.
However, there are many other ways to fall asleep than using sleeping pills.
Please re-read:
“Sleep I”, June 29, 2015,
“Sleep II”, July 8, 2015,
“A Short Note For Those Who Still Have Trouble Sleeping, November 12, 2015,
“Six Yoga Postures for Better Sleep”, February 22, 2017.
Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique and eat a handful of pumpkin seeds an hour before bed. These should be easy enough and are certainly worth trying.
- Statin Drugs
Statin drugs are popular cholesterol lowering drugs, which are one of the worst groups of medication for your brain. They lead to memory loss, which should be listed on the label as a serious side effect.
One-quarter of your brain is composed of cholesterol, which is important for learning, memory and fast thinking. So, these cholesterol-lowering medications seriously affect your brain’s health.
Forget about what your doctor told you; it has been clearly shown that CHOLESTEROL DOES NOT CAUSE HEART DISEASE.
As to what you can do, please re-read:
“Cholesterol, Part I”, April 29, 2016, and
“Cholesterol, Part II”, May 6, 2016.
We just touched upon the adverse effects statin drugs have on your brain; there’s a lot more my friends. I strongly suggest that you do some research on this.
- 20 Drugs Known to Lead to Memory Loss
The following medications can cause memory loss as a potential side effect:
- Parkinson’s disease- atropine, scopolamine, glycopyrrolate
- Painkillers-morphine, heroin, codeine
- Epilepsy-Dilantin or phenytoin
- Sleeping pills- lunesta, Ambien, sonata
- Benzodiazepines- Xanax, Valium, Dalmane, Ativan
- Naproxen
- Quinidine
- Steroids
- Antihistamines
- Antibiotics
- High blood pressure drugs
- Interferon
- Beta blockers (especially those for glaucoma)
- Insulin
- Methyldopa
- Tricyclic antidepressants
- Antipsychotics-Mel aril, Haldol
- Lithium
- Chemotherapy drugs
- Barbiturates- Nembutal, Amytal, Phenobarbital, Seconal
This above list was put together by Richard c. Mohs, former vice chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
What to Do?
If you have not adapted a HEALTHY LIFE STYLE, and are using some of these drugs, consult your doctor if they affect your memory in some way.
I suggest that you find a “Functional Medicine” practitioner for this consultation. I’ll bet you that you’ll end up with no drugs at all.
That’s it for this week. See you all next time.
