20 medications that cause memory loss
20 medications that cause memory loss
Unfortunately, the main reasons for death in the US and other countries are adverse reactions to medications. Prescription drugs lead to more than 100,000 deaths per year, and more than 1.5 million cases of people hospitalized with serious side effects. The following three categories of prescription drugs lead to numerous cognitive problems, including memory loss.
If you take statins for slightly elevated cholesterol levels instead of a diagnosed coronary disease, a cocktail of vitamins may be a better option.
Ask your doctor or another healthcare provider if you can get a shot of a combination of sublingual vitamin B12 (1,000 mcg daily), folic acid (800 mcg daily) and vitamin B6 (200 mg daily).
The “Anti” Drugs, medicines that promote memory loss
All “anti” drugs, such as antihistamines, antibiotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, antispasmodics or antihypertensives affect the levels of acetylcholine in the body, which is the main neurotransmitter necessary for memory and learning.
Your low levels cause blurred vision, loss of memory, dementia, delirium, mental confusion, and hallucinations.
Antidepressant drugs are also prescribed for a variety of psychological complications, such as eating disorders, chronic pain, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, more than a third of adults who take medication report episodes of memory loss, and half claim to have trouble concentrating.
To avoid this, it might be helpful to talk with your healthcare provider about drug-free therapies.
Sleeping pills
Sleeping pills often lead to memory loss and cause a state similar to being in a coma or being drunk. Therefore, they do not restore the necessary sleep for the body to repair itself.
For example, Ambien, a popular drug, is known to be “the drug of amnesia” as it leads to hallucinations, terrors at night, sleepwalking, and driving with sleep.
There are alternative treatments for medications and not medicines for insomnia and anxiety, so you should talk to your health professional about the options. Melatonin, in doses of 3 to 10 mg before going to bed, for example, sometimes helps to restore healthy sleep patterns. However, sudden withdrawal can cause serious side effects, so a health professional should always monitor the process.
Always consult your healthcare provider before making any adjustments to drug therapies.
Loss of memory pills
Richard C. Mohs, former vice president of the Department of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, composed the following list that includes 20 drugs that cause memory loss:
Antibiotics (quinolones)
Pills to sleep – Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata
Analgesics – morphine, codeine, heroin
Insulin
Chemotherapy
Epilepsy – Dilantin or phenytoin
Barbiturates – Nembutal, Phenobarbital, Seconal, Amytal
Antipsychotics – Mellaril, Haldol
Parkinson’s disease – atropine, glycopyrrolate, scopolamine
Benzodiazepines – Xanax, Valium, Dalmane, Ativan
Quinidine
Beta blockers
Medications for high blood pressure
Interferons
Naproxen
Tricyclic antidepressants
Methyldopa
Lithium
Antihistamines
Steroids
In case you use these medications, you should consult your doctor and find out if they affect your memory. You can always find a healthier alternative, at least other medications or changes in lifestyle.
You must be more physically active, take some supplements, and consume many more beneficial foods for the brain and health in general, in order to reduce the burden on it.
You must preserve the health of the brain in order to stay strong and healthy in general.