20 Kinds of Drugs That Cause Memory Loss

Deane Alban, health researcher, author and teacher at BeBrainFit.com, writes about drugs that can affect our memory.

There are many kinds of prescription drugs that cause memory loss and plenty of OTC medications too. Learn the steps you must take to preserve your memory.

Prescription drugs cause over 100,000 deaths per year and cause another 1.9 million people to experience side effects so severe they must be hospitalized. (1, 2)

Adverse drug reactions are now the fourth leading cause of death in the US. (3)

Every medication carries some risks and memory loss is a very common side effect.

The 3 Types of Prescription Drugs That Harm Your Memory

If you are taking any prescription medication, the odds are that it falls into one of these three categories of drugs known to cause memory loss and other cognitive problems:

The “Anti” Drugs

If you take a drug that starts with “anti,” such as antihistamines, antidepressants, antipsychotics, antibiotics, antispasmodics, or antihypertensives, it’s likely that it will affect your acetylcholine levels.

Acetylcholine is the primary neurotransmitter involved with memory and learning.

When you’re low in acetylcholine, you become forgetful. You can’t concentrate or think of the right word.

Acetylcholine deficiencies are associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Acetylcholine activity is the target of Alzheimer’s drugs, which block the breakdown of this brain chemical.

Drugs that block the action of acetylcholine are known as anticholinergic.

Common side effects of anticholinergic drugs include: (4)

Confusion
Blurred vision
Constipation
Dry mouth
Light-headedness
Difficulty starting and continuing to urinate
Loss of bladder control

Low acetycholine can lead to a group of symptoms that resembles dementia including mental confusion, brain fog, incoherent speech, delirium, blurred vision, memory loss, and hallucinations. (5)

Sleeping Pills

Prescription sleeping pills are notorious for causing memory loss.

The popular drug Ambien has been coined by some as “the amnesia drug.”

Some users experience night terrors, sleep walking, sleep driving, and hallucinations.

Prescription sleeping pills have been found to put you in a state similar to being passed out drunk or in a coma while bypassing the restorative sleep your brain needs. (6)

Statin Drugs

According to Drs. Bowden and Sinatra in their book The Great Cholesterol Myth, these cholesterol-lowering medications might just be the single worst group of drugs for your brain.

Memory loss is now required to be listed as a side effect on the label.

One-quarter of your brain is made up of cholesterol. Cholesterol is necessary for memory, learning, and fast thinking.

So it is not a total surprise that cholesterol-lowering drugs negatively effect the brain.We tell you why taking statins might not be in your best interest, and how to talk to your doctor about getting off them in The Connection Between Statins and Memory Loss.

20 Prescription Drugs That Cause Memory Loss

Here is a list of medications known to have memory loss as a possible side effect:

for Parkinson’s — scopolamine, atropine, glycopyrrolate
for epilepsy — phenytoin or Dilantin
painkillers — heroin, morphine, codeine
sleeping pills — Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata
benzodiazepines — Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Dalmane
quinidine
naproxen
steroids
antibiotics (quinolones)
antihistamines
interferons
high blood pressure drugs
insulin
beta blockers (especially those used for glaucoma)
methyldopa
antipsychotics — Haldol, Mellaril
tricyclic antidepressants
lithium
barbiturates — Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital
chemotherapy drugs

This list was assembled by Richard C. Mohs, Ph.D., former vice chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. (7)

Source: eatlocalgrown.com