Which drugs cause memory loss?

The question is WHICH medicines cause memory loss, not DO medicines cause memory loss. This was a cop-out, lousy, evasive, noncommittal excuse of an answer. If you are afraid of naming names, paid not to name names, or just don't know the names to answer with then you should either say so or not even post this question/answer. Anyone who has watched patients on Lipitor know it and memory loss go together.

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Hello Anonymous,

Thank you for your comment. There were several medications mentioned in this article which include Xanax, Valium, Halcion, Tagamet, Pepcid, Detrol and Ditropan. If you have a questions about a certain medication and their connection to memory loss, please feel free to post your own question.

Take care, Emily | Community Manager

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I am on all of the above mentioned TYPES of medications. I've been prescribed up to 27 different medications, by my multiple physicians. I've reduced the number of medications to 20(on my own)with my physicians knowledge. I limit myself to one pill per day of ANY type (and no narcotics),due to being overdosed by the physicians for many years. A few years ago, I went to a Neurologist because I was reduced to "babytalking". I couldn't remember the simplest of words. An MRI showed Abnormal White Matter in the Frontal and Periatal Lobes. I was sent for Cognitive Testing and Brain Trauma Retraining. It helped tremendously and I continue working on improving my memory and skills, years later. Recently my Neurologist stated to my son that my brain function was normal in that MRI. I obtained a copy of that report for him. I'm totally confused.

*Is "abnormal white matter" normal? If so, why would he have sent me for all the testing and training, why would it have helped so much, and why would he have put me on Aricept?

*How can my physicians (or I) determine which medication(s) is(are) presenting as Dementia? I'm presently on Aricept 10mg., 1/day, prescribed by my Neurologist. My son noticed a remarkable difference in my confusion and memory, 3 days after beginning the Aricept. I began returning towards normal.

I've tried for years to get my physicians to consult with each other regarding my diagnoses and medications, but they refuse.

*Why do the physicians/pharmacists refuse to have a brief patient diagnoses/medications consult?

*How can we determine which one medication, or combination of medications, is causing Dementia symptoms?

Thank you, for any information you may provide.

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Dear bunky...

EVERY SINGLE MEDICATION I TAKE IS RUN THROUGH MY PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN. She specializes in INTERNAL MEDICINE - better known as COMPREHENSIVE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS MEDICINE...

I do not GO to a specialist without informing her first. If a specialist wants to write a prescription for me, 1) I ALWAYS give him/her the prepared list of medications I already take before the scrip is written. 2) I ALWAYS use the same pharmacy, and 3) I ALWAYS make sure the pharmacist and I will BOTH be notifying my PRIMARY of ANY prescription before it is even filled.

Prescriptions prescribed by SPECIALISTS, if ONGOING, are filled ONCE in the name of the specialist. ANY REFILLS are AUTHORIZED BY or WRITTEN BY my trusty PRIMARY PHYSICIAN.

Always,

Galowa

;- )

p.s. This includes my DENTIST as well...

©suzannemcable.08.22.2011

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bunky...

I don't know what state you live in, but in California where I live, the pharmacy MUST offer a consult, and, if you don't want a consult, you MUST "sign a statement" to that effect before they will even give you the medication.

Galowa

©suzannemcable.08.22.2011

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Dear Galowa,

Thank you so much for your reply. I have requested the consults from all of the above, until I'm blue in the face. My "small town" Primary doesn't prescribe any of my "major city" Specialists medications.

I would gladly change from this small, unorganized, town pharmacy, but as a Medicare/Medicaid patient, I am lucky to have a pharmacy that has trusted me for years to "charge" my medications until my Social Security arrives. (They don't do it for anyone else and I guess it's illegal to make a down payment in advance.)

It's frustrating when the patient needs to become a messenger, waiting weeks/months between appointments and testing, hearing physicians saying to return to previous physicians, or other physicians, when it could have been handled in a 15 minute consult. Meanwhile, the illness worsens, the pain increases, or injury heals improperly.

The physicians win; the insurance companies win; the taxpayers lose; the employers lose; the families and patient's lose and suffer.

I'm exhausted waiting 5 mos-2 yrs for each diagnosis,running city to city, doctor to doctor, and testing site to testing site, spending money I just don't have, to make these "trained professionals" happy. If I don't comply, I'd be considered an "uncooperative" patient and be treated shabbily. The professionals will probably feel the physical problems must not be "bad" if the patient won't jump through THEIR diagnosis hoops.

(Sorry all, I had to unload. I really DID have a good day today!)

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bunky dear,

HANG IN THERE!

;- )

GALOWA

©suzannemcable.08.22.2011

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The list quoted in the article is very abbreviated. It would be good to have a more comprehensive list of suspect drugs and types of drugs that may cause memory function problems. I realize that consulting one's physician on such questions is wise, but I don't think that primary care physicians generally have the knowledge to deal with such mental effects of prescriptions, and particularly effects on memory of combinations of prescriptions. Example: use of zoloft, ritalin, nexium, atenolol,losarten, trazadon,prilosec and proscar. Seems that more investigations of drug combinations should be sponsored by the industry or the FDA. Why not?

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My primary physician was very good at coordinating my prescriptions. She updated my cardiac prescription from lisinopril to Quinapril, and diabetic prescription from Actos to Januvia.

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I have a primary care physician who I trust (normally) with all my medical issues. However, I have a Master's Degree, so I am not ignorant about many health issues. I have been asking my primary physican to schedule me for a neurological exam with nerve testing for 2 years as I was diagnosed in the early '90's with Degenerative Disc Disease. In 2002 I had neck fusion surgery by an orthopedic surgeon, which has increased my neck, shoulder, & upper back pain 5 fold from pre surgery pain levels. Over the years, my MRI's have shown evidence of a "blossoming" occurance of hemangiomas in my lower back. In the '90's, there was 1 hemangioma, & each time I had another MRI, the incidence of these hemangiomas has grown from 1 to NUMEROUS & now fill the MRI screen with these masses. My Primary Care Physician tells me that everyone has hemangiomas & they are nothing to worry about, however I have read reports which state that if these hemangiomas become intertwined with discs, or in between vertabrae, they can cause excruciating pain....which I have in my lower back.At times after I prepare a beverage or lunch for myself- when I sit down, I have spasms so intense I cannot breathe. I believe I have a reasonable request for a neurological appointment, but I cannot get past my primary.Instead,there are prescriptions for pain & muscle spasm, but even on the high levels of morphine I take daily, and the meds for spasm, these lumbar spasms are so great that the pain meds do not have an impact, or if they have an impact it is so minor that I cannot realize the help they provide. I am uncomfortable with the high dosages of morphine I am prescribed(over 300 MG/Day),because these high doses do impair my memory, so I reduce my dosages by approx. 35% of what is prescribed. I asked for a less effective pain medication, but was told the withdrawals would be worse. Since I have a very high tolerance to pain meds, sleeping meds, etc. I do not want to get to a point where I have no recourse as I become more tolerant. I truly believe my primary is a good doctor, however I have found that almost ALL physicians suffer from a'God Complex' & hate having their decisions questioned.For me to see my primary, I have to sign an affidavit stating I seek no medical care or prescriptions from any other physicians. This effectively makes it impossible for me to seek another opinion because for me to see another doctor, they will want my medical records from my primary & that would impede my ability to see my primary in the future.If my appointments to my primary become 'blackballed' I would immediately go into morphine withdrawals, which are quite intense. All I know to do is to keep journals about my pain levels, sleep patterns, blood pressure (I am allergic to most blood pressure meds) & bring these journals to each appointment, hoping he will go through with my request for a neurologist. By keeping these journals, this has kept my primary from continuing to prescribe BP meds because my BP is near perfect at home but it pops up whenever I have an appointment. The point of all these facts is this: The orhopedist in the 1990's who diagnosed me with DDD, the orthopedist who treated me for almost 10 yrs afteward, the orhopedist who performed the failed neck surgery, along with my primary care physician have ALL prevented me from having a neurological appointment. I have been asking for over 20 years for a neurological workup, & not ONE of my main physicians has given me the referral. At this point I can only ask, "What are they hiding from me?"I know many doctors still treat women as if they are hysterical females with hormonal jumps which cause psychosymatic symptoms.I do not believe that this is the issue in my case. But if I could break through with my primary doctor for another evaluation, I would still have the insurance company to fight with for payment. Our lives have become dominated by physicans playing God and decisions made by insurance company representatives who do not have the educational background to make decisions which can improve or destroy our quality of life, or even destroy our life completely. Many of these insurance adjusters possess a high school dimploma along with company training, which is not intended to help the patient, but intended only to make the most profits for the insurance company. Recently, many states have passed laws that govern insurance treatment in their state, but many insurance companies are not forced to comply with these laws as they have headquarters in other states with less strict laws.No matter how much you pay for your insurance, you do not have any true recourse against their decisions due to the mediation clauses written into their policies. These mediation clauses state that the insurance company picks the mediator, & since most mediators want more work in the future, those mediators will rule in favor of the insurance company in 90+% of the cases. These mediation clauses also are binding, which means that if you do not prevail in mediation, you have no other recourse. You are DENIED your day in court, & DENIED your right to a jury trial in cases of gross negligence or misconduct. Publicists for insurance companies will tell you that these laws are designed to reduce frivolous lawsuits and the cost of malpractice insurance, but the facts show that the states with the strongest mediation laws have the hightest insurance rates. We all heard stories about the woman who sued McD's because she spilled coffee in her lap. It was rumoured that she wanted 30 million...but all she wanted was what Medicare did not cover in her medical care, plus a better CAP ON THEIR coffee. Insurance companies jumped on this story to promote these binding mediation clauses so now we are left with a system worse than what it was before. Now what I read previously about this question went into an eloquent description of a conductor, & musical symphony, etc. What I did not see was a true, complete list of medications for John Q. Public to be aware of. In other words, your answer sounds like another physican making up a good story why the question should not be answered. We have enough to deal with as it is. When you set up a website that is supposed to HELP the general public with an issue, don't dance around the issues. Give some honest & true answers, along with some decent "How to Help Yourself" information.So far, everything I have read on this topic has been cursory &lacking in substance. In an age when the Supreme Court finally ruled that it is a citizen's RIGHT to have access to the internet, at least make reading information on the internet worth one's time. While my response has not been totally about Alzheimer's, it has been about issues which can be overwhelming for an Alzheimer's patient and/or their caregiver. I do not have Alzheimer's, (which is a blessing) but I do have a chronic, painful medical condition which has been ignored as much as your answers to the Alzheimer's questions.I find your article to be lacking in depth as well as honest information. Oh, for all the people who were expecting to see some honest, true information, the best way to determine the quality of the information you read is to click on the VIEW menu at the top of the screen, & then click on & read "Properties" to see who is paying for the website. Think about it. If you want to know about the effects of nicotine, don't read an article paid for by cigarrete companies, read an article by the Medical Community. I just wonder who pays for this website.

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To All,

As no REAL EXPERT on MEDICATIONS has given an answer on this topic, on this website, I strongly recommend that anyone wanting a REAL EXPERT ANSWER:

REPOST THE QUESTION as a NEW QUESTION.

On C.com, "experts" usually "weigh in" FIRST. No "expert" responded to this thread and it's fairly old (and has hit a dead-end.)

Give it a try...

;- )

Galowa

©suzannemcable.08.24.2011

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I am not a doctor, I am not an expert. I am writing this as someone who has done research to try to figure out what happened to my mother, now 80, and living in a nursing home with what I believe to be drug-induced dementia. I spent lots of time scouring Google Scholar, and I suggest that anyone else with questions like the above do the same.

In my mother's case, I believe that her heavy use of anticholinergic medications (or those with anticholinergic properties), are the root of her problem. Anticholinergics cause memory loss, confusion and cognitive impairment in the elderly. There are many different medications that are anticholinergics, and the negative effects are cumulative--the more anticholinergic meds one takes, the more problematic the side effects. My mom was taking a boatload of them.

This article by Isabelle Carriere et al describes the effects of anticholinergics on the elderly: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2933398/

Here is a list of potentially inappropriate drugs for use with the elderly: http://www.empr.com/potentially-inappropriate-drugs-for-the-elderly-beers-list/article/125908/

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The majority of answers I have looked at do not neccesarily address the problem of Epilepsy. Most of the drugs cause extreme memory loss as described in the article. I myself have epilepsy and have taken multiple types of drugs to control it. Those drugs include but are not limited to the following. Dilantin, phenobarbitol, lamictal, lyrica, tegretol, depekene, depekote, valproic acid, trileptal etc. These types of medications cause extreme memory loss and the persons actions, appear to be that of severe if not extreme dimentia or alzhemiers. They don't have it but just looks that way with the medication in their system. Over all most anti-epileptic drugs cause this problem.

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just a lengthy comment to anonymous regarding the lengthy entry:

I, who never got a chance to get my Mstrs Degree due to an accident that left me paralyzed and doctors (the best in a well known medical city) sent me home to live with my fate because they didn't have MRI at the time, nor ultrasound, etc. They were smart enough and caring enough to know that although exploratory surgery was all they could do to try to determine the cause of my predicament, it was not something they would highly recommend as it would definitely cause more problems than was already evident.

Instead of learning to live with my fate; I became determined to overcome as much of my 'fate' as I could possibly manage; learning on my own; finding answers that the medical community had not found or realized (but are in practice today); devising methods that physical therapy had not developed (and are used today); etc.

To do all of this 'learning', I had no choice but to eliminate my ultra-strong meds (that did not really do much to affect the pain - just kept me knocked-out and mindless). I did something unheard of; I tossed them all without so much as a thought...cold turkey. (I am not suggesting this for anyone).

Not to say I have been totally successful throughout the years, but within 5 years I had regained almost total use of hands and was walking; maybe not walking well, but I was walking. For the most part I seemed normal to strangers. I was still in great pain at times (still to this day) and experienced numbness in areas (still today)...which we all know can be a symptom of nerve damage, at least to some extent.

I have had many doctors since then. Have gone through many medical dilemmas due to the stresses brought on by the physical and mental, as well as results from treatments and meds. Nearly died twice. Many very severe situations. One which left me flat on my back and so physically challenged throughout my entire body, including brain function (reasoning /sight impaired / could not swallow/ etc...for 5 1/2 years straight.

Since I became more socially oriented, learning of the MRI and ultrasound...in fact having the ultrasound ordered for other minor difficulties...I have yet to be able to influence a primary physician to order an MRI for determining what is still remaining as the problematic symptoms generated from the cervical as well as the lumbar areas.

At least, you have been able to get the multiple MRIs. So I am assuming you have not had as many decades of trying to work with primary physicians. And that, is progress in my book. Heck, what I've been able to achieve in the medical community is progress.

NOTE: a friend of mine recently hurt his back at work; immediately had one of the pains I've known for a very long time; immediately had the numbness that I still experience today after decades...his doctor instantly determined an MRI was needed...yes, I watched it all happen moment by moment, day by day...was a bit furious,as you can imagine, but decided to stand by him and learn what was to be learned from the tests he could get that I was never ...am still unable to get. At least, that way I would know for sure what I have determined on my own. His case is still pending, as he is now going to see a neurologist. (smile) I have to get beyond this or it will weigh me down and I won't be able to get beyond it. I can feel secure in my knowledge, as I am the one who told my friend that he needed to go to a doctor because he probably had a pinched nerve...sure enough. As stated elsewhere here...my experiences have helped others, either because it was not part of the medical profession and then became so or because I was able to advise someone. Maybe that's what it is all about. By the way, still waiting on neurologist, but friend decided to learn to do without the pain pills...morphine being one of them...I believe the same mgs as what you mentioned...he did choose to wean himself off then rather than go cold turkey.

The medical community is a heavy, huge wheel that takes forever to turn. But obviously with the invent of the MRI and so many other things since then...it does turn. Keep trying, if the medical community is where you rely, because medical advances are happening faster and faster these days. I've watched the progress for decades and can see that it does progress.

I was not happy that the medical profession used me to learn. (And they did...at one point I was on speaker with heads of Mayo, Johns Hopkins and others on a weekly basis...something one of my specialists set up). It wasn't helping 'me'. But now I can see just how much it has helped others who have come along after me. Though it is still not helping me because what they have learned has come after I had learned it for myself...and put into practice for myself before they were able to do so. And those things that are available now that might could help me to at least determine and/or validate what I already know...well, I can't seem to get those ordered by a physician.

It is still a struggle to work with primary physicians...the medical community in general...even if you got to a neurologist, you still might not get one that will do what you want, or even what you need.

The medical profession has certainly seemed to inflict a God complex on some of its members...but we helped them get that way, because we are helpless without them. But don't go to them with what you have achieved on your own...it is not received well by most (allowing for some'one' to be different than what I've experienced).

So be thankful that you have someone to go to, many do not. If you have achieved a Mstrs Degree, maybe you could do your own research and determine a program for yourself. I don't know if your problem would lend itself to such a process, but sometimes we don't know until we try. I'm not crazy about doctors who quickly decide to prescribe meds for something they have not tested thoroughly to determine the problem. (I will not return to them). Maybe, you should just tell your doctor that you are moving and need to find someone closer to your home.(Consider the agreements they 'make' you sign...I don't think,if I were in your shoes I would ever sign such as what you stated...if it is required, get up walk out go somewhere else). Sometimes we have to not be as honest as we would like. The system is what it is. We have it upon our shoulders to figure out the best way to make the system work for us. We have to use our brains as much as they use theirs, maybe in some cases more than they use theirs. Those of us who feel we are educated or can educate ourselves should not feel as dependent upon these professionals as those people who may not be as lucky as the rest of us in that department. Doctors don't prey; 'we' rely. It's a choice for some, a necessity for others.

I do hope you find the help you need (I don't know that I know what your particular problem is, I didn't bother to look it up before I posted...maybe I should have). It is awful to live in severe pain, something many of us do everyday with or without meds, with or without hope of it ever being any different. Research; process the information; and determine a solution. That is what doctors do...if they are not on any kind of pedestal, then we should be able to use our brains as well as they can use theirs. If you cannot affect a solution for yourself; prepare to present your problem in a way that will be most acceptable by someone that will probably be slightly intimidated if not presented 'softly'...and judgmental of the 'female' if presented too 'softly'. It is a catch 22. But we are female, we can overcome...simply because we have to. Sometimes you may win, mostly you will probably lose. Those are just the odds. You are the salmon.

True, we cannot order tests or write prescriptions. And if that is the only thing that will help your particular problem and your problem is degeneratively worsened as time goes by, maybe it is just something you will have to live with. There is nothing saying that a test will lead to solving your problems. Much as surgery did not. A test can only tell, maybe, what is there. Sometimes they just don't have a solution or they are not equipped to offer a solution that will help. If you push them to do something, there is a good chance that you will eventually find one who will do what you think is the right thing to do and it will very possibly end up just like your neck surgery. Or end up much like having to live on morphine.

Maybe what they are saying when they do nothing but keep you on pain meds without finding out what is causing the problem is that they 'can't' go there or they have no intentions of going there. Either way, it could be saying this is in your hands...in God's hands. And if the two of you (you and God) work together, you just might get some relief instead of living on pain meds. If doctors get the wild idea that someone wants to live on pain meds, they will think of you what they will. It is up to you to make sure you present to them a different picture (without your journals and your advanced intelligence). Believe me, I have dealt with enough of the medical profession that I understand the preconceived notions that some doctors have. Anyone would think that if they are as educated as they would like others to believe they are (self-importance exuding from every pore - as some of them are), then they would've learned a long time ago that you just dont' judge a book by its cover. Alas, they are out there, everywhere...not just doctors.

However, playing the odds, you just might eventually find someone who is worthy of the title they hold. They do exist. If I could go back to the doctors today that were so knowledgeable and caring in the beginning...now that there are more advanced testing and procedures, etc...maybe I could get some of my problems solved. But after decades of struggles, I am sad to say they have passed on. A great loss.

Good luck! I truly hope you find a way for your body and you to get along better.

As for the relating to the topic of this posting: memory can be affected by many things. I lost much of mine...memories of the past...knowing vocabulary, how to do simple tasks, etc. All due to the above malfunctions of the brain during the 5+ years struggle of 1 of my many problems evolving from an accident and all that followed. I can say now that the memory will return, at least it is doing a good job of it for me, after a long hiatus. Good luck everyone!

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