Facts say that 100,000 deaths are annually caused by prescription drugs, and another 1.5 million people experience side effects so severe they must be hospitalized. Every medication carries some risks and adverse drug reactions are now the fourth leading cause of death in the US.
Memory loss is one of the most common side effects. However, you need to be aware that you can preserve your health and prevent side effects if you are well informed.
Namely, the odds are that any prescription medication falls into one of these three categories of drugs known to cause memory loss and other cognitive problems:
Sleeping Pills
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. Moreover, they are notorious for causing memory loss.
Also, the popular drug Ambien has been coined by some as “the amnesia drug” and it leads to hallucinations, night terrors, sleep walking and sleep driving.
Statin Drugs
These cholesterol-lowering medications might just be the single worst group of drugs for your brain. One quarter of your brain is made up of cholesterol, and it is necessary for memory, learning, and fast thinking. Consequently, cholesterol-lowering drugs negatively affect the brain.
Nevertheless, memory loss is now required to be listed as a side effect on the label.
The “Anti” Drugs
All drugs that start with “anti,” such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, antihistamines, antibiotics, antispasmodics, or antihypertensives, are likely to affect your acetylcholine levels.
Acetylcholine is the primary neurotransmitter involved with memory and learning. Its low levels can cause symptoms that resemble dementia, such as blurred vision, memory loss, mental confusion, delirium, and hallucinations.
Also these 20 Medications Have Been Found To Lead To Memory Loss
Richard C. Mohs, Ph.D., former vice chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine assembled a list of medications which can cause memory loss in patients.
Research has shown that these medications listed below can cause memory loss, as a possible side- effect of their use:
- drugs used in the treatment of high blood pressure
- sleeping pills — Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata
- chemotherapy drugs
- insulin
- painkillers — heroin, morphine,codeine
- methyldopa
- antibiotics (quinolones)
- drugs used in the case of Parkinson’s — scopolamine, atropine, glycopyrrolate
- lithium
- steroids
- beta blockers (especially those used for glaucoma)
- antipsychotics — Haldol, Mellaril
- tricyclic antidepressants
- barbiturates — Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital
- interferons
- benzodiazepines — Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Dalmane
- epilepsy drugs— phenytoin or Dilantin
- quinidine
- naproxen
- antihistamines
