Recent studies suggest that many common medications may dramatically increase your risk of cognitive impairment.
As a medical intuitive healer, I am not legally allowed to make recommendations about prescription meditations.
However, information about how your drugs affect your mind and body is readily available and I always encourage my clients to be educated consumers.
You can start to understand the side effects of any medication by researching www.rxlist.com.
Because more than half of Americans take at least two prescription drugs, I also recommend a website called www.epocrates.com that describes the side effects caused by your multiple medications.
You may have visited one doctor for one pill and another physician for another drug but do you or your medical team truly understand how the chemical mix you take affects your mind and body?
This is an uncomfortable subject, but I feel my clients and readers need to know.
Do you really want to set yourself up for Alzheimer’s and dementia?
The fact that prescription drugs may increase your risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia is not widely known but it is a huge problem for millions of people.
Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia (AD) affect 44 million people globally and 5.3 million Americans. One in eight people over 65 suffer from AD. In the US alone, the number of patients is expected to grow to 16 million by 2050.
The kind of drugs that are scientifically proven to shrink your brain include anticholinergic drugs.
These drugs block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which helps your memory.
The problems that these drugs treat – depression, seasonal allergies and overactive bladder – are easily addressed by natural healing remedies, including exercise, food healing, proper hydration and other non-drug approaches.
Many people rely on their medical doctors and their pharmacists to prescribe only the drugs that will protect their long-term well-being.
But when you go to the doctor for a prescription, please ask your physician how your drug will affect your chances of developing dementia.
You can download the complete list of problematic medications at this link.
According to a study published in the journal Neurology, each drug known to lower your acetylcholine may increase your risk of cognitive impairment by 46 percent over six years.
Which drugs are the worst offenders, according to evidence from literature, expert opinion, or prescribers information that medication may cause delirium:
Amitriptyline, also known as Elavil
Amoxapine, also known as Asendin
Atropine, also known as Sal-Tropine
Benztropine, also known as Cogentin
Brompheniramine, also known as Dimetapp
Carbinoxamine, also known as Histex or Carbihist
Chlorpheniramine, also known as Chlor-Trimeton
Chlorpromazine, also known as Thorazine
Clemastine, also known as Tavist
Clomipramine, also known as Anafranil
Clozapine, also known as Clozaril
Darifenacin, also known as Enablex
Desipramine, also known as Norpramin
Dicyclomine, also known as Bentyl
Dimenhydrinate, also known as Dramamine
Diphenhydramine, also known as Benadryl
Doxepin, also known as Sinequan
Doxylamine, also known as Unisom
Fesoterodine, also known as Toviaz
Flavoxate, also known as Urispas
Hydroxyzinem, also known as Atarax, Vistaril
Hyoscyamine, also known as Anaspaz, Levsin
Imipramine, also known as Tofranil
Meclizine, also known as Antivert
Methocarbamol, also known as Robaxin
Nortriptyline, also known as Pamelor
Olanzapine, also known as Zyprexa
Orphenadrine, also known as Norflex
Oxybutynin, also known as Ditropan
Paroxetine, also known as Paxil
Perphenazine, also known as Trilafon
Promethazine, also known as Phenergan
Propantheline, also known as Pro-Banthine
Propiverine, also known as Detrunorm
Quetiapine, also known as Seroquel
Scopolamine, also known as Transderm Scop
Solifenacin, also known as Vesicare
Thioridazine, also known as Mellaril
Tolterodine, also known as Detrol
Trifluoperazine, also known as Stelazine
Trihexyphenidyl, also known as Artane
Trimipramine, also known as Surmontil
Trospium, also known as Sanctura
So what do you do if you realize that you are taking any of these medications:
- Talk to your doctor.
- Educate yourself about natural healing, including exercise, food healing, relaxation and non-drug approaches.
- If you are on more than one anticholinergic drug, work with your medical team to reduce the total number of these particular drugs you are taking.
- Read the study published by JAMA Internal Medicine at this link. The scientific study reports that your cognitive impairment may be reversed when you stop taking the problem drugs. The authors of this study concluded: “Given the devastating consequences of dementia, informing older adults about this potentially modifiable risk would allow them to choose alternative products and collaborate with their health care professionals to minimize overall anticholinergic use.”
What is healing? Healing happens when you open your eyes to how your prescription drugs are actually affecting your mind and body.