Memory and Brain Fog? Prescribed Drugs that Cause Memory Problems

Women are a huge consumer base for these drugs.

These prescriptions may to some degree help ease these health problems but they do have side effects, as well.

Memory, focus, and learning problems are only part of their side effects.

When you combine drugs, these side effects are more concentrated and reactive.

Each drug you add changes the effects of the others. In some cases, this results in death.

The American Academy of Neurology followed 870 older Catholic priests for nearly eight years.

It was called the Religious Orders Study at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center.

They administered tests to this group yearly to test brain and memory function.

Those priests who took anticholinergic drugs were 50 percent slower on tests than men who didn’t.

This was after other risk factors were taken into account.

Taking the drugs in this study did not show an increase in Alzheimer’s dementia.

The drug categories listed below are at the top of the list for causing memory and cognitive disturbances.

These drugs have serious physical side effects as well.

When you add hormonal disturbances to the side effects of the drugs, debilitating side effects may occur.

For this article, I am focusing on memory and mental side effects.

Drugs Prescribed for Insomnia and Sleeping Problems

Ambien, Lunestra, Sonata: One of the better-known drugs for insomnia and sleeping problems.

Serious mental side effects include abnormal thinking; behavior changes; confusion; memory problems;

hallucinations; mental or mood changes; depression that worsens; suicidal thoughts.

There are physical side effects, as well.

Drugs Prescribed for Anxiety, Depression and Personality Disorders

Abilify: Prescribed for bipolar disorder; schizophrenia, major depression, and autism.

The side effects listed above for Ambien apply to Abilify. Abilify contains sugar.

Serious physical side effects include high blood sugar; birth problems and defects; dementia.

heart failure, sudden death, and pneumonia.

There is a long list of serious side effects that go with taking this drug.

Effexor (Venlafaxine): An antidepressant used for severe depression;

It is one of the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors family of drugs.

This drug has a page of possible side effects including serotonin syndrome or overproduction of serotonin;

high blood pressure; low blood sodium; seizures; increase risk of bleeding;

and the full range of mental symptoms that can worsen.

Suicide is one of them.

Birth defends are also possible.

According to doctors, Effexor is listed as one of the top 10 drugs that impair memory function.

Xanax ( Niravam, Alprazolam): 

One of the common drugs prescribed to treat anxiety disorders. 5% to 33% of patients experience memory problems.

It can cause all the same symptoms as the other drugs above.

High Blood Pressure Lowering Drugs that may cause memory and brain fog issues

You will find the majority of Americans on one of these drugs to lower blood pressure. 

Hypertension Drugs may include the following prescription drugs:

(atenolol (Tenormin), carvedilol (Coreg), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol), propranolol (Inderal),

sotalol (Betapace), timolol (Timoptic)

Antiseizure Drugs are used to treat nerve pain, mood disorders, bipolar disorder, and mania.

Drugs in this class include:

Acetazolamide (Diamox), carbamazepine (Tegretol), ezogabine (Potiga), gabapentin (Neurontin),

lamotrigine (Lamictal), levetiracetam (Keppra), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal),

pregabalin (Lyrica), rufinamide (Banzel), topiramate (Topamax), valproic acid (Depakote) and zonisamide (Zonegran).

Narcotic painkillers- prescribe to treat moderate to severe chronic pain.

I have a friend who was addicted to pain pills for several years. Her brain function became severe.

Over 6 months she finally took steps to reduce her pain med dosages but her memory is still really bad. 

There are many thousands of people here who got addicted to painkillers due to an operation or other severe pain issues. 

Many of them were not warned of the addictive nature, the side effects such as memory issues, or the difficulty of going off the drug later.

There are lawsuits against various drug companies who prescribed these drugs like candy, knowing the problems the drugs would cause. 

In 2016 alone over 42,000 people died from opioid abuse.

Prescriptions you may be taking that cause memory and brain fog include

Fentanyl (Duragesic), hydrocodone (Norco, Vicodin), hydromorphone (Dilaudid, Exalgo), morphine (Astramorph, Avinza), and

oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet).

These drugs come in many different forms, including tablets, solutions for injection, transdermal patches, and suppositories.

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/opioid-crisis

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/25/1082901958/opioid-settlement-johnson-26-billion

Research your medication before you take it:

There are no studies that can predict the side effects or their severity when taking combinations of drugs.

Side effects are very individual. One patient may experience few side effects while another will suffer severe effects.

Age, weight, immune function, and health are just four of the factors that influence your reaction to a drug.

Generic drugs are not always identical to brand-name drugs.

Call your doctor if symptoms worsen.

If you begin to experience new symptoms or see your symptoms worsen, you need to call your doctor.

You should research any medication you are taking.

Visit several sites to see if there are new FDA warnings about your drug.

After two or three years, drugs are often taken off the market.

Their effects are not been fully known for a number of years.

This includes heart problems that take time to develop.

If a large number of patients are complaining about serious problems, you need to heed the warnings.

Learn about natural solutions to healthcare challenges. 

There are natural solutions to help sleep, lower blood pressure, deal with mild to moderate depression,

and for bladder issues.

You need to learn about these solutions. 

I caution you here not to take drugs and herbs together and to consult with a holistic doctor to give you advice first. 

Do not stop taking your prescription drugs without your personal doctor’s supervision and permission.

Many of these prescription drugs have nasty side effects when you stop taking them! 

Again, you must go off your prescription drugs under the supervision of your doctor. 

References:

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/zonisamide-side-effects.html

http://www.askdocweb.com/memoryloss.html

http://weeksmd.com/2008/06/statin-drugs-and-memory-loss/

http://www.cigna.com/individualandfamilies/health-and-well-being/hw/medical-topics/confusion-memory-loss-and-altered-alertness-confu.html

http://www.askdocweb.com/memoryloss.html

http://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/news/20030516/epilepsy-drug-linked-to-memory-problems