Posts Tagged ‘prescription drugs side effects’

Can Medication interfere with your cognitive abilities?  

It has been proven that medication causes cognitive impairment. Drugs taken for common medical conditions such as insomnia, allergies, or incontinence negatively affect the brain, and causes long term cognitive impairment. These drugs, called anticholinergics, block acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter, and are widely-used medications. They are sold over the counter. The offending drugs are Benadryl®. Dramamine®, Excedrin PM®k Nytol ®, Sominex®, Tylenol PM®, and Unisom®, there are others that are available by prescription.

Findings

This isn’t another bombshell; it is just another finding than adds to the pile of profit generating prescriptions that have terrible side effects.

Aging Expert Speaks out:

“Simply put, we have confirmed that anticholinergics, something as seemingly benign as a medication for inability to get a good night’s sleep or for motion sickness, can cause or worsen cognitive impairment, specifically long-term mild cognitive impairment which involves gradual memory loss. As a geriatrician I tell my Wishard Healthy Aging Brain Center patients not to take these drugs and I encourage all older adults to talk with their physicians about each and every one of the medications they take,” said Malaz Boustani, M.D., IU School of Medicine associate professor of medicine, Regenstrief Institute investigator and IU Center for Aging Research center scientist.

Seniors

Senior citizens are especially vulnerable to the side effects of anticholinergic medication. These medications cause acute confusion, poor attention, disorientation, and short-term memory problems. Any medicine that has a sedating effect can impair memory.

Many of the drugs typically taken by people over 50 can cause subtle thinking problems by themselves, but when several are taken at once, significant Alzheimer’s-like problems can appear. These problems may include memory loss, absentmindedness, confusion, disorientation, and emotional outbursts.

Pharmaceuticals

The customer-centric focus of pharmaceutical companies centers around consumer spending not health. The drug industry is not looking for a safe or environmental friendly dynamic advancement in medicine, they want to maintain value for their portfolio.

The mass appeal is to the millions of people who need it now, and want instant help. The consumer preference for quick fixes is what gives continuing relevance to this brand of medicine.

Marketing Matters

The major pharmaceutical houses know how to create sustainable campaigns. The audience for most products they produce is huge, and full of opportunities. Each chronic condition represents areas of untapped growth for the company.

A thinking consumer is the drug companies biggest fear.

A drug addict from the RX pad comes from all walks of life, and all age groups. The prescription drug user thinks they are in control, and the bottom line proves that to be wrong. You have to be careful and thoughtful in how you perceive the relationship of drug dependency and addiction. Pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives are different terms for zoning out, getting high, and getting a buzz.

We all know that prescription drug use is increasing in all age groups, yet our health doesn’t seem to be improving. From the prescription pad to the patient makes the medical profession the largest group of drug pushers. The suppliers of these so called medical breakthroughs are making the kind of money street drug pusher’s dream of. A report by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission has concluded that prescription drugs have outstripped illegal drugs in causing harm.

Oxycontin which is a painkiller has increased 36%, and killed more people than illegal drugs. We are navigating the unknown, we keep waiting for a better drug, and there is a risk that outweighs any rewards. Our medical system is headed south, looking at the whole sector, we can see that the emerging field of genetic engineering, and drug development is producing a dependency on prescriptions.

We are an addicted nation; the debacle will only add costs and drain the nation of all its vitality. Drugs have become a way to treat illness, to keep our economy going, and a source of pleasure for those that are too weak to get high on health. A drug addict from the RX pad is in more danger than someone who uses street drugs.