Jedha Dening
You may be taking a common medication right now that increases your risk of developing dementia by as much as 54 percent!
To date, a few studies have raised a number of medications into the dementia-causing spotlight. You may want to take this list and have a look in your medicine cabinet…
Oxybutynin (Ditropan XL, Urotrol) for bladder control
In the past five years, these bladder antimuscarinic drugs, prescribed for the treatment of urinary incontinence, have increased in usage by 31 percent. Researchers suggest there are other options but physicians turn to this drug because it’s a cheaper option. And it seems, at your expense…
Researchers discovered that those taking it for more than three years had a significantly increased risk of dementia.
What can you do for bladder control instead?
I’ve previously covered the use of pumpkin seed extract and Kegel exercises for bladder issues, two natural options with proven effectiveness.
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for allergies and colds
Reaching for those antihistamines to address your seasonal allergies — sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, hives, skin rash, itching, and other cold symptoms — may have seemed like a good idea before now. However, this commonly used medication is in the same class as all those listed here and may increase your dementia risk.
Next time you suffer allergies try these 7 foods and optimize your health with these tipsfrom my colleague Dr. Isaac Eliaz.
Tricyclic antidepressants
Some popular medications in this group include:
- Amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep)
- Clomipramine (Anafranil)
- Imipramine (Tofranil)
- Trimipramine (Surmontil)
- Doxepin (Sinequan, Adapin)
Taking antidepressants may be useful for those with severe clinical depression. However, there are other alternatives to tricyclic antidepressants. And since these have been shown to increase risk of dementia, discussing alternatives with your physician is a great idea.
Since antidepressants are not all that useful to most people, consider trying proven alternatives. My colleague Dr. Mark Wiley has previously covered several natural methods for treating depression.
Doxepin hydrochloride (Silenor) for insomnia
If you have trouble staying asleep, your physician may prescribe you doxepin hydrochloride. But if you’re a regular user of a dosage around 10 mg per day and continue to do that for three years, your risk of dementia can skyrocket.
For natural alternatives, Dr. Wiley has great recommendations on how to get your best sleep ever.
All of these medications are classed in the category of ‘anticholinergic’ medications and have an average usage between 8 to 37 percent. It’s not unknown that these meds cause immediate cognitive effects such as altered attention, changes to working memory, and slower cognitive speed. But when following your physician’s advice, you probably don’t expect to up your risk of dementia by more than 50 percent.
Unfortunately there are too many drugs to list here… but you can learn about other prescriptions for amnesia and brain robbery that my colleague Margaret Cantwell wrote about, including Xanax and Lipitor to name a few.
Editor’s note: There’s one more drug that could be stealthily stealing your mind and your memories… and the reason you take it is based on a myth that has helped big pharma rake in billions! To learn more about how mainstream medicine is robbing you of a vitally important brain nutrient, click here to read this urgent report!
Sources:
2017 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures — Alzheimer’s Association. Retrieved 2 June, 2017
Gray SL, et al. Cumulative Use of Strong Anticholinergics and Incident Dementia. — JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(3):401-407.
Common anticholinergic drugs like Benadryl linked to increased dementia risk — Merz B. (2015). Harvard Health Blog. Retrieved 2 June, 2017
