1 © The Great Brain Secret – Memory Killing Medicines

2 © The Great Brain Secret – Memory Killing Medicines

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Introduction

The human brain is one of the most amazing organs in the human body. With our brains

we have the ability to think, create and function. With our brain we are allowed to live in

many different worlds. The world of imagination and reality and the world of our own

creation and those worlds beyond.

With this being said there are many things about the human brain that we don’t

understand and may never understand. In this book we will explore one of these questions

known as medication effects on the brain and how they do damage. When you complete

this book you will have a foundational understanding of how the brain works and what

medications that we take to feel better may actually be doing more harm than good.

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Chapter One - The Human Brain

What Is The Human Brain?

Before we can talk about medications and the

effect on the brain we first need to have a basic

foundational understanding of the brain and how

it works. First off the brain is an organ that resides

at the top of our head in our skull. It sends

electrical signals to every part of our bodies

causing muscles to contract and release, blood to

flow and memories to be stored.

When we take a substance into our bodies such

as food, liquids or medications they are first

identified by our tongues. Our tongs have receptors on them known as taste buds. These

taste buds sample what we eat and drink and identify it. This is how we know a lemon

tastes like a lemon and an apple tastes like an apple.

Once this signal is received by the brain we know that it is good or bad to eat. Once the

items are consumed they enter out digestive tract where they are broken down to their

basic compounds. These compounds are then sent to the liver and the brain for further

direction through the body.

The Brain and Medication

When we take in medication they are also broken down and sent to the liver and the brain.

The reason everything is sent to the liver is that the liver is the organ that screens out

harmful substances before they are sent off to the brain. If we didn’t have a liver we would

do so much damage to the brain that we would cease to exist.

Since many medications are manmade the liver has issues distinguishing if it is good or

bad. So it stores as much of it as it can and then allows the rest to travel to the brain and

rest of the body. When it reaches the brain it gets stored for analysis before traveling to

the part of the body that requires it to function.

When medication and other substances stay in the brain for a long period of time they

tend to break down causing disruptions between the electrical signals between the brain

cells. With prolonged use of these substances the connections can be weakened to the

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point where new pathways must be formed causing temporary memory loss to complete

breakdown causing permanent memory loss and brain damage.

The Brain and Good Compounds

Not everything that we consume will be bad for us. There are many good medications

that help improve brain health and function. Many of these are more natural in nature

rather than made in a lab. If you are concerned about medications and their effects on

the brain then you may want to look for more natural alternatives. When you go more

natural and herbal then you are putting substances into your body that are more easily

dealt with by the liver and brain. So if you do have health issues look into natural cures

rather than man made.

Talk to your doctor about natural cures and remedies to help keep you healthy from brain

altering man made medications.

Memories

Memories are an amazing thing. When we look at an item we begin to form a picture of

it in our minds. We recognize its shapes, color, and size. Then when we touch the item

we add in texture, density and temperature. If we use out tongue to taste the item we add

even more information. Is it sweet, sour, spicy or bland?

How memories work is when we create an association with the item chemicals are stored

in cells in the brain. These cells are connected by signals in the brain that can recall that

information in an instant. When we take in medication or other substances that are not

good for the brain these connections can be broken or lost. As a result we cannot recall

that memory or association.

Chapter Two – Memory Loss Medications

Now that we have a basic understanding of how the brain works

we can move forward to discuss the different types of

medications that we consume, why we consume them and what

benefits and damages they can do to our brain and memories.

Common Brain and Memory Conditions

First off let’s talk about some of the memory and brain conditions

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bad medication can cause. The first and probably the most well-known is Alzheimer’s

disease. When people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease they begin to forget simple things

like a person’s name, a date, time of day. As the disease progresses they begin to revert

to living an earlier part of their lives. They ask questions like, “Are you still dating that

boy?” and you either haven’t seen that boy in twenty years or you have been married to

him forever.

When people start to lose their memory many people assume that it is associated with

age and that what is happening is a natural part of life. Not many people, even doctors

will associate these conditions with medications since many of the medications are still

new and technically experimental.

Mass Market Medications

One thing that everyone should be aware of is the mass market medications that you see

on television. If you look at these commercials you will see happy people playing on the

beach, riding a horse or even engaging in pre-sexual activity. Then you will see this same

medication in a different commercial six months later in a class action lawsuit. You will see

a statement like “Have you or a loved one died or received extensive injuries from using

this drug?”

When it comes to these medications and their ease of acquiring them over the phone or

via the Internet without a doctor’s prescription or even with a prescription to a drug that

still is not truly known makes it even more important for books like these to be written

and read.

Other Brain and Medical Conditions

Conditions like Alzheimer’s is not the only reasons people will take medication for brain

conditions. Bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, depression and a slew of other require

medication in order to be controlled or managed. From there common drugs such as

antihistamines, muscle relaxers, pain medication, sleeping pills and anything that may

cause a physiological change in your body.

The “Antidrug”

When it comes to drugs that say they will help with your symptoms the one’s starting with

“Anti” are the number one leaders when it comes to memory loss. Drugs such as

antidepressants, antihistamine, antispasmodics, and antipsychotics and so on affect your

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acetylcholine levels which are responsible for memory and learning functions of the brain.

When the acetylcholine levels in your brain begin to lower or are inhibited somehow your

ability to think, reason and recall memories becomes affected. This is why on many of the

medications that are sold you see the warning, “You should not drive or operate heavy

machinery” while on this drug.

Some Common Side Effects of Taking an Anti-Drug

When you take one of these drugs you may experience one or several of the following

symptoms.

Blurred vision

Confusion

Constipation

Difficulty starting and continuing to urinate

Dry mouth

Light-headedness

Loss of bladder control

Prescription Drugs That Have Been Shown To Cause Memory Loss

Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is a condition that affects the central nervous system of the body.

Those with the condition suffer from shaking and other involuntary movements of the

body such as twitching and muscle spasms. Some of the more common medications used

to treat this condition are listed below. One of the main side effects of these medications

is memory loss.

Atropine

Glycopyrrolate

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Scopolamine

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a condition in which the brain reacts in such a way that it causes the body to

go into seizures. These seizures can vary from person to person with intensity and

duration. Doctors have been using medications for years to help control the condition.

Some of the most common medications used can cause memory loss or brain fog. The

most common medications are listed below.

Dilantin

Phenytoin

Sleeping Pills

When people sleep it is because a substance known as melatonin has reached its highest

levels in the brain. This melatonin is what is used by the brain to induce sleep. Many

people suffer from many sleeping disorders such as insomnia. As a result they require

some form of sleeping pill or medication in order to go to sleep. The problem with

sleeping pills is that they don’t really allow you to go to sleep naturally which over a long

period of time will cause your body to reject the sleeping pills requiring you to take on

additional drugs and medication in order to get a proper night sleep.

After taking sleeping pills people may feel sluggish and fatigued. They may have

temporary lost basic motor control skills and ability to focus their eyes and speech.

Another common side effect from sleeping pills is memory loss. Depending on the type

of pills, the concentration, when the pills were taken and if other drugs or alcohol were

taken with the pills will determine the amount of possible memory loss that may have

occurred.

The most common sleeping pills that have been shown to cause memory loss are Ambien,

Lunesta, and Sonata.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are psychoactive drugs that affect the benzene ring and dispose ring of

the brain. The drugs and medications used affect the sleep centers and anti-anxiety areas

of the brain. Medications that are prescribed have a wide range of uses from alcohol

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withdrawal, anxiety, insomnia, seizures and muscle spasms

Some of the most common drugs used to combat these problems are Ativan, Dalmane,

Valium, and Xanax

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are meant to help people when they have an infection. Unfortunately many of

the antibiotics that we take and are prescribed have components in them that will make

us sleepy, disorientated and in some cases experience memory loss. Two of the most

common antibiotics prescribed are Cipro and Levaquin. These two medications are most

commonly prescribed to help with urinary tract infections most commonly found in

women, cellulitis as well as many other infections that are resistant to standard antibiotic

treatments.

People who have taken this drug have reported damage to the central nervous system.

Depending on the length of exposure to this and other drugs has left patients with both

short term and long term conditions.

Cholesterol Controlling Drugs

Cholesterol is a big problem in the United States as well as all over the world. When we

have too much bad cholesterol in our bodies we begin to have clogged arteries which can

lead to high blood pressure and even heart problems.

The easiest way to control your cholesterol is to change your diet and exercise. For many

people this is not really an option due to other health concerns or just plain laziness. So

to combat this problem doctors may prescribe you a cholesterol controlling drug. These

drugs will help to lower your cholesterol count and help thin the blood as well as other

factors to help the absorption of good cholesterol and the removal of bad cholesterol.

One of the drawbacks of this is that the drugs prescribed have unforeseen side effects one

being memory loss. Since these drugs work on your blood and blood needs to travel

throughout your entire body including the brain it has been discovered that those on the

drugs have experienced fatigue, memory loss and other symptoms relating to brain

function.

Examples of some of the more common drugs to have these effects are atorvastatin more

commonly referred to as Lipitor. Fluvastatin or better known as Lescol. Then next on the

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list is lovastatin or Mevacor, pravastatin or Pravachol, Rosuvastatin or Crestor and finally

simvastatin better referred to as Zocor.

Antidepressants

The stare of happiness and depression are controlled by chemical reactions in the brain.

When we are happy we are considered to have the correct balance of these chemicals.

When we are sad or depressed it is said that these levels are lower.

Now not all states of sadness can be linked to depression. Depression in itself is a

condition that states that an individual can feel many states of emotion but does not derive

pleasure for anything. For example you may go to a party and be able to express emotions

but deep down you don’t feel real joy.

When it comes to depression there are many causes. The first is the loss of someone or

something. When someone loses a parent, child or someone close to them depression

kicks in. Now many of us will soon grieve and move on with our lives but many others will

carry this with them the rest of their lives.

Antidepressants can help those who suffer from depression to begin to feel good about

the world again. The antidepressant medication works on the brain allowing it to produce

the chemicals needed in order to feel normal and happy. The drawback that sometimes

this reaction will cause our minds to loose time or put us in a hypnotic state that we don’t

know what happened when we awaken.

Some of the drugs prescribed for this condition are amitriptyline and clomipramine, both

of which have also been prescribed to help with conditions such as eating disorders,

obsessive compulsive disorder as well as for people who are suffering from chronic pain.

The research on these drugs also have shown that more than one third of the individuals

who have taken these drugs have experienced some form of memory loss or at least

difficulty concentrating or paying attention to simple instructions or tasks.

Hypertension

Hypertension is the onset of high blood pressure. When someone suffers from

hypertension they are suffering from a severe case of high blood pressure. When we test

our blood pressure we are testing the different between each beat of the heart and the

amount of blood that is forced through our system. A normal range for blood pressure is

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between 100 – 140 as the top number and between 60 and 90. If you were to test your

blood pressure and it was 140/90 or anything above that you are considered to have high

blood pressure and may be a candidate for hypertension

In order to help relieve hypertension doctors used to prescribe what was known as a beta-

blocker. These beta-blockers were prescribed to lower heart rates and decrease blood

pressure. Now this would be good and fine but they have also been shown to have a nasty

side effect of blocking norepinephrine and epinephrine which are very important

chemicals the brain needs. When taking these Bata-blocking medications many people

reported memory loss and lapses of concentration.

Several examples of these drugs are atenolol - Tenormin, carvedilol - Coreg, metoprolol –

Lopressor / Toprol, propranolol - Inderal, sotalol - Betapace, timolol – Timoptic.

Over The Counter Medications That May Cause Memory Loss

When it comes to medication and memory loss getting a prescription from your doctor

isn’t the only way to be affected. Many of the over the counter medications that are

accessible by anyone produce the side effect of memory loss. In many ways over the

counter medication is more dangerous than the medications that you get from your

doctor.

The first reason they are more dangerous is that they can easily be misleading. Many

people believe that if they can get something over the counter without the authorization

of a doctor that it may not be as effective so they may take more than recommended as

well as combine it with other drugs, illegal and legal to help increase its effectiveness.

Mixing medications is never a good idea. Medications prescribed and over the counter

are regulated by the FDA and other government agencies. Just because you can go to

Walmart and get some medication along with your laundry soap doesn’t mean that there

won’t be side effects.

Pain Medications

The first thing people will go to the store and purchase is pain medication. Pain is

something that none of us wants to deal with and will do anything in our power to get rid

of. When purchasing pain medication people need to realize that it will take time to work.

Taking more in the hopes that the medication will work faster is not correct. The

manufacturers of these pain pills have them developed in such a way that they will only

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release so much into your body over a specific period of time. Adding more will not relieve

the pain any faster but will cause to have adverse effects such as memory loss.

Advil, Excedrin and Tylenol are the three front runners when it comes to over the counter

pain relief. These three also have been shown to cause memory loss in certain individuals.

One thing parents must realize is that they should not give this medication to small

children. Children will not be able to handle the concentration in the medication that is

why they have versions for children. Make sure to read the instructions for dosing before

taking any of these medications for pain. And allow the medication time to work.

Allergy Medication

I don’t know about you but when allergy season hits I would sometimes love to have some

memory loss. All that sneezing, watery, itchy eyes, headaches and all of the other

symptoms myself and hundreds of others suffer from every year. When it comes to over

the counter medication the second most purchased over pain medication is allergy

medications.

The main function of an allergy medication is to block the histamine that is produced in

our bodies. When we have too much histamine in our bodies we begin to itch, sneeze,

have watery eyes and just feel miserable. Histamine is triggered by the pollen in the air.

The pollen travels through the air and enters into our noses. There it agitates our bodies

causing the chemical release of histamine.

When we take allergy medication we set off chemicals in the brain that produces

histamine. The most common over the counter allergy medications that we can take are

Benadryl and Claritin.

Sleep Medications

When it comes to sleep medication you can get it in prescription and nonprescription

strength. For most over the counter sleep medications you can locate them by the letters

“PM” at the end of their name.

The over the counter sleep medication and the prescription sleep medication work in the

same way. They help to relax the body in such a way that you can achieve the state of

sleep. The main difference is that the over the counter medication is not as potent as the

prescription medication.

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The most common over the counter sleep medications are Advil PM, Excedrin PM, Nytol,

Sominex, Tylenol PM, Unisom. Besides just aiding you in sleep you can also take Tylenol

PM, Advil PM and Excedrin Pm for pain as well.

General Over the Counter Medications

When it comes to over the counter medications people will take them for a wide variety

of reasons. Some additional reasons for taking over the counter medication are for Acid

Reflux conditions, motion sickness and many more. Some additional medications that

have shown to treat these conditions as well as add to memory loss are Dramamine which

I remember using as a kid when my parents used to take me on long trips in the car. I

remember it putting me to sleep more than causing me to lose my memory. Pepcid AC,

Tagament and Zanac are also high on the list. These three help with controlling acid reflux

disuse.

Understanding Medication

When it comes to medication be it over the counter or prescription it is your job to learn

everything that you an about what you are taking. Too many of us rely on our doctors

and nurses to tell us and guide us along the path to better health. With the constant

crying of universal health reform, the constant advertising of miracle drugs that help cure

this condition or that condition and then the public scares of class action lawsuits against

the manufacturers of these drugs makes your head spin. For your own personal health

and wellbeing make sure that you do your research on these medications. As you can see

many of these medications listed have probably been used by you or someone you love.

For that reason and that reason alone you want to research these drugs, keep an eye on

your family and make sure that they don’t fall victim to a memory loss at the wrong time.

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Conclusion

It has been my goal through this book to give you a wakeup call when it comes to

medications and how they work on our bodies. If you look at the state of our healthcare

systems and the rising prices of medications as well as the introduction of new diseases

and conditions makes you wonder if these medications are doing more than just taking

away our memories.

From this point forward it will be up to you to research what I have given you and make

your own discoveries. Talk to your friends, family, neighbors and anyone you know who

has taken any of these medications before or is currently on them today. Ask them what

reactions and feelings that they may have experienced. If they take any of the medications

ask if you can observe them to see how the medication acts and reacts with them.

Research, knowledge and discovery all are important parts of our understanding of what

we take into our bodies and why. When we pop that pill we have no foresight of what it

will do to us or to those we love.

Visit sites like WebMD and Google to do your own research. Don’t stop at one place or

with one answer continue your investigation on your own. The answers are there.

I want to personally thank you for reading this book. It has been my pleasure to bring you

this information and I hope that you have found it useful. I hope that you will tell others

of my writing and pas on my thoughts and knowledge to those who many benefit the

most. Tomorrow is another day of learning and understanding. Take the time to look

around and ask questions.

To your success in everything that you do.