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My mom and dad took none of them and had good minds the day they died in their 90's. Just saying.
Sorry, but anecdotal evidence proves nothing. My mom took NO MEDS, not even an over the counter pain medication, for her whole life, and she has vascular dementia now and developed it at age 76 or so. Plus, she has zero risk factors for a stroke, and yet had a major stroke at age 67.
My grandmother never smoked a cigarette in her life, and wasn't exposed to secondhand smoke either other than very occasionally like everyone else in the world during the heyday of cigarette smoking. And yet she developed lung cancer.
Both these women ate very healthy diets, kept their weight at a healthy level all their lives, took natural supplements, and stayed very active and fit till their serious health problems overtook them.
So there you have it. Meanwhile, my uncle was overweight, never exercised, ate all the wrong things, took no supplements, and lived till he was 99 years old and FLEW HIS OWN PRIVATE PLANE till he was 97. Oh well.
My dad has diabetes, paranoid schizophrenia, and high blood pressure. He also had a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, which i believe was incorrect, but he had something else wrong that caused heat intolerance, temporary vision loss and joint pain.
Unless you've had a family member who was a paranoid schizophrenic, it's difficult to describe how necessary the meds are, for the safety of the patient and of everyone he has to live with and everyone he comes into contact with. Without meds, he would lock himself in his bedroom, call the FBI and the CIA hundreds of times a day and ask why they were following him, call the cable company over and over to ask why they allowed space aliens to hack into his modem, and eventually he would become so terrified that he would take every pill in his bathroom, and present us with a list of the pills he ate. Then it was time to go get his stomach pumped, and he was coherent enough to freak out at the sight of uniforms and think the paramedics were those FBI guys coming to get him, and calling the cops to help would have been dangerous, so I had to wrangle him into the car and sit behind him holding him up in the seat while my mom drove to the ER. Then get beat up by him while trying to get him into the hospital gown and watch while they tied him down and pumped his stomach, get puked on several times, then have to tell the doctors that it wasn't just a temporary depression like my mom was saying, and they needed to admit him. Then he'd stay in the mental hospital for a month, calling me 500 times a day and demanding to be let out, until his meds started to work and he could come back home and try to have some semblance of a normal life.
So that's how I know he needed his meds for a chance at some sort of life. I don't mind using alternative meds for simple things but it wouldn't have worked for that.
The Alzheimer's has eaten the schizophrenia, so at least he's not still hearing the voices and feeling terrified all the time.
Did you know that people who have serious bipolar disorder (1, not 2) or schizophrenia have a SEVENTY PERCENT CHANCE of developing dementia? My brother has schizophrenia and meds saved his life (and maybe the lives of others) and my mom, like your loved one, had serious mental health issues but her dementia has also overridden the mental illness now. It's sad to watch.
By the way, though my mom was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 1 at least 30 years ago, she refused all medications and instead took tons of supplements (as she had for all her adult life) and still had a stroke and still developed dementia. She is now living in a memory care center and a few days ago I realized with horror that she had no idea who I was. I am her only daughter and her main caregiver/visitor/POA, etc. I visit her several times a week. No clue.
That being said, I do know that some commonly prescribed drugs, especially the statins listed, can cause memory issues, because my husband just went through that. He got off the statin and within a couple of days was thinking normally again. Still has really high cholesterol which is hereditary in his family, but he COULD eat better than he does. But he and I both prefer that he can think clearly. We are going to talk with his doctor about alternatives.
It is interesting I take lorazepam and it is the only drug I take. I have taken it for more than 10 years and have a very good memory. Though I do take it sparingly. Maybe 1x per week. .5 mg. I use it for sleep but I am hoping I can start using Marijuana.
I actually just came here to rant and I was going to start my own thread. Why can't people remember anything? I am working with someone over the age of 60 and he is insanely unable to remember anything.
Last week we all met and his job was to find out if we changed the amount we had on a budget where would it be coming from. He finally responds and tells us we are changing the amount but doesn't address where it is coming from. OMG.. this is like the 10th time we have asked this question. I feel like going to his wife and telling her she needs to purchase long term care insurance right now because he is about 5 years from a nursing home.
Every person over a certain age is this way! It is horrible. But younger people CAN remember. I reject the idea it is natural. It wasn't like this when I was a kid. My grandma was sharp as a tack.
Everyone is different and what they end up with or don't. My parents had good minds when they left in their 90's and took none of the drugs in the link.
I still very strongly about the great grape antioxidant I've taken for decades as it works on all circulation which includes vascular.
That being said, I do know that some commonly prescribed drugs, especially the statins listed, can cause memory issues, because my husband just went through that. He got off the statin and within a couple of days was thinking normally again. Still has really high cholesterol which is hereditary in his family, but he COULD eat better than he does. But he and I both prefer that he can think clearly. We are going to talk with his doctor about alternatives.
Changing one's food habits is huge. One has got to want to change things.
My parents lived into 90's and I don't know if they ever knew what cholesterol was....they ate everything, they could have had high chol but lived long and had their minds at their ends.
As I've said before, I will forever question the chol fear. Why is so much written about this...just for the fun of it?
That being said, I do know that some commonly prescribed drugs, especially the statins listed, can cause memory issues, because my husband just went through that. He got off the statin and within a couple of days was thinking normally again. Still has really high cholesterol which is hereditary in his family, but he COULD eat better than he does. But he and I both prefer that he can think clearly. We are going to talk with his doctor about alternatives.
You said anecdotal evidence proves nothing. But obviously it provided clear evidence for you and your husband.
You said anecdotal evidence proves nothing. But obviously it provided clear evidence for you and your husband.
What? I said he stopped taking a statin, (BECAUSE THE INFO THAT CAME WITH IT SAID TO STOP TAKING IT IMMEDIATELY IF YOU HAVE MENTAL CONFUSION by the way) his memory improved, and he's going to talk with his doctor about alternatives.
I didn't say this proved anything to us, other than what actually happened, which was clearly outlined by medical research (not anecdotal evidence) in the flyer that came with the meds. Not really sure what your point is or how you think it may be helpful, or IF you think it may be helpful for that matter.
Changing one's food habits is huge. One has got to want to change things.
My parents lived into 90's and I don't know if they ever knew what cholesterol was....they ate everything, they could have had high chol but lived long and had their minds at their ends.
As I've said before, I will forever question the chol fear. Why is so much written about this...just for the fun of it?
I don't know and I agree that eating healthily is a huge component in overall health.
That being said, my mom has always been a "health nut" and she's got advanced dementia at age 79. Never had high cholesterol, never regularly took any meds, and she's in frankly terrible shape.
What? I said he stopped taking a statin, (BECAUSE THE INFO THAT CAME WITH IT SAID TO STOP TAKING IT IMMEDIATELY IF YOU HAVE MENTAL CONFUSION by the way) his memory improved, and he's going to talk with his doctor about alternatives.
I didn't say this proved anything to us, other than what actually happened, which was clearly outlined by medical research (not anecdotal evidence) in the flyer that came with the meds. Not really sure what your point is or how you think it may be helpful, or IF you think it may be helpful for that matter.
My point is that our experiences are important and should be taken seriously. But MDs often fail to consider drug side effects. There is intensive marketing from the drug companies that their drugs are safe and side effects are rare.
I know people suffering terribly from pains that could be caused by statins, but their MDs have never mentioned the possibility. One person I know is currently disabled from the pain, but he is afraid to stop the drug because his MD said he needs it.
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