Common medicines including cold and flu tablets, heartburn drugs and sleeping pills '

[senona]

Posting this older article for reference purpose.

It has Metformin listed, where as the other article did not.
(yes, Jim has been taking that in the Janumet sugar med)

Plus herbs that may cause issues

Memory Loss Can Be Caused By Over-The-Counter Drugs

Most of the drugs that cause MCI have a property called “anti-cholinergic.” They inhibit activity of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which plays a critical role in memory and cognitive function.

Here’s the problem: only a few of these drugs are officially classified as anti-cholinergic. The official anti-cholinergic drugs are mostly used for relieving intestinal cramps or bladder irritability and are labeled “anti-spasmodic.” They’re at the top of the list below.

But there are 17 additional types of drugs used for many other purposes that may also have anti-cholinergic effects. The list includes commonly used drugs like antihistamines, acid blockers and antidepressants. Unfortunately, many doctors and pharmacists are unaware of the anti-cholinergic properties of these medications.

So that makes 4 drugs on the list that Jim is taking.

He does not have "forgetfulness" like cannot remember where he put his keys.
Nothing of that sort.

But rather problems computing how to do something.

Like not being able to spell the name 'STEVEN' on a tshirt after 3 attempts.
His brain just could not "get it"

That is something else other than Alzheimer/dementia and I am leaning towards these damn meds messing with his brain, causing him to have cognitive issues.

Or as this article stated mild cognitive impairment (MCI).



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Correction, make that 5 drugs Jim is taking

Cholesterol-lowering drugs (Statins) are on the list it seems and he had been taking Lipitor for years, until about 2 years ago.
His doctor switched him to a less harsh (???) pill -- Pravastatin (Pravachol)

2. Cholesterol-lowering drugs (Statins)


Why they are prescribed: Statins are used to treat high cholesterol.


Examples: Atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor).

How they can cause memory loss: Drugs that lower blood levels of cholesterol may impair memory and other mental processes by depleting brain levels of cholesterol as well. In the brain, these lipids are vital to the formation of connections between nerve cells — the links underlying memory and learning. (The brain, in fact, contains a quarter of the body's cholesterol.)

A study published in the journal Pharmacotherapy in 2009 found that three out of four people using these drugs experienced adverse cognitive effects "probably or definitely related to" the drug. The researchers also found that 90 percent of the patients who stopped statin therapy reported improvements in cognition, sometimes within days. In February 2012, the Food and Drug Administration ordered drug companies to add a new warning label about possible memory problems to the prescribing information for statins.

aarp.org



Oh yeah, I'm gathering information, printing this stuff off and will confront his doctor when we get to see him this fall.

And all of them say, not good for older patients to take.
Yet he is.....sigh