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iStockphoto Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Drugs That May Cause Memory Loss​ Antianxiety drugs​ • Antiseizure drugs​ • Tricyclic antidepressants (older class) ​• Narcotic painkillers​ • Sleeping

aids​ • Incontinence drugs • Antihistamines (first generation)

For a long time, doctors dismissed forgetfulness, brain fog and mental confusion as normal parts of aging. But scientists now know that memory loss as you get older is by no means

inevitable. In fact, routine memory, skills and knowledge may even improve with age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most people are familiar with at least some of the things that can impair memory, including alcohol and drug abuse, heavy cigarette smoking, head injuries, stroke, sleep deprivation, severe

stress, vitamin B12 deficiency and illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

But what many people don’t realize is that a number of commonly prescribed drugs also can interfere with memory. Here, we’ll delve into seven types of drugs that may cause memory loss and

explore alternative treatment options.

There are two key types of memory: short- and long-term, says Jessica Merrey, the lead clinical pharmacy specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Short-term memory, also known as

working memory, refers to anything that happened within the last 30 seconds — like forgetting what you meant to add to your grocery list after picking up your pen. In contrast, long-term

memory involves anything beyond this brief window. Whether it’s a recent event or a childhood memory, forgetting something after more than 30 seconds is considered long-term memory loss.

Drugs that affect short-term memory can interfere with a person’s ability to focus and process information. These medications disrupt so-called messenger pathways in the brain, Merrey says,

“changing the short-term memory processing.” Once a person stops taking the medications, however, short-term memory improves.

Medications that can impact long-term memory interfere with neurotransmitters in the brain. These are the body’s chemical messengers that help you to think, move, breathe and function

generally, and when they don’t work like they should, a number of problems can occur, including issues with thinking and memory.

The biggest concern with medications that mess with neurotransmitter activity “is when several are used concurrently, when they are used at high doses and when they are used for long periods

of time,” says Joshua Niznik, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill.

Note, certain medications can affect both short- and long-term memory, while others may affect only one.

Why they are prescribed: Benzodiazepines are used to treat a variety of anxiety disorders, agitation, seizures, and delirium and muscle spasms. Because benzodiazepines have a sedative

effect, they are sometimes used to treat insomnia and the anxiety that can accompany depression.

Examples: alprazolam (Xanax), chlordiazepoxide, clonazepam (Klonopin), diazepam (Valium), flurazepam, lorazepam (Ativan), midazolam, quazepam (Doral), temazepam (Restoril) and triazolam

(Halcion).

How they can affect memory: Benzodiazepines dampen activity in key parts of the brain, including those involved in the transfer of events from short-term to long-term memory. In fact,

they’re used in anesthesia for this very reason.

Alternatives: Benzodiazepines should be prescribed only rarely in older adults, and then for short periods of time. It takes older people much longer than younger people to flush these drugs

out of their bodies, and the ensuing buildup puts older adults at higher risk for not just memory loss but delirium, falls, fractures and motor vehicle accidents. Another drawback: They’re

addicting, says D.P. Devanand, M.D., professor of psychiatry and neurology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

Talk with your doctor or other health care professional about treating your condition with other types of drugs or nondrug treatments. If you are taking these medications for insomnia, for

instance, the first line of treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). And an antidepressant might be able to treat your anxiety, Devanand notes.

Be sure to consult your health care professional before stopping or reducing the dosage of any benzodiazepine. Sudden withdrawal can trigger serious side effects, so a health professional

should always monitor the process.

Why they are prescribed: Long used to treat seizures, these medications can also be prescribed for nerve pain, bipolar disorder, mood disorders and mania.

Examples: carbamazepine (Tegretol), gabapentin (Neurontin), lamotrigine (Lamictal), levetiracetam (Keppra), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), pregabalin (Lyrica), rufinamide (Banzel), topiramate

(Topamax), valproic acid (Depakote), phenobarbital (Luminal), primidone (Mysoline), zonisamide (Zonegran) and phenytoin (Dilantin).

How they can affect memory: Anti-seizure medications are believed to limit seizures by dampening the flow of signals within the central nervous system. “Basically these medications are

slowing the brain down. And as a consequence, memory and attention and sleepiness are common side effects of these medications,” says Aatif M. Husain, M.D., a professor of neurology and the

division chief of epilepsy, sleep and neurophysiology in the department of neurology at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

Alternatives: If you’re worried about memory and attention issues while taking one of these medications, talk to your doctor to see if an alternative drug — either in the same class or a

different one — may be better for you, Husain says.

It’s also possible that other potentially treatable health issues not related to the medication may be messing with your memory, such as anxiety and poor sleep. “Seizures themselves, if the

seizures are uncontrolled, can affect memory as well,” Husain says.