Prescription drugs are causing cognitive deficiency

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Robert Brown

Prescription drugs are causing cognitive deficiency

Tue Sep 14, 2004 16:31

198.81.26.102

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Crisis of the Mind

Who is Watching Out For Your Health?

The Challenge

 

Memory and the ability to think effectively can be lost, and the individual

that has lost them may not know that they are gone.

 

At this time in your life, you are the way you are, mentally and physically,

because of your accumulated life experiences and your genetic make-up. Every

drug, chemical, thought, environmental experience, what you have eaten,

every minute of exercise, and everything that has been done to your body,

etc., have made you the way you are now.

 

Is it possible to be driving, working or cooking dinner and without warning,

lose your memory and not be able to think effectively?

 

I received a request from a hospital to evaluate one of their patients for

possible referral to our traumatic brain injury rehabilitation program. The

police had arrested this patient for driving under the influence and had

brought her to the hospital emergency room because of her obvious serious

medical condition. Her condition was stabilized, she was tested for drug and

alcohol use and she was chemical free. She was definitely not under the

influence. The hospital could not find a cause for her condition.

While driving to work, she had lost most of her memory, her ability for

complex thoughts and her ability to drive. She did not recognize her mother;

she had become instantly senile (not officially diagnosed), even though she

was only 24 years old. Her condition eventually improved and she went home

with her mother.

I followed-up after about a month, with a call to her mother and found that

she was “getting better,” she still could not live on her own or return to

work.

 

Is it possible to demonstrate senile behaviors at 24 years old?

 

I evaluated another individual who had demonstrated senile behaviors at

work. Then, one of my employees suffered the same “affliction.” I followed

his progression from being a good employee, to becoming senile ( again, not

medically diagnosed with senility), through recovery. I interviewed him

extensively after he was released from the hospital. He seemed physically

well; however, he was emotional, did not remember me, could not focus on a

task for more than one minute and was not able to return to work.

I discussed these incidences of quickly acquired senility symptoms with a

friend who was working in an emergency room, and found that he was aware of

others that had lost cognitive functioning through unknown causes as well. I

heard of more cases but didn’t have first hand contact or experience with

them. I attempted to find out more about this strange occurrence but to my

surprise found that there wasn’t an interest or investigation of this within

the medical community.

I am a behavior specialist, teacher, alternative therapies specialist and

rehabilitation services coordinator for people with traumatic brain

injuries. I have more than 25 total years experience working with addicts,

mild cognitive impairment, adjudicated youths, developmentally disabled

individuals, and Alzheimer’s, among other populations. This was my first

experience with individuals that had suffered a seemingly non-diagnosable

cause for their cognitive impairment.

 

These unfortunate individuals were affected by something from their

environment and/or something that they put into their bodies. Can this

happen to you?

 

Since my experiences with “instant senility,” I have been researching and

becoming more knowledgeable of cognitive impairment causes. I failed to find

more information on these strange cognitive depleting phenomena. Our mental

and physical health is directly and indirectly effected by the environment

and what we take into our bodies There is a large part of our population

that suffers from some form of cognitive or thought process impairment and

this is growing rapidly every day. We should be talking openly and

frequently to determine possible solutions. One reason that more is not

known and the discussion is not more open, is that mainstream/conventional

medicine and health care are contributing factors in the worsening of this

problem. The use of drugs and chemicals for the perception of life

improvement is encouraged. If you are not happy or at least contented, take

a drug. Just watch, read and listen to commercial advertisements.

 

Are about 100 million people in the U.S. cognitively impaired or at risk of

being impaired?

 

Statistics and study results support this possibility. Managing this real

and growing trend and assisting the unfortunate individuals affected will

prove to be a challenge. We are not doing enough to prevent the numbers of

this dysfunctional population from growing even larger. We need to start

dealing with and managing this challenge using all available resources and

treatment modalities. Main stream health care/medical practice, is narrow in

its approach, ignores effective therapies and tends not be forthcoming and

honest about its activities.

Effective, proactive thinking is important. We continue to use the basic

ancient survival fear-based survival techniques of reaction and fight or

flight. By now in our evolution, we should be able to learn from history,

what has worked and what does not. The social survival technique of drugging

ourselves to make our lives seem better is becoming more popular and is

aggressively encouraged. A significant part of our population is affected by

either an acquired, induced or sought after decrease of complex thought

process ability.

 

Can functional cognitive abilities be maintained, restored and improved

through the use of alternative therapies?

 

The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is increasing, currently there are

approximately five million diagnosed cases and Mild Cognitive Impairment

effects between 8 and 12 million (about 50% of these unfortunate people will

develop Alzheimer’s). About 8% of all eighth graders in the U.S. have used

or are using inhalant chemicals. The average age of an inhalant abuser is

over 16 years and an estimated 18 million individuals use/abuse inhalant

chemicals, with regularity. These afore mentioned groups of people are

experiencing diminished abilities in: thought, reasoning, response time,

learning, memory, creativity and more? It is a fact that the unfortunate

individuals that have diagnosed Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment

suffer decreased mental capabilities. The National Institute of Drug Abuse

(NIDA) has released the results of studies that directly link inhalant abuse

to a decreased mean IQ score of 20%. These three groups of people are

cognitively impaired now and there are about 32 million of them.

 

Alzheimer’s disease is not new, Dr. Alzheimer first diagnosed it in 1906 and

since that time, mainstream medicine has advanced little in its treatment.

Are there effective alternative therapies for Alzheimer’s disease and its

precursor, Mild Cognitive Impairment?

 

Including strokes and cardiovascular anoxic incidents, there are about 2.25

million traumatic brain injuries in the U.S. every year. Many of the

individuals that are included in this unfortunate group survive and suffer a

long-term disability. Diminished cognitive ability is experienced by a

significant percentage of traumatic brain injury survivors. The accumulative

numbers get very large in 5, 10 or 20 years and as these individuals age

their symptoms become more dominant, they require more care and are included

in the growing number of cognitively impaired.

 

Are life style, personal choices and addiction major contributors to the

numbers of people suffering from decreased cognitive abilities?

 

NIDA publishes statistics of chemical/drug abuse and the results of

scientific studies that prove their negative effects on brain and body

chemistry utilization and biosynthesis. Prescribed medications can share the

same basic chemistry make-up as non-prescription (illegal) drugs that

produce similar effects. The following is a listing of some popular drugs

and an approximate number of current users/abusers: cocaine, 17 million;

crack, six million; heroin, three million; PCP (similar to an active

ingredient in many cough and cold medications), six million; non medical use

of prescription pain relievers, 22 million; ecstasy, eight million; inhalant

chemicals, 18 million; non-medical use of prescription tranquilizers, 13

million; non-medical use of stimulants, 16 million; methamphetamine, nine

million; non-medical use of sedatives, seven million. Many of the

individuals included in these studies used more than one of the listed

drugs. What percentage, of these millions of unfortunate individuals is

cognitively impaired (10%, 25%, 50%)?

In 2001 about 44 million individuals were considered heavy alcohol users or

binge drinkers. The negative effects of alcohol abuse on the brain and the

resulting decrease of intelligence and cognitive abilities are well

documented. In this short summary we have not touched upon the “possible”

cognitive impairment resulting from prescription drugs and chemicals used

“properly.”

In 2001 the estimated number of individuals that received mental health

support and/or counseling were 22 million and some of these people do not

think clearly (using logic).

 

Cognitively impaired individuals can also be parents, drivers, supervisors,

laborers, bureaucrats, homebuilders, politicians, pilots, teachers and more?

 

This article introduces you to the problem of induced, acquired and the

possibility of prescribed cognitive impairment. The numbers and statistics

represent a large problem that we are all going to be dealing with, in the

not so distant future. The approximate total so far is more than 100 million

(raw data, and significant). I encourage you to find out more.

 

Can a person be prescribed cognitive impairment?

 

An ever increasing number of children (about 4% of “all” school aged

children) are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (also

ADD) and now three million adults have the label of being hyper active and

deprived of attention. A large percentage of these diagnosed ADD types are

being prescribed a legal carefully controlled Amphetamine drug/medication,

which is also sold as a street drug. Please remember here that NIDA lists

Amphetamine type drugs as being linked to cognitive dysfunction and

impairment. About 50 million adults (that’s more than every adult living in

Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, North

Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Utah and Montana)

are being prescribed chemicals to help them function and to manage their

depression, frustration, anger, fear, anxiety and more. These medications

are becoming so common that they are being found in drinking water, along

with antibiotics, birth control chemicals and in some places, rocket fuels.

They have become a part of our environment.

I am not aware of study results that definitively link decreased cognitive

abilities to the use of prescribed drugs to manage ADD, ADHD, anxiety,

depression or others. Any drug or chemical does affect the body, does have

the potential to change and possibly permanently change body chemistry. What

happens to brain and body natural chemical biosynthesis when a drug or drug

type is used for an extended period of time, possibly longer than one year?

Drugs, both prescription and non-prescription would not be used if they did

not have an effect and humans rarely participate in activities that they do

not get something from. This is the basics of most, if not all behavior

theories.

If you are not using either prescription or non-prescription drugs to help

you make it through the day, improve your perception of life or to just

become a functional human being, please congratulate yourself for being more

in control, more self-empowered and watching out for your health! Be aware

of what you are taking into your body from your environment.

 

Start studying alternatives, learn of them, and learn where you can get more

information. Become knowledgeable. You will be pleased with the results and

how your life is affected for the better.

 

Yes, there can be a positive ending. Mild Cognitive Impairment, mild to

moderate Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injuries respond well to

alternative therapies. Learn of alternative therapies and preventive

measures. Take care of your own future and health, while you can. For

prescription and non-prescription drug and chemical use/abuse: get a life,

think, exercise (do something physical every day), learn, read, be creative,

get a hobby, learn about nutrition, learn about alternatives, deal with your

past, change your job or relationship if they don’t work for you, get

involved in the actual control of your life! Suggested reading: “Healthy

Healing” and “Health, Greed, Power” and “Racketeering in Medicine” – found

at Amazon or downloadpress.com. Start living your life in moderation, stop

using drugs and chemicals now. Alternative therapies can help you recover.

Your life will improve and you will avoid being a statistic for cognitive

impairment. If you do not look out for your own health, no one else will!

Robert Brown rbrownchoice The answer to all the bold typed

questions, “yes!”