Prescription drugs are causing cognitive deficiency

[Guest guest]

> Misty <misty3

> Wed, 15 Sep 2004 15:06:04 +1200

> Prescription drugs are

> causing cognitive deficiency

>

> Robert Brown

> Prescription drugs are causing cognitive deficiency

> Tue Sep 14, 2004 16:31

> 198.81.26.102

>

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=65309;title=APFN

> 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!”