Hay fever and sleeping tablets 'can increase risk of Alzheimer's and dementia'

[Jesus Malverde]

Over-the-counter hay fever pills and sleeping tablets can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s, a study warned today.

The findings have “public health implications” about “potential safety risks”, according to scientists.

Other drugs for depression and bladder control were also linked to dementia .

The drugs have an ­“anticholinergic” effect, which blocks a chemical transmitter that people with Alzheimer’s lack.

Experts tracked the health of 3,434 over-65 and their use of anticholinergic drugs, like antihistamine diphenhydramine, for seven years.

During the study, 637 developed Alzheimer’s and 160 got other forms of dementia.

For people on high doses the risk of dementia was 54% higher compared to no use.

Read More: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hay-fever-sleeping-tablets-can-5048128

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150126124721.htm

[VanillaRhapsody]

1. Um...which over the counter allergy meds? Benadryl?

[LiberalArkie]

3. If it says PM or sleep it is diphenhydramine.

[VanillaRhapsody]

4. which is Benadryl.

I take Claritin...shew!

[Bluenorthwest]

19. Claritin is on that list. Look it up.

This OP says 'anticholinergic drugs, like antihistamine diphenhydramine' diphenhydramine is an example of the class, not the only drug in that class.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leo-galland-md/memory-loss-drugs-_b_822245.html

[mucifer]

15. It's been know about benadryl for a long time.

[LiberalArkie]

2. Now I need to find something else to put me to sleep.

[VanillaRhapsody]

5. Melatonin...

[LiberalArkie]

7. Take that also. I usually wake up after 4 hours

[VanillaRhapsody]

10. then take it with Kava Kava...

or Valerian Root or Passion Flower.

[Cha]

12. There's tryptophan, too.. as a possibility.

[KittyWampus]

24. GABA. Tryptophan needs to be taken in large amounts and the pills are huge.

[LiberalArkie]

29. Thanks I will look into it. I was just doing some research on lights and found out

that the blue leds in my clock and in the directv box above my tv in the bedroom will keep a person awake. Have to go and find some black tape and toss my alarm clock. Red makes your brain produce melatonin and blue stops it. Who would have thunk.

[Quantess]

6. Regular exercise generally helps a lot.

[LiberalArkie]

8. Yep 2 hours of hard cardio every morning.

[Cha]

13. Wow.. that is ambitious!

[LiberalArkie]

14. I really enjoy it.. As someone with asthma and mistrial valve problems

I decided to see what I could do. At 67, my resting heart rate is now 54 and max heart rate is now 180. Stats say I am between 45 and 50 years old. I have my bad days when I only get in 45 minutes but I try to get at least 90 minutes of elyptical in 5 days a week. I work in some strength training in the afternoons. I am healthier now than I have even been, just sleep real lightly. I may have to start trying to stay up later at night. I do hate late night TV. I got in the habit of going to bed around 8PM because I had to get ready for work at 5AM. And being on call 24/7/365 meant I had to sleep light which meant sleeping longer. Retirement has been hell to figure out.

[Cha]

17. Good on you, LA! Retirement is a whole new ballgame.. I've had four years to adjust. I just stay

up all night and watch Netflix or hang out on DU and FB. lol I think it's just a phase.

I do get out and run every other day.. a few miles.. I'd like to do a longer workout.. I think the more we do sensibly the better it is for us.

[MissDeeds]

9. I have trouble falling asleep

and staying asleep, but found a little brandy right before bed works wonders.

[Sanity Claws]

11. Please try something else

Have you tried:
Chamomile tea
Tart cherry juice
Herbal teas with combinations aimed at sleep
Certain yoga exercises (I can give you more info if you'd like)

I thought this article was so interesting that I sent it to my friend who is taking care of his father with dementia.

[clayton72]

16. So what's the effect of chronic sleep deprivation?

You want your dementia now or later?

[LiberalArkie]

18. That is how I felt when I tried getting off the sleep meds before. But now that I am retired and

don't have have to get up before the chickens, I am going to try it again. I think I will go with audio books as I tend to fall asleep listening to them.

[freedom fighter jh]

22. The article says the causal chain is not clear.

I imagine the dementia could be caused by the insomnia that led to the pill use in the first place. Possibly.

Still, this is enough to make me give up Benadryl.

[Boxerfan]

27. You speak the truth...I have a serious sleep disorder

And I use OTC sleep meds & I exercise every morning as long as I can manage.

And that has allowed me to keep semi sane.

I wake 20+ times a night Because I have to quench my mouth. I had a saliva gland tumor removed years ago & there is a plumbing problem that makes my saliva production very poor.

I use soda water to quench & that is why I wake so many times. The saliva helper products do not work for me at all.

And no way am I stopping the OTC meds.

Before I started the exercise/sleep pills I had zero REM sleep. That will make you bonkers very quick.

Now I get my dreams in tiny bits-enough to keep me sane.

[Daemonaquila]

20. See this link for a list of these meds.

It's extremely wide-ranging, from commonly used psychiatric drugs (Xanax, amitriptylline, Wellbutrin, Valium) to meds for over active bladder to common anti-asthma drugs to muscle relaxants (soma, Baclofen, Flexeril) to stuff used for cardiac conditions including hypertension (furosemide, warfarin, Metoprolol), anti-epileptics, GI drugs (ranitidine, Promethazine, hyoscyamine), and many more. The table isn't exhaustive, but it gives a really good idea of the biggest culprits.

They knew these drugs were contraindicated for people with dementia because they could change mental acuity, but this is the first study that shows that long term use of certain very common meds creates a likely non-reversible risk for later dementia. When I look at my clients' med lists, many are on multiples of these for decades. So, maybe big pharma and over-prescription of certain meds might just be causing the rising rate of Alzheimer's... Definitely something to keep looking at.

http://prescribersletter.therapeuticresearch.com/pl/ArticleDD.aspx?nidchk=1&cs=&s=PRL&pt=2&segment=3860&dd=271223&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

[Coventina]

21. Crap! Benedryl has been one of my "go-to" drugs for years.

Thanks for the info!

[jtuck004]

23. Melatonin has been a help to some, and so far I can find nothing which says it

is part of this.

Also

http://www.insomnialand.com/

Just reading through the site, it has some of the same info as in the OP. It is a community of people looking for a solution.

Sleep well.

[KittyWampus]

25. Not long ago SLEEP DEPRIVATION was found a very large indicator to dementia. So it's more likely

that it's sleep loss leading to the pills that is the problem.

[Daemonaquila]

26. Nope.

Read the list of ALL the meds that fall in this category. Both lack of sleep and a whole range of meds can and do cause the sake kinds of problems.

[Thespian2]

28. Thanks for the info

I take very few drugs, but after doing a bit of research concerning medications for people over 65, I am stopping one of them through the proper withdrawal method. Clonazepam, a short term medication, that is useless over a long term. No doctor ever told me that. I could have stopped long ago.