An interesting read

My side job is based in Portland. I had asked my boss/friend how close their new office (they aren't in it yet) is to downtown and all the rioting/destruction. She said not right in downtown. I said well, eventually they will run out of downtown buildings to vandalize and start moving beyond. Well, she just sent me a picture of their building spray painted all over. Then she pretty much just said what I said in my previous blog - she doesn't know why they did this at their age!

I'm reading an interesting book about food and the brain called Genius Foods. I'm only about halfway through it, but have learned a lot, so far. Some of it is a bit on the scientific side, but the author does try to explain in layman's terms and analogies as best as possible. Here's the "funny" I've learned: I have seen T'Pol mention cooking and EVOO in her blog posts and I had no idea what EVOO was....oh! Extra Virgin Olive Oil, LOL! Ya learn something new every day!

There was a few pages I read last night talking about "anticholinergic" drugs and how they work. They work by blocking the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The cholinergic system engages in many activities in the body, but is mostly thought of for its role in REM sleep, learning, and memory. Three of the drugs on this list my mom now takes (or did take for quite awhile) and two are considered "strong" anticholinergic drugs. Diphenhramine (benadryl, ie the Advil and Tyenol PM she was taking regularly), Paroxetine (she currently takes and has been on for years) and Alprazolam. She doesn't take Alprazolam any more (and it is considered low on the scale). Research has found that people who used these drugs were more likely to have developed dementia than those who didn't use them. Taking an anticholinergic for the equivalent of 3 years or more was associated with a 54 percent higher dementia risk than taking the same dose for 3 months or less.(from Genius Foods, by Max Lugavere). Yikes! I can only imagine what taking 3 of them would do to the brain.

Like my dd said, that paroxetine's purpose is to change something in your brain (so she's happy all the time), it seems obvious that long term use would have negative effects. I know she tried to go off of it several years ago and was all messed up, so she went back on it. Then, finally, about a year and a half ago, after mom's bf got her into her doctor to review her meds) he did cut the dose down in half (well, he didn't change her prescription, just told her to cut the pills in half) so she has been on 10mg for the last year and a half. She honestly doesn't even know why she takes it anymore. She doesn't know what it is for and often times will say she thought it was for excessive sweating. (pretty sure that med also caused her excessive sweating and weight gain, too)

We briefly discussed the paroxetine with her doctor when I had her in for her first appointment in June. I mostly got the impression that the dr. felt if she needed it, there were now newer drugs that worked better, but nothing was discussed that it could lead to cognitive/memory problems. I'm tempted to email the dr. to ask her opinion. If discontinuing use could maybe at least stop the progression of memory problems, it would be worth it. Or maybe the damage is done. I really can't find any info on that. I do know I am very glad I figured out to get her off the Advil PM (Dr. very much agreed with that, too), at least. (I also am hoping my boss looked into it more, as she said she takes Advil PM regularly).

The author started researching diet and the brain, when his mother developed dementia in her late 50's. As, I said, I'm only halfway through reading, but basically our modern diets are atrocious and obviously causing a whole lot of physical and brain problems for us.