Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: Judith57 on January 27, 2015, 09:18:00 PM
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Oh dear, worrying articles in the news today linking long term use of common drugs, including amitriptyline, with dementia. The study concentrated on the over 65's so the possible effect on younger people is not known but long term use seems to give a 54 per cent higher risk of developing dementia.
I take 20mg of amitriptyline each night and don't know whether I should be worried.
What does anyone else who uses amitriptyline think about this latest news?
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Don't worry. It depends on how long ago the 'study' was done, who funded it, how big a percentage of population was studied. I usually ignore anything written in the Press and there are certain papers that I wouldn't put under my hens to roost over ;)
We're a long time dead and if this helps your condition then keep taking it!
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Umm, it was on the BBC news this morning and the front page of The Times today. The study was by the University of Washington. I think I will carry on taking it for now but won't increase my dose ???
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Is it a recent Study though? Some go back years and then suddenly appear in the Public Domain …………. it is important to find out who funded it all too ;)
Several years ago it was aluminium that was linked ………..
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It doesn't say how recent the study is but just published in JAMA Internal Medicine - whatever that is :-\
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I really wouldn't worry.
Over the years....if you listen to the press....everything has been bad for you, them good for you, then bad again.
If a drug is dangerous then it will be withdrawn after proper research has been done.
Unles you get a call from your GP carry on taking what makes you feel better. If you wait a week or two then there will be another report saying its good for you. ::)
Honeyb
X
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I will see if they say anything when my repeat prescription is due....off to take my nightly dose now ???
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http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php'documentID=2354&pageNumber=9
Taz x
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Don't believe all these stories. Heck not so long ago we were being told that toothpaste could cause cancer. I'm not giving up on toothpaste. One day they tell you something is good for you, next it's not.
As HB says if it was found to be dangerous, it wouldn't be prescribed.
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I wish I had your faith in drug companies cubagirl. The fact is drug companies are commercial enterprises, and as such profit is paramount. If they can manipulate their own research to indicate safety they will. In addition to this there is often a large time gap between a drug coming on the market and discovering there is a problem. In which time many people have been harmed,
My mantra is to use drugs only when absolutely necessary and for as short a time as possible. They all have negative as well as positive effects on the body.
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NOT all! I had 4 different ADs before I found one which suits, not perfect but it stops the depression and despair. Without any, I wouldn't be sitting here now .......... I DEMAND quality of Life ;) and my GP has learned not to argue ........
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A friend in America posted today this, the report about dangers of some drugs including over the counter, is worldwide.
http://prescribersletter.therapeuticresearch.com/(X(1)S(s5qufu22glgibo45kx1ty5ej))/pl/ArticleDD.aspx?nidchk=1&cs&s=PRL&pt=2&segment=3860&dd=271223&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
It must be a worry for the thousands of people taking or have taken the old type antihistamines. I know I have take them.
Coincidently at the moment I am reading a fascinating book called
"Unleash The Power Of The Female Brain" by Daniel G. Amen M.D
Its about caring and looking after the brain, I am wondering if it would be able counteract or even moderate the effects of taking these drugs.
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Only one I've ever had is Amitriptyline, but was short term. My mum however, was on Imipramine for a very long time. She did develop Alzheimer's, but it ran in her family anyway so would be hard to tell if the drugs exacerbated the problem.
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I hope we all realise that what we read in the press is often far from telling the full story. The press loves the scary stuff. The scares about The Pill back in the 70s and 80s. The scares about HRT since 2002 - many of them wildly exaggerated and even doctors believed them without doing their own research. There are good and bad sides of every drug and sadly the positive sides of HRT have yet to be truly reported.
The eagerness of GPs to prescribe ADs and SSRIs instead of HRT may well be looked at with hindsight as very shortsighted and possibly very wrong. I know I am feeling physically and mentally better now I'm back on HRT and I am fully aware that I have a small additional risk of making breast cancer worse if I get it. Would I be feeling this good on an AD/SSRI - possibly not and I certainly don't know the long term implications of using these drugs. If I can no longer take HRT and there is even a small risk of developing dementia with an AD/SSRI, then I would like to know that risk so I can make an informed choice. If studies are showing risks then I hope they will be included in the leaflet enclosed with the drug. At the moment breast cancer treatment is very successful if caught early whereas treatment for dementia is not very successful. Dementia is my biggest fear. Dg x
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Also it is not told in the Press how many women die from other cancers and breast disease is from far the highest! it's often what is popular on the day. I would like to see the Government bring in a good story/bad story scenario so that if a medication is 'found' to be dangerous, then on the same page the benefits of same medications should be published!
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I think that rosebud57 has made a very good point and Taz's link explains things very well.
I know that the antihistamines effected my memory and when OH was on them I really was worried about the effect they had on him.
Amitriptyline made him into a zombie and he swore he would never take them again.
Zopiclone was even worse though I denied it to myself as they made me sleep, I won't touch them again.
In over the counter drugs such as Nytol and Benadryl they will probably be required to state in the leaflet these dangers and not to take them for more then two weeks, and see your doctor if symptoms persist. They probably say that to some effect now.
I think that taking these drugs especially over 65 will not cause Dementia but make it worse if you are going to develop it regardless.. There are many types of Dementia and causes.
My OH has a review every so often about the long term drugs he is taking, I think it was suggested on the News that people saw their Doctors to see if there was an alternative that did contain not the drugs with anticholinergic activity.
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Good post silverlady. Now I'm back on HRT I'm not having to rely on Nytol or other antihistermines to give me a decent nights sleep. In fact I'm getting fewer headaches, aches and pains that require me to take pain killers so I'm generally popping far fewer drugs. For me HRT is the lesser of the evils.
Life is minefield of dos and don'ts - we have to live in the moment and for many ADs and SSRIs are really needed and can give a good quality of life. I just wish they weren't the front line approach to meno symptoms for many GPs.
DG x
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Some interesting points have been made as well as the links.
The main thing is to distinguish between the science that is carried out and the reporting of it - and only to trust reputable media rather than for example, the likes of the Daily Mail which tends to be sensationalist.
What is reported in the reputable media is usually the best information that we have at present - or the latest trusted research. The scare stories do represent research that has been carried out - but this may be subsequently refuted by later work. This is how science works.
The fact that this one was a longitudinal study (following the same invidiuals over time) does give it more credence than a cross-sectional one ( looking at lots of individuals at a particular point in time).
As the Alzheimer's Society says, the study doesn't prove conclusively that these drugs cause dementia (neither does it prove that they don't) but says that more work needs to be done to understand the risks of taking them later in life.
Notwithstanding the need to prescribe some of these drugs for depression, if it prevents doctors prescribing ADs willy nilly for mild anxiety especially if it is hormonally induced/menopausal, then that can only be a good thing as Dancinggirl says.
I'm with rosebud on this one - only use drugs when necessary and for the shortest possible time. Bio-identical HRT of course, is not a drug.
Hurdity x
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I would rather have quality of Life for as long as possible. Having suffered depression to the point of not being able to get out of bed. This particular drug was prescribed for trigenimal [sp] neuralgia in the 1980s but it made no difference at all. The spasm over came any medication that I tried. Eventually, once I knew the cause and therefore that treatment was available albeit drastic, I had a Plan of Campaign - but fortunately the spasms settled after several months.
The body can get used to medication, i.e. headache remedies so that the pain returns due to a kind of withdrawal. But fear encourages people to continue taking what ever has worked. We need more information as we go along, i.e. I asked about eating grapefruit with the regime I take and was told to eat the fruit at a different time to when I take the meds.. Sorry, a bit of a meander ::)
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Stellajane the new non drowsy ones such as ones containing Cetrizine Hydrochloride are not on the list.
http://www.fpnotebook.com/ent/pharm/NnSdtngAnthstmn.htm
When I saw the Allergy Specialist he recommended them and especially not Piriton.
Anything containing diphenhydramine is to be avoided.
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The research was done in over 65s who were followed for 7 years so you're alright for a while yet Stellajane. However I am sure it would also be worth doing research on this in younger people too - since there is also early-onset dementia which is classified as dementia starting in under 65s.
Hurdity x
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I really sympathise with you having chronic uticaria Stellajane, I had it for six weeks and I can honestly say it was one of the worst six weeks of my life.
I was so lucky that it only lasted that long, I don't know what caused it and I don't know what made it go away, I saw a Dermatologist (after a trip to A&E for allergic reaction where I had an adrenaline injection) privately and he did all the tests including ANA, it turns out that my IGe and histamine levels were high.
Since then I have seen an Allergy Specialist on the NHS and had skin patch tests and it turned out I had nine different very marked sensitivities so much so that he put me on his Immunotherapy program.
Sorry to say I did not proceed with it as it was an intensive three year commitment.
I had an awful lot of info from his clinic so know what to avoid and I have bought a homeopathy remedy Mixed Pollen 30C that I start in February.