Do you fear this—the steady decline of cognitive ability? The slow decay of our minds and our ability to think, recall, remember? Do you consider it each time you forget something? What are you doing about it?
As we focus on prevention, unless you have a medical condition causing your memory decline, most of the rest is preventable.
Role of Medication
In part 2 of this series, let’s review the role medication can play in CAUSING memory and sharp thinking problems.
A key element of preserving your mental sharpness is avoiding medications that can make you sleepy or dampen your cognition. This very commonly causes people to think they are mentally declining. I have numerous positive stories of carefully removing or exchanging such medication by working directly with the healthcare team. Here are just a few of those stories:
· One man was preparing to move his wife to assisted living after she sharply declined after a routine knee surgery. Prior to knee surgery she had some mild cognitive impairment. Immediately after surgery she appeared to have dramatically worsened dementia. (This was actually post-surgery delirium that could resolve with time as long as medications aren’t added to make it worse. Unfortunately, such medications were added.) Working with her doctors, we gradually removed three medications started after surgery, and she returned to the mental sharpness she had before. Once off those medications she was back to shopping and driving and certainly did not need assisted living.
· A CEO had a surgery and was so overmedicated his wife couldn’t get him to the bathroom. As a result, he couldn’t participate in any of his rehabilitation. Working with his doctor, we gradually reduced doses, removed two of the medications slowly, and added non-medication pain techniques. He was able to participate in his rehabilitation and make progress toward walking again. (Note, much less medication was used for his second surgery; I helped guide that. He was able to begin rehabilitation right away.)
· A client’s mother had rapidly declining health. This was one of the biggest stressors in this executive’s life. Careful medication adjustments stabilized her health. Thankfully this gave them several more good years before she later passed away.
How can you avoid this?
Any time you suspect memory decline, let your healthcare team know. Your doctor can order tests to identify issues that can be fixed:
– Vitamin levels
– Thyroid
– Depression
– Heart function
– Lung function
– Blood flow to your brain.
Also, share with your team, especially your pharmacist, EVERY substance you take.
– Prescription medications
– Vitamins
– Supplements
– Over-the-counter medications
– Cannabis, tobacco, illicit drugs
We can adjust any of these that are altering your thinking, working with your doctor. We make such changes slowly one medication at a time. Any medication that impacts clarity of thinking needs to be carefully fine-tuned allowing the brain to adjust with the changes. Rapid modification can lead to confusion, anxiety, depression, or other more severe mental health changes.
Your Options
If you would like help preserving your mental sharpness into retirement and beyond, I have two programs for you.
Retirement Wellness Strategies is an exclusive one-on-one strategic planning program with 20 visits leading to your personalized road map and strategic plan.
Propel Comprehensive Wellness is a self-paced, subscription model with expert-guiding videos and workbooks each month.
I look forward to helping you develop a rock-solid plan to PREVENT cognitive decline.
