The Brain Cell Silent Killer

There's Danger in your Pharmacy Cabinet

Source:iStock Dimitris66

I’ve been following others who write about dementia and Alzheimer’s, some are doctors, some are caregivers, and some are themselves afflicted.

As a caregiver, I’m always interested in learning more about how to help support my mother to live as full a life as possible and slow the progression of these diseases.

The common things that have been written about are eating healthy, exercising (as in any mobility to help improve blood flow to the brain), proper sleep, not smoking, not drinking alcohol, staying social, and engaging in cognitive activities. Basically, your everyday common-sense advice for anyone regardless of whether you have dementia or Alzheimer’s or not.

But there is one topic that I haven’t seen yet. No one seems to be talking about the brain cell silent killer lurking in just about anyone’s home pharmacy.

This was the first significant piece of advice I got as a caregiver and it came from my mother’s Geriatric Psychiatrist, Dr. Johane Nadeau of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. She advised me to remove from my mother’s home and never buy or use Loperamide Hydrochloride (aka Imodium) again for the treatment of diarrhea. She pointed out there are other treatments available like psyllium husk (aka. Meta Mucil) or Bismuth Subsalicylate Suspension (aka. Pepto-Bismol), along with diet to correct diarrhea that do not have the negative side effects that Loperamide Hydrochloride has. Unfortunately, Loperamide Hydrochloride (aka Imodium) is the pharmaceutical go-to choice of doctors, both generalists and specialists. And because it is a readily available over-the-counter pharmaceutical that doesn’t require a prescription, we feel it’s safe to take.

Dr. Nadeau informed me that the main ingredient in Imodium (and I am assuming she was talking about Loperamide Hydrochloride as this was 6 years ago) destroys the membrane of the brain cells and this accelerates the degeneration of the brain cells. So, even normal doses are harmful for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Brain cells need to be able to communicate and they do that through the connections of the outer membrane. When that membrane is eroded it negatively impacts memory. How it accelerates degeneration is because the body is continuously reproducing its cells. It copies itself. If the cell is damaged it’s making a copy of a damaged cell instead of a healthy one.

This apparently is not common knowledge amongst doctors and you will need to educate and advocate for alternative treatments.

My mother has had issues with diarrhea for decades and she consumed Imodium frequently. With her memory loss while living on her own, she would automatically take Imodium every time she had diarrhea which could have been several times a day. And because she couldn’t remember that she’d already taken a dose, she easily exceeded the recommended dosage.

Of course, the packaging warns against such extended use so they’re legally protected against the long-term side effects of its use.

My mother’s memory and behavioral challenges were the worst when she was still living independently and taking excessive amounts of Imodium. But I also have good news to report. For the last two years, she has been living with supervised full-time care and has not taken any Imodium and I have witnessed a significant improvement in her memory.

I don’t need more evidence than that and I will continue to heed Dr. Nadeau’s recommendation even when that puts me, a layperson, in the position of educating a doctor and getting their eye-rolls.

If you’re currently healthy or if you share a genetic relationship with someone who does have memory loss, I leave the decision up to you on whether you should or should not use Loperamide Hydrochloride (aka Imodium). I do not have the authority to advise you on that.

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