Learning Meds

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I’m trying to learn the meds as suggested – by using the prefix/ending of the med to group them, as in “olol = beta blocker”.

I’ve hit a road-block with the fact that Anticholinergic drugs typically end in “mine” but come to find out that a lot of cholinesterase inhibitors do too – and they are the total opposite drug.

Any tips on how to differentiate, or is it just a case of pure memory?

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Specializes in anesthesiology.

which meds are you referring to? Could you list them? I've always found that digging deeper and understanding the meds and how they work will allow you to remember them better. If you list them I might be able to help you separate them into subcategories to help you remember.

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Thank you for your response. Here are some examples I could find:

Anticholinergic drugs (or drugs with an anticholinergic affect):

  • hyoscyamine
  • dicylomine
  • methscopolamine

Some Examples of cholinesterase inhibitors:

  • galantamine
  • rivastigmine

Admittedly, this is a partial list (and I am cherry picking) but I'm just so confused. After all, the last thing we'd want to give to someone with dementia would be an anticholinergic med!

Thanks!

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Specializes in anesthesiology.

hmmm... admittedly that's a tough one. Throughout your entire career you're going to come across meds that you don't see frequently and will have to google their drug class to get an idea of what they are used for. There are just too many drugs to memorize them all. Maybe try to categorize them into their intended use, like antispasmodics, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, antiparkinsonian meds.

This is just a difficult drug class to memorize as they are used for very specific purposes and you don't see them frequently. And fyi not all anticholinergic medications cross the BBB and worsen dementia. Most of these meds are pretty benign.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help

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Not sure which which ones you’re referring to... but here’s a good channel that I learned about digoxin from... great explanations!

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