# Any medication out there which erases memory (retrograde amnesia) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medication-out-there-which-erases-memory-retrograde-amnesia/809983 "2018-03-03T23:36:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medication-out-there-which-erases-memory-retrograde-amnesia/809983/21 "2018-03-05T07:33:28Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Lou Reed has discussed how ECT wiped out his memory. Lyrics from “Kill Your Sons”: > > _All your two-bit psychiatrists are giving you electro shock > They say, they let you live at home, with mom and dad > Instead of mental hospital > But every time you tried to read a book > You couldn’t get to page 17 > 'Cause you forgot, where you were > So you couldn’t even read_ ETC patient here. This anecdote sounds like what occurs in clinical depression, actually. After ECT you may forget you ever read the book, and happily start it again. He is describing what in clinical discrete cases is [_ante_retrogade amnesia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anterograde_amnesia) As opposed to being distracted emotionally or intellectually. See the movie _Memento_… ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medication-out-there-which-erases-memory-retrograde-amnesia/809983/22 "2018-03-05T07:38:52Z")
More to the point, read the hellish diaries of[Clive Wearing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Wearing). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medication-out-there-which-erases-memory-retrograde-amnesia/809983/23 "2018-03-05T12:29:31Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Marijuana … {[Cite](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120301143424.htm)} … Interesting paper. I have a vague recollection of having read it before, as a matter of fact. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2018, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medication-out-there-which-erases-memory-retrograde-amnesia/809983/24 "2018-03-05T13:02:27Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Lorazepam, which is similar to Xanax, has an amnesic effect for many people and is often given post-surgery. This shocked me a bit, since I frequently take lorazepam to help me sleep. (Usually just 0.5 mg.) I thought Lorazepam was similar to Valium, but I guess _all three_ are similar to each other. The drug is restricted here, so I have to get it at hospital where they will only give me a 30 days’ supply. So … I got them to up it to 30 x 1 mg instead of 30 x 0.5 mg. Even the 1 mg tabs are tiny, so hard to bite in half, and I end up taking 1 mg! 🙂 I guess even 1 mg is a tiny dose — how much should I take to get a good recreational high? 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medication-out-there-which-erases-memory-retrograde-amnesia/809983.md?page=1)