broke schools, mood foods, bb tonight, gas

BROKE SCHOOLS
so the school district where my wife she works is going broke
they have 5 high schools that are about 2500 students in each
school, 3 times the number of middle schools and a gazillion
number of elementary schools just to give you an idea of
the size of the district

they are $60 million in the hole

lets see where will they make cuts

lets see
fire teachers
fire librarians
fire administration employees
close schools no apparently not an option
have hiring freeze
increase class sizes-boy wont those kids have fun with all those
extra classmates to play with-can see it now with paper wad
fights, food fights in cafeteria (heck get rid of cafeterias then wont
need cafeteria workers), etc

fire all the older experience teachers and hire all new ones
there are plenty of new ones that cant get jobs
big savings there

lets see raise money by
closing a school(s) and leasing it out to a new business

selling the huge athletic complex or rent it out to some poor
college that cant afford such a huge complex-theres
$15 million plus
ads on buses as mentioned before in a previous blog
add google ads that change regularly
maybe get some controversial ads to raise bus ad awareness

get rid of all extracurricular activity so the kids are on their own
after school-am sure they can think of some good things to get
involved with

charge the kids if they want to get involved in anything at school
like a history club fee, germain club fee, latin club fee, bathroom
fee, etc

get rid of all libraries and just let the teachers use the internet
heck the kids could just do the same

have a cell phone usage fee to use the cell phone at school
increase the fines on using the cell phone during class
heck let kids use the cell phones for their textbooks
there some big savings there and there would not be any
more controversy over what goes in to the textbooks

heck have the teachers do the cleaning of their rooms and the
hall ways in front of their classes and the nearest bathroom and
the windows near their class rooms

charge students to park using meters instead of stickers so more
money can be made, write them tickets and make them pay them,
haul the cars off if not paid and charge to get them back, and work
out a deal with the local towing companies for a cut

get rid of all sports teams and make it all intramural and club
sports like lacrosse does
then charge fees for using the schools facilities for those sports
and activities (just dont be poor or you cant play)

another thing that would be helpful would be to have a governor
and legislature that put the crisis in schools-its a crisis that will
affecta whole generation and affect our economy-as their number
one priority

no lets see their two top priorities this session are making women
look at fetuses right before they have an abortion with an ultrasound
and
making people have a picture id before they vote
both will end up in court and will cost the state a lot of money to
defend as the cases march through the courts
got to get ready for that presidential run

heck even raise taxes, take back that 2% fica tax im not paying,
raise income tax, and cut spending, make the schools and state
do some belt tightening

we did at our house even though we make a good income
as we try to look ahead into the future and be prepared for the
worse

if they tap all of the rainy day funds what do the schools do when
it stops raining then they are back to where they were

there is an answer somewhere

MANY OF THESE STATEMENTS ABOVE ARE DONE 
TONGUE IN CHEEK


MOOD FOODS
from yahoo this morning
these foods may help your mood
may need them after reading the above

plants high in folate such as leafy greens like kale, broccoli,
spinach, asparagus, bok choy, fortified whole grains, turnip
greens(good soul food), beans, peas, melons and fruits

foods high in omega 3 such as fish like salmon, mackerel,
sardines, anchovies, and herring (some of those dont
sound good), flaxseed, walnuts, algae (now that doesnt
sound good at all)

good carbs such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables

only item missing is chocolate

GAS
no not the type from eating legumes
saw the first $3.00 a gallon unleaded regular this week here
where i live
think thats a first here (know its common elsewhere but not
texas)
its a mental thing
we are over the edge when it gets to $3.00
next will be $4.00 and people will drive less and commute
together more and ride buses and trains more and bikes and
walk
dont think so not in texas
texans will go broke resisting all those things

BB TONIGHT
its aggies vs horns
aggies known for their football are better at basketball
than football now for several years
just ask texas
horns play at aggie land tonight
a real raunchy place to play
its the pit
if only texas had a place like that to play basketball at
horns may be wore out as they just had a stretch where they beat
3 of the top 20 teams in the last several days and play
their 3rd game in 5 days
if they win this one the horns are definitely definitely
good this year-just watch them and youll see they are good

addendum-was worried wedding journey stuff would interfere
with march madness and the final four
its working out ok
priorities priorities

the organicgreen doctor

blog history

BLOG HISTORY

this is how this blog got started 6 months ago 

my wife she recorded(ie dvred it) a pbs interview with this lady who
had started a blog 9 years ago when she was going through some 

bad times

over time it grew to over a million readers and is one of the 

most successful inidividual blogs 

my wife she always heard me say that i wanted to do a blog 

since i have a variety of interests-am a family phyiscian, like 

organic gardening, am interested in green living, have solar power,

have a rain water harvesting system, recycle everything(including 

plan to recycle myself when i die-brain to alzheimers reseach
center and if healthy when i die any organs that are needed), green

living, mixed in with a funny wit that those who were my patients

have noted before-thought that when this was put all together then
i could put together a blog that could interest people with different
interests

so i watched the pbs show  and said i want to do it
so i sat down and set up this blog that afternoon in a few hours
using googles blogspot
i later purchased my website address 

if you go to my first blog on august 7, 2010 you can read my 

first blog

little did i know that a genetic bug was working inside my brain 

that showed up in november and december that changed my life 

and slightly altered the direction of the blog to include more on 

alzheimers with the goal over time to educate people about the

diesease as everyone i mean everyone that reads this blog will 

be affected by alzheimers in their lifetime in a family member,
a friend, or a fellow employee or if real unlucky yourself

at the same time i wanted to retain the other emphasis of this
blog on the original topics but of course could not discuss the
day to day life of a family physician anymore as i medically retired

you will notice that there is something about alzheimers every day
in this blog but it is not always the main topic

i also had decided when i was diagnosed with mild cognitive 

impairment that i would not hide the fact that that was what i had 

but wanted everyone to know and would use this as a vehicle to 

educate you about the alzheimers disease process

also as i started medcation, did diagnostic testing, saw the
doctors, i wanted to let people know what i was feeling and how
this disease was affecting me and my family 

hopefully over time i can continue to do this

the blog continues to cover the other things also that i wanted to
write about including being a doctor as i can write about past
experiences and about medical topics that appear to be important
like cancer screenings and the black snake stories

this blog today will be the 178th one
the first month i did the blog it got 825 views in august
this month the blog has 6432 views so far
the blogs total views so far are 13,161
if this rate continues it will be having over 60,000 views
a year

the list of the top 9 countries that viewers come from in order
of the highest readership to lowest is united states, japan, canada,
united kingdom,luxemburg, nicaragua (relatives vacation there
a lot), germany, israel, and united arab emigrates

the three states with the most viewers are texas, arkansas, and
california (you can tell what states ive lived in now)

readers come into the blog (listed in their order of highest to lowest)
via directly, facebook, twitter, google, alzheimers association, and
other blogs and other sources

now this blog is  appearing in google searches for things that
are written about
eg cedar fever 2011 elicits a first page google listing for this blog
that means that the blog is being successful

the blog is only successful becuase you the readers are reading it
and are returning

for this i would like to thank you for helping make this successful
so far

the organicgreen doctor 

more dreams, another test, basketball fever

DREAMS
my oh my those dreams
this is legal tripping
man cant dvr them
got to figure out how to do that
maybe hypnosis

last night i was an emergency room doctor again
worked emergency rooms moonlighting as a resident and
when in full practice worked them  until 15 years ago
also did emergency room work full time for 2 years

this is my second emergency room dream
the person that took over my shift in my dream was
my attorney that i use for all my legal matters
everyone one says that if you go to court you want
him on your side and not on the other side

i guess attorneys would make good doctors since they
sometimes control what we do in medicine
we all practice defensive medicine some of the time
probably if we did not do that we would save people and
the health care system a  lot of money

many doctors may not admit that
some of it is subconscious

if we just followed guidelines based on scientific evidence
then we should not have to worry about defensive medicine
but thats not how the system works

well guess i dont have to worry about that now

ANOTHER TEST
so theres another screening test ive came up with for cognitive
decliine
first this week was the sage test, then dr ozs test, and now the
togd password test

when i do this blog and go through various email accounts,
facebook accounts, news accounts, blog monitoring accounts,
bank accounts, etc i use 10-12 different passwords

think that if i start forgetting those passwords then its a sign
that i may have more cognitive decline

do think about it when i type in a password and it gets rejected
and do it again and it gets rejected, oh no got 1 more chance........
whew the caps button was on

now where did i write down those passwords

BASKETBALL FEVER
about to turn away from football now
the pro bowl is this week i think
they should play it after the super bowl when we are all in
football withdrawal
super bowl next week then thats it until august, but maybe
not for the pros

have decided now that im retired im going to splurge and
buy the march madness package and watch all the games
on tv unless the new programming on cbs, espn, tbs, and
tnt shows all the games

glad the wedding is not during that time

the organicgreen doctor

another alzheimers self test, w2ad10, good basketball

ANOTHER ALZHEIMERS SELF TEST
if you have not taken the sage test in yesterdays blog go do
it first before you take this one

i took the sage test yesterday and passed without problems

now go to dr ozs test at  www.doctoroz.com/quiz/memory-quiz

i took this test and did not do as well considering my age
and my amount of education (12 years post high school)
the results were the same as was on the more involved
neuropsychological test i took at ut southwestern
it is disturbing still whenever i take it

if you dont do well on either of these tests see your
doctor for further evaluation
eg depression can cause this or hypothyroidism or low b12

also if you have a friend or family member you are worried
about have them take the tests

W2AD10
week 2 of aricept (donepezil) 10 mgm
having less morning sickness which is helped by antinausea
medication and reglan and omperazole
still with dizziness/vertigo that the anitnausea medication helps
with some
still with some degree of insomnia but a good noon time nap
helps that a lot-was known for that though before i started the
medication
hopefully these side effects will resolve over time like it did when
the 5 mgm dose of the medication was started
just hope those dam dreams dont go away
wish i could dvr them though and rewatch them
still dont know if i made it back from the flight mission in the
fighter jet
next week i go back to the neurologist for a follow up visit and
to schedule more diagnostic tests which will or wont solidify
my diagnosis

GOOD BASKETBALL
always liked to watch games where a dominant team plays an
inferior team  and the inferior team decides to change the flow
of the game by stalling the ball

many fans dont like to watch those games but i do
the inferior team has to have good basketball skills in order to
pull off the win against the far superior team
it comes back to good basic ball handling skills and basic
basketball moves like back door moves, good passing skills,
proper spacing, good shot selection, team defense, good screens,
blocking out on rebounds, and ....

its like watching a chess match or a good checker game

last night in northern texas the #12 team in the nation was almost
beat by a much inferior team in triple overtime
the inferior team stalled the ball the whole game
there was no scoring in the first overtime
the inferior team had a chance at the end of regulation and the
first overtime to win on buzzer beaters but they missed both shots

the final score was 38-33

would have loved to have seen the game maybe can find it on
you tube or somewhere

my brotherinlaw he was called the white fox when he coached
he was at a real real small school and usually played much larger
schools
bet he did this a lot and probably was successful at it
know teams did not like to play his teams

have a good weekend

the organicgreen doctor

pedestrian textin n walkin, wedding journey, mulch not dirt, sage

PEDESTRIAN TEXTIN N WALKIN
from an ap story about texting and walking
can chew gum and walk without causing problems but
texting and walking can be a problem

some examples
two women texting and walking their babies in baby
strollers ran right into each other-head on collision
luckily no harm done

a women was texting the birthdate of someone to a friend
who had texted her    
she was in another city  and walked into a water fountain    
it was caught on video and is now on youtube    
got several million hits     shes suing    thats american

another lady was texting and walked in front of a oncoming
taxi  
luckily she did not get hit

the reporter observed that 1 in 10 pedestrians were walking
and texting

then there was a panhandler who was sitting and texting while
seeking donations    
now that aint right

now dont text and drive (always thought that was supid but will
admit have done it before) and now dont text and walk

WEDDING JOURNEY
my son he and his fiance she are on their way on their journey
(go to google to the right and type in wedding journey to
know more)
they are on schedule
they only have a few months to go
am told will have to wear tux
blue jeans boots and string tie wont do

MULCH NOT DIRT
a recent article about granger texas returning to normal after
making true grit scenes there    
the dirt streets seen in the movie are the streets in granger
but with mulch scattered over the streets to look like dirt

man sure could have used some of that in my compost pile
wonder if it was cedar

SAGE
if you think you could have alzheimers or mild cognitive impairment
you should go to this web site www.sagetest.osu.edu

this is a test developed by ohio state university department of
neurology  division of cognitive neurology

this is a self administered test that you can do on yourself or
friend or relative    
there are instructions on scoring the test

if you or they dont score well then you should see a physician
for further evaluation

my diagnosis is early mild cognitve impairment
i took the test this am and got everything correct
however when was given a 2 hour neuropsychological exam i
failed the part on short term memory (it was a more involved testing)

because i had a normal evaluation 15 months ago and then had
the abnormal one recently plus the fact ive noted subtle changes plus
my strong family history of alzheimers got me to where i am now-
retired and on aricept (donnepezil)

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 10, walkin, more dreams

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 10
10      changes in mood and personality

the mood and personalities of people with alzheimers can
change     they can be confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful,
or anxious     they may be typically upset at home, at work, with
friends, or in places where they are out of their comfort zones

whats typical or normal
developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming
irritable when a routine is disrupted

now that sounds familiar

from alzheimers association website- www.alz.org
a wealth of information about this disease

WALKIN 
thats walking
thats healthy for you to do

here are 10 reasons
its recommended to walk 30 minutes at least 5 times a week
it only costs you for a pair of shoes-(which everyone has unless
you are from arkansas)(it ok for me to write that as im from
arkansas and use to go barefoot to school when i was in
elementary school)-with no gym memberships
it is atraumatic-no runners knee
it helps to raise your hdl (good) cholesterol-the higher the better
it lowers your blood sugar-if you are a diabetic just take your
blood sugar and then go for a walk and take it again
it increases muscle strength and endurance
it strengthens the bones-weight bearing exercise is one of the
preventative measures or treatments  for osteoporosis
it is part of the three prong attack on depression and anxiety
along with medication and counseling
it has been shown to increase neovascularization of vessels in the
heart to improve circualtion to the heart muscle
it improves circulation to the legs in the same way
it helps to lower your blood pressure
it delays or improves cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment
and may slow down the development of alzheimers

ok that was more than 10 but you get the message

it dont cost nothing and it only takes 30 minutes a day
cant think of a good excuse not to do it

MORE DREAMS-episode # 3
last night i flew fighter aircraft for the air force along with
my brother he (he flew the awacs for the air force) and with
roy willliams the wide reciever for the cowboys
the problem was that roy and i did not know how to fly the
planes on our first mission so my brother the ex pilot and
financial planner had to show us how as we went along
dont know if we made it back from our first mission or not
because i woke up and could not go back to sleep to find
out how we did
am worried as we might have had a bad experience like the
cowboys did this year

dont think i want to stop this medicine
wonder if lsd is a derivative of this drug

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 9, bees r back, smart phone security, dreams

KNOW THE SIGNS # 9
9    withdrawal from work or social activities
a person with alzlheimers may start to remove themselves from
hobbies, social activities, work projects or sports

they may have trouble keeping up with a favorite sports team
or remember how to complete a favorite hobby
they may also avoid being social because of the changes
they experienced

whats typical or normal
sometimes feeling weary of work, family, and social obligations

weve all been there right

my mom loved to go to church every sunday even as she
progressed in her disease        in the nursing home even when
more advanced she still enjoyed the church services and singing

one problem with patients with alzhiemers and other diseases is
that people dont go and visit the patients as they worsen
this is true of a lot of diseases-terminal cancer, huntingtons, als,
hiv etc
this sometimes is when patients need the visits the most
think most of us are  afraid because we see ourselves  and
dont want to face the inevitable end of life

from www.alz.org/10 signs

BEES R BACK
remember the africanized bee scares
remember the colony collapse of native bees that was
affecting crop production

apparently the africanized bees and native bees have
developed a new bee that is more resistant to the colony
collapse and the bees are making a comeback

maybe bad things can be good things, sometimes

SMART PHONE SECURITY
there lays my wifes shes cell phone
i pick it up and go right to her email and twitter and facebook
accounts without any problems
that aint right

my wife she has an android
she can password protect her phone or she can swipe protect
her phone
she can simple set a simple dot connecting pattern that opens
her phone that will prevent me and someone else from getting
her information
hackers are going to get in no matter what you do

my wife she can also shut her phone down if it is stolen
and can track the phones location remotely
(recently thats how a man tracked his stolen car  
he directed the police to the stolen car which had his cell
phone in it)

DREAMS
man that aricepts higher dose makes my
dreams go from regular tv to hdtv
think ill start me a reality show and  call it
'the organicgreen doctors dream machine'

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 8, morning sickness, duct tape, football

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 8
8     decreased or poor judgement

people with alzhiemers may experience changes in judgement
or decision-making
for example they may use poor judgement when dealing with
money, giving large sums to telemarketers
they may pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean

whats typical or normal
making a bad decision once in a while

my mom had a real problem with giving excessive money to
charities and to telemarketers
its obscene how they take advantage of the elderly
no one does anything about it
we put her on a do not call list, added caller identifier to her phone,
and put her on a no junk mail list
i even did a change of address  to a lot of them to send her junk
mail to my house
she died almost 3 years ago and i still get requests from charities
etc for donations

MORNING SICKNESS
i personally want to apologize to all those women who have had
or having morning sickness and especially to any i treated for it
sorry i was not more sympathetic
well now i have morning sickness every morning for 4 hours after i
take the new dose of the aricept
but at least i can take medications that work for the nausea
pregnant women cant take certain medications during pregnancy
for the nausea

sorry

DUCT TAPE-IT AINT RIGHT
from article on duct tape
the only thing duct tape cant fix is a broken heart
they have almost every color now
they now have a burnt orange tape with the longhorn
logo on it
but worse is
they will do a maroon texas am duck duct tape
this year
it aint right
unless you are an aggie

lets see bevo taped up with maroon aggie tape or
the aggie dog (revelie) taped up with burnt orange tape
the razorback taped up with yellow tiger tape or
a red buckeye taped into a ball with Michigan duct tape
or ......

maybe the high schools could get their own duck duct
tape to sell to raise money for their schools

FOOTBALL
now we are down to two teams
two old teams
two cold weather teams that will play in jerrys house
with the thermostat
now that aint right
they need to open the roof so these cold weather teams
can play in real football weather
maybe itll snow

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 7, schools broke, dang pill, football :), basketball

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 7
7     misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps

a person with alzheimers disease may put things in unusual places
they may lose things and be unable to go back over the steps to
find them again    
sometimes they may accuse others of stealing  
this may occur more frequently over time

whats typical or normal
misplacing things from time to time, such as a pair of glasses (my
wife she has this problem) or the remote control (thats a man thing)
now where is my shovel

from www.alz.org

SCHOOLS BROKE
well the financial crisis has hit the schools here hard for next years
budget
big cuts are in store for most of the districts
there will be no bail outs for them
one of the local schools is closing an elementary school and laying
off administration employees and teachers
they have come up with some novel ideas for raising money
one school district is putting ads on their buses to raise
revenue
maybe  they could put electronic google ads on their buses
(problem is you cant control its content)
they also copyrighted or registered their school mascot

could try to cut the football budget some
or could cut excessive travel for sports, band, administration,
or teachers
or could cut excessive administrative meals
just dont sacrifice the kids education

DANG PILL
started the higher dose of aricept  yesterday
the side effects all came back
nausea, abdominal pain, tinnitus (ringing of the ears),
hyperactive(was able to get my garden all ready to plant
for the spring-composted, fertilized, drippers redone, mulched)
and those dreams were even better-no no r rated ones- last
night

hopefully the side effects will abate over time like it did
when i started the pill originally

FOOTBALL:)
lets see packers vs bears
good tradition
its cold-no advantage
new hot qb vs uh-oh its jayyyyyyyy
green bay wins is my prediction

then its jets vs steelers
mouths vs tough guys
newest qb vs big ben
jets are my prediction
ben takes a beating today

BASKETBALL
horns win
first loss at kansas by jayhawks in 70 games
first win there by horns
maybe horns are real
doubt kansas looses any more conference games
prediction was wrong

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 6, w1ad10, happy countries, basketball

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 6
6     new problems with words in speaking or writing

people with alzheimers may have trouble following or
joining a conversation     they may stop in the middle of
a conversation and have no idea how to continue or they
may repeat themselves     they may struggle with vocabulary,
have trouble finding the right words or call things by the wrong
name (eg. a watch a hand clock)

whats typical or normal
sometimes  having trouble finding the right word

W1AD10
this is week 1 day 0 of aricept (donepezil) 10 mgm
today i start the 10 mg dose of aricept (donepezil)
have been on the 5 mg dose now for 4 weeks
have gotten adjusted to the medication with only a few side
effects

have vivid dreams(last night i worked at factory to earn extra
money for medical school and also found out i had to take another
chemistry class to go to medical school       the night before i
worked in a poor undeserved rural clinic in southern arkansas)
am actually enjoying the dreams as they are like a tv show im
watching

one side effect is my sleep patterns are affected
ok i still fall asleep on people like ive done since college
that did not change

another side effect is the increased energy during the days
get er done is my new motto

hope this new dose doesnt cause more side effects or mess
with my tv show dreams

well here goes round 2
next is a follow up neurology visit in 1 week

HAPPY COUNTRIES
according to yahoo.com ranking of 110 countries in the world
that cover 90% of the worlds population ranks norway as the
happiest country in the world
it has a per capita income of $53000
spending on health care is the second highest behind the us
they also have a lot of oil and gas reserves

denmark is #2
it has the highest standard of living in the world
they are happy with their government
they have a lot more civil freedoms than most countries

finland is #3, australia is #4, and new zealand is #5
china and india are #88
the us is #10

BASKETBALL
today #10 longhorns play the #2 jayhawks
longhorns have never won at kansas
the jayhawks have the twin twin towers
the longhorns are fun to watch this year
the team chemisty appears to be good
much better than last years team
its going to be tough for horns to win
prediction   kansas wins
hope im wrong



the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 5, riders not ryders, apoe gene, ask not

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 5
5     trouble understanding visual and spatial relationships

for some people having visual problems is a sign of
alzheimers     they may have difficulty reading, judging
distance and determining color or contrast     in terms of
perception they may pass a mirror and think someone
else is in the room
they may not recognize their own reflection

whats typical
vision changes related to cataracts

as i read these and write these signs each day i reflect
back on my moms journey with this disease and see
things that we did not recognize as a problem early on

later on in her disease these were very obvious to everyone

RIDERS NOT RYDERS
from yahoo.com
a high school whose mascot is the rough riders bought
new jerseys for their high school basketball team
the company that made the jerseys misspelled the name
of the team      they spelled it ryders instead of riders

the company admitted the mistake
problem is the school has to send the jerseys back first
then the company will send the corrected jerseys

the problem is the team is in the district basketball play
and cant send in the jerseys      besides they are the best
team in the district

one    know where those jerseys were printed
two    maybe they could get ryders to sponsor the team
three  dont change the jerseys while they are winning
          would be bad karma

 APOE GENE
the gene called apoe produces a protein called apolipoprotein e
it occurs on chromosone 19 and has been associated with
alzheimers
there are several forms(alleles)
apoe 2, apoe 3, apoe 4

apoe 2 is rare and may protect against the disease

apoe 3 is the  most common  it has a neutral role in the disease
           maybe it affects it or maybe it doesnt
           if lucky it doesnt

apoe 4 is the sucky one     am afraid thats the one i have and
           my mom had and my close relative has
           40% of people with this gene gets alzheimers
           more people with alzheimers have this form than
           people without the disease
           1/3 of the people with alzheimers do not have the
           apoe 4 form

next month i will be tested for this gene and will let you
know what the results are

the final diagnosis of alzheimers can only definitely be made
at autopsy
at my death i will  agree to have my brain donated to
ut soutwestern alzheimers research so they can compare
what was found clinically with the final pathology of my brain
this is how research scientists can definitely know their diagnosis
was correct

ASK NOT 
fifty years ago yesterday jfk gave his inaugural address that
launched the new frontier
it included the famous phrase

ask not what your country can do for you
-ask what you can do for your country


remember its a good football weekend

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 4, onions, crop failure, temple grandin

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 4
4   confusion with time and place    people with alzheimers
can loose track of dates, seasons, and the passage of time
they may have trouble understanding something if it is not
happening immediately     sometimes they may forget where
they are or how they got there

whats typical   getting confused about the day of the week
but figuring it out later
(whew that one had me worried at first)

ONIONS
here in this area now is a good time to plant onions
as always you must have good soil
add 3-4 inches of compost (i make my own-chickens
keep it all stirred up for me)
add some organic fertilizer to the mixture
work all this into the soil
i plant my onion plants (not bulbs) every 4 inches in a
raised bed      then over time as they grow i thin them out
by picking every other one as my wife she tells me she
needs an onion

plant them about 1 inch deep and water in with seaweed
or an organic fertilizer like johns recipe

i will sprinkle with the organic fertilizer and work it in
every month or you can add the liquid organic fertilizer
every 2-3 weeks
i loosely put pine straw over the beds     i remove the
pine straw when the weather gets warm

the onions are ready to be picked when the tops die
here its usually in june

FAILED CROP
go to google to the right and type in cole crop and read
about my cole crop garden
cole plants are cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, caul-
flower, and kale and i include greens
well had the best plants have ever had since ive been
gardening
had them under the white row cover to protect them
from insects and the cold
well little did i know that there were aphids galore and
white flies just loving that nice warm environment
i was busy with work and dealing with my new diagnosis
so did not check on it like i should have
when i did make it to the cole crop they were covered
with the aphids and flies
had to pull every one of them up
the chickens loved them
they got to eat the aphids and flies plus got to eat he
cole plants also
double treat they said

TEMPLE GRANDIN
if you dont know who temple grandin
is go to her website
www.templegrandin.com and read about
her

if some one in your family or if you have
a friends family  with autism or aspergers
you should read all about her
you can see what it is like to have autism
or aspergers
she is now a big advocate for autism

claire danes won a golden globe for portraying her in the
hbo move  'temple grandin'

temple couldnt speak until she was 4 years old
she now has a phd and is an author of several books
see the movie and go to her website

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 3, sargent shriver, duct tape 2, tax cut, dreams

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 3
difficulty in completing  familiar tasks at home, at work,
or at leisure.
people with alzheimers often find it hard to complete
daily tasks     sometimes, people may have trouble
driving to a familiar location, managing a budget at work
or remembering the rules of a favorite game

whats typical or normal
occasionally needing help to use the settings on a
microwave or to record a television show
glad thats typical    my wife she has to do all of that
for me      but thats been for years

from www.alz.org 

SARGENT SHRIVER
sargent shriver died
he was involved in the founding of special olympics,
peace corps, head start and job corps
at 88 he announced his diagnosis of alzheimers
his family took over his care and began
educating people about alzheimers

his daughter maria shriver-author, journalists,
and former first lady of california-has worked
hard to raise the awareness of this disease    
she and the shriver family are actively
involved in the alzheimers association

TAX CUT
many of you may not know this but you got
a 2% tax cut this year     there is a decrease
just this year of 2% in the fica taxes you pay
(except for those school teachers who
work for districts that dont pay fica taxes)
thats $1000 for someone making $50000 a year

DUCT TAPE 2
another medical use although painful is using duct tape to
remove unwanted body hair
this is well demonstrated in television shows and movies
ouch ill skip that one

DREAMS
one of the side effects of the medicine aricept (donepezil)
is vivid dreams
i could write a movie script each night about my dreams

so far this week lebron james and dwyane(he spells it wrong)
wade spent the night at our house
they were very good house guests

another night i was admitted to icu for some reason and had
to spend the night there     they were not able to find my wife
to let her know that i was in the hospital
but when i woke up there my wife she was

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 2, football, duct tape use, aig

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 2
from the alzheimers association website
on knowing the 10 signs of early alzheimers

2     challenges in planning and solving problems   some
people may experience changes in their abillity to develop
and follow a plan or work with numbers     they may have
trouble following a familiar recipe or keeping track of
monthly bills     they may have difficulty concentrating and
take much longer to do some things that they did before

whats normal     making occassional errors when balancing
a check book

thankful that i dont have this problem but my wife she does
with the checkbook

FOOTBALL
well predictions -2
jets shut down pats and bradys offense
seatle looked like they did not belong in the playoffs
now the games get better
new favorite is jets

cowboys got ryans bro for defensive coordinator
go jason
a little fire will be put into that defense

DUCT TAPE USE
besides dr duck am also known as dr duct tape
there are thousands of uses for duct tape

the way i used it in medicine was to use it to cover
warts     if used correctly will remove most warts
i would have patients cover the wart with the duct tape
and remove the duct tape weekly  until the wart was gone
there was an 80% chance it would work

(one brand of duct tape is called duck tape-you know
which one i had in my office)

AIG
that dirty word from the financial crisis
just repaid $47 billion to the federal
reserve and paid off the balance
of $85 billion from the bailout fund

however they did not pay back the
damage they did to you and i and
the american economy


the organicgreen doctor

i have a dream, w4ad5, asparagus, 10 signs #1, shower water, bday

I HAVE A DREAM
today is mlk day
shame on two local schools for not celebrating his day
his i have a dream speech is one of  the most famous speeches
of the last century

i remember where i was when jfk was killed
i remember where i was when mlk was killed

mlk was one of the most important figures in american
history during the 1900s
his peaceful movement for civil rights had ended up
transcending all races, all politics, both genders
the rights we all have from that movement may not have
occurred without it

the 60s was a radical time
thank goodness that cnn, msn, and fox wasnt around then
there was a radical antigovernment, antimilitary, antieverything
movement that could have destroyed us

the mlk movement transcended all of that

take a moment of silence for this great man and what he stood for
and hope that we continue to progress peacefully into the future

i have a dream...

W4AD5
week 4 aricept (donepezil) 5 mgm
no new side effects
still with more energy in daytime
still with some insomnia
no changes good or bad are noted
next week go to w1ad10

ASPARAGUS
there is an aspargus crowns shortage at the local nurseries
because of the excessive rains in the western united states
they should be available soon
it wont be too late to plant them

10 SIGNS OF EARLY ALZHEIMERS
will post these warnings signs for early alzheimers each day

i dont have any of these signs yet
as i have early mild cognitive impairment amnesic type that is
thought to be the precursor to early alzheimers

my findings only show up on more elaborate neuropsychological
testing however i do notice them but others dont yet

#1 memory changes that disrupt daily life.   one of the most
common signs of alzheimers, especially in the early stages is
forgetting recently learned information     also including forgetting
important dates or events, asking for the same information over
and over and relying on memory aides( eg reminder notes or electronic
devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own.

whats typical or 'normal'
sometimes forgetting names or appointments, but remembering
them later

this is from the alzheimers association website www,alz.org

FOR KD RE WASTING SHOWER WATER
a local organic gardener keeps a 5 gallon bucket in his
shower to catch that first run of water until the shower water
gets hot      this water is then used for flushing, watering plants,
etc

he also has a feature on his shower head that limits the flow
rate on the shower and a lever that you can turn off the shower
if you are doing a navy shower

he also catches the excessive water from showering and uses
it to flush his toilets

if you have a rainwater collection system you are more
sensitive to the overuse of water
if you overuse it you run out

thats not good

thats not ever happened here even with  the droughts we have had






BDAY
today is the birthday of another great american
benjamin franklin
(he was also noted for this swimming ability)

the organicgreen doctor

rwi not dwi, donald duck, football, alzheimers, chocolate

RWI NOT DWI

a cowboy dubbed the sixth street cowboy was arrested for 

rwi not dwi-thats riding while intoxicated not driving while 

intoxicated

he and a friend were riding down sixth street in austin texas

(if you have ever been to austin and sixth street you know

what its like at night with the crowds) 

his horse and mule were impounded

he was arrested

apparently he rides his horse through austin all the time 

he claims the horse knows to stop at the redlights

(how does he do a turn signal)

when partying too much he just

gets on the horse who takes him home

(so he says)

just like the old time cowboys horses use to do 

this time he got a ticket (actually for public intoxication-he was drunk) 

after 10 days the horses can be  auctioned off

(you know what that means right)

however people came forward and donated money to get 

the horse and mule out of impoundment

he was back on sixth street again after getting the horse 

back but this time he wont get a rwi

(or so he says) 

good luck sixth street cowboy 

could he replace leslie as the downtown icon

(if you dont know who leslie is then just google 

'leslie in austin'    youll see and read more than you want

to know)

DONALD DUCK

those of you who know me know that im a donald duck

fan

some of you probably contributed to my collection 

thus am known as dr duck by a lot of patients especially 

the younger ones 

donalds full name was donald fauntleroy duck 

he was voted the 3rd most popular cartoon character

behind bugs bunny #2 and that dang mickey mouse #1

oh phooey 

but his voice-now here is my connection to donald- was

provided by clarence nash until his death in 1985

no am not kin to him 

actually as a child my brother and i learned to talk like 

donald duck while watching cartoons  a lot 

(what else was there to do in rural arkansas years ago) 

my youngest son he also learned to talk like donald and 

does an impression almost as good as mine

so maybe it is genetic

FOOTBALL 

dang those steelers messed up my
prediction

ravens beat steelers qb up but 

he did a old school yard play-just run
deep and ill sling it and you catch it 

prediction -1

packers crushed the falcons

now who used to be the packer qb

prediction +1

today seatle vs whoever

whoever should win 

jets vs pats

now that should be a good game 

jerk coach vs pretty boy

prediction its pats year again

but jets are tenacious

ALZHEIMERS AND CHOCOLATE

those who know me know that besides donald duck and 

sports and gardening and green living i love chocolate

read an article about a lady who had alzheimers

craved it all the time and would eat large quantities

when given the chance

have decided that i could do a study on myself to see if 

this could be a new treatment to slow or delay the development 

of the disease

maybe could get a grant to study it  

sometimes a bad thing can be a good thing

the organicgreen doctor

jeff bridges, bucket list, alzheimers cost, thanks,football

JEFF BRIDGES
those of you who saw true grit know that jeff bridges was
and is a great actor
did not realize he was in the last picture show

watched a pbs  american masters episode this week  titled
'jeff bridges:the dude abides education.  the life and career of
academy award-winning actor jeff bridges0
very interesting show
a close relative is a friend of his
he is in person like what is displayed in the pbs show
have more respect for him now as a person and an actor
try to see it on your local pbs station

again he should get the academy award for the movie true grits


BUCKET LIST
ive created a bucket list to do while i know im
doing it
one is a trip down hwy one in california-am in
planning mode now for that trip

for my sisterinlaw she with the wet suitcase
(google that to the right and read about her wet suitcase)
my next item on my bucket list will require a passport

always told my wife she that i would travel anywhere
she wants as long as it doesnt require a passport
my life changes (eg my new diagnosis) makes me have a
new perspective on things

foreign country here we come


ALZHEIMERS COST
from a recently discovered blog  someone
with alzheimers writes is this information
about the disease
-for every $1 spent on research $350 is
spent on care of someone with the disease
go to www.im-mike.blogspot.com to
read his blog on this disease
THANKS
thanks to everyone for the comments this week
the comments help me deal with this new
diagnosis

FOOTBALL
today is playoff weekend
today its ravens vs steelers
its the linebacker vs the qb
prediction ravens

then its packers vs falcons
brets old team vs mikes old team
prediction packers

as of today
superbowl winner prediction-the pats

the organicgreen doctor

watching kids grow up, what dads eat affects kids

WATCHING KIDS GROW UP 
my wife she and i love sports
our boys they  played multiple sports
so we have spent hours in gyms, football fields, soccer fields,
baseball fields and swimming pools

along the way though we have watched several kids grow up
from the 8 year old leagues and now to high school and college

my wife she and i enjoy watching them grow and develop as an
athlete and person
i also coached basketball from the 8 year old league up to the
summer high school leagues so have had the opportunity to
follow quite a few of those players over the years

this week we watched a girl play basketball for one of the
area colleges     she is a senior now      she has developed into
the starting point guard for this team      she runs the team and
makes the difference usually if they win or loose

my wife she and i remember watching her play in the 8 year old
league at a local youth club
she could outplay the boys as her older brother played against
her all the time at home and in the gym (coaches kids)
(he was mvp of the state tourney a few years ago)

then she moved on to middle school and then to high school
she played mutliple sports and was the best in all of them
she was all state is several sports in her career
she also was an honor student

now she is finishing her college career and will enter that honorable
profession-teaching
am sure she will be the best at what she does when she teaches

she is the example of what sports is suppose to do for student athletes
not what we usually see on television
it makes them  a better person, maybe a leader, maybe better able to
get along with others and work together as a team  and maybe if
good enough to  provide a way to finance their education

she is one of several my wife she and i have followed over the years
and hopefully wont be the last

WHAT DADS EAT AFFECTS KIDS 
in recent news reports there is research that
shows eg that what diet the dad eats may
increase  the production of cholesterol in
their kids by passing the gene that increases
this production

this research was done in mice but it appears
from some retrospective studies on isolated
villages done in europe that it could  be true

if true a dad that eats a lousy diet high in fat
and cholesterol may pass on to his kids the
tenacity to overproduce cholesterol in the body

so dads your kids are affected by what you eat as are you

another reason to eat a heart healthy diet or an american heart
association diet or a mediterranean diet

the organicgreen doctor

how does donepezil (aricept) work, lady bugs

HOW DOES DONEPEZIL (ARICEPT) WORK
donepezil (aricept) works in the brain by inhibiting the
enzyme acetylcholinestrase that breaks down the chemical
acetylcholine
thus it is called an acetycholinesterace inhibitor

acetylcholine is is a chemical that helps many brain functions
such as memory, attention, reasoning, and language
(doesnt help me remember names-long time problem)
(does make me more attentive-know now what people with
add feel when they get on medication so they can focus and
be productive)

in alzlheimers there is a destruction of the cells that produce
acetycholine  so the levels of acetycholine drop

by inhibiting the enzyme the levels of acetycholine go up in the
brain and remain up for a while
this helps to slow the decline in memory

however its effects are short lived-a few months to
a few years

it is not a cure for alzheimers
it does not slow down the progression of the disease

the problem with alzheimers is that the diagnosis is usually
made too late to slow down the symptoms much

it is important that an early diagnosis be made (as is in my
case-very early diagnosis) so that medication can be
started (donepezil-aricept) and
testing can be done (labs, genetic tests, spinal tap anaylysis,
mri and pet scans ) and
life planning can be done

then when this medication doesnt work any more another
medication is usually added-most commonly used is exelon

www.alz.org (alzheimers association web site)

LADY BUGS 
on a lighter note
add lady bugs to an organic pest control program
can buy and release them in your garden
every one loves lady bugs

demonstrated that once in the clinic
we developed a problem with aphids and flies on
the plants in the clinic
i did not want them to call a  pesticide
company to come in to drop some toxic bomb
in the clinic to kill the insects so
i bought a bag of lady bugs and
released them everywhere in the clinic

people and patients dont like spiders, ants, other bugs
but they love lady bugs
we had lady bugs everywhere

they were on many of the plants going to work
they love aphids

kids would let them crawl on their arms and some
took them home even the adults and elderly enjoyed them

eventually they all disappeared but hopefully the kids
and employees learned something about green gardening
from the lady bug exposure

the organicgreen doctor

goin green, karla k morton, thanks

GOIN GREEN
someone commented they did not know where to start
or how to go green

its so easy

rainwater-start with a container under your downspouts
and use the water to water your plants or for your
animals to drink
most common first container is a five gallon bucket  
i still have them in strategic places despite having 30000
gallon tanks to collect rainwater

be careful because it becomes addicting
my brother he went from one 5 gallon bucket to 6
50 gallon tanks to a 300 gallon tank in no time
of course he hid it from the hoa

change all your bulbs to florescent bulbs
can do it gradually so you dont  have to put out so
much money at a time
over time it saves money and eliminates heat production
from the regular bulbs
(i needed a regular electric bulb to put in a lamp over
my water pump last night to keep it warm but could
not find one in our house)

turn off  lights, tv, computer, xbox, etc when not used
i have a power cord that will put things in a sleep mode
if not used

limit water usage
my wife she and i have found that since we are totally on
rainwater for our water system we limit our usage
(survived the drought ok)

recycle trash
we recycle paper, newspapers, bottles, plastic, and glass
there is a center nearby that accepts them

dont buy bottled water
use tap or filtered tap water
most bottled water is just filtered tap water any way
you pay 1000 x more for bottled water than tap water
my wife she and i use a metal reusable water bottles that
are several years old

dont use chemical fertilizers use organic fertilizers for your
yard and never use weed and feed products(they are
banned in canada and in europe)

two good locally made ones are medina organic fertilizer
and the lady bug organic fertilizer
they are usually only found at local nurseries

dont use pesticides insecticides in your house or garden
the product i use in the house is boric acid (roachpruf)
the products i use in the garden are garlic spray, seaweed,
orange oil, insecticidal soap,de(diatamaceous earth),
and bt(bacillus thuringensis)

so for the price of a 5 gallon bucket and some organic
fertilizer and some organic bug products you can now
be prettttttyyyy   green

KARLA K MORTON 
she is the 2010 poet laureate of texas
a new edition of her poetry book
written during her diagnosis, treatment,
and survival of breast cancer is due
to be released soon

she has another poetry book coming
out about her year as the texas poet
laureate
in it she will have a poem for my wife
she and i




THANKS 
thanks for the support and comments from everyone
they make things easier

the organicgreen doctor

new year resolutions, the game

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION
my wife she and i did not sit down and do any new years
resolutions this year on january 1, 2011
we were just 2 weeks from receiving my diagnosis and
my starting medication
the previous week before new years was when we
did what is equivalent to new years resolutions

we decided to change our diets and eat better
we already generally ate a american heart association diet
but tweaked it with a mediterranean version
(except of course have added chocolate and snickers)

we decided to start exercising every day
i do ranch aerobics every day at the country n
but now added long walks 2-3 miles to the daily exercise
will commonly take the dogs with us to the river so they
can swim as it is only 5 minutes away
it is so quiet and relaxing
you can just stand there watching the dogs in the river,
hear the birds, hear the wind blowing through the trees
with no outside noises
its sometimes hard to turn back to go back home

we drink a glass of red wine each night
that helps to raise the good hdl (mine was low) cholesterol
and may help with cognitive decline but was already doing that

relax relax  
that may be one of the most important ones of all    
am at peace with everything      have accepted what
may be in the future  
at least my mind may go first before my body goes    
am lucky if IT happens this way
although this would be worse on my wife she

we resolved  to get all our paperwork in order for living will,
will, durable power of attorney, power of attorney for health care,
(will get no cpr tattooed across my  chest) and other paper work
together    
we will sit down and discuss all this together and
will discuss with our sons so every one knows what we want

actually everyone should do this anyway
we are lucky that we can do this now together
dont wait

we also are getting our financial house in order
i am retiring 3-5 years before i planned
but we despite making a good income for several years have
always lived frugally and have been able to do the things we
want to do when we want to do them
this may change some

have to do an exit interview with the clinic i work for so will
know more about the future regards sick pay, fmla (didnt think
i would have to deal with that personally-wish had been better
about doing these for patients), malpractice coverage for the rest of
my life, health care (now know all about cobra-thanks to obama
care can now extend to about 21/2 years), and work on
what to do with my 401k
may be able to get long term disability (have  long term
disability insurance) as can not practice medicine again

my wife she and i want to spend more time with our families
and to do some traveling to areas we have not been
(google  hwy one california trip to the right of this blog)
i dont want to be traveling to those places later if i dont know im
there
we also are in the middle of a wedding journey with our son
and his finance
so we should have a busy year

so we had a busy week before new years
maybe 1-1- 2012 we will do new years resolutions
just hope that both our health  stays the same

THE GAME
now thats what a championship football game  should be like
auburn wins
prediction +1

the organicgreen doctor

cedar fever, donepezil (aircept) week 3, football, bros bd

CEDAR FEVER
let see its not cedar its juniper
it doesnt cause fever but it feels like you have the flu
if you react to it severely enough

the male cedar pollinates just like in humans
they are rusty red (longhorn burnt orange) with the pollen
when we have cold weather  then warm up the pollen is
released sometimes in high counts
last week here the counts were extremely (off the
chart) high

then if we are lucky it rains a lot (like it did this
weekend here) and it washes the pollen off the
trees and the counts stay down until

it gets real cold (like today) and then when it warms up
then there is a another pollen bursts and the counts
go high again
then here come the symptoms again

then the cycle continues

always thought cedar tortured those of us that are
allergic to it

treatment i do
use eye allergy drops when needed
take loratidine 10 mg  (generic claritin) every day
some people irrigate their sinuses or nose with saline
to wash the pollen out of their nasal passages
avoidance if possible however probably almost impossible

symptoms-itchy eyes, watery eyes, runny nose,
and sneeeeeeeeezing
dont enjoy this

DONEPEZIL (ARICEPT) WEEK 3
am on my third week of the donepezil (aricept)
to slow down the progression of symptoms of mci
after the fourth week will increase dose to 10 mg a day

am starting to get past the first two week window of
adjusting to the medication

the side effects i have noticed are: 
increased tinnitus that gets better as the day progresses
dont have to take fiber tabs any more
have increased energy that my wife she likes as i can
get a lot done around the house and at the country n

but i have developed insomnia that is documented by
the posting time of most of my blogs but i can live with
that if the medications slow things down

have not noticed any changes physically or mentally otherwise

have not had any stomach upset, diarrhea, muscle cramps,
fatique, anorexia, or weight loss that are common when
taking this medication

one thing that i have noticed this year is that even though
the cedar counts went sky high last week i have not had
any cedar fever symptoms at all  even without taking any
loratidine or eye drops
could it be the donepezil (aricept)

a bad thing can turn out to be good thing

FOOTBALL
kansas city forgot to show up yesterday
but the ravens did
prediction got that one right +1

mv almost pulled it off but green bay looked good
prediction got it wrong -1

tonight finally is championship night for college football
what took so long
why dont they do it on new years day
let see auburns vince young-like qb cam newton vs
speed of oregon
its auburns cam newtons year
he wins everything
auburn over oregon

BROS BD
if you know my oldest brother wish him a happy 70th
birthday today

the organicgreen doctor

great teacher, football, basketball/ranch aerobics, freeze

GREAT TEACHER
go to:
Westwood High statistics teacher Penny Smeltzer named top Advanced Placement educator in Texas

now this is a great teacher who knows  how to teach
she loves her job
it shows when you are around her

my son he had her as a teacher
she made him survive the year
plus she loves basketball also

another one i know like this is my wife she

FOOTBALL
well the seahawks won
brees couldnt pull it off in the end
saints just need to heal up over the off season
could be seahawks last win
prediction was wrong -1

the colts got edged by the jets
peyton almost won it for the colts
but the last second field goal by jets
pulled it out for the green team
jets they have an edge about them
problem is they have to play the patriots
next week     lets see if the edge can beat
the best
prediction was right +1

today
ravens vs chiefs
defense against the new guys
prediction ravens win

philadelphia vs green bay
mv vs healthier packers
its mikes year
prediction eagles win

BASKETBALL/RANCH AEROBICS
love that dvr
dvred connnecticut vs longhorns on espn then
did all day ranch aerobics-
cut firewood and stacked it
finished my water tank garden (pictures later)
walked to the river with wife and two dogs
took recycling stuff to the recycling silo
then showered and got in the man cave and
watched a great close game without commercials
connecticut won 82-81

FREEZE THIS WEEK
night time temps will dip into the 20s and here
at the country n to the single digits
be sure and cover your tender plants and gardens
with protective cover
i use row cover, pine straw, my wife shes sheets if i
can sneak them out of the house, leaves, and
whatever i can find to cover the plants

the organicgreen doctor



the organicgreen doctor

my view in the am, homeless guy, iphone ipad, football

MY VIEW IN THE AM 
this is what i look at out my window  in the am as
i drink my coffee and do this blog

see 1-07-10 blog on my story revisited

HOMELESS GUY
newspaper newspeople leave the guy alone now
dont run this story into the ground

he has a great voice
somebody hire him and let him use his talent to support
himself
then leave him alone

IPHONE IPAD
looks like verizon is or will be using the iphone and
will be using the ipad-yes yes
verizons stock went up and apples stock went up after
the announcement
bet atts goes down

FOOTBALL
well the tiger ate the aggies last night
lsu coach did not have to make a
goofy mistake in this game
aggies will be good next year

playoffs playoffs start today
lets see seattle vs new orleans
playing at seattle
new orleans has a lot of injured players
but they have drew brees
prediction new orleans

lets see colts vs jets
blue vs green
manning vs sanchez
ryans an >>>>>>>-also loves feet
now whos the colts coach
jets are the new guys
they want it bad
colts and manning dont have all the weapons
prediction jets

cotton bowl

COTTON BOWL

didnt mention this game this am 

everyone knows that this game should 

be played on january 1st, new years day

aggies vs tigers

as a razorback/longhorn fan 

dont have real strong feelings for both 

but i did go and get my aggies shirt out of 

the back of the closet to wear tonight

it was given to me by a colleague 

its from the  texas am ag dept 

it says dig em instead of gig em

its the once a year wearing of this shirt

wore it when was in calfornia and all the aggies 

kept coming up to me to talk about texas am

little did they know

lets see

aggies want this game bad tonight 

maybe more than lsu

if lsu coachs brain aint working right 

am could win 

the organicgreen doctor

my story revisited

MY STORY REVISITED
because of the increased viewers of this blog will
revist my story

i am a family physician

one year ago while buying long term care insurance i had
a normal neuropsychological evaluation

a year and a half later i underwent an evaluation to be in an
alzheimers research study as a control subject

i wanted to be monitored annually so that if i developed any
symptoms of alzheimers that i would know and would
know to stop practicing medicine

a neuropsychological evaluation done for that
showed changes in short term memory that was abnormal
for my age and occupation

looking back i had noted some changes but no one
else had

my mother had alzheimers disease and a close relative has
azheimers disease

my diagnosis was made as early mild cognitive impairment
amnesic type
it is thought to be a precursor to alzheimers disease

a normal evaluation, then a year later an abnormal test  plus
the changes i had noted plus my strong family history made
this clincal diagnosis

there is not a definite test for alzheimers -it is made as a
clinical diagnosis early into the disease

my decision and along with my neurologists decision was that
i start aricept (donepezil)-my mother was on it and my relative
is on it-to slow down the progression of the symptoms which
progress slow or fast

however nothing slows down the disease
(see blog on napa 1-6-10)

i elected to stop practicing medicine as i always had
concerns this would happen and
i did not want to cause any harm to my patients if this
process progresses

where is my future
i will continue to be in a study at the alzheimers research
center at the university of texas southwestern medical center
i will now be in the study group and not in the control group

i will continue to blog about my involvement in that study
and with my treatments and evaluations as they are done

i want to give a doctors view of all this while also being
a patient

i have had normal lab work and a normal mri
these were looking  for treatable diseases that can cause
these sympotms

i will have genetic studies, more blood tests, a lumbar
puncture, and a pet scan soon     these are looking for
some of the changes that occurs in alzhiemers

i will either
1   stay the same forever or
2   completely clear up or
3   slowly progress to alzheimers or
4   rapidly progress to alzheimers

a bad thing can be a good thing
i know now
my wife she and i can plan for the future
i can be involved in educating people about this disease
my involvement in the study is my small part in finding
treatments and cures for this disease

www.alz.org

the organicgreen doctor

napa, light bulb, robo potty

NAPA
no not the trade agreement
this is about a disease that could break  medicare,
medicaid, and other health care systems
it costs  $172 billion a year in total care
it will reach $1 trillion a year in the near future

it is in the top ten causes of death in the usa
it is the only one that has no cure, no way to prevent it,
and no way to slow it down

the baby boomer generation(some of  them are  old flower children) are
bringing this disease much more needed attention

it is alzheimers disease

president obama signed the napa-national alzheimers
project act-into law
it will lead to a strategic plan to overcome the alzheimers disease epidemic

(aricept-donepezil-which i started two weeks ago doesnt slow
the disease progression it only makes the symptoms better
for a few months to a few years)

see www.alz.org for more information

LIGHT BULB
the old light bulb is history now in california
the law took effect 1-1-11
it will save electricity and energy

well here at the country n (thats what we call our place) we are
ahead of california by 10 years
we did this when we first moved in
progressive arent we

except we have one outside super duper bulb that lights up the
yard and property like a light house
it makes my electric meter spin faster when it is on
my wife she insisted on it so she could turn it on if its needed
its probably like the ones at the prisons they turn on when the
prisoners escape

this law will save the consumers over $30 million a year in
energy costs

there will also be less pollution from burning fossil fuels to
create the electricity that would have been created

a similar federal law signed in 2007 will go into effect in 2012

hope they dont repeal that one

ROBO POTTY
the makers of the robo vacuum cleaner has created a robo
bathroom cleaner
it cleans the floors automatically
now if it would just clean that toilet inside and out

my wife she now has her own robo bathroom cleaner :

the organicgreen doctor

miss youth, boomers-bucket list, hogs

MISS YOUTH
one of the things i will miss from stopping practicing medicine
is i will have less exposure to youth

i saw a lot of teenagers and younger kids every day and i
always tried to interact with them and find out what they
were doing, what they were thinking and observed the way
they were dressed, and then those damn cell phones

(had got to where i accepted the cell phone use while i
was in the exam room       although i would usually just
cover up the cell phone with their chart while they were
texting or looking at it when i needed their full attention)

i realized that they were listening to most of what i was
saying
(of course adults arent much better)

this exposure keeps up your tolerance to the way they
dress, act, or talk
remember in my day it was long hair, beads, peace
symbols, peace signs, beards, sloppy dress...,

umm things dont change do they

BOOMERS-BUCKET LIST
well the boomers are here now into retirement age
guess im one of them
many are doing a bucket list to do while they are healthy

well ive started my bucket list but probably for a different
reason
if my disease progresses i  may not know that i did the things
on my bucket list

my wife she and i are planning trips over the next several
years to places we have not ever been
prime ones are the grand canyon and yellowstone and the
four presidents at mount rushmore
would hate to think i died and never saw any of these
places

our first trip will be to travel the highway one between
san francisco and santa barbara
we have relatives at both places and will incorporate visiting
them at both ends of the trip
i lived in california for several years and never went on a
highway one trip

will be first check off of the bucket list
will expand the list more over time

HOGS
well knew that hogs would eat acorns but never thought
they couldnt handle buckeyes
was a good game
hogs had a good season
hats off to ohio state

longhorns beat the razorbacks 79-46
in basketball
dvred the game glad  i did not see the game
think i will erase it without watching it
am a longhorn and razorback fan
strange combo huh
a pure razorback fan would not understand it

mmm bad night for hogs on national tv


the organicgreen doctor

aspargus, mri, hog heaven

ASPARAGUS
how to plant asparagus

as always you have to have good soil
here the soil is so rocky and poor that most of us
use raised beds
i simply bring in a good organic soil that is from
a local organic nursery and do a 3-4 ft wide bed that
is 18-24 in deep
if you have good soil be sure to add compost freely to the
soil     i usually add an organic fertilizer and mix all this
stuff together

the soil has to be loose and well drained
there needs to be at least 6 hours sun on the beds but
more would be better
there needs to be good air circulation

the best asparagus variety for this area is uc72
they are sold in crowns which are one year old asparagus
plants that look like an octopus or squid

dig a trench 6-8 in deep and 3-4 in wide and build up
a crown-a hill of dirt that is large enough to spread the roots
(the tentacles of the octopus) over the crown
then cover with the soil

as the crown grows add more compost and soil until
the trench is level with the rest of the bed

space the plants 12-18 inches apart
i water them in with liquid seaweed
then cover the soil with mulch-i use pine straw or leaves

keep the plants watered regularly the first year
if you over water they may die so be careful

i add compost and organic fertilizer every year
in the fall after the first big freeze i cut down the stems and
then cover with 2-3 inches of compost and mulch
in the spring add compost again and the fertilizer

dont harvest any of the asparagus until the third year
this allows a good root system to grow and improve
production
you cut the spears off under ground about 6-12 in long
when all you are getting is 1/2 in stalks and no more spears
are coming up the harvest is over
be sure and dont harvest all of the shoots as some shoots are
needed to produce the stems ferniness that produces nutrition
to the roots
the harvest usually last 4-6 weeks

we did cheat and cut a few the second year
my wife she just couldnt keep her hands off them
sure were good
the third year was fairly productive but
many of them did not make it to the kitchen
yum yum

the asparagus plants grow 5-8 ft tall and have a ferny
appearance to them

asparagus beds usually last 15-20 years
and good organic maintained beds have been
reported to last 100 years

well worth the effort
enjoy

MRI 
had an an mri of the brain that was normal
thats good news and bad news
good news is that there were not any changes of alzheimers
seen on the mri-did not expect any
when changes are noted usually there are more cognitive
problems than what i have
the bad news is that there is not another
treatable cause found for my problem

am trying to find out what other patients that i know with
alzhiemers had on their mris when they were first diagnosed
know my mom had cerebral atrophy and increased ventricle
size on her ct scan early on in her diagnosis
(means the brain shrinks)

will have a pet scan later on they may tell me more

HOG HEAVEN
if you are a razorback fan then you are in hog heaven today
sugar bowl against the pin striped buckeyes
(my apologies to my ohio state patients and friends)
pocket passer vs an athletic qb
north against south
prediction arkansas wins

hogs also play longhorns tonight in austin
may have to split tv dvr or just flip back and forth
prediction texas wins as they have a good team this year
have added some monster freshman (pre pros)

the organicgreen doctor

farmers luck, true grit, football

FARMERS LUCK
my other nephew (brother to the one that did not fall into
my rainwater tank) and his mom (the one with the wet
suitcase) sent me a poem/short story that he had read to
his parents
they thought this would be appropriate to my situation

'the farmers luck' from the book zen shorts by jon j muth

there was once an old farmer who worked his crops
for many years

one day, his horse ran away.
upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit

"such bad luck," they said sympathetically

"maybe," the farmer replied
the next morning the horse returned, bringing with it
two other wild horses

"such good luck!" the neighbors exclaimed

"maybe," replied the farmer

the following day, his son tied to ride one of the
untamed horses, was thrown off, and broke his leg

again the neighbors came to offer their sympathy on
his misfortune

"such bad luck," they said

"maybe," answered the farmer

the day after that, military officials came to the village
to draft young men into the army to fight in a war.
seeing that the sons leg was broken, they passed
his by

"such good luck!" cried the neighbors

"maybe," said the farmer

"i get it," said michael     "maybe good luck and bad
luck are all mixed up    you never know what will
happen next."

"yes," stillwater agreed. "you never know

after reading this have decided that although my diagnosis
is a bad thing it may turn out to be a good thing

its a sucky diagnosis but  it was made early, we have time to
prepare for the future, and we can try to educate people
about this terrible disease




TRUE GRIT
two thumbs up LL
jeff bridges deserves academy award for this performance

FOOTBALL
think that cowboys now have all three qbs for next year
mcgee did a good job
now sign jason garrett and start fixing whats wrong

tonight in the orange bowl its stanford vs va tech
first draft pick in next years draft or at least first qb in draft
prediction stanford
could be their coaches last game

now the play offs begin
some loosing teams are in
that aint right

the organicgreen doctor