why i walk, follow up neurology appointment

Walk to End Alzheimers
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THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY GEORGETOWN WALK
ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 29 2012
HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE RECREATIONAL CENTER
AT THE EDGE OF THE SAN GABRIEL PARK
BECAUSE OF THE RAIN
REGISTRATION HAS BEEN MOVED UP TO 930 AM

WHY I WALK
the reason i walk to end alzheimers is because i would like to
see alzheimers end
its a devastating disease that affects the patient and those that
love them
there is no cure
yet
the money raised is the main source of revenue for the alzheimers
association
and the moneys are used to fund research and to provide
educational activities on this disease

it is the charity that i have directed my charity donations to and my personal
energies into

i am also involved because i have been affected personally

my mother died in the final stages of this terrible disease
and i first hand experienced the devastation this disease
can cause


my father although not officially diagnosed probably had the disease


my younger brother was diagnosed several years ago and is
in a long term care facility now


i probably have alzheimers disease

this is why i walk        to end alzheimers

FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENT
i drove 3 and a half hours to my appointment yesterday then
drove 3 and a half hours back home
its worth it that driving to dallas to get my care as
i am able to get as uptodate evaluation as you can possibly get

much of which is not available to most people
yet
but it will be soon

my biggest issue besides not knowing 100% whether i have
alzheimers or not is not sleeping well
its the side effects of the aricept (donepezil) that i take for
this possible diagnosis
(the earlier you start this medication the better it works and
the longer its effects will be ie i could gain time by taking
the medicine-that means symptoms will be delayed but
will eventually show up
but im willing to take the medication to gain that time )

i will be trying a new medicine to use as needed for sleep
hope it works
if i stop the aricept (donnepezil) for a while the sleep
disturbance goes away

i also wanted the amyvid pet scan
thats done for amyloid deposits in the brain
it looks like i may be able to get it through the manufacturer
who is looking for people to do the scan on as they train
people to read them
will write about the results when they are obtained
maybe i can get a photo of the scan also

the accuracy of this test is really affected by the quality of training
that the radiologist or neurologist has undergone

so it is my brain and i will get it tested

the video that was done that you can watch by clicking on
video on my story with alzheimers at the top of this blog is
being nominated for a national award from a national
neurology association

i also have tentative invites to do a talk to physicians and other
providers in a medical school in dallas and at a research
symposium in tennessee on alzheimers
my point of view will be from a physician with this possible
diagnosis and from the patient viewpoint
something they probably need to hear

until youve walked in those shoes you dont really know

the organicgreen doctor

neurology appointment

Walk to End Alzheimers
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NEUROLOGY APPOINTMENT
today i am going back for my almost 2 year follow up
since i was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment 
amnestic type that stage right before full blown alzheimers
disease takes off

today i went back and read some of my blogs about that
time period
here are the links to those blogs

last day thanks
the dreaded doctor visit
the neurology visit

since that time i have retired and am on medical disability 
for my diagnosis because of the risk of making a medical
error because of my short term memory loss

i know from testing that i carry the apoe 4 genotype which makes
these symptoms likely to be from alzheimers disease
i also have an indeterminate testing results for tau protein 
and beta amyloid in the spinal fluid
(those are the two biomakers that are abnormal in this 
alzheimers disease thing)
i have a normal mri normal glucose metabolism pet scan 
normal screening labs 
and a consistently abnormal neuropsychological exam
ive had eight of these since the beginning of all of this 
and one was an eight hour one 
(thats the one that convinced the disability insurance to 
pay on my claim)

i have a strong family history of alzheimers disease
my mother died in the final stages of the disease
my father may have had the disease 
my younger brother now has the disease and is in 
a long term care facility

i am on aricept (donepezil) for the possible alzheimers disease
its really the only thing that helps
but it does not affect the progress of the disease
just the symptoms 
maybe
its all there is for now

i am staying active mentally and physically 
i dont let this drag me down 
at least im alive and healthy and am doing a lot of things
that i am enjoying
except of course im not practicing medicine which is what 
i enjoyed the most 

there is a test that may give me the definitive answer
its the beta amyloid pet scan
ive had one already and will have another next year with the 
study that im in 
the (adni) alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative

but they dont give me the results
it would be the piece of the puzzle that im missing

the test is now available commercially in some areas
the amyvid pet scan
they inject a radioactive substance that attaches itself to 
any anyloid deposited in the brain 
if amyloid is present it will show up as red highlighted areas

if i have no amyloid present then there is a good chance that 
my symptoms are not from alzheimers
not definite but as definite as you can be

if amyloid is present that doesnt mean you have alzheimers but
it implies that you might

i want the test to add to what i already know

now we just need a treatment to stop or slow this disease down
if my test is completely normal i might have a chance if this 
disease shows up later for that treatment that is coming

otherwise my generation has missed out on the cure or treatment

but at least i will know 
i want to know

its like having metastatic cancer
theres no treatment 
but i want to know if its metastasizing
so i can speed up my planning for the rest of my life

i want to know

the organicgreen doctor 

fall gardens

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FALL GARDEN
this weekend i watched this segment on the keyhole 
garden that was on pbs klru central texas gardener
with dr deb tolman
watch it and youll want to go put yours in 

yep it was impressive
you can watch it by going online to their website

ive used her principles at my house and also at 
the school where my wife she works

as mentioned before we took all her soil from her two
square foot gardens and solarized it this summer
to get rid of the bermuda grass
we then made a 5 ft square foot garden with a 
central composter 
the bottom of the bed is lined with several layers
of newspapers
we added good organic soil from the natural gardener
in austin 
it has several manures compost green sand and all the 
good bugs you need
its ready to plant when you place it in your beds

we then added another layer of concrete blocks 
her soil depth is now about 2 feet
we may add another layer this spring

she and her students planted kale spinach arugula asian greens
oregano swiss chard multiplying onions cilantro garlic chives 
when it gets cooler she will add lettuce more spinach carrots
beets garlic strawberries and broccoli 
this winter she will add potatoes and green onions 

she and her students and fellow teachers will eat out of 
this keyholeless square foot garden all fall and winter 
and spring

sometimes hands on education is important for kids
some have never planted anything 
many of these kids are at risk

good job guys
more pictures later as it matures

in my garden here i have a circular keyhole garden
that i have 4 tomatoes planted in it
i am going to let them sprawl over the garden like
nature intended them to and see what happens

just under that 6 inch layer of fresh hill country garden soil
is a mixture of shredded newspaper shredded cardboard 
paper leaves chicken manure compost from my chicken
composter and anything else i can find that will safely 
decompose in my garden

it should all heat up and decompose into this rich garden soil

later in january this will be the site where i will plant all of my 
potatoes

in my regular garden with its 4 ft x 12 ft beds i have planted
partially my winter garden 
i will plant the same things my wife she planted in her garden 
and will nurture it over the winter until the spring
it will then be converted to my hot summer garden 

we rarely buy much for our salads during the fall and winter
as we harvest what we need from this winter garden

this is a picture from the natural gardeners square foot garden 
their plants were planted earlier this month
you can see how nicely it has filled in the spaces

this is what my wife she and my garden will look like in 
the next 3-4 weeks

remember
fall and winter is the best time to garden in central texas

the organicgreen doctor

its time

Walk to End Alzheimers
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ITS TIME

i didnt watch the green bay seattle game last night
but this am when i started reading my news stuff
on line it was full of articles about the officiating 
that occurred in last nights game

so i went on line and read several articles and 
watched the video of the end of the game 
the tie goes to the offense 
but the defense had the ball 
the offense just grabbed on after that
no it wasnt a tie

i especially listened to some well respected 
broadcasters for football
i listened to steve young the former quarterback
for the san francisco 49ers
an attorney who can analyze things quite well
he said its time 
the officiating is making a mockery of the nfl
heck even drew brees is publicly talking about 
the officiating

after last nights game i think the lid has come off
players and coaches have decided we have had 
enough 
the refereeing in the nfl is lousy 
its affecting the integrity of the game

if you destroy the integrity 
you will destroy your product

its like having me a family physician go in and perform 
heart surgery on a patient
im just not trained to do that
the results will be atrocious if i tried

thats whats happening now with the nfl

these refs are probably good at officiating d3 football
but they are not heart surgeons
the nfl game is bigger and faster than what they are used to
the game is getting on life support and may start 
deteriorating 

yes its time
come on roger do whats right
its not always about the money 
if you win the battle you might lose the war

its time

the organicgreen doctor

equalizer

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EQUALIZER

the equalizer thats what football is
it doesnt matter what your political leanings are
what race you are 
what sex you are 
what sexual orientation you are 
what wealth you have
what job you have
what degree of education you have
what your age is

football doesnt care about all that stuff
everyone is treated the same 
youre a fan they like you

think thats why i like football so much as does
as lot of americans
(other countries the same could be said for futbol)

you can lose yourself into your football team and 
forget about the world around you 
at least for awhile

maybe thats why we are all so football crazy
no economy worries
no war worries
no job worries
no family or friend conflict worries
no political worries

we all come together as one 
football fans

im a cowboy longhorn razorback fan 
they all three can never get on the same page as to 
winning 
i guess its like a diversified investment 
a little bond a little stock a little cash a little real estate
a little gold a little international 

i have nfl and big 12 and sec in my football portfolio
so far this year i think i need to be more diversified

the boys they are on a roller coaster ride
going to the superbowl
not going to make the playoffs
maybe going to the playoffs
each week brings a different feel

the horns have won three but they havent been
tested yet but they will be sooner than later
thats sooners 
well know this next three weeks if theyre good this year

then theres the hogs
what can i say 
they just look bad
theres a good team there
just too much turmoil
a womanizing coach now gone replaced by a one year
debt ridden coach whose team is losing badly 
suggestions 
he needs to be fired now replace him with the old coaches
brother who might have better character
then find that top notch coach for next year

their year would make a good hbo show instead of 
calling it hard knocks it could be called knocked up

yep football is the ole equalizer
it brings us all down to earth 
i was there last year with the cowboys then there two and 
three years ago with the horns now this year with the hogs

ive had enough equalizing for now
but it sure makes me forget about what else is going on 
in the world for awhile

the organicgreen doctor

purple day, wtea update, the keyhole garden guru

Walk to End Alzheimers
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click here to find your local walk 

PURPLE DAY 
 
today is purple day 

its alzheimers awareness day
wear purple to work if possible 

ill be wearing purple all day today

my wife she will be wearing purple all day at school
as most of the teachers will be wearing purple 
also at her school

the clinics where i worked will have a purple day also

the downtown austin skyline will have several buildings
that will be lit up purple
raddison hotel downtown
monarch hi rise apartments
long center
if you are downtown tonight look up at the skyline

and think about those of us who are affected by this
terrible disease

WTEA UPDATE
heres the update for my team for the walk to end alzheimers
williamson county at georgetown next saturday september 29
at san gabriel park

we have reached 72.5% of our goal and hope with a week left
to reach 100%
help us if you can

reminder there is no charge for walking
you may walk without having to pay but a donation no matter
how small is appreciated

we have 24 members on our team registered and have had over
59 separate donors so far

join us next weekend

THE KEYHOLE GARDEN GURU
ive written several times about the keyhole garden

basically it is a central 1 ft composter in a 6 ft diameter
circular garden that is raised 3 ft
a keyhole segment is left open so that you can step in
and reach all of the garden
the bottoms and sides are covered with cardboard
and newspaper
soil or soil making ingredients are added
the central composter provides nutrition to the soil
as its watered it

the guru of this method is dr deb tolman
she will be a guest on the pbs show
klru central texas gardener tomorrow
if you are thinking about doing this type of garden
watch this show
as she is the expert on this type of garden

her website is www.debtolman.com

the klru website where you can see this show
online is here

the organicgreen doctor

miscellenea

Walk to End Alzheimers
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WEAR PURPLE ON FRIDAY 
 

MISCELLENEA
from yahoo finance
the more education you have the longer you live
and the healthier life you live
in 2008 those with fewer than 12 years of education had the 
same life expectancy as someone from the 1950s and 1960s

tell that to your kids
if you want to live longer you need to stay in school
now guess i should have gone for that phd

nsa
national security agency
think of this as the governments google
you know google has all this stuff stored on you
they know everything about you you know

the nsa has a large data center that will capture internet 
communication
even though they cant break the encryption on a lot of it 
its stored because in the future they might be able to 
decode it

think wire tap of your phone without a warrant
they are tapping you internet usage without a warrant
that seems 1984ish doesnt it

at least all my blogs will be saved for years to come

then the dhs department of homeland security they monitor
facebook and twitter looking for keywords 
so be careful and dont use any keywords

do we really need the dhs anyway 
seems to be a pretty bloated agency with a lot of power

yep seems 1984ish doesnt it

americas most hated from gallup poll
most popular of 25 industries were internet restaurants
retail and computers
least liked banking oil and gas and the pharmaceutical industry

thats sad when they beat out the lawyers

thank goodness medicine wasnt on there
some parts of it could be though
but thats another blog

PLAYHOUSE

the habitat still is raffling off its playhouse in october

heres the information on it

 

this playhouse was built by some of the group from
the habitat for humanity where i usually volunteer

this playhouse is available for a $5 raffle ticket that
you can buy by going online at
www.williamsonhabitat.org

this playhouse is on display at the 
leander texas lowes

if you win and live within 50 miles they will
deliver it to you for free

i personally know the two carpenters who built 
this thing and its well built

if i win i plan on making it into a chicken coop
so buy a ticket so this nice looking playhouse
wont end up like that

a kids dream house

the organicgreen doctor