i am always asked a lot of questions about alzheimers
dementia memory loss
and
of course lots of gardening questions and rainwater collection ones
but
mostly today ill address the top three im asked about memory
should i be tested is asked at every presentation i do
i answer it this way
if you are having memory issues
you should seek an evaluation
there are a lot of things that causes memory issues that are treatable
like low thyroid low b12 abnormal electrolytes liver disease
kidney disease depression anxiety stress sleep disturbances
medication abuse of drugs and alcohol poor control of diabetes
blood pressure cholesterol
just to name a few
fix these and your memory might improve
before you go to the visit
if the memory is significant have a family member do
an online questionnaire on you like this one
fill it out and print it to take with you
also write out what memory issues you are having
take them in with you
take someone with you since many providers like to
interview family members also
make the appointment just for memory and nothing else
during the evaluation you should be asked lots of questions
labs should be done
a memory test should be done
if you have an in office one that doesnt take 20 minutes or so
to do then you did not have a good one
they are called mmse or moca tests
they may do one called a clock test or minicog as a quick screen
but on that one you have to be more advanced to flunk it
you may need a neuropsych test and an mri
here is the link to a pamphlet that is a gold standard
for evaluation of memory loss for providers to follow
the link is at the bottom of that page to the pdf file
it soon will be available in a quicker reduced form
you can look at this online pdf file to follow your workup
to make sure a complete evaluation is done
dont get ignored if you do go somewhere else for the evaluation
should i have genetic tests done
i would say no if you are not ready to accept what you find
if you are not ready physically mentally emotionally and
financially to get bad news
if a positive genetic test gets in your medical record
you will not get life insurance disability insurance
long term insurance possibly professional insurance like
malpractice insurance and in some cases health insurance
which thank goodness for obamacare most people could get
it even with a diagnosis
i have had relatives and friends get genetic tests done
that show the apoe4 double gene
if its positive and its in your record you will have problems
as above
the genes for alzheimers are rare
less than 1%
if its heavily in your family you could have it
if you have the gene you will get the disease
the apoe4 gene double version is the next bad one to have
your odds are increased 10-20 times you will get alzheimers
but it doesnt mean you will
even then it can be hard to digest and accept your risk
that said
i would want to know and i did want to know
so i got tested
granted this was after already being identified as having
memory loss
and
labeled as amnestic mild cognitive impairment
and
having been shown to have abnormal levels of beta amyloid
and tau in my spinal fluid
so as part of a total workup i had it done
probably without symptoms i would not
but
lucky for me i had all of my ducks in a row re insurances
when my diagnosis was made
that said
knowing you have this increased risk sure makes you more
aggressive in taking care of you health
which i think determines how this apoe4 gene will affect
your memory loss
how are you doing
i must say that compared to 4 years ago when i was diagnosed
and
took all my tests and did all those memory tests and
neuropsych tests
i am much better as evidenced by my scores now on those tests
and
based on what i feel and notice myself
i feel like that fog that was hoovering over me for a couple
of years seems lifted some
why
once all this happened i got very aggressive with my health
my blood pressure was always borderline high
it would come and go
so i gave in and got on a blood pressure medicine that keeps
it normal all the time now
my cholesterol was under pretty good control
but i have aggressively got my levels to those that someone
with heart disease or increased risk for heart disease should
have theirs at
specifically my ldl is less than 100 and my triglycerides are less than 100
i stay very active physically mentally socially as much probably
as when i was in practice if not more
i take aricept which could be part of the reason why im better
stop it and i will find out but im not willing to do that though
the problem with aricept is that it interferes with my sleep
i only get 5 hours a night
but
i compensate that with an afternoon nap
and
i now take a nightly herbal medicine that seems to get me back
my 1-2 hours i am loosing to the aricept
usually
but i do most of the time feel rested
that said the aricept causes a lack of energy and tiredness that
usually hits me in the afternoon
hopefully i dont demonstrate that tomorrow afternoon at the movie
luckily usually i am napping and have done most of what i
like to do in the morning
i take b12 supplements and vitamin d3 supplements since both of
these were low when i had blood tests for them
i eat a mostly vegetarian diet about 90%
i eat a morning egg and toast dried nuts and fruits
i do eat meat but its lean meat like turkey and range fed beef
some occasional chicken
i follow mostly a mediterranean diet
but if i go out to eat i eat what i want too
i am not depressed i dont feel stressed i feel happy and contented
i dont get angry it seems
then
i have been following the protocol from the
reversal of cognitive decline study from dr bredesen from ucla
most of which i was doing already
putting all that together
the answer is
i think i am doing better
still alice
the special showing of still alice with the alzheimers association at 155pm which
will have a panel that includes me and two others to answer your questions
afterwards
is sold out
it is showing several other times that day and at other locations in austin
for you to see it
it is a must see movie for i think everyone
even young folks since i think they need to be thinking about this
for those who got tickets to the q&a session ill see you there
the organicgreen doctor
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