fifth anniversary

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

these are jonquils that are blooming thinking
that spring has arrived

thats the way i feel this morning as i look back
over the last five years
that spring has arrived

this morning i went back and reviewed all my
anniversary posts that ive done on this date
from the original one i wrote in 2010
called
last day thanks

8 years ago my memory tests for my long term care insurance
were normal
5 years ago as i sat in the testing chair looking out the
window i knew the time my time had arrived
i was sweating almost hypoglycemic feeling
as they asked me those questions that i couldnt answer
but should have been able to

i was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
the precursor to full blown alzheimers disease
many feel it is early alzheimers and treats it as such
my neurologist feels that way

so thats why i have been on aricept (donepezil) for the last
5 years

during that last 5 years
i lost my younger brother to the final stages of the disease
my older brother was diagnosed with what may turn out
to be alzheimers disease
i must say that those two events bothered me a lot
when you are diagnosed with mild mci
knowing what that may mean for you

so what did i do
i decided to maximize everything i could to help slow this
down
things that are suggested to possibly help
to those that are proven to help
knowing though that
alzheimers disease wins out in the end
no matter what you do

i just what a smoother ride for awhile
thats all im asking for

so i take 16 supplement pills a day and do these healthy
things shown to maybe help in the mend protocol
having checked it out carefully to make sure that none of
it interferes with my medications and health issues
what have i got to loose right

i get 7-8 hours of sleep a day when you add nighttime sleep
and the afternoon naps
i stay busy very busy physically mentally and socially
i control my blood pressure and cholesterol and weight
i am rarely in stressful situations which i try to avoid
im not depressed
im happy
i try not to be a grumpy old man
i eat healthy eating mostly a vegetarian diet i call it 90%

i am still in the adni study
and
am waiting this next year to get in a treatment study
using an antibody vaccine given as a monthly infusion
that may slow things down
preliminary studies imply that it might work
i just dont want to be in the placebo portion of the study
a 50/50 chance
odds that are better than what i have now ie 0%

now my memory tests have returned to normal
normal for my age
there are things i notice but i realize those are normal
things for my age

my diagnosis of this possibly being alzheimers is based
on
a normal memory test that became abnormal in 3 years
a strong family history of alzheimers disease-mother father
2 brothers multiple aunts and uncles
i carry the double gene apoe 4 which greatly increases
my chance of getting alzheimers
my ratio of beta amyloid and tau proteins in my spinal
fluid are abnormal closer to consistent with alzheimers
than normal

a missing puzzle test that ive had once
the amyvid pet scan that shows the bad beta amyloid in the brain
now ive had one but its protected by the study

if i qualify for the new treatment study i will get one but
in this study you will know its positive if you get accepted
in the study since they are only taking patients with
positive tests
if i dont qualify for the treatment in the study
ie my memory has improved back to normal
then i plan to pay to have one done
the amyvid pet scan is the missing link in my final
diagnosis
if its negative i may have been spared
if its positive i wasnt spared

i should know earlier this year one way or the other

an interesting year is in front of us

then
i do miss my patients
facebook twitter instagram email have allowed me to
keep in touch with them
i especially enjoy watching the kids grow up
graduate go to college get married start their careers
i do dream frequently of being back in practice
at least weekly

i continue to do alzheimers presentations
i do lots of volunteering with meals on wheels
habitat for humanity
school gardens

so i am contented with my life
im happy
im busy
im a granddaddy

what more could you ask for

so
i would say for this year
happy anniversary

the organicgreen doctor