of my story
with possible alzheimers disease
i had a normal memory test 8 years ago while applying for
long term care insurance
then
when i volunteered to be in the normal control group of
the large alzheimers study called adni
it was found that i had short term memory loss
diagnosed as mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
thought to be the precursor of alzheimers disease
some think it is early alzheimers disease
i quit work because of the diagnosis
and was placed on aricept (donepezil)
i reentered the adni alzheimers study in the
mild cognitive impairment group
finishing that study last year
since retirement i got aggressive with my health
controlling all my health parameters like sleep blood pressure
cholesterol changing to a 90% vegetarian diet
staying active physically and mentally
staying busy and happy
i was found to have low b12 and low vitamin d3
and high homocysteine
i take b12 and vit d3 and folate and b12 to correct these
abnormal labs respectively
so now after 5 years my memory is back to normal for my age
i also take 12 supplements a day based on a study from ucla
that showed folks got better on it
not proven yet in a larger study but not disproved either
so doing all this something made me better
maybe the aricept (donepezil)
maybe the supplements
maybe correcting my abnormal labs
maybe getting aggressive with my health
my opinion
it was all of these together
will it all keep me from getting full blown alzheimers disease
if i have it
probably not
its just delaying things for awhile
hopefully a long while
the things that make me think this may have been alzheimers
are
a normal memory test then 3 years later its not normal
a strong strong strong family history of alzheimers disease
both parents and two siblings
an apoe 4 double gene that increases the risk for getting alzhiemers disease
a spinal fluid analysis showing the bad beta amyloid level and the
tau protein levels are abnormal
so where am i in this quandary
do i or dont i
well
there is a test called
the amyvid pet scan
it will show if a person has the accumulation of beta amyloid in the brain
that is the hallmark of alzheimers disease
so if i have the scan done
if its normal
its not likely i have alzheimers disease
if its negative i will stop my aricept (donepezil) and move on with my life
if its positive
it doesnt mean i have alzheimers disease as other things can
cause the accumulation but usually its alzheimers disease
adding up all my other risk factors
basically
if its positive
i have alzheimers disease
so its time
next tuesday
i go up to the alzheimers disease center at ut southwestern
in dallas for my annual evaluation
also there are new studies all treatment ones that are starting up there
sadly to say
i probably will not qualify for them
i am either too normal or too abnormal for them
all of them do the amyvid pet scans
so if im in the study i will get a scan and unlike the adni study
i would get the scan results
my guess i will not qualify for them
another study about to start soon up there
is the ideas study sponsored by medicare
to determine if the amyvid scan is useful in private practice
i say yes
its used already in private practice all the time
when i look at the criteria for the study
it looks like i qualify
based on using the scan to determine
whether i need to be on medicine
and
how i need to plan my life if its positive
the problem is i have been waiting for all these studies
now for 3 years hoping i qualify for them to get an amyvid pet scan
for free
at the same time helping advance knowledge about the disease
and
if i qualified for a treatment study
actually getting treatment years before it got onto the market
so back to next tuesday
i will ask
do i qualify for a treatment study
no they say
then
i will ask
when is the ideas study starting
if its not before the end of the year
then
in my hand are two orders for the amyvid pet scan
one here in austin
the other at ut southwestern
all i have to do after tuesday
is schedule it
get the results not long after that
then
i will know where i am with all this
then
ill plan my life accordingly
stopping my aricept if its negative
but continuing everything else i am doing
i will look closely at my future
if its positive
continuing the aricept (donepezil)
then i and my wife she need to be more aggressive
about decisions for our future
yep
its time
the organicgreen doctor
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