dear ms b-todays it

DEAR MS B-TODAYS IT

now ms b
i hope when you read this
well my guess is that you will probably be around 10-15 years old
when you first read this
as you sit on the couch with your laptop or your whatever is being
used then
as you read this blog today
i hope you will be able to look over at the easy chair in your
living room
there sitting in that easy chair will be me
ill look at you
smile
ill understand
i we made it

you see ms b
i have or may have alzheimers disease
i hope by the time you read this
you will know a lot about the disease
we should have a good treatment or maybe a cure
when you read this

today ms b
your gma and i make the drive up to ut southwestern in dallas
a 3.5 hour drive
i drive up there
your gma drives home

today we are going there to get a scan
called the amyvid pet scan
its a scan that will show the beta amyloid if its there
hopefully you will know a lot about this disease and
will understand what this means

a quick summary
i have a strong family history of alzheimers disease
i have a gene apoe 4 that puts me at risk for getting alzheimers disease
i have abnormal levels of beta amyloid and tau protein in my
spinal fluid which is associated with alzheimers disease
i had a normal memory tests 8 years ago then 3 years later
it was abnormal

so i probably have alzheimers disease
i take medicine called aricept donnepezil for it
i am aggressively doing healthy things to help
but
i need one more thing
i need the final picture the final piece of the puzzle
the amyvid pet scan for the beta amyloid

if its positive
well i got it that alzheimers disease

the good thing though is that if this thing is positive
like i expect it to be
then i qualify for the aducanumab study

i then will receive monthly infusions that has a chance to slow it down
or
if we are lucky stop it in its tracks

so ms b
todays important to us

so ms b
as you read this look over at the chair
if its empty
this stuff didnt work
but
if i am sitting over there smiling at you
well
then
this stuff worked

the organicgreen doctor

to get free press here

TO GET FREE PRESS HERE

in my lifetime so far
there have been two presidents that have wished that
the press would go away
well now there may be three

that was
richard nixon
bill clinton

now all bill had to do was say
yes i did have is sex with her

probably case was closed
things would have moved on

but
all he did was open a pandoras  box
investigations
lots of lots of press
they smelled blood like sharks

the same happened to nixon
they smelled blood
they attacked nixon
rightfully i must add
to help bring him down

clinton
he barely made it through

i am sure they both hated the press
and
would have made them go away if they could

well
you see
there is this thing that in the usa we go by
its called the
CONSTITUTION

here is the first amendment

Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

thats the way the constitution starts
all presidents whether they like it or not
have to abide by this law

there can not be any other way for our country to operate

if we dont
we are toast
we are done for 

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-gut feeling

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-GUT FEELING

when a person is born
they began to have bacteria introduced into their guts
the first being of course from their mother
over time
the composition changes of ones gut bacteria
things like
antibiotics wipes out a lot of them
diet like a fatty meaty diet alters its some
illnesses like stomach viruses and bacterial infetions
changes things up even more

so
what you are left with
is what bacteria survives all these attacks

i follow a 36 point plan from this reversal of cognitive decline article
from dr bredesen from ucla since it may have promise
in slowing down memory decline
in fact they are doing a much larger study at the cleveland clinic
on this regimen
no its nothing fancy
most of it is what we all should be doing anyway

one part of the plan is the diet we are on
how it affects our gut biology
if you get the wrong makeup in the gut you get inflammation
going on that seems to be transferred to the brain
inflammation is part of the alzheimers disease as it moves
through the brain

one of the things he recommends along with a diet
similar to the mind diet
is to take probiotics on a regular basis

so
thats what i have been doing now
besides changing my diet to the mind diet
i added probiotics to my regimen
which one i am always asked
im not sure since you can get lost in all those selections
i just right now
buy one and take it
figured its better than not taking one at all

i also have hardly ever take antibiotics unless i had
true pneumonia or some definitely identified infection

so now
after this study below
it makes it more likely that all the above is important
i bet in the future there will be a particular probiotic formulation
that is used to help to slow down the progression of alzheimers disease

so
in a recent study in mice
mice with no gut bacteria didnt develop alzheimers disease
but
when the gut bacteria from mice who did get alzheimers disease
were introduced to these gut sterile mice
they developed the amyloid plaques of alzheimers disease

if this transfers to humans
which it probably does
our gut bacteria makeup may be a determining factor
in whether we get alzheimers disease
or
how severe the disease is

my guess
is that this like the 36 point plan
will be part of the overall regimen one gets on to
slow down the disease process
or
if we are lucky
to prevent it from starting in the first place

so
could we be having gut bacteria transplants in the future
i definitely would go for one if it is shown to help
i wonder how they give it to you
i hope not in a milkshake



this weekend i will be giving a talk on
clinical studies
the clinical study i am in
what testing needs to be done to access ones memory
a review of my story over the last 6 years

it will be at the san gabriel presbyterian church
on williams drive in georgetown texas
sunday afternoon at 300 pm
it is open to the public

then
next tuesday is the big day
i get my amyvid pet scan of the brain
if its positive for beta amyloid i am in the big aducanumab alzheimers treatment study
if its negative for beta amyloid i am not in the study
but that means i probably dont have alzheimers disease
a good thing either way

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-its today

COUNTRY N NEWS-ITS TODAY

first let me say
that spring has already sprung around here

in some spots the bluebonnets have actually already
popped up
earlier this week i saw the first purple martins
zooming around our purple martin house
our jonquils are blooming real strong now
some popped up in december

the mountain laurels blooms
those grape koolaid smelling blooms are out on
all our mountain laurels
the bees and butterflies are going nutso over them

we actually already have baby peaches
never seen that this early
all our peach trees have bloomed

its like the clock got turned forward 6 weeks

now
its trim time around here
the recommendation around here is to start trimming
around valentines day
well
i am behind
since i was busy with the habitat landscape my garden
fence repair the alzheimers study i am in required
frequent visits as i try to qualify for the new treatment
study

but
today
is when i start my trim day
i probably should have done it 6 weeks ago
keeping in step with the weather
its going to be 90+ here today

i can tell how warm it is by how much wood
we have not used in our wood burning stove
i still havent used up all the wood we bought last year
and
probably wont

so
i start out front of our property at our entrances
to trim stray branches on our live oaks
i should have done this though in december
since theres less risk of the oak wilt getting transferred
when its real hot or real cold

i cant ever remember whether i should paint my cuts or not
so
i paint my cuts
plus
cosmetically it looks better

i go through all my trees looking for broken limbs
low lying limbs i can hit my head on
my rule is if my head touches them i trim them off
sometimes branches cross each other
sometimes they have grown over the driveway
so they can hit cars or high sitting trucks

i do have a pecan tree that up and died in the drought
i gave it a couple years hoping it would survive
its dead
down it comes
another example of planting a plant where it doesnt
want to grow
the soil is too thin and rocky here to grow pecans well

i also have a lot of dying hackberries that need trimmed
or cut down

as with hackberries
they pop up all over the place
usually where you dont want them
ill cut down these newbies

now hackberries are a good source of food for birds
but
they can be messy
i leave them alone if they grow up in my pastures

we have two mountain laurels
they grow slow real slow
dont ever trim them back like a hedge

i will selectively trim my mexican buckeye eastern red buds
yaupon hollies

we have probably 30 salvia greggi or autumn sages
i will usually every 1-2 years trim them back to about 6-12 inches
so new growth will occur which produces more flowers

i have one knock rose and will trim it back about 1/3
you dont have to
but
it just seems to look better and produce better roses
antique roses dont need trimmed
th lady banksia rose if you want to trim it do it
after it blooms in the spring
yes mine has already bloomed

i dont trim back my turks cap shrimp plant abelia
yellow belles agarita gregs mist flame acanthus
texas sage american beautyberry or jerusalem sage

or
any of my vines plants like coral honeysuckle trumpet vine
cross vine virginia creeper

i usually will thin out my spineless cactus
since they grew a lot last year
and
got damaged by the cold spell we had this winter
when it got to 12 degrees
even the native prickly cactus got damaged this year

so what do i do with all these trimmings
i dont have a shredder/mulcher
so
i let mother nature do it the old fashion way
i have large brush piles around the property
that i dump them on
these provide cover for lots of birds and wild animals
recently the quail have returned to the country n
a good sign we are doing something right

rule
dont let leaves and cuttings leave your property
add all that carbon back to the ground
it is interesting to watch these decompose over time
enriching the property

so
yes its time
todays the day

fyi
here is a pdf file of native and adapted landscape plants
for the central texas area
its also usually available free at most nurseries around here

the organicgreen doctor

love those mason jars

LOVE THOSE MASON JARS

from this huffington post article on mason jars

first before i get started on this blog
i am now 2 days into my political free facebook
it has been really enjoyable reading my feeds
without
all the political garbage showing up
false news and all
heres the link to the blog on how to set it up
titled darwinian pencil

now
being a southerner from the deep south
i have an appreciation for the
mason jar

we used it as a kid to can stuff in
tomatoes green beans corn you name it got
put in there

we used it to drink ice tea out of
ice tea just tastes better in a
mason jar

then
a few years ago they put a handle on it
that made it even better to use
your hand didnt get cold drinking the tea

we use to put ours in the freezer
so in the humid air of the south
it would get a frosty cover on it

man
if you poured a nice cold beer in there
makes me thirsty for one just thinking about it

we used it to pour cold milk in
same thing
a cold glass of milk
maybe add some cornbread in there
man what a great snack or meal

a cold soda with ice in the jar first
poured over the ice
making the outside frosty
man thats tasty

here at the country n we even use the wide mouth mason jars
to filter our honey when we collect it

so this morning i was intrigued
when i saw this article from the ag extension
about doing salads in a mason jar

i thought
now
thinking like a retired person
why would i want to put a salad in a mason jar
isnt that kind of a hard way to eat a salad
how do you get that fork down in there to eat
the salad
must be one of those pinterest things

then
i found the above article and saw me some youtube video
on
mason jar salads

now i understand it
when i started thinking about being a working person
who carries their lunch to work
which i use to do every day
its part of the latte factor money saving method

now salads are probably the  most nutritious meals
you can eat
we sometimes have salad nights for our only meals

you can pack a lot of good stuff down a mason jar
using the wide mouth one is best

first in goes the salad dressing
use a olive oil based one to stay healthy
next add things like tomatoes chopped celery chopped carrots
things that wont get all soggy on you
now you have a barrier between the dressing and the lettuces

next add layers of stuff
like chicken if not vegetarian or berries or fruits or nuts
cheeses maybe an egg or some bread crumbs
heck just about anything you want that will go down that jar

then
add the lettuces and spinach and other salad greens on top

put on the lid
stick it in your pocket in your purse in a bag

when its time for lunch or supper
just
dump it in a plate
stir it up some
start eating

bring an extra mason jar with you
keep it chilled in the frig
add you favorite beverage to it
enjoy

thats
so dang simple
wish i had thought of this

the organicgreen doctor

hog calling

HOG CALLING

tpwd.texas.gov

no razorback fans this isnt about your
well mine too
hogs
its about those rogue ones
those
wild hogs

now here at the country n
knock on wood
we have been spared the damage these
ancestral hogs can do

now for years they werent around here
but gradually
i guess over the years they have followed the river

now though
they are at the upper limits of our river
since the river just starts from it tributaries
a few miles from here

our neighbor has experienced these wild hogs
doing destruction to his pastures and gardens

now we have a problem usually in the winter if its
real cold
or
the summer when it gets real hot
of mice getting into our house
but thankfully not big ole rats
well leave those to you big city folks

we use a multiple prog attack
in the pastures the hawks can be seen swooping down
at times and grabbing them one
the mice not the hogs

our cat occasionally will bring one to our front door
after he has played with it for awhile
all dead
thanks the cat says for feeding me

we also inside use
those old traps with the spring
just dont mess up setting those

scares the bjervers out of you if they go off

we use those sticky traps
which seems to work well
seems cruel
but we are after all trying to kill them

then
we use those poison baits
in plastic containers
so only mice can get in there
they eat it
they get their blood all anticoagulated
they hemorrhage to death
there is some concern of other animals eating these
dead ones causing harm
like our cats and our hawks

all are effective and keep them under control
but
you cant get them all
theyll be back

so it is with the hogs
to me
the best attack is letting folks shoot and kill as many
as they can
a lot of folks do this and eat the meat
or
donate it to charities that feed the needy
seems like a good way to do it
thanks tom for doing your part

maybe they could use robotic drones like they use
in the war against the extremists

now
this morning i read where they are putting coumadin
the blood thinner that can kill you and a hog
if you or they get too much
in feed bait
hoping to cut down on the population
hogs not humans

lets see
humans eat these hogs
wild animals eat these hogs when they die
nothing worse than an anticoagulated buzzard

it just seems that
something bad is going to come out of this
a dead human
lots of dead buzzards
dead coyotes
now thats not too bad

so i say
dont do it
just call them up with traps or baits
shoot them
leave them where they are or eat them

i wonder if we could bait them with birth control
make it free
to keep them from having so many unwanted pregnancies

there probably is not a real good solution to this problem
killing as many as you can by unlimited hunting helps some
but
it just feels uncomfortable killing them with coumadin
knowing there is this risk of humans getting hurt
and
sorry
but i want all the buzzards to stay around
to keep our roads cleared of all that
road kill

the organicgreen doctor

darwinian pencil

DARWINIAN PENCIL

see that he said

yes

thats my darwinian pencil he said

what

if my students disrupt my class
dont do their assignments
skip classes
skip tests
use their cellphones during my lectures

well he said
i pull this thing out
my darwanian pencil
it has an eraser
it can erase
it can change one letter to another one real easy

so he said
i call it my darwinian pencil

i thought about this a lot recently
what he is always saying

thats what i need
is a darwinian pencil for facebook

i first signed up for facebook when i had to retire
to make contact with former patients
with friends
with family members
and
to use it as a vehicle to introduce my blog

i have thoroughly enjoyed watching former patients
grow up
graduate from high school
graduate from college
get married
have kids

i also have enjoyed seeing the same for relatives
that live some distance away from us
we actually feel closer to them since we follow
them on facebook

so its important to me and us for this reason

then
its an important source of readers for my blog
eg
a recent blog i wrote received over 2000 readers
from my facebook and my blogs facebook page

so its an important source of readership
for most bloggers
me included

everything seemed  fine and dandy
until this last political season
things seem to have just gotten worse
since the election

now when i go on facebook i really dont want
to see all that political stuff and news stuff
from either side

i will admit i have unfollowed more folks who
think like i do than those who think opposite of me

it just gets old

i also hate mean hateful racists antireligious posting

recently
eg
it was nice to see a relative who just had a set of twins
you could see the happiness oozing from the postings
from the family
ok especially from the grandparents
there were some great pictures of proud dad
holding the twins after he fell asleep
i thought
man there is going to be a lot of times like this
for you

that why i like facebook
i almost feel like i was there

then
the next thing you see is this ranting that just
goes to the extremes
both left and right

now
when i read facebook stuff
like when i watch or read the news
i dont just want to read or watch things that agree with me
i want to read or watch the other side to see what they are saying
i just dont want either side to be mean spirited about it

eg
i like to watch fareed zakaria do commentary and interviews on cnn on sunday
but
i also like to watch chris wallace on fox news do his commentaries
and interviews
i get a more balanced view of the world that way

so i have been thinking about all this a lot lately
even finding out how to unfollow folks and pages but
maybe not blocking them completely
i understand all that
but you have to do it individually though

so this morning as i was reading my email feed from
kim komando
there it was
how to filter some of the stuff out
including some of the ads etc

heres the link to the article she wrote

i highly suggest that all of us facebook folks read this

so i went and put a filter on my google chrome for things political
putting in filter words
hoping it doesnt overfilter things
maybe it will do a good enough job

it will make reading facebook more pleasurable
now this one only works for google chrome as your bowser

so i went back to my facebook
man
it was a pleasure to read facebook again
there was none of  that junk on my facebook feed
like it was early this morning

you can also turn it off or on easily since its on you toolbar

then
those annoying ads
she suggests clicking in the upside down ^
facebook will at least learn not to show you certain ads

then
there is one called
social fixer
it works on more browsers than the other one
this social fixer one ill try next after using the other filter for a week

this social fixer
fixes more than just political stuff
it does ads and other things that may annoy you that get posted


then
for those who have been hacked recently on facebook
there is a section in her article
on what to do if you get hacked
on how to improve your facebook security
eg
i just added notifications if someone logs in besides me
next ill make my passwords more secure etc

i plan on using these filters and changes for a week
to see if it works ok
my guess is that i probably wont have to unfollow someone
anymore
in fact i will probably go back in to start following those
that i applied the unfollow to

my new computer generating darwinian pencil to
the rescue

i really do feel much better after writing this
and
after applying all these filters

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-did you know that

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DID YOU KNOW THAT

did you know that
i have an appointment on february 28th to have my
amyvid pet scan
this scan will show if i do or if i dont have alzheimers disease

if its positive
i probably have alzheimers disease
remember nothing in medicine is 100%
i will be in the study called the
aducanumab study by biogen
i soon after would start monthly iv infusions of the drug
aducanumab an antibody against beta amyloid

if i then get the real thing and not the placebo
my scan in a year will go from brightly positive
to brightly not positive
hoping that it correlates with an improvement in memory

the results should be out in over 18 months
so we will know
if it looks like it works i plan on continuing the
extension of the study for another 36+ months
if it works
i will not want to get off it

my thoughts are that this stuff only works if you get
to the disease sooner even sooner than where i am at now
it will work best probably if used before symptoms start

now if its negative this scan
i got one helluva reprieve
its like being told you dont have terminal cancer after all


did you know that
in texas you can sign up to be monitored starting at 50 years old
at no cost
baylor at houston  texas tech  university of north texas
ut southwestern dallas  university of texas san antonio
these universities are part of a long term study that will do
labs memory tests neurological exams and maybe mri
annually
here is the link to find out more
www.txalzresearch.org

here is the link to where i go
alzheimers disease center ut southwestern

if you have time watch the video my wife she and i
did for the center thats on that page

did you know that
learning a second language early in life decreases your chance
of developing alzheimers disease
these folks develop a brain reserve from using certain parts
of the brain more over the years

you know that
afroamericans have a higher incidence of alzheimers disease

did you know that
by following the mind diet you can lower your chance of
developing alzheimers disease when you get older
heres the link to the mind diet

did you know that
controlling you blood pressure cholesterol weight diabetes
decreases your chance of alzheimers diease

did you know that
if you exercise regularly you can decrease your chances of
getting alzheimers disease

did you know that
poor sleep from insomnia sleep apnea restless legs etc can
increase your risk for alzheimers disease

did you know that
1 in 5 dollars of medicare is spent on alzheimers and other dementias
by 2050 that will go to 1 in 3 dollars

did you know that
smoking increases your risk of developing alzheimers disease

did you know that
head trauma can put you at risk for developing alzheimers disease

did you know that
if someone in your family has alzheimers disease then you are at
risk for developing it

did you know that
you can help find a cure and help others
by
becoming involved in your local walks to raise funds
go to the alzheimers association website www.alz.org
to find out where your walk is
there are also independent alzheimers organizations in some states
or
in central texas
go to the texas alzheimers website www.txalz.org
and or
write your congressperson to encourage them to support
funding of more alzheimers research

we can not afford to not do something to help

a treatment or cure is within our reach
possibly within my reach soon

help us help yourself help your family help others if you can



i will be speaking along with other alzheimers speakers at
the alzheimers symposium in temple texas
on
friday april 28 2017
my topic is my story and clinical studies

there is no fee and a light lunch is provided
here is the link to the symposium for more information
and for registration information
http://www.txalz.org/education/conferences/

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-country n woes

COUNTRY N NEWS-COUNTRY N WOES

last saturday i left the house at 600 am
headed to do this landscape at the habitat for humanity house

i always get there early
as i want to get everything set up for the landscape project
that day

these kids from 5 different schools
yes i talked my wife she to help this time
were about to show up to finish the landscape

usually this is the best day for me
when i volunteer at habitat for humanity
getting to work with the high school kids
visiting with them as we go along

as i was getting things ready
my wife she called
we dont have no water

i said
ok
ill deal with it when i get home

so
7 hours later
after finishing the habitat landscape
i entered the realm of the unknown

now we live 30 miles from town
electricians plumbers dont like to come this far out
its always been a problem for us out here
so
you just learn to do some of the things yourself

i once had a plumber come out to fix several things
he looked it all over
let me see if i have the parts
last i heard from him
so
i just figured out how to fix the plumbing issues myself

now we have a rainwater water system not a well
so everything is at ground level
i put it together myself
doing all the plumbing and electrical stuff myself
following this books directions
rainwater collection for the mechanically challenged

so i looked at the pump that had a pressure of zero
it should be around 40-50 psi
i checked to see if the shutoff had electricity
it did according to my meter
now
i still dont understand how this happened
so
this told me either my fuses were out
or
i had a dead pump
we had been having some issues with it lately also
so
i got in my car drove the 20+ miles to get new fuses
sorry the old gent said
we outta that one
you reckon home depot or lowes has them
dont know he said
i never go to those places
so
off to the next town
another 15 miles further away from the country n
yep
that home depot had the ones i needed
so
off back home i went
with my two fuses in tow
then
i plucked them into places
switched back on the shutoff
nothing

so now its saturday late around 5ish
after
working several hours on the landscape
i was tired and filthy and sweaty
greasy feeling like when you have camped out for
three days in the wilderness

i need a shower i said
oops
we aint got no water
then
i remembered
yes
you do
you got 30000 gallons sitting in all those tanks
but
you just cant pump it into the house
so
living away from our nearest neighbors by a 1/2 a mile
i hung a water hose over the input pipe to my largest tank
its about 6 ft high
plugged the hose into the bottom faucet on the tank
turned it on
took me a cold lengthy shower
a true outdoor refreshing shower it was

then
i took to thinking
it has to be the pump
so
the next morning on a sunday
i waited until the local store where i got my last pump
was opened
i knew if i got the same one i wouldnt have to change any fittings

wait
i could just call bud the well guy on monday
he would come over for a few bucks to check out the pump
last time i did that
he just said
you need a new pump
so
i decided to not wait for him to come over in a day or too
to tell me you need a new one
so
i just went and got me a new one

got it home
pulled out the old one
started putting the new one all together
robbing parts off the old one

i dont have one of the 1 inch metal pipes i need
since i couldnt get it out of the old one
plus
i had no pipe goop

oh my wife she
old buddy
old friend
ill owe you one
could you go get me some pipe goop and a pipe

that means a 30 minute one way trip
multiple phone calls
she called back
this guy helping me doesnt know anything about these pipes
mam a man and his wife walked up
what you need
so i had sent a picture of both
oh he said to my wife she
this is what you need

my wife sent me a picture of what she was about to buy
then called me
is this what you want
yes
please hurry home

so
i got all my stuff
rehooked it all back up to the rainwater system
checked for leaks after i turned the water supply
line on
no leaks
flipped that switch to on
no water

by now its 300 pm
im tired
im dirty sweaty again

i dont understand why this doesnt work

so i noticed my solar control system had a flashing red light
saying
power disconnect
no kidding

then
i remembered that my solar went into its own electrical box on
our light pole
it shared this with a few things
before a line ran into my main box

i opened the lid
carefully
i always get nervous when i do this
like a big ole lightning bolt of electricity
is going to shoot out and get  me

now
i dont want to die from alzheimers disease
but
i sure dont want to die this way

i switched all the switches off and on
didnt help

so by then
i was tired
ticked off

should i call an electrician out tomorrow
which may take a few days
call bud the pump guy

as i switched this one breaker off and on
it made this noise
i knew it shouldnt do that

maybe i thought those dang fire ants got in there
or some snake or something to short things out
but
we had full power inside the house

remember now all this has left us with no water in the house
its like camping out with a large lake nearby
since we had 30000 gallons of rainwater just sitting there

so i contemplated all night
even dreamed about it two nights
i dont understand it
hopefully an electrician will figure it out
if i can get one

now it had been real warm
we hadnt used any of our minisplit heat pumps
one for each room
for several days

a friend staying with us a few days
you know i turned mine on last night and it worked ok
so
i went to try to turn on the other three
none of them worked but hers did

now im really confused
my rainwater pump dont work
my solar system is off with a red flashing light
ive got electricity to my house
3 of 4 minisplits dont work

i dont understand this
then
a light came on
as i awoke on monday
thats two days later
its that damn breaker switch i think
having remembered that
the three minisplit were tied to the back panel
along with the rainwater pump and the solar system
their electricity came from a line
that came right to that big ole breaker that
was making this strange noise when i turned it off and on

im going to the store to get another new one
before i call that electrician that may not even come out

i remembered years ago that lowes had the right breakers
that fit into the electric panel
nothing wrong with my long term memory

so
yep
off i go 30 miles and back
huh in case you arent counting
thats
180 miles of driving so far

i got this breaker
plugged it all in
flipped it on

into the house i went
turned on all the minisplits
all of them worked
yes i pumped my fist

now i was getting excited

i went out to the barn
my solar control system was no longer blinking red
it was solarizing sending electricity into my panel

then
i walked over
carefully a little sweaty a little tachycardic
lifted up the cover on my shutoff box
slowly pushed in the control lever

guess what
it worked it worked

we got water finally after 3 days

now we have to wait to drink it
until we get our new filters in
then after changing those
we have to resterilize the lines
then
hopefully today sometime
we will have some
good ole country n water

my
how we have missed that sweet taste of our water

i realized
i am a electrician
i am a  plumber
i am a well man
i am a problem solver

this
sort of despite the three days of no water
made me feel good
to
realize that my memory hasnt been so affected
that i cant problem solve

theres always good to every story

the organicgreen doctor

would i take tamiflu

WOULD I TAKE TAMIFLU

pharmafile.com

i was asked that recently
my answer was quick and simple

no
maybe

tamiflu (oseltamivir) costs about $120 for a 5 day course
thats why

just how well does it really work
its hard to find that answer

here are a list of reasons some folks
might consider taking the tamiflu
to add to the coffers for the drug company
roche
or
is it spelled
roach

-some immunosuppressive diseases like
cancer on chemotherapy or hiv etc
-on immunosuppressive drugs like those for rheumatoid ulcerative colitis
crohns or on steroids or other related drugs
-those with chronic lung disease like asthma or copd or chronic bronchitis etc
-elderly with multiple health issues or nursing home patients
-infants or children under 2
-kids under 19 on long term aspirin therapy
-pregnant or less than 2 weeks postpartum
-someone with diseases like ms als or similar neurological diseases
-morbidly obese with bmi greater than 40
whoa thats a lot of folks
-american indians or alaska natives
so i guess sarah pallin is in that category
no i guess not she is a native alaskan

just please dont give it to me if i get full blown alzheimers
let me sink or swim

now
if i was around someone in my home in these
high risk categories
like a pregnant person or a newborn
i would take it for their benefit

the sickest patients i have seen with the flu in my previous
practices
were pregnant women and young moms

now i had patients who fell in these high risk categories
or were around patients in these categories
but
the stuff is so expensive
they simply couldnt afford it

they usually did ok without it

it costs about $120 for a 5 day course
for a family of four to be on it it would cost over $500
thats a lot of money if you dont have insurance
which
there may be more of us without it soon
or
if you have a high deductible drug plan
like i do
i would have to pay for mine since i have a large deductible
that i dont hit until late in the year

so
right now if i got the flu
no
i wouldnt take it

there are side effects
especially seen in kids
the worse i saw is it can make you get all weirded out
granted most folks take it without any side effects
except for a lighter wallet

the other thing is
for it to work
it has to be started within 48 hours of symptoms
whatever that means

if started later its like taking water it dont work

the other thing thats happening
is like with the antibiotics for bacterial infections
there is now flu resistance to tamiflu
that is making it not work anyway in some infections

remember nature always wins

so
i get the flu shot in early october each year
thats the best you can do
wash your hands when needed
not obsessively though
maybe wear a mask
remember
our overconcern for germs has wiped out all our good germs
on our skin

if i get the flu
i wont take tamiflu
i will
take fluids
acetaminophen for fever headache and muscle pain
rest rest rest
stay away from everyone

unless
i put others at high risk if they get the flu
then
i would suck it up
spend the money
and
take it

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-its a strange one

COUNTRY N NEWS-ITS A STRANGE ONE

this has been a strange winter
we have set several records highs this winter
and
have had some near record lows

the cold we had a few weeks ago did a lot of nipping of
things that have not been touched by the winter cold
here in a few years

the bay shrub got nipped good on the top
all our monterey white oaks or mexican white oaks
lost all their leaves
last winter they didnt lose any
dont worry the leaves will all come back this spring

then in the garden going from near 90 to 12
thats rough on veggies
i have had trouble getting my lettuce and spinach to grow
now my first crop did ok
but the next ones they just struggled

our plum tree blossomed out in december
of course all of them died
not sure if they will pop out this spring our not
looking at them yesterday
i dont think they will

our peach trees half of them have decided its spring
and
have popped out blooms real early
if a hard freeze comes there will be no peaches on those trees
now these always bloom early but not this early

heck even our asparagus has decided to start producing
it delicious spears
its usually april when they pop out

i also saw cucumber beetles on our blooms
to me they look like ladybugs but are green

there also is a lot of bees butterflies and ladybugs everywhere
especially ladybugs in the house

since we seem to be having a mostly warm winter
i went and bought some large 1 gallon pots of tomatoes
then transplanted them into 5 gallon pots
i also got some peppers and transplanted them into 1 gallon pots

i plan to move them in and out of the greenhouse on nice days
which have been almost every day and night recently

i am hoping to get them in the ground in late march
so they will get a head start on producing tomatoes
earlier for us

i got celebrity early girl and juliettes for this early start
if i plant others i will plant heirlooms later
directly in the ground

our citrus bush is even starting to bloom out
we keep in in the greenhouse all winter
i use a small small paint brush to pollinate the blooms

so
its definitely a strange one
who would have thought i could leave tomatoes outside
for 3 days in february

i am no longer sure what  a normal winter is suppose to be like
here in central texas anymore

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-this is it

ALZHEIMERS NEW-THIS IS IT

three years or so ago i decided not to have my amyvid pet scan
for beta amyloid that was scheduled to be done for the
research study that i was in
called the adni study

why
as i discussed with the research director
i read where there were some new treatment studies coming
that
if you had a recent amyvid pet scan you would be disqualified
from the treatment study
so
i canceled the scan

then last fall
i was told i probably would not qualify for the one study
called the aducanumab study
that i had identified from my reading to be the treatment
study that had the best chance of slowing down
or
if we are lucky stopping the disease

then
i got a phone call
we reviewed all your clinical records and research records
we think you may qualify

i am in i said
this gets all priority in what i do

a brief summary of the study
the aducanumab is an antibody against the bad beta amyloid
that is thought to be the cause of alzheimers disease maybe

the antibody goes into the brain and removes it from the brain
it also dissolves the plaques that form

in phase 1 studies the amyvid pet scans seen above
went from abnormal to normal in a few months
this correlated with an improvement in memory

now they biogen are looking for over 1000 folks across the us
to start receiving this stuff as a monthly infusion for 18 months
then maybe another 36 months after that

for those in the study who dont get the placebo
there is a chance their disease will be slowed down
or
if lucky completely stopped

i am vying for one of 12-15 slots in the study
at the alzheimers research center at ut southwestern in dallas

if accepted and if i receive treatment
it could be life changing for me and my family

so far i have made it through two of 4 steps to get qualified
for the study

yesterday
while sitting eating lunch at a habitat for humanity build
i reached in my pocket for my phone
looked at my messages
there it was
a message from the research centers director

i admit i did get a little clammy and tachycardia
as i opened the email

there was the message
dr nash you passed the mri
congratulations
now you can be scheduled for the amyvid pet scan
can you do it next week

i quickly messaged them back
this has priority in my life i said
pick a day and time and i will be there

i got up and went to my truck
sat in the seat
and
i cried

why
this amyvid pet scan will show if i definitively have
alzheimers disease

no matter what it shows
its good news

if its positive
thats good news
it will verify what i already know from previous testing
and
from what i know from somewhere deep inside me
but then
i will be in the study getting treatment for this awful disease
that could open the door to a new treatment
for alzheimers disease if it works

if its negative
thats good news too
it means i dont have it
however
i dont think it will be negative

now
i am not in this study because i am a doctor or because i am
actively involved in being in alzheimers studies
these clinical trials are available to all of you and your loved ones

it does require time and effort to be in these studies
but its all worth it
to have a treatment and maybe a cure for this devastating disease
which can only occur with the help of volunteers for
these studies

heres a link below for more information on where these studies
are being done
www.clinicaltrials.gov

here is the link to the alzheimers research center at ut southwestern
on the first page
that is me in the video that was done on my story
its has an interview with my wife she and me and  my neurologist and
the research director

we need your help to find a treatment and cure

the organicgreen doctor