alzheimers news-dont wait too long

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DONT WAIT TOO LONG

as a person advances with alzheimers disease
they can become a handful to deal with
a single caregiver can have a difficult time
doing it by themselves
it make take a village to care for them both
many caregivers develop poor health and get burned out

today i will be giving a talk at the alzheimers symposium
on clinical trials and my story with alzheimers
every time i give these talks
some caregiver will come up to me and ask
i dont know what to do
my loved one has advanced
so that i cant leave them along anymore
i have no family around
they all live miles away states away
i wish that i would have moved back to where our
relatives are and our kids are

i wished that i would have done it sooner
when my loved one could help me make all these
decisions

yes
i agree it would have been good to move
but since you didnt
if it was me i said knowing how i feel about things
i would do it even now before things gets worse

i am sure i will get a question like this today

now i am as sure as a person can be that i have
the early stages of alzheimers disease
the official diagnosis
is
mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease

i am doing all i can to slow things down
living healthy
taking aricept (donepezil)
being in a new treatment trial the aducanumab study that has great
promise to slow things down or if we are all lucky
stop the disease
i realize that after doing this study that it may not work
you just dont know what will happen when the larger studies
get done on these promising drugs

so
if 2-5 years i could be progressed like i would had i not got treatment
or
if this stuff works i will be better or heck ill take where i am now
i dont know
so
as my wife she and i look into the future
there is no crystal ball to find answers

i just know
if i stay here at the country n we will both enjoy every day we live
here and probably wont regret staying
however
if i worsen
living out here away from support mainly for my wife she
she will probably get isolated and overwhelmed like all those
spouses that come up and ask me what to do

i decided that we are not going to let that happen to us

so
we are looking to sell our lovely peaceful country n place
with it being just like we envisioned 15 years ago
to move to the next stage of our lives
we plan to never look back
but
will look forward to the next chapter in our lives

my wife shes family all live in southern california
sisters mother our two sons our niece and most important
our granddaughter
when the time comes
there will be folks around that can give her support
when she needs it
now lucky we have long term care insurance to cover costs
but
its that emotional care for her thats the most important

also
her mom if you know this spunk of energy
is in early early 80s
as i told her
you will never regret spending the last years of her life
with your mom

now
we have been thinking and planning all this for months
not rushing into the decision
we spent several weeks there looking at places
looking at what will keep me especially busy
so
i have found the same things i do here
volunteering at meals on wheels and habitat for humanity
and school and youth gardens and the alzheimers movement
i will have two large garden plots in community gardens
i will continue to give my alzheimers talks like the one i will
do in a few hours from now
answering questions and hopefully giving them much needed
answers
i will also continue doing this blog like i am doing now
on the same topics

so
please continue to join us on our new life adventure

our country n place will be going on the market soon
probably next week
for some lucky person to have and enjoy what we have
i will post the link when it does

one of the biggest things we will miss
something we cant duplicate in southern california
is
drinking rainwater
it will be missed
as
will all of our friends we have made over the years

now
i will be commuting back to dallas every month for my
infusions for the next 18 months to 4.5 years
so
we will be around this area off and on for months to come

thanks
yes we will miss this place
but
we are at peace with our decision



the alzheimers texas symposium in temple starts today
at the mayborn center
it starts at 900 am with my talk
there will be 3 others after that
there will be lunch provided
walk ups are usually welcomed

thanks for all the support the last 6 years

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-the country n story

COUNTRY N NEWS-THE COUNTRY N STORY

back in the 90s we knew we wanted to live in the country
have a large garden
have chickens
maybe other animals
collect rainwater
use solar power
maybe wind power
be almost self sufficient
i guess thats called a homestead

i started collecting in a large file articles on all of this
i subscribed to mother earth news
texas gardener magazine

this folder got thick
real thick

i attended seminars and seminars and seminars
on rainwater collection and solar power
did rainwater tours
did solar power tours
did green tours
did the annual funky chicken austin tours for years

then
 when our youngest son graduated from high school
we started looking at property in the hill country
we wanted to be north of austin
in the country
easily accessible to austin my work my wife shes work
we looked and looked
we even had a 13 acre tract sold that we wanted the weekend
before we made an offer
the guy just wrote a check for all of the land

i had accumulated architectural plans for these things
called envelope houses
using a double wall system to act as an envelope to insulate
and make it energy efficient

then
one sunday my wife she was looking in the newspaper
in the ads
there was this ad
that just jumped out at her

it started out
an artisan built house with the feel of a hunting lodge
well that got her attention

she called the next day
went out to look at it
video taped it
came to my office showed me the video
we drove out that evening to look at it

when i saw it
i knew that it was the one
we made an offer the next day

we moved in a few weeks later
well we had two homes for awhile since at that time the market was slow

we gradually moved in to the country n full time in a few weeks
since we found we were no longer staying in town very often
having gravitated to the country n every chance we got

after a year i added a rainwater collection system with one tank
but since then it has grown to a system with 22000 gallons for the
house and 8000 gallons for irrigation

the water that no well or city system can duplicate

when the well died we quit using it for irrigation
we opted not to reactivate it

we added an organic garden with its on drip irrigation from the
rainwater irrigation tanks

we added a 400 sq ft chicken coop
these girls provided us with lots and lots of eggs
made yards and yards of compost from leaves some of
you gave us
this compost was used in the garden to make all our
organic veggies

our infamous rooster larry appeared one birthday as a
baby chicken that never laid an egg
he was just mean
especially to my wife she

he is the only chicken we had that got their own grave

we added well over 100 shrubs and trees to the 1 acre fenced yard
that the house sits on
10 of these are large shade trees like cedar elm monterey white oak
red oak hickory burr oak
there were already 10 large cedar elms

we added a solar system which two years ago we doubled its size
so we make about 60% of our electric power
some months we make all of it

we tore down the carport and built a garage
added a 10 ft square greenhouse on one side
to winter things over

we killed off all our st augustine grass
by covering it with black plastic
covering that up with 4 inches of mulch

after a year
i gradually relandscaped that area
with xeric plants
crushed granite walkways
leaving much of the area mulched

we added 3 water trough ponds to provide water for our
dogs and cats and the wildlife

i sowed native seeds in the pastures and just let them go
the turkey deer dove loved it
the quail returned two years ago

yes i sit out side and whistle bobwhite to them
no we dont hunt any of them
we just enjoy them

purple martins come home each april
they zoom around overhead like jet planes
im sure thats where the military got the idea
for their fighter jets

some years we have bluebirds return to their houses
so bright blue they are
a good sign we have a poison free property

two years ago
we added a beehive
harvesting several gallons a year
yes
my wife she couldnt stand it
she gave most of it away
lucky you if you got any of it

several winters in a row
we kept two of our neighbor paint horses
just so we could watch them in the pastures
one spring
we even had a colt born here

a visitor here recently said as he got out of his car
this place is an oasis
as he left before he got back in his car
he said
its so pleasant here so quiet

if you have visited here
you know what he meant

we notice that folks dont want to leave
when they come out to visit

my rainwater brother has sat on our upper deck
from what seems like hours
just sitting there soaking it all in

another friend of my older brother came to visit
he loves turkey hunting
he sat on our upper deck for a long long time
just watching and listening to them

from that upper deck you can see cattle goats
longhorns deer turkey roaming around
in the spring you see acres of wildflowers

we have so enjoyed living here the last 15 years

but
all good things must come to an end though

tomorrow i will explain why

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-there is more coming

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THERE IS MORE COMING

yesterday as i was sitting in the lounge chair
getting infusion #2
now its real comfortable and cozy in there
theres a nice large screen tv

now
i havent watched it much
since
theres folks in and out of the room
nurses and the research director
talking and asking me questions
sticking in an iv
adjusting the flow rates
adding the unknown stuff thats all hidden under this
dark aluminum looking cover

its a secret i guess whats in there

now
i may know this time if i get those week long headaches again
if i dont get them
then i dont know either
for those who dont know
folks getting the aducanumab who have the apoe4 apoe4 genes
have a high chance of getting manageable headaches
i want headaches i tell everyone

as i sat there
i thought
please dont ask me
please dont start me talking about alzheimers
about clinical trials
since
i cant help myself
if you ask me
well
i go into lecture mode and probably tell you more than
you really want to know
now
i do adjust what i say  based on who i am talking to
lay person vs medical person

yesterday it was the nurse who took care of me
he was asking about the medicine
i sort of ignored him
i thought
sir you are about to get told a lot more than you wanted to know

well
he asked again
just like a kid in kindergarten that cant help himself or herself
to answer the teachers question

i blurted it all out
told him the whole aducanumab story

you know he said we do other of these antibody infusions
for these diseases like ms and gastroenterology diseases and
ophthalmology diseases
some experimental some not
i dont think ive done any of these alzheimers one before

do you know about this one
no he said

my kindergarten brain and voice just let it roll out my mouth

well its an antibody against what i call the bad beta amyloid
that is thought to the cause of alzheimers disease
actually this drug may prove or disprove this theory

it removes all of it
yes i said all of it
in the phase 1 study
it removed all of it that showed on the pet brain scan for the
beta amyloid called the amyvid pet scan
zippo nada it was all gone after over a year
and
folks memory didnt worsen most got better
the goal of a good drug that works

so
in a year and half when they redo my amyvid pet scan
if i get the real drug aducanumab and not the placebo
my scan will go from being diffusely positive for all that
stuff
to
being all negative being like its all gone from up there

he just looked at me like
well i was lying or something
you arent telling me the truth
that aint so

he said
ive never heard of that before
he had this look of amazement in his face

i must say ive seen that amazement before
twice
from alzheimers research neurologists that i have seen
they added a sparkle and smile to their face
as they talked about it

so
now we wait
18 months
then all of us will get the real thing
for another 42 months after that

then
hopefully it will become available for all who
need it

hopefully that is if it really works
it will remove the stuff
and
memory gets better
and or
at least memory doesnt worsen
or
that downward slide that occurs with alzheimers disease
get slowed down stretched out so that
we who have it die from something else
enjoying a more memorable life along the way

as i say
my two goals
are

see my granddaughter graduate from high school
and
to be one of the first alzheimers disease survivors

so yesterday as i sat there getting my infusion
looking at my alzheimers texas bracelet
i realized
there  just might be some hope now

join us at this alzheimers symposium
i speak first about my story and clinical trials
and
answer questions the more the merrier
then 3 other speakers will follow



5TH ANNUAL ALZHEIMER'S SYMPOSIUM
friday april 28th
at
the mayborn convention center
temple texas

join us
its free
breakfast and lunch are provided
registration is required
just
click here

the organicgreen doctor

its a triple conundrum

ITS A TRIPLE CONUNDRUM

thetwistgossip.com

today is 4/20
its thursday

today is the day i go to the utsouthwestern infusion center
to receive my 2nd infusion of the experimental
alzheimers treatment drug made by biogen called
aducanumab

now
after the last one
i was told i needed to schedule the next one
in 29 days
or
two days before that date or two days after that day

i told the researcher
i want to do it on 4/20

ok
she said
not blinking an eye
we will set it up for you

i said
you know what day that is dont you
she said
i think its a thursday

no i said
its 4/20
thats mj day
marijuana day
willies day
the day we celebrate marijuana
the drug that has ruined many a teenagers life
when they were busted with it
sending them into the armpits of our jail and legal system

but
also
this drug marijuana
it has the possibility of helping those who have neurological diseases
like
ms
als
alzheimers disease
severe migraines
diffucult to control seizures especially in kids
chronic pain
anxiety
chemo nausea
chemo appetite suppression
just to name a few

the problem is
there are so much restrictions on its research
researchers find it hard to get approval to get money for research
on mj
and
they are restricted to use only marijuana grown on some farm
in mississippi thats controlled by the feds

the salk institute
a well respected research institution wants to do research on the
cbd component of marijuana
the part that doesnt make you high
but seems to have a lot of benefit in neurological diseases
especially children with uncontrolled seizures

this institution makes its chd from methane gas
the farts of cows
since
they cant access the marijuana plants needed for research
without a lot of red tape and lots of time it takes to get approval

im sorry this just smells bad to me in more ways than one

so
i turned to the researcher
and said
thats why i want to do my infusion on 4/20
to
give my support to chd marijuana research

so
i am making my stand today
in that support
as i sit down
stick out my arm
they insert that needle
giving me later that infusion of that stuff that might
slow my disease down

all i can think is
what if there is something in that marijuana plant
that could be do the same thing
you just vap it or smoke it or take an edible
seems easier to me

yes
i am stoked day

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-dont do it

DEAR MS B-DONT DO IT

now ms b
as i watched on tv
i thought to myself
i sure hope she doesnt do this

while you were visiting us
i noticed that
you have cute little feet


that
slide easily into your mud boots that you splashed in the river in
slide easily into your new red cowgirl boots that you wore
to ride the horse


then
of course
your favorite way to go
is commando
dont ask what that means
you dont like socks on or shoes on

the first chance you get
off they go
wiggling your toes back and forth
pitter pattering across the floor

i think theres a genetic cause for this
its your arkansas gene you got from your granddaddy

we always went barefooted when i was a kid

now that may have been to save our good shoes from wear
probably was the reason
however
i think theres this enjoyment of wiggling your toes in
the sand
or
in mud
its a primal thing i think

now i like to watch the voice
i am amassed at the talented young folks
teenagers
that are on the show
how can they be that good so young

now some of the girls it seems
especially those on blakes team
they are cowgirls
they wear cowgirl boots
lucky them

the others seem to wear these high high heels
these things seem unsteady
that if you just gently push them im sure the girls
would fall over

so they start young wearing these shoes
these high heels im sure only a man would design

if they do this for a lifetime
they are dooming their feet
to
ingrown toenails as all the toes get all squished inside
those pointed toes
to
shortened achilles tendons that doom them to knee and ankle
and foot problems as they age
to
knee cap problems which already is a common malady
in young growing teenage females
to
eventual back and hip and knee arthritis

if they are obese these girls the doom is even worse

i can only imagine what must happen to the ball of the feet
as you stand in those shoes putting pressure
all the pressure on that area

so i guess ms b
just because everyone else does it
doesnt mean you have to

save your feet
follow your own trail
wear flats
you know they make dress ones
wear those cowgirl shoes
wear those sneakers
and
whenever you can
pop off those shoes
then you are back to your roots
barefooted

the organicgreen doctor

tax day

TAX DAY
thats the day
today
you are suppose to file and pay your taxes

im not sure why they added those extra two days

i did mine
wrote the check
mailed it in last week
done

this made me think a lot about taxes

my wife she rides on a toll road to get to her teachers job
she pays about $100 a month for the toll to ride on the road
supposedly the toll money pays for having built the toll road

if she didnt use the toll road
it would take her probably an extra 30 minutes a day one way
to get to work
an extra hour each day

in california they are adding a gas tax to raise money
for infrastructure
somewhere i read it was 30 cents a gallon

so
doing the math
she could have paid if she was in california with its tax
that $100 each month in gas taxes
which could be used to pay for that toll road
which would make it not a toll road
which would make it where everyone could ride on the road
toll free

i figured she could be paying the equivalent of 333 gallons of gas taxes
each month with that toll fee
however
she only burns up 30 gallons a month of gas
which would be a tax paid if the taxes were increased on a gallon of gas
of $10

it just seems that it would be cheaper to pay higher gasoline taxes
to pay for these toll roads
instead of paying tolls that i think go to private companies
i read once they arent even us companies

so
i advocate for a gasoline tax to pay for all this infrastructure

i pulled out my tax forms just now
now our income is from three sources
my social security
my wife shes teachers paycheck
our iras and other investments

so
now usually we dont even itemize
just do standard deductions
but we are always stuck with all these other forms
since they are adjustments here
adjustments there on our income

now
this year since we had higher than expected medical
and dental expenses
we itemized

so i kept careful records of all i could deduct
like
mileage for charity mileage for medical or dental care
i scrounged through all the suggested deductions i could
and
kept good records of all of it

i sent in this big ole pile of stuff to the accountant

what he sent back was this  21  page tax return

thank goodness it was all sent in to the irs by electronic method

as i reviewed all these forms and documents
i wondered
was it all worth the time and effort it took to document it all

i am not so sure it was
yes i saved several thousands of dollars in taxes
but
im not so sure i shouldnt just have forgot about all that
and
just paid the man

i was thinking
just tell me what my percentage is that i owe on my income
whether its 10% or 15% or 20% or 25%
then
next year when i do my taxes
i will just pay the man
take no deductions
keep no records
just write a check for that amount

it should take me about 5 minutes to do my taxes
kabam
its done
well next year it will be that way

i saw a show on pbs the other night
in new zealand
you go to a government website
answer a few questions
if you agree on what they say you owe
you click yes
you pay that amount
it just takes a few minutes to do
simple

i guess they dont have lobbyists in new zealand
im sure turbotax and hr block wouldnt like that much

as we head into a tax reform storm
yes
those with money will win
those without money will not win
thats
just the way things are

you know the saying
the rich get richer the poor get poorer

i doubt it will ever change

but for me and my wife she
ours
well its gonna be simple
next year

so
they can just muck with the tax code
i dont care

we are just going to just
pay the man

the organic green doctor

ww3

WW3
the other day that was one of the two most googled phrases
no
thats not some wrestling thing
its
world war three

cnn.com

i admit it crossed my mind
what if
that crazy guy in north korea
really had a nuclear bomb
pushed the button
sent it flying towards our western coast
maybe
he would zoom one down to south korea
heck
seoul is only about 30 miles away from north korea
we live that close to austin

he
i am afraid
is just crazy enough to do something like that
maybe
even shoot up up north towards china

what does he care if he wipes out a few people
he does that regularly every day

so
he is this crazy guy
like some street person
who is off his medicine
on his meds hes normal
but
off them hes just $%^  #&*(@) crazy
he might just cut off your head
or something bad like that

you dont want to provoke a crazy person
off their meds
the answer of what to do with the crazy street person
off their meds
well
its almost as complicated as the north korean thing

you cant reason with either one
you have no idea what theyll do

eg
recently we were downtown at a well known hotel
in austin
this guy walked up
he sort of looked like charles manson
he wanted some money and some smokes
we said no
he wondered off

a few days later
there he was on the evening news
he had threatened to kill and rape a student late one night
if she didnt take him to her atm for some money

so it is with that crazy north korean dicator
you cant provoke him
hell do something real crazy
like
start ww3

or
all our dealings with the middle east
its just ripe to
have some effect
maybe even provoke ww3
some crazy russian could push the wrong button
or
iran
or
who knows what other crazy person from another country
could do the same thing

so i googled ww3
all these links popped up
russia and syria
north korea
our involvement in the middle east
climate chaos
etc
etc
etc

we may be ripe for this to happen

i am watching a pbs series on ww1
we didnt want to get involved in that european war
but
we were making half the munitions that the allies were using
our economy was booming because of this
yes
its the economy
then
they had to go and sink some us ships
that forced our hand into ww1

how easy
would it be
for our hand to be forced now

its scary
isnt it

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-protect your heart protect your brain

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-PROTECT YOUR HEART PROTECT YOUR BRAIN

it appears that if you protect your heart in middle age
then you are actually protecting your brain later on in later life
against the development of alzheimers

there is a saying
whats good for your heart is good for the brain

there is an amino acid called homocysteine that is associated with an
increased risk of heart disease and stroke and maybe alzheimers disease
if it is elevated that is

if the level is elevated its easily treated with folic acid and vitamin b12
mine was quite elevated
its now normal using these supplements

like a lot of things in medicine not everyone agrees with homocysteines
relationship to heart disease stroke or alzheimers disease
i personally believe in it
since
if i dont and im wrong then not correcting it can add to my risk level
for alzheimers disease

it seems so easy to fix
so i fixed it

this week i wrote this blog called 23andnotme
about the 23and me company doing these 10 genetic tests
one is for the gene that puts you at risk for
late onset alzheimers disease

the gene the apoe 4 gene
increases your chances of developing
late onset alzheimers disease
by 10-20 times if you get the homozygous apoe 4 apoe 4
by 3-5 times if you get the single apoe 4 gene

whether it does lead you to getting alzheimers disease
is determined
by how well you take care of your health
by environmental factors
by other health issues you may have

some folks with the apoe 4 gene never get alzheimers disease

so i was asked by several folks if they should get tested
i usually say no since if you dont really understand what it means
then you think you got the kiss of death if yours is positive

but
i thought about it some since i was asked
maybe just maybe
if they are positive
that it will scare the beejeevers out of them
to take real good of their health
so the risks from having the gene will be diminished

i must say it worked for me

now dont confuse this with
the dominant gene for early onset alzheimers disease
like the folks on the 60 minute show and the pbs show had

if you get this gene
you are 100% going to get alzheimers disease
at an early age like in your early 50s or younger
this gene represents less than 1% of alzheimers cases

so a recent study looked at risk factors for heart disease
in middle age
obesity   lack of exercise   high blood pressure   high cholesterol
and diabetes
these folks were followed into their elderly years

those folks with these risk factors in middle age
had higher levels of the bad beta amyloid up in their brains
in the elderly years
which is associated with the development of alzheimers disease

so
if you do get tested for the apoe 4 gene
and or
if you are middle age
and
if you
are overweight
and or
lack exercise
and or
have high cholesterol
and or
have high blood pressure
and or have diabetes
thats not well controlled
then you are probably destined to a retirement
that you will not remember

that could be a combo thats almost as bad as having the dominant gene

so my advice to you
if you have a family history of alzheimers disease
if you want to do what you can to not get it
then
in your middle age years
do what i did aggressively at 60 when i was diagnosed
wish i had been this aggressive at 40 or younger


go on a MIND DIET or consider a vegetarian diet

my sister and brother did that and have lost over 50 lbs
and have been able to completely get off all their
blood pressure meds and cholesterol meds
well all their meds
i still have to take mine though
im ok with that

exercise regularly

maintain a normal body weight

maintain
a normal blood pressure
a normal cholesterol
a normal blood pressure

if you dont do all these
then you may be doomed

for those of you who read my blog
who are genetically kin to me
that
is you

yes
i know
new preventions and treatments are coming down the road
but
it may be 15-20 years from now
hopefully my aducanumab stuff will be one of those

as of now
thats what you need to do to slow down the disease process

thats my answer
i give to folks when they say
what i can i do


i will be doing a presentation on
clinical trials in alzheimers disease
at the

5TH ANNUAL ALZHEIMER'S SYMPOSIUM
friday april 28th
at
the mayborn convention center
temple texas

join us
its free
lunch is provided
registration is required
just
click here

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-more farm to fork

COUNTRY N NEWS-MORE FARM TO FORK

my wife she said i want grilled veggies tonight
i knew she didnt mean put veggies on an outside grill
cook them till they are charred

so i told her
ill go down to the garden to see what i can find to cook tonight

what i do is fill a casserole dish with aluminum foil
grease it real good with olive oil
sprinkle the bottom with seasonings
salt crushed pepper a seasoning mixture from ms dash
then i layer in my veggies
adding some crushed garlic from last years garden of course
reseasoning with the same stuff as above
mixing it all together
adding a spring or two of rosemary from our yard
cover it all with an aluminum foil lid

half way through cooking
i remove the lid and finish the cooking
total time at 425 is about 50 minutes
adjusting it up or down based on what the veggies look like
at the halfway point
my wife she likes hers slightly crunchy
i like mine softer
whoever does the cooking wins out on that one

so
knowing what she wanted for supper
i wandered down to the garden

on the way i passed one of our peach trees
our early peaches tree
they sure are looking good
a few more weeks and we could add them to the veggie mix
or
make a peach cobbler for dessert

walking by the aspargus bed i spotted some
asparagus that have sprouted up over the last few days
i picked them for our supper

then
my swiss chard is in full bloom
i like the rainbow swiss chard since its so colorful
i grabbed a big handful and cut it off
placing it in my bag with the asparagus

there next to my swiss chard are some beets
i had left to grow larger
so
i plucked them

we will roast them for supper
then saving half of the roasted beets for use in salads
these things are so sweet tasting
i can see why they are called sugar beets sometimes

my onions just doubled in size
with the last rain
i had also refertilized them with my organic fertilizer
now
we use rainwater to water our garden with
but
for some reason
when it rains the garden just seems to pop out with
growth the next day

i found a big one
to slice up for supper

then
i go digging around for new potatoes
you dont know what new potatoes are
then
you arent from the south
its the first potatoes you can pick
if you desire you can easily rub off the peel with your finger
we leave ours on
some i dig up being careful not to damage the roots
they are just right for popping in your mouth
eating them raw
i did and so did my wife she

then
i looked around
there was some sweet peas
i picked then
ok so i ate half of them
like i did the asparagus
right there in the garden

oh
thats the advantage of having your own garden
midday snacks fresh for the picking
most of our asparagus and sweet peas never leave the garden
intact

then
i spy some multiplying onions from this winter
and
some garlic chives
i clip the blades off
to add flavor to the veggies

then i chopped all this stuff up
adding it to the dish like above
adding some mushrooms and sweet corn

leaving us
with a supper that looked like this before it was cooked

all organic
farm to fork
our farm to our fork

it doesnt taste any better than this

the organicgreen doctor

there you go again

THERE YOU GO AGAIN
those are reagans words he said during one of his campaigns

as a watchdog for social security benefits for all of us
remember most if not all of us pay social security taxes
or
as i read recently
they should be called
social security premiums

eg
i pay long term premiums each month
so if i need long term care
i can get most of it paid for
its a lot of money over years before i will need it
but
usually it pays to pay the premiums for the eventual benefits

i pay car insurance premiums to insure my cars
so if they are wrecked i can get the car replaced
or fixed

i use to pay term life insurance premiums for years
as you can tell since i am writing this
i have never had to collect on them
now if you keep life insurance long enough
you will need it or should i say your family will need ti

i paid premiums for years and years for long term disability
i after decades of paying
was able to collect payments after my diagnosis was made
i had a rider that required i be paid if i couldnt do my job
as a practicing family doctor

so
i look at the social security that i have paid into over the years
as premiums
since my income was over the upper limits of the income taxable
my premiums were more than say someone who was
a dishwasher or cook

the amount i am paid is based on the premiums that i paid in
which was based on my income

i believe they need to increase the premiums on those who make
over the upper limit of $127,200 the upper limit in 2017
since above that the premiums dont increase

several years ago they tried to privatize social security
as i have written before
when you see the word privatize
you are going to lose and someone is going to make a lot lot of money
off you

now enter reagans words
there you go again

now there is a movement to get rid of the social security premiums
we all pay now
so there would be no deductions from your pay check
we all get a rise of 6.25 or so %
be careful of what you wish for
nothing is free when it comes to politicians

so how will the premiums be paid
the plan is to take them out of the general fund

now
if you are a libertarian
if you are a republican
if you are a democrat
if you are an independent
if you have no label at all

you should be concerned about this potential proposal

the general fund
we know how well that works now
they cant even keep the government funded all the time
our social security premiums and benefits will be at the whelm
of whatever folks are in power

so be prepared
to harass the heck out of your congressperson

this is like having a good insurance policy
but
the insurance company is allowed to just cancel it out on you
at anytime

dont let them do it

the organicgreen doctor

23andnotme

23ANDNOTME
6 and a half years ago when i got my diagnosis
i began searching to solidify what it was due to
eventually it seems its due to
alzheimers disease

one of the tests i did was a genetic test
i had it done as part of the adni 2 alzheimers disease study i was in
however
as ive written before
i couldnt get those results from the study
so
if i wanted to know what they were
i would have to have blood redrawn and sent into a private lab

so
my neurologist gave me the form from the lab
where she sent her diagnostic neurological tests

so
i took the form
checked the box for alzheimers blood tests
sent it in with my blood
i got a phone call
you need to get your doctor to sign this form
verifying that you have been counseled about these tests
and
that you are having symptoms
so
i did that

they then ran the tests

they understood the significance of counseling about these tests

one was a genetic test for the dominant alzheimers gene
you get that one you are going to get
early onset alzheimers disease
100% of the time

mine was negative
now
even though i was a doctor i really didnt understand
that much about this early onset alzheimers gene
it represents less than 1% of the alzheimers cases

then
the other test was the one that tests for your risk for
late onset alzheimers disease
its called the apoe 4 gene

again
i really didnt understand the significance of this test
then when it was done
i surely do now

mine was positive
i was devastated
taking this as the final answer as why i was having some
short term memory loss
then
as i read more and started to understand the apoe 4 gene
it took several years to really understand what it means
i finally do

if your apoe4 gene is positive
especially if it is the apoe 4/apoe4 gene
it doesnt mean you are gonna get alzheimers disease
like with the dominant genes

it just means you are at a higher risk for getting alzheimers disease
how you live your life taking care of your health
decides usually how severe if at all the disease is

some people with the apoe 4 gene never get alzheimers disease
those with the gene though are at a higher risk
maybe 10-20 times increased risk

in my case
the apoe 4/apoe 4 put me at risk for getting the disease
and
it looks like i have it


23andme.com

so as i read THIS ARTICLE about
23andme being allowed to do these 10 tests
i sort of feel uncomfortable
they mention there is a test for late onset alzheimers disease
in the 10 test panel
its the apoe 4 gene test they are talking about

ive known folks who had that done
they think they are doomed
they arent though
they just have increased risk
some of that risk they can alter

it is unlikely that most folks who do that 10 panel test
have the knowledge that i have about the apoe 4 test
which i have learned by reading a lot of about the test
i am able to put the test in its true perspective

for me
its one piece to my alzheimers puzzle
add
a strong family history
a normal memory test followed by abnormal memory tests
an abnormal levels of beta amyloid and tau in my spinal fluid
that is alzheimers levels
a positive amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid

all these together make my diagnosis what it is now
mild cognitive impariment due to alzheimers disease
with some degree of certainty

the apoe 4 test alone doesnt mean as much

the 23andme panel results
really if you do this
any positive test should be repeated in a reputable lab to make
sure it is really positive
any positive test should be discussed with a specialist in that field
or a geneticist
who can really explain what the test means

so far me
its 23andnotme

dont willy nilly do lab tests because you can
there is harm
emotionally
and
financially that can happen

get it in your medical record
you are now a high risk patient
you may not get
life insurance
long term care insurance
disability insurance
based on what happens with the health care
you may not get health insurance

be careful

the organicgreen doctor

oh no not again

OH NO NOT AGAIN
about 5 years ago i wrote these two blogs
named
whats for lunch mom
and
reslimed

here is an excerpt from those blogs

whats pink slime
its the rejected fat blood left overs  sinew  left over bits from carcasses
that come from slaughter houses
thought that was what bologna was

all this junk is thrown into a machine spun around and whats left is
this stuff called pink slime

its also treated with ammonia then processed as an additive to
hamburger meat

makes me what a veggie burger

its then used in burgers at restaurants supermarkets and yes even
your kids cafeterias
well many fast food restaurants have quit using this stuff as the
word is out now

why dont they just microvave it and serve it on a cone and call
it hamburger cone like the famous chicken cone sold in austin
well the chicken cone is better and uses good parts of the chicken

now after writing this i didnt really think much
about it anymore
since this pink slime stuff got so much publicity
that hamburger folks and hamburger joints said
they quit using this left over pink slime in our burgers

now
since my diagnosis 6 years ago
i got pretty aggressive with my diet
i always tell folks
i am a 90% vegetarian

i dont eat a lot of meat
but
when i want a hamburger
i want a full 100% hamburger
with none of this pink slime stuff
squirted amongst all that meat

when we are going to eat a hamburger
at home
i go to the grocery store
and
get 100% free range grass fed no added stuff
hamburger meat
since
i want the best for my occasionally indulgence
in a good old juicy hamburger

as an aside
i follow the mind diet
heres my blog on it that gives a good explanation of what is in it

on the diet it says to limit red meat to 2-3 servings
a week
now i rarely ever eat red meat that often
but for those who do that limitation is not too bad


so now this pink slime
is oozing back again in our beef

the meat folks have fancy names for it
so when you shop for meat look for these secret words
so you wont get slimed

lean finely textured beef or lftb
textured beef
finely textured beef
boneless lean beef trimmings or blbt

those words look like something that would be on
the side of a dog food bag

i think legislation should be passed that they have to
call a spade a spade
it should say on the package
pink slime

truth in advertising for sure

so if you dont want to get slimed
pink
buy good beef from a source that doesnt add all that
slimey slippery wet pink soft ice cream stuff to your
beef

that said
if congress cant fix medicare social security health care
infrastructure sex trafficking of teenagers etc etc
its doubtful they will get rid of pink slime

but you have the power to not eat it
dont buy the stuff that has been slimed

oh
man
i am ready for a good juicy 100% hamburger with jalepeno cheese

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-it is what it is

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IT IS WHAT IT IS

my thoughts today are about him
thats my younger brother
unfairly stricken with alzheimers disease in his early 50s
he left us in the final stages of this awful disease
in his early 60s
he would have been 65 tomorrow

it all feels unfair

i am sorry almost feel guilty at times
that he is not around right now
to maybe be able to participate in the same journey
that i am able to be on
i was lucky that mine was discovered so early
so
now i am able to seek potentially new treatments
he didnt get that chance

maybe just maybe
his kids and my kids and our grand kids will be helped
by the new research on treatments and a cure
for this disease that took him away so young

my thoughts are with him and his family

my advise to those worried about getting alzheimers disease

take care of your health
aggressively

if you have concerns for memory issues
get evaluated
remember there are things that cause memory issues that
are treatable
like
low b12   low thyroid   depression   sleep issues   medication side effects
and
others like uncontrolled blood pressure cholesterol diabetes etc

consider volunteering for an alzheimers study
find one at
clinicaltrials.gov
the two biggest obstacles to alzheimers research are
money
study volunteers
there are a lot of promising new treatments in the works
that need study subjects for the research

in texas
eg
where i go at the alzheimers research center
you can sign up for yearly evaluations to include
neuro exam labs memory testing and possibly mri
at no costs
they see folks with or without memory issues
here is the link
alzheimers disease center ut southwestern

yes
thats a video on that page about my story

this is how i got into the studies
how i got my diagnosis
i was volunteering to be monitored yearly thinking i was normal
but failed the memory tests
this eventually has lead to my being involved today
in the aducanumab study
using monthly infusions of aducanumab which has promise
in slowing down the disease

get involved
dont ignore symptoms
take care of your health
keep yourself educated about the disease

below is a link
to the 4th annual temple alzheimers symposium
at the
mayborn convention center in temple texas
friday
april 28 2017
there will be four speakers
one will be me
i think i am the first one
i will talk on clinical studies and about the study i am in
i will answer questions afterwards

the symposium is free
lunch is provided
follow the link to register
www.txalz.org/education/conferences/

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-that was fun

DEAR MS B-THAT WAS FUN

ms b
as i sit here writing this blog to you
i slowly turned and looked at the picture on the wall
of your gma when she was about your age

i realize when i looked at her smiling face
how much you look like her when you do that smile
of yours and that twinkle in your eyes

btw your gma has a nickname at work
sparkle

before she came to visit for the week
i contacted former patients who had several kids
that seem to do a lot of interesting things with them
like they must have a bucket list made up

so i wrote all of these down
some were removed since she was too young for them
others since she has these things where she lives
like a zoo and an aquarium

so of the things we did on the list
the only one actually
was the childrens museum or thinkery
she really needed to be a year older to fully
enjoy the place
that said
she enjoyed it for almost two hours

she also loves to swing
we have one at the country n
she almost wore out
plus
she almost wore us out

but the other things we did which she seemed to enjoy
a lot
well it was probably not on anyones list

i asked my wife she her gma what ms b enjoyed the most
while she was here
she said
definitely going down to the river

she met and talked to the neighbors horses

picked well several wildflowers
yes we got the bluebonnet photo

there
at the river
she and i and gma splashed and splashed in the water
threw rocks a lot of them
i skipped a few for her
threw sticks far out tin the water for our dog
marley to swim out to get
he usually brought them back but didnt share them
she fell down more than once
yes she got soaking wet and muddy
but
she thoroughly enjoyed the river trip

we also planted some peppers in the garden

we flew a kite high high in the sky

she played and played on my old duct tape chair
every day
it bucks and rocks and swings back and forth
and
spins around and around like a merry go round
yes i got dizzy watching her

later
we went to a neighbors ranch
she got to ride on her horse
she also got a new pair of cowgirl boots
and
even got a lock of hair off the horses mane
which
she wouldnt let go of on the way home

we exposed her to sesame street
and
big bird
so she would say when she got older
i saw that show before the funding got all cut off
btw
the show was about chickens that day

another highlight of every day was
feeding the chickens and collecting all their eggs
ok
so she slammed two together
she must have thought they were two rocks or something
she only did that once though
before she learned her lesson

another day
she went to a school that a friend teaches at
for pre school and kindergarten
she fit right in
raising her hand
marching in line
sharing stuff
yes she is ready for the big time now

there she fed the bunnies carrot tops that she pulled from our garden
fed horses and donkeys and peacocks
yes she was tuckered out that day for sure
and
every day it seemed
as
were we

but the low point of her trip
at least for us
was when she waved and kissed us good bye

the high point for her was seeing mom and dad after 6 days
away from them

our high point
i must say
lasted 6 days

yep
that was fun
as she says
more more
we want
more more

the organicgreen doctor

its more than the bird

ITS MORE THAN THE BIRD
this week we let our granddaughter ms b watch tv
well only one show
it was sesame street
we wanted her to see big bird
before big bird got its head removed
by the budget cuts

the pbs or cpb
thats public broadcasting system or corporation for public broadcasting
well its sort of our
equivalent
to the bbc from england

i ask millennials and some right folks and some left folks
what they watch for their news
they say
the bbc

yes
the bbc
the british just seem to look at life different than we do
more realistic

they publicly sponsor the bbc tv network
the government generally keep their hands off the network

the pbs is mostly sponsored by the federal government
not completely
since they get some sponsor money and a lot of public support

they are mostly independent
they show a lot of good arts and history programs

my wife she and i
watch the pbs nightly news as our go to news
we dont watch fox news and we dont watch msnbc news
we occasionally watch cnn when they have a balanced panel
and dont argue back and forth
or
dont talk over each other

now on pbs
that doesnt ever happen
commonly both sides are presented
it seems that both sides even though they dont agree
are more respectful of each other than the other networks

thats what i want to see and hear
both sides of the story
then
its up to me and you to decide what we believe
but
you need to hear both sides to really make a good decision
sometimes

now
on friday night
thats our mexican food and margarita night here at the country n
you will rarely find us not at home that night

we watch the pbs nightly news that night
waiting for the analysis of mark shields and david brooks
a liberal and a conservative
giving both sides
but not the extreme sides
both are obviously friends and are respectful of each other

when i watch this show
i realize i have a conservative bent to my politics
but not to the extreme
its financial and some social issues
but i tend to lean i guess more to the liberal side on most social issues
sort of where most americans especially millennials really are
they soon will be the majority of voters

so
we need pbs not only for accurate news
but for the arts and history programs they provide
its dangerous for a country to lose
arts and history programs
when they do
things seem to go bad for that country

now i did read an article by a columnist this weekend
that suggested that pbs should just stop accepting government funds
anyway
since they pbs are always looking over their shoulders
for whatever group is in power
trying i guess not to offend them
losing some of their independence maybe be it subtle

i am sure they could make up some of the 400+ million that they
receive
if the ax chop occurs i will divert some of our charity donations to them
since
we always need like the bbc a public broadcasting system
like
pbs

dont let them cut the funds this time
here is a link to a petition to congress
requesting
that they fund pbs again

protect my public media

its not a pretty site if you have ever seen a chicken
with its head cut off

we dont want our kids to see that
we need pbs to survive

the organicgreen doctor