we miss you mr b

WE MISS YOU MR B
no he is not a relative
he is mr b
the original owner
mr butts

if you live in texas you know him as mr heb
howard e butts
the original owner of the large grocery chain
heb

cbsnews.com

when you live in texas
you just take grocery shopping for granted

eg
i would get up early sunday morning
and
go shop at the local heb grocery store

now i went early to avoid the crowds
ok
to avoid the gray headed crowds
theyll run you over with their buggies they will

now in my hand would be a
shopping list
designed so that i could walk down the aisles
following my list as i walked

a few months before we moved
they realigned the store
expanding it
messed up my grocery list

i still havent changed it up yet
and
probably wont

as i went into the heb store
i knew that i could go into one store
for all my grocery and related shopping

what i have learned in living in california
is that there is no heb here
or even really close to it

over the last few weeks i have gone to each different grocery store
to shop

now
i was warned by family that live here
oh
youll have to go to more than one store

i listened but really didnt believe them

well now i do

after close to 2 months of shopping for groceries and related stuff
here is what i came up with

each week usually saturday am
we go to the local farmers market
they have several spread over the week but this one seems
the biggest
they
by they i mean this area
also has several produce stores and stands
but
the farmers markets are just better
more variety
the farmers are there to talk to
it has a feel to it as you walk around

so
we buy our produce and fruit at the farmers markets
plus my garden is starting to produce things like peppers
kale swiss chard squash
soon we will have tomatoes and egg plants
so its either the farmers market and or the garden for produce
not the grocery store

then
i go to traders joes
the prices are good
they seem to have most of what you need
but
alast
not everything though

so
off to store #3
either ralphs krogers related
vonns
albertsons
gilsons a whole foods trader joes like store
grocery outlet a discount store

having been to all of them now
i chose #2 to be vons or ralphs

so as we go around to three locations to shop for groceries etc
all i can think is
i sure miss my heb

but
lifes full of tradeoffs
so
we made the trade

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-will these 3 help

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WILL THESE 3 HELP

i am always looking and reading for things that may help
to prevent and or to slow down
alzheimers disease

some will probably work
some wont
but
at least one of these if it dont help
i still want to do it anyway

sleep
i ran across this article about research on bad sleep and alzheimers disease
published in the journal brain

basically what they found was that one night of bad sleep
can lead to the increased levels of the bad beta amyloid in the brain
several nights can lead to the elevation of tau protein in the brain

abnormal beta amyloid and tau levels are what many think causes
alzheimers disease

yes they did spinal taps on those folks in the study

basically not getting adequate sleep long term makes you at
an increased risk of getting alzheimers disease

blood pressure meds
this article is about past research showing that controlling blood pressure
with arb inhibitors like losartin and ace inhibitors like lisinopril decreased
the risk of alzheimers disease by 50%

now researchers are looking at a specific arb inhibitor called
losartan to see how well it will work in regards to alzheimers disease
its been around for years
i use to take it but now i take its first cousin
irbesartan
my guess is it probably doesnt matter which one you use for
your blood pressure
the effect will be the same

so i guess unless its contraindicated if you have to take a blood pressure med
and you are concerned for alzheimers disease
consider an arb inhibitor or ace inhibitor

then the last article
the one i like the most
shows that babysitting grandkids may decrease the chances of
developing alzheimers disease

whether it has an effect on you if you are already diagnosed is not known
it might i guess help some

you teach them new things
you read and do memory activities with them
you
let me tell you this ones true
get a lot more exercise

now granted we would be doing this anyway
watching ms b
but now we have an extra incentive to do it

so i would add all three to my regimen
but
i am already doing all three

remember
we need financial support to fight this disease
and
emotional support to deal with it

join us as we walk this year

we will be doing the
alzheimers texas walk in georgetown texas
on saturday september 23rd
team name is organicgreendoctor

yes we will be in georgetown for the above walk
as we walk with our austin friends and family
do join us
come say goodbye to us

i also will have a team in the
santa barbara walk to end alzheimers 
on saturday october 28th
team name is organicgreendoctor.com

join us

the organicgreen doctor

sb country n news-views good

SB COUNTRY N NEWS-VIEWS GOOD

one of the things my wife she and i are trying to do
since we moved here
is to try to see and get to know this area

what ive found if you arent careful
you get busy doing the day to day things
and
you dont get to enjoy whats around you

we had noticed this sort of happening to us
as we eased into living here

so you can stand here
look to the ocean
turn 180 degrees
to
look to the mountains

it is when you stop to absorb the beauty
well
it stirs things deep inside
makes you take a deep deep breath
and
sigh
so you can really enjoy what you are looking at

we have started at least once a week
doing hikes in this area
starting from a book on local hikes a relative gave us
eg
our first was a 2 mile hike
along a creek up the mountain
with  magnificent views back over the city
and
over the ocean

this week
we simply walked a few miles along the beach
out then back
when you are walking
you see things better
you smell the smells better
you hear the sounds better

we plan on continuing this long term
hoping
this gives us the essence of this place

when i was home for our reunion
my older sister pulled out this dried pod
she said
i thought you might want these
purple hull seeds to use in your garden

now in the south
you hear words like
black eyed peas
crowder peas
cream peas
purple hull peas

here i hear one word
cowpeas

more than likely
unless you are from the south
you dont enjoy them quite the same as we do

talking with a gardener recently here
he mentioned using cowpeas as a cover crop for the garden
i thought
nope
ill eat those suckers

so i planted them last week
i hope to have peas for new years day from our garden

a cover crop is a crop you plant that will fix nitrogen in the soil
then can be cut down and left in place
or
tilled under
to provide nitrogen and carbon mass in the soil
like the old farmers used to do

things used are vetch rye wheat cowpeas buckwheat eg

now i just cut them off in the ground
leaving those nutritious roots with its minerals in the ground
for the veggies to use
then
leaving the above ground part of the plant laying where its cut
or
placing it in the compost pile

so what i have noticed here
is no matter where you stand and look
if you can see in the distance
well
the view is good

the organicgreen doctor

thank you john

THANK YOU JOHN
sometimes when you are facing death
you think about things differently
trying to do things right for the time you have remaining


nbcnews.com

i wonder if that is what happened to john mccain
as he stood up on the senate floor
a scar above his left eyebrow
bruising below his left eye

as he talked
well it was amazing
that just a few days before he was having that ball of cancer
cut out of his brain
that yielded a diagnosis
a death for sure soon diagnosis

when he got the word of what it was
he knew i am sure
like kennedy did years ago
he was now on borrowed time

now i dont agree with his politics
but
that doesnt mean i dont have a lot of respect
for him as a person
knowing what he has gone through in the past

he must be one tough old codger

yesterday
as he stood up to talk
i wasnt going to really listen to him
as
i thought he was going to go on and on
on the usual party line way that politicians do
not it seems able to really say what they think

well
i guess
mccain
said
what the hell im gotta loose
right

he let the senators have it with a double barrel shotgun
blast of words

well
he said what needed to be said
what needs to be done

now he was talking about the healthcare bill
but he also was talking about all of the bills

they need to be done in a bipartisan way
the democrats ramrodded somewhat the obamacare through
congress
much like the republicans are trying to do now

mccain said i voted to continue talking about this healthcare
thing
but
i am voting against the bill as it stands now

thanks mccain
someone needed to say that

a bill without bipartisan input and support
it wont survive the test of time
when the next party takes over
they just change it back to where they want it
ie
obamacare

can you imagine if the time and energy spent to overturn obamacare
could have been used to fix what was wrong with it
to make it better
where our healthcare system would be today

i hope
that all of congress both republicans and democrats and independents
really listened to what he said
take it to heart
then
go forward to fix things that need fixing
like
healthcare
infrastructure
a just immigration policy
tax reform but not just for the rich
military budgets and all our wars
yes
that would be a start

thanks mccain
this may be the speech that you will be best remembered for
it all needed to be said

the organicgreen doctor

the truth about teachers and schools

THE TRUTH ABOUT TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS

so this email with this attachment
appeared anonymously in my email recently

i just wonder who could have sent it

what you should know about public school and teachers

public teachers in texas are not unionized

teachers in private schools dont have to have a degree or be certified
to teach children

all property taxes dont go to schools
you dont complain about fire police texas dot repairs

teachers dont get free insurance or retirement

teachers are not paid for summers
thats a 9 month salary spread over 12 months

education reform is not partisan
teachers dont believe one party is more for or against
education

in texas not every district starts teachers at $50 k
lots of teachers who have been teaching for 20 years
or more have just reached $50 k

teachers in texas have not received a significant raise in years
not since george bush was governor

retired teachers are not allowed to take social security
and
have not received a cost of living in over 18 years

teacher retirement=20% from teachers 20% from the state
and 60% from investments
not from tax payers

teachers spend way too much time testing

testing was installed by politicians you voted for
this was not an idea from teachers or administration

so when people say teachers are socialists remind them that
teachers do the job tasked to them by politicians

legislators retirement is based off a state judges salary and
increases over time often in excess of $100k/yr

schools and stadiums being built are out of control
but are not paid for by state dollars
bond elections and choices of community decides on these upgrades

there is nearly $10 billion in the rainy day fund that could cover most
of these pressing issues
$1 billion would fix education

districts will have to run this year with a budget equivalent to a
budget from 1995 with higher expectations

teachers plan to block vote and remove those against public education

wont you join them

probably a lot of this pertains to most other states in the united states


the organicgreen doctor

its been too long

ITS BEEN TOO LONG
we have been there now for over 15+ years
we have lost 6,828+ soldiers
we have lost an unknown number of soldiers to
suicide and drug overdose
we have thousands with ptsd that we and they
will be paying for for the rest of their lives
we have spent over a trillion dollars over there

why

so
what do we have to show for it
isis for one thing
now
i supported going to afghanistan to go get ben laden
but
i didnt expect us to still be there 16 years later
with
no end in site for our involvement there

now
iraq
thats a different story
dont think we should have been there in the first place
what a mess we made when we did

so
whats the endpoint here
what are our goals
when do we stop sending all our money and our kids
our sons our daughters our nephews our nieces
our uncles our aunts our fathers our mothers
over there
for what reason
i ask

i have thought about this more recently
since a relative joined the military
since friends kids joined the military
since i reviewed our familys history in regards
to the military

some wars are understandable
for us to fight
like in ww2
but
this one i dont know
i dont want these kids injured fighting over there

now
i am not trying
to be non patriotic
or
to be some antiwar person

i stand take off my hat and usually get a tear in my eyes
when the national anthem is sung at events

we have problems here at home
we need desperately to solve
lets try solving those first
before
we solve someone elses problems
or make them worse like in iraq

so
i say
its time
its been way to long
we arent going to win
like in viet nam
finally
we pulled out
got over it
moved on

lets do that now

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-getting it right

ALZHEIMERS DISEASE-GETTING IT RIGHT

in the past it was not always easy
to get the diagnosis correct
especially in the early stages of the disease

here are the stages that lead to alzheimers disease

prealzheimers-no symptoms yet

mild cognitive impariment(mci)-mild symptoms like me
some believe mci is early alzheimers

alzheimers disease-more advanced symptoms

even 7 years ago when i was diagnosed with mci
mild cognitive impairment
it was thought to be probably due to alzheimers disease
based on memory testing and history taking
but
really there were not anything else to do to come up with
a more accurate diagnosis

if you are wrong with your diagnosis
then you
start treatment with aricept (donepezil)
have the patient go through the side effects of the medicine
for years
and
if the diagnosis was wrong
well you just made a persons life more miserable than
the disease the person really had

of course in the workup of things that could cause memory issues
that are easily treated are ruled out
like abnormal electrolytes low b12 low thyroid depression
sleep disturbance etc

sometimes whats left is not always alzheimers disease
but may be caused by benign causes that really wont
worsen over time or will go much much slower than
alzheimers disease

so now in 2017
to have a workup for memory loss that appears to possibly
could be maybe alzheimers disease
the usual workup like i had at first is done
ruling out treatable stuff
if it all points towards alzheimers disease
then a more definitive diagnosis can be made

if its memory loss not due to alzheimers
you may not need medication and its accompanying side effects

if it is alzheimers
then there are a lot of research studies going on and are about
to happen on potential treatments for alzheimers
if you know you probably have it you can make yourself
more available for treatment

now you can have genetic tests done
for early onset alzheimers disease the inherited kind
apoe 4 gene signifying increased risk for alzheimers disease
a spinal tap and analysis for beta amyloid and tau
abnormal levels imply you have alzheimers disease

then
as a new study is showing
read this article on it
that the use of the pet scan amyvid for the bad beta amyloid
the hallmark of alzheimers disease
can rule out alzheimers disease as the cause of the
persons memory loss

insurance and medicare and medicaid will not pay for this test
however medicare medicaid and other organizations are sponsoring
a study to see if it really makes a difference these scans

its called the ideas study
i was attempting to get into this study to see if i could get the scan done
but i luckily qualified for the aducanumab study that i am in now

so what they have found is
that a significant number of people who have the diagnosis of
mild cognitive impairment and are on meds like aricept (donepezil)
really dont have alzheimers disease
based on the fact that their amyvid scans are negative

if your amyvid scan is negative you do not have alzheimers disease

i would hate to think that i took all this aricept (donepezil)
had all the side effects like dizziness blurred vision sleep disturbances
occasional veritgo fatigue leg cramps vivid dreams
and fasciculations

whats fasciculations
well eg you can look at my calves
and watch my muscle fasciculate
it looks like something is crawling back and forth under my skin
its from the aricept (donepezil)
people with other neurological diseases like huningtons disease
have them also

so these folks who have negative scans can now stop the aricept
i would love to be able to do that
and
almost get a reprieve from a terrible fatal diagnosis

granted their memory may not ever get better
but
it may not ever get worse either

physicians who referred their patients for the ideas scans
found that over half the mci patients didnt really have alzheimers
75% of the alzheimers patients did

no
sorry to say
my amyvid pet scan is positive
so this ideas study wouldnt have helped me any
except verifying the likelihood that i have alzheimers disease

note
other things can cause the scans to be positive
but
if its negative its not alzheimers disease

they need more folks for the ideas study
if you know someone who might qualify
here is the link
ideas study information

remember
we need financial support to fight this disease
and
emotional support to deal with it

join us as we walk this year

we will be doing the
alzheimers texas walk in georgetown texas
on saturday september 23rd
team name is organicgreendoctor

yes we will be in georgetown for the above walk
as we walk with our austin friends and family
do join us
come say goodbye to us

i also will have a team in the
santa barbara walk to end alzheimers 
on saturday october 28th
team name is organicgreendoctor.com

join us

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-welcome to your world

DEAR MS B-WELCOME TO YOUR WORLD

we are here in your world now
my oh my
its a whirlwind no stop world

where in the heck do you get all your energy
your gma
she dont need no aerobics
she does all those things
trying to play with you
trying to keep up with you

when those eyes open until those eyes close
you girl
are on
full speed ahead it seems

we do enjoy when we pick you up at your preschool
nice garden your class has
onions tomatoes etc neatly growing in easy accessible
beds
it looks all hands on

then
when we pick you up
we walk over to the community garden
open the gate
right to the chicken coop inside the garden
you go
bock bocks you call them
your favorite is feeding them stuff
especially white bread
you take a bite
then they take a bite
sharing as you usually do
well sometimes

then
over to the togd garden a a few beds down from the coop
turn on the water
hand watering the veggies
ok so i help direct the water some
it helps we water around and around each plant
into that well we have around each plant

i am sure you would like to play in that water and dirt

as we do this
butterflies fly around everywhere
blooming is happening all over the place
lizards abound
birds flutter about

this place is a sanctuary
for
butterflies
lizards
birds
little girls
togd

i can see you digging in the dirt here
digging in the compost

as you do
it appears you greatly increase your immune system
decreasing you chances for
allergic diseases
improving you probiotics in your tummy
all those good guys in the dirt
helps out it seems

yep
welcome to your world
we
are glad to be in it now

fun times are ahead

the organicgreen doctor

the pot garden

THE POT GARDEN
no this isnt about what you think it is

this summer while visiting relatives
a relative said
you want to see my moms pot garden

hum
i thought to myself
i knew medicinal stuff had been voted in
but
i didnt know you could grow the stuff yet

no
oh no
she said
its not what you think

so
off we went to look at the pot garden
granted stuff would love to grow in these pots

as we drove up
there was this line of
well pots full of plants

i must say
like i told her
those are the largest darkest egg plants i have ever seen

i tried to mentally line all these up in my garden at the
country n
i realized when i did it
that she had as much or maybe more stuff growing than
i did in my garden at home
well our old one

there were egg plants
big ones
lots of tomatoes
lots of peppers
lots of cukes
all lined up in a row

why are they sitting up on blocks i asked
to keep the fire ants out she said

so
of course
i recognized a good garden when i saw one

ok
how did you do this and why
well they are easy to take care of
no weeding plowing hoeing
just water and pick em

she took pots many from feed buckets for cows
drilled holes in the bottom
added this leaf mulch dirt stuff

apparently for years they have piled up leaves
and pine straw up near a big ole pine tree
that stuff has be well slowly composting
all that time
its used to fill up the pots
the plants are planted
they are watered regularly everyday
to keep them from drying out
the hardest thing to do when you pot garden

then
thats all she does
just add water
rainwater when she can get it

she said the plants like the rainwater better than
the city water system water

yes
i admired that pot garden
i almost well i did get a real high from looking
at them

i had visions of a pot garden
on our new patio here
following this pot gardeners method

best garden ive seen in a while

heck
im sure even willie would have liked this one

the organicgreen doctor

sb country news-its different

SB COUNTRY NEWS-ITS DIFFERENT
thats what i told my wife she yesterday
when i stepped outside at mid afternoon
when i went to water and check on my garden here
well
i almost felt guilty being here
knowing that if i was back at the country n
i would probably be melting
with temps over 100 and high humidity
well
i fought yesterday hard to get my garden cared for in this
low humidity mid 70s sunny weather

i sometimes garden in the midday here
its nice
at 74 degrees and sunny
its like gardening in texas at 600am without the humidity
i also have noted that at that time
mid day
i seem to have the whole garden to myself
since its too hot for some locals to garden here in midday

my garden is a 20 ft x 10 ft plot
in case you are bad at math
thats 200 square feet

at the country n
one of my beds was 3 ft x 12 ft
so this plot is about 4 or so of those beds
since its is 10 ft wide i have to allow somewhere
to walk down the middle

its one of about 20+ plots in the garden

this soil here is sort of a sandy soil clay soil mixture
devoid somewhat of nitrogen
i immediately added after talking to other locals
compost lots of it
nitrogen
mulch
then i the first day i got here
prepped this bed
then
planted all my veggies that i could grow here
tomatoes peppers sunflowers squash more peppers
basil swiss chard kale eggplant
things we will eat

luckily here
you can easily grow things all year round

the principles of gardening are the same
its the timing of planting thats different

its also drier here
we get half of the average rain that central texas gets
this year before the winter rains came
this area was in a severe drought
they almost ran out of water in their reservoir

but
its back to dry now

making it susceptible to fires
which are just a few miles away
soot falls down regularly every day on the garden
i guess the soot is good for the soil

no dont worry
we arent threatened in any way by the fires

so this last week i did my first official harvest
from the garden for supper the other night
i picked
squash swiss chard kale bell pepper banana pepper purslane
amaryth to go in our salad and in our pasta
no my wife she was not allowed to pick my green tomatoes

here above is a picture of my garden at 4 weeks

here below are surrounding gardening plots
the middle of the garden area is reserved for school education
and for raising food to donate to food banks
each plot renter has to do so many community hours a year

if you look you can see the mountains and clouds
in the distance

also
the farmers markets here
well if i am by myself i can spend an hour or two walking
around and talking to all the gardeners and farmers

my favorite are the fresh picked avocados
no not from mexico
from some place nearby here

so
im guilty
feeling that is
until i bite into the avocados and citrus here
taking a slow deep breath
thinking
when was the last time i sweated

the organicgreen doctor

its their our fault

ITS THEIR OUR FAULT
this permeates all of the corners of the us
the big cities the rural areas the poor states the rich states
everywhere
we are all affected by it
this
opiate thing

i was watching the civil war by ken burns the other night
i also have been reading a book about a civil war doctor
they just lined up those shot up soldiers
took the saw those surgeons did
sawed off above the injured area
wiped off the saw
grabbed the next leg or arm
sawed it off
sometimes for several days without stopping

now those guys usually died from infections
some survived
many got hooked thats right
on heroin or morphine

ok so they sort of had an excuse
we now in the united states today
we dont really have an excuse

why do we have this opiate epidemic
its
big pharmas fault
congresses fault
pharmacies fault
federal and state governments fault
and
yes
go walk into the bathroom
look in the mirror

thats you
its your fault
you and i have the power to vote
either we dont care
or
we arent enraged enough

heck
this epidemic has hit the core of america
the middle class white folks
usually when this happens
things get fixed

here is sort of the story of how all this happened
yes i was part of it
since
i wrote prescriptions
and
i vote

heroin and such opioids have always been around
peaking at times
like in those solders after the civil war

the opiates were used
to treat pain
to treat sorrow
to treat then the addiction

a few years ago
the federal and state governments decided doctors werent aggressively
treating peoples pain
so
they began to reprimand doctors for not writing for enough pain meds
the push began
even i who didnt over prescribe this stuff
felt the pressure to well over prescribe
i loosened up my prescribing
heck
its no fun to get drugged in front of the state medical board
with your own lawyer
getting your name in the news
getting your name on the medical boards website
he got reprimanded for not treating peoples pain

now
that never happened to me
but it did to others

we all felt the pressure

now that i think back
i do wonder if some of this was not some conspiracy by big pharma
to get us to prescribe more of their drugs
you know they have powerful lobbyists
who spend millions influencing those folks that we vote into office
they provide these good looking drug reps to sell the stuff
giving away all kinds of free stuff
like meals trips etc

then big pharm really jumped in strongly
pushing their narcotics
on tv ads
sending those reps aggressively to visit with primary care doctors
who they lied to about how these powerful narcotics worked
like hydrocodone and oxycodone
all of this increased the supply the flow of these narcotics
out into the public
initially all legal

then
eg people having orthopedic surgery got all hooked
they needed more drugs
they started seeking more drugs
they stole from others
they faked pain at doctors office
some even sold theirs on the black market

the middle man
those companys that distribute drugs in the us
even
started leaking drugs into the black market

the flow of drugs became almost like a flood

then
congress those people you and i elect
decided to tighten up
on all of this
to stop the flow somewhat

first they started going after the doctors again
making it known that we were all over prescribing
just the opposite of a few years ago

yes
we all felt the pressure
we all cut back
probably too much

heck
i had oral surgery recently and they didnt want to give me pain meds
sorry
i almost demanded them
i am glad i did
since
there was 2 or 3 days of severe pain that thankfully resolved quickly
sure glad i had those few pills around to help

so now
we have created a large pool of addicted folks
we have started to under treat pain again

where do those folks turn to for relief
addiction centers
these are becoming underfunded and the new health law doenst help either
then
its the streets

the narcotic supply was dwindling and expensive
so
enter heroin
its cheaper
works fast
hooks you real good

now we are back to the civil war era
we really havent progressed much have we

we didnt solve it then
we arent solving it now

sorry
i wrote all this
but
i dont really have a solution to present to you
except
we can all vote cant we

if they the politicians think they will be voted out
they will start doing what it takes to solve this problem
but
probably not before then

this seems to be one problem that affects both parties equally
its a non partisan issue

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-#5 down and thanks

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-#5 DOWN  AND THANKS

on tuesday i went it for my #5 infusion of the aducanumab stuff
well it might have been the placebo
i will never know if i got the real stuff or not
nor will the researchers at ut southwestern alzheimers research center
its a double blind study

now
like i have written before
if this stuff seems to work in little over a year in those who got
the real stuff
it will be offered to all of us for another 3.5 years
extending my treatments well into 2022
heck we will have had another election by then for president

today while awaiting my call for my infusion
as i sat in the lobby
there was another couple sitting there waiting also
i went over and struck up a conversation

wow how similar this guy and i were
we were about the same age
we were both professionals white collar that is
we both were surprised by our diagnosis when it happen
we were using the same words as we talked
he said i dont want that placebo stuff
i want the real deal stuff
i said that also i thought to myself

just think if this stuff were to work in both of us
then
in 5 years we will be just like we are today
no better maybe
but
not worse
thats all we can ask for
we both agreed on this

i wish to say thanks
to the alzheimers disease center at ut southwestern for providing
care for me and helping me along this journey
the last 7 years

special thanks to
kristian
kasha
zohre
barb
dr rosenberg
dr quiceno
dr williams
dr womack
for being on my side as we move forward to fight this
terrible disease

i as a volunteer for the research studies
them as researchers trying to find a cure

a reminder
the biggest obstacle to finding a cure
is you
there are not enough volunteers for these studies
that is sad
that we cant get the research done
because theres not enough money
theres not enough volunteers

www.clinicaltrials.gov can link you up to studies in your area

i am doing my part to fight this disease
what are you doing
remember
everyone of you will be affected by alzheimers disease
if you are female and you live long enough
you will more likely get alzheimers disease than not

so as i got my infusion
got the needle out of my arm
drove to the airport
got on the plane
to fly back to california

yes
i was sad
i left an important part of me back there
but
hopefully i can gain some of it back
as
we move forward to ucla to continue our fight
against alzheimers disease

remember
we need financial support to fight this disease
and
emotional support to deal with it

join us as we walk this year

we will be doing the
alzheimers texas walk in georgetown texas
on saturday september 23rd
team name is organicgreendoctor

yes we will be in georgetown for the above walk
as we walk with our austin friends and family
do join us
come say goodbye to us

i also will have a team in the
santa barbara walk to end alzheimers 
on saturday october 28th
team name is organicgreendoctor.com

join us

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-its the oil

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ITS THE OIL

there are two diets recommended for slowing down alzheimers disease
and
it bodes well for folks trying to slow down or prevent
heart attacks and strokes
obesity

one is
the mediterranean diet
the other the mind diet
both are similar

the mind diet is really a blend of
the mediterranean diet
and
the dash diet for blood pressure

i like the mind diet
click on the link here to read about it

one ingredient it seems all recommend
is
extra virgin olive oil

extra virgin oil is well like fresh squeezed orange juice
it uses mechanically squeezed olives fresh ones to produce
the pure olive oil
the other olive oils are extracted using chemicals
thus
extra virgin oil is the better choice
its the one recommended

a recent study at temple university showed that in mice
who were fed evoo rich diet
thats extra virgin olive oil rich diet
that the autophage cell cells
those garbage cells in the brain
were activated by the extra virgin olive oil diet

these cells clean up debris inside the brain
plus
these mice had better memories and learning abilities than those
not fed the evoo rich diet
the evoo rich diet mice had better neuron connections than those
who didnt eat that diet

if this extrapolates to humans
which it probably does
which as far as i am concerned it does
then we all should be on this as our oil of choice

you may be smarter for it


this has been a sobering week for me
as i head back home where i grew up for our annual family reunion

i always it seems seem to come face to face with reality
as i visit
the grave of my younger brother who died at 62 with alzheimers disease
looking at his grave looking at old pictures seeing his progression
it makes it well sobering
thinking of what he and his family went through

i visited my mom and dads graves
thinking of both of them
thinking mainly of her and her final downward course with the disease

i visited with  my older brother diagnosed about 3 years ago
who is on aricept donepezil like i am
that was less sobering as he seems to have improved over time
well like i have over the last several years

as i am here
sandwiched between my second mri then early next week
my fifth infusion and final one at ut southwestern in dallas
before
my care then switches to ucla

yep
it all makes me
pause
take deep breaths
and
really realize how lucky i am and we are to be where we are with all this
not where we expected to be 7 years ago

remember
we need financial support to fight this disease
and
emotional support to deal with it

join us as we walk this year

we will be doing the
alzheimers texas walk in georgetown texas
on saturday september 23rd
team name is organicgreendoctor

i also will have a team in the
santa barbara walk to end alzheimers 
on saturday october 28th
team name is organicgreendoctor.com

join us

the organicgreen doctor

my head hurts

MY HEAD HURTS
thats what i told my wife she
last week as i was headed towards getting my mri

thats good she said
no
she wasnt being mean to me
she like me knows that if my head hurts a week or so
after getting my infusions of the aducanumab
thats a good thing

thats a side effect of the medicine
since
if i get headaches
that could mean i am getting the real thing

however
i will never ever know if i did get the real thing
unless
this mri shows something

the way this stuff works
the aducanumab
is it is an antibody to the bad beta amyloid that forms
plaques in the brain
beta amyloid plaques
these plaques damages brain cells
thus
the beta amyloid theory of what happens in alzheimers disease

remove these plaques then you are slowing down
or
if we are all lucky
stopping the disease in its tracks

the headaches
if they are caused by the aducanumab
occur in folks who receive it who have the apoe 4 apoe4 gene
which i do

for some reason those of us with this combo
are at risk as the beta amyloid is being removed
of getting micro bleeds
like
when you remove a scab off a wound
and
it bleeds

so you can get these when you remove the plaques of beta amyloid
with the aducanumab
however
if you get these micro bleeds
you get ousted from the study
since
things have the potential to get worse if it progresses

so if they call me to tell me the results of the mri
thats not a good thing
not hearing anything
thats a good thing

now dont worry about me
getting bleeding in the brain

i had headaches 24/7 after the first infusion
that lasted a week
however
that headache the other day was the first one i have had since

i have a different feeling
a different approach
i like having the headache up there
i usually wont even take a tylenol for them
they just remind me
that maybe
just maybe
i am one of the lucky ones that is getting the real thing
the real deal
i want to experience the full headache
its almost comforting knowing that its there

then
i do have about a week of fatigue two weeks after the infusions
that lasts about a week
i am in that time period now
just ask my relatives and friends i am visiting
as i fall a asleep mid day while visiting with them
ok ok
i do admit
that ive done that to them before over the years
not able to blame it on the aducanumab in the past
but
i can now

as i progress in the study
i count a total of 7 mris i will have over the course of the 18 month portion of the study
i count a total of 3 amyvid pet scans the pet scans for beta amyloid
i count approximately 20 infusions of the aducanumab

i would love to see that last amyvid scan thats done at the 18 month mark
if i got the real deal
the aducanumab
all that beta amyloid will be gone
if i didnt get the real deal
if i got the fake stuff the placebo
then that scan will still be positive like it was when it qualified me
for the study

at least next year
if this stuff is working for those who get it
and
not causing too much side effects
then the stuff i will be getting in my infusions
will be the real deal stuff
the aducanumab

so
thats why i get excited
when i have side effects
when my wife she is glad when i get a headache
when i fall asleep on everyone while i sit on the couch

weird huh

the organicgreen doctor