whirlwind 3

WHIRLWIND 3
we made the decision to drive right through to california
allowing one stop overnight in tucson arizona

my memory of that trip is blurry
but
one thing i know is that its a long long drive
from austin to el paso

we left on a sunday morning and arrived here
on a monday afternoon
tired but happy to make it

we had rented an airbnb sight unseen
ok our kiddos looked at it for us
a college professor rented it to us
it was a mother in law apartment
rented for 3 months

the next day after arrival we i mean i
went over and planted my garden at the
community garden site

then
we spent our days getting settled in
we also had to do a closing on our house
the country n
but
we were able to do that long distance at a local title company

before we went over to do the final closing on
our country n
a relative texted us
a fellow employee told me today that there is a condo
for sale in the complex he lives in

i told my wife she
remember we plan to rent long term
we have no plans to buy here

so
after the closing
we well just drove the few blocks to the condo complex
to well see what its like

now coming from the austin area
to california
is the wrong way to do it if you are planning
to sell then buy
its usually done the other way around
california folks sell then buy in texas
they come out way ahead when they do that

so we parked on the side of the street
walked up to the condo
it is a older complex
it has that old santa barbara look
retro looking

as we stood outside looking up at the unit
we both looked at each other
weve been married too long
we both were thinking the same thing

i mumbled under my breath to my wife she
remember
the minimalist thing

then
up popped this head with sunglasses and grey hair from
a front porch
hi there she said
a lengthy conversation enused
you want to look at my condo to see what they look like
sure we said
but you dont even know us
she didnt care
then
the neighbor next door wandered over
struck up a conversation

you know they call this the graveyard
huh oh i thought
thats not good
no
she said
cause its so quiet

an hour later
up walks the president of the hoa for the complex
oh i know that realtor
the one listed on the sign
here illl call her
130 ok with you guys
she will show it to you then

so we went to lunch
talked about it
you know this place well it just feels right
its us
no foofooness to it

we looked
we liked
we contacted a local realtor that was helping us find a
rental
told him we want to know more about this place
toured the place with him
we both looked at each other
said
we want it

we made an offer
they counter offered
forget it we arent paying that much
we dont have to buy it we will just keep renting long term
knowing that we wont find an old school place like this one
again most likely
ok we will take your offer they said

then whirlwind 3 started
we were told
dont open any new bank accounts
dont do any travel

ruh ro
well
we didnt follow the rules
we did both
we felt like we needed a local bank so we had opened a bank account
later
the mortgage company came back on the original day of closing
we need more records on your bank account
you have to get on the phone with us and with a representative
of the bank at the same time so we can ask questions
that was almost the straw that broke the camels back
we almost were at the point of
just forget about it

i must say
the amount of paperwork that we accumulated doing this buy
was unbelievable
more than one tree was sacrificed for this transaction to occur
especially compared to what was required in texas

we have this huge donald trump huge pile of paperwork in our
closet from this transaction
plus
most of the other stuff is online
thank goodness for the internet
or this would never have happened

now
i had to go back to dallas for the research study three times
doing the escrow period
no
the mortgage folks the title folks the realtor folks didnt
like that at all

we spent close to two weeks in texas and arkansas
part of the time in rural areas with sketchy real sketchy cell service
and internet service

when we would come back into cell coverage
our cellphones would just go crazy
we dreaded looking at them to see what more stuff was needed

it was amazing the documents that we had to complete
records we had to obtain
while we were traveling

once
while we were in dallas we had 2 hours to get all these records
sent it
i had to be at the research center for my mri etc
the fax machine at the hotel didnt work right
we couldnt do it online
so
we went next door to the hotel next to us
they let us borrow their computer and fax machine
to zap all those documents to the folks who wanted all this stuff

it seem like every time we came out of the cell desert
some new crisis seem to pop up

all i could think was
i should have just written a check for the condo and be done with it
but
i didnt
so
we had to go through all this stuff to get our retro condo

also
i thought
a few years ago
if you were breathing they just gave you the money
now
they make it hard at least out here to get your mortgage done

that two weeks in texas and arkansas
had a lot of ups and downs in it
but
our persistence paid off eventually

we had finally decided
you know
we werent really looking to buy
it just sort of fell in our laps

as my wife she said
if its meant to be...

of course
thats not the way i operate

why did this process seem so hard to get through
ours should have been fairly straight forward

then
again
on the day of closing
sorry
you have to pay off your car loan
well
i tried to pay it off when all this started but was told not
to do it
also
since my wife was retiring and hadnt received her first
pension check
that money didnt count
you have to set up these transfers from your retirement ira
into your checking account
before we can approve this note

ok
all that
almost made us tell
them
forget about it
we are just going to rent
but
we both sat down
took a deep breath
let just do whats asked
to get this done
so we
did
we wired the bank to pay off the car
did the transfer
and
looked at each other

this is the one you know

the organicgreendoctor

whirlwind 2

WHIRLWIND 2
we loaded up our two cars with all that was left
we sold or gave away or donated everything else
if we couldnt get it in our two cars
it didnt make the move

of course
the first two things we well ok i packed
was our two tv sets
one big one
the other a smaller one
then
we packed everything around those tv sets

its interesting what we took with us
and
what we left that we thought was important
but
i guess really wasnt

it helped that we had culled out a lot of stuff
like
bags and bags of clothes
lots and lots of paperwork

all i thought was important but after i spent a day or two
looking at it
well it wasnt

i had talked to my rainwater brother a financial planner
about what paperwork i needed and what i needed to
just chunk away
that was earlier this year

i thinned it all out
took all that paperwork i didnt need
like i did several years ago
buried some in the garden to enrich the soil
shredded a lot and recycled it

another hard thing to leave
was all my tools and garden stuff

i can tell you now i wished i could have kept some of it
since i need it now
but
we had to make decisions based on our space
left in our car and our needs
so
i took out an old tackle box
those plastic ones you get at like walmart

i told my wife she
if i cant get it in this box
then
we arent taking it

so
looking at all those tools laid out all over those tables
what tools will i take

the first one i chose was this one
my younger brother who died with alzheimers disease
used this tool
he kept it in his pocket
when he maintained the local water system
he was always needing it to open or tightened a valve

i had told his wife i want some tool of his that
i can remember him when i use it
so
it was number one into the box

another was my dads old pocketknife
now
i never use it but i wanted to keep it

then my wifes shes small hammer
various pliers and screw drivers
a roll of duct tape of course

when i got through
the box wouldnt close
so
i had to remove some things
until it closed
then i put it in the car

my wife she wanted to leave a knife set that i liked to use
for cooking
you know the type that all fits into one block of wood
with slots for everything

we can get another one when we get there
ok i said
but
i plucked it off the shelf at our moving sale
when she wasnt looking
put it in a plastic bag
stuffed it under the tv
and
i must say it fits nicely on our counter in our new place


then
there was the chicken bowl
that my patient i called the carver
made for me
its made from a old mesquite trunk
its heavy
it will last forever

i know we could have easily sold it for more than we paid
for it
but
i just couldnt do it

it goes we both said as we looked at each other

we actually loaded both cars before our moving sale
if it cant fit in the cars
its for sale
thats how we approached our sale
get rid of what was left

our oldest dog maverick
may he rip
was put down as he was too old
to move somewhere else
he would have bad days then good days
we made the decision
to let his last memories be of our country n

then
there was marley
the best ever dog we have owned
we would always say
no he wont bite you but he will lick you to death

all i can say is
he knew a day or two before we moved
we were leaving
and
we were never coming back

besides sleeping maverick
and crying a lot about it
leaving marley
that left us with tears for several miles

a good friend whose dog was marleys buddy
agreed to take him
marley would have 18 acres to himself
a small pond to swim in during rainy seasons
a buddy to play with who had  more energy than old maverick did
he would be in a good place for sure

so as we got in our cars that early sunday morning
to make that quick long long trip to california
one we will never ever do again

marley lay on the sidewalk
with his head on his paws
looking up at us with those sad eyes

we patted his head
hugged him
kissed him on the head

yes
he knew

then
we left

we knew when our friend picked him up later that day
that he would be in a good place

that
made leaving him easier to do

we couldnt pack everything

tomorrow
whirlwind 3

the organicgreen doctor

the whirlwind

THE WHIRLWIND
now picture this

you live on 10 acres 40 miles north of austin
far enough away to avoid all the traffic
but
close enough to drive into downtown austin
if you want
attend an event downtown like a game or concert or march
go to a music venue
attend a festival
so easily accessed

you live on 10 acres of property that you allowed to go native
ie
go back to its natural state
mowing a mile trail in and out through those 10 acres
which we used to take a peaceful walk on many a day

you have a complete rainwater system
a solar system
a large organic garden

you have neighbors but they are
1/2 mile one way
1 mile another way
2 miles another way
who knows how far the other way

you hear some road noise if the wind doesnt blow
but the wind usually blows most of the time

its an oasis
its solitude
its peace and quiet

well there was a bird concert every morning
that we attended
sitting out on our peaceful deck
or
in our hot tub

you could go completely off the grid there
living a homestead life

but
why would you leave it
why did you
whats happening now

we left to be near family
looking ahead 10-15 years to be prepared for our future
lives
not knowing what lurks in the shadows for us

so
we sold it all
i mean all of it
loaded up two cars
off to southern california we went
a trip in two cars
that we plan never ever to ever never do again

we landed in our airbnb place
temporarily
giving us a few months to look around
get to know the area better
getting a better idea of where we would want to land
on a more permanent basis
hoping to do some type of long term rental
like an apartment or small house

well
we just thought that whirlwind end to our life in texas
was one of a kind
well
nope
we got caught up in another wind event
another
whirlwind

ill finish the story tomorrow

the organicgreen doctor

splicing

SPLICING
a few weeks ago i wrote this blog called
cut the cord
in which i described how we would cut the cord
from cable and satellite tv

i had wanted to do this for a long time
but
was hampered by living in a rural area
dependent on satellite for our tv service

now that we are in a cable town
i cut the cord

i read online and in consumer reports on how to do it
so
clip with the scissors i went

we got an antenna
to me it looks like one of those stingrays with a long
white cord tail
it picked up all our local stations except
no nbc

so on nbc are two of my favorite shows
the voice and americas got talent
now thats a problem

so on to hula live tv
yep theres nbc
click on it
nope its not live
you can get those shows sort of on delay
real delay like a few days

next
i like to watch nbc nightly news with lester holt for
my news along with other sources like npr and pbs
nope no lester either
not live anyway
yep thats a problem

then
the feed from the local stations were sketchy frequently
mainly because we are situated against the mountains and
the beach
nice place to be situated
but not good for free tv reception

so
some  of my pleasures in life are
my tv
my dvr
sports

so my our priority ok me was
sports
news
certain shows

half of those werent being met

so
i we i mean me
decided to sort of do a splice of the cord
only sort of spice it a little

so
we added netflix
a world that we have been missing from country living
for years
then
we added amazon prime
free shipping plus access to a lot of tv and movies
some original
then
i picked a cost effective cable tv plan that captures those
shows that we were missing
added dvr

now
although thats not what i we i mean me
wanted to do
its close enough to sort of feel like we are beating
the cable system
our cost is about what we would be paying had we not
spliced the cord back

now
i plan to keep a close eye on hula live tv and sling tv etc
as i know that eventually as they get more coverage
then i we i mean me
can get out those orange scissors again
snip
and
cut the cord again
all the way through


the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-fasiculator

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-FASICULATOR

a fasiculation is a brief spontaneous contraction affecting a small number of muscle fibers
often causing a flicker of movement under the skin

it is commonly caused by a lower motor neuron disease
like eg als
but
it can be caused by the side effects or the effects of the dementia drug
aricept (donepezil)

aricept (donepezil) works by blocking the enzyme that breaks down
a substance called acetycholine
which helps the nerves fire better by allowing the acetylcholine
to accumulate

in alzheimers disease this medicine increases the acetycholine levels
in the brain nerve cells so that they work better
early on this works well
the increased level sometimes makes an alzheimers patient seem to
get bettter
then
as more and more brain cells get destroyed the alzheimers starts
winning the battle

a side effect of this higher acetylcholine level is
increased leg cramps
the development of fasiculations
in my case in the calves
more pronounced in the morning i guess after i take my medicines

yes this is my leg
thats my fasiculations
do they bother me
no
they are just annoying

to me they look like i got a snake crawling around under my skin

so why am i showing you this

when i was diagnosed i wanted to show and write and talk about what
happens to me both inside and outside my brain
freely with no limitations on what i talk about

i also wondered what my mother and brother experienced
that they couldnt talk about

now because of this increased activity in my calves
i get cramps easily in my legs
especially at night
especially if i have been very active the day before

now
i really havent been swimming much since i was diagnosed
in fact i dont think i have been
so
where we live there is a swimming pool
ms b and my wife she was swimming
ms b wanted me to show her how i could swim
as i started out swimming
just a few strokes in
those fasiculators took over in my calves
down underwater i went
i thought
im sure glad im not in the ocean
i might be a goner

now this is one thing that im sure mom and my brother experienced
but they probably couldnt articulate what was happening

im sure they had some of the side effects to the aricept (donepezil)
like i have had like sleep disturbances dizziness blurred vision
upset stomach an almost agitation in the morning after taking the medicine
associated with a burst of energy before it all wears off

i think a lot about my observations of when i was around them
i wish i had known all i know now when they were ill

so there are
thousands of folks with this disease
thousands on this medicine
i wonder if they and their family understand whats happening
inside

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-why i do it

SB COUNTRY N NEWS-WHY I DO IT

why do you do it
all that work
when you could go to the farmers market
or
whole foods or trader joes or a produce market
and
get the same stuff
without all the sweat and tears that goes along with
gardening

all i can say is
read the rest of this
look at the last two pictures
thats why

one of my neighbor gardeners came up to me
shes the flower person in the gardens
would you like this sunflower
i was thinking the usually yellow one
but
i put it in the ground
not knowing it would look like this

this last week i harvested a handful from the garden
giving some away
the rest went into a vase at our new condo

this is my tomato row
i planted purple hull peas from arkansas
along the side of them
with beans on the other side
when i moved here the first thing i did was plant stuff
especially the tomatoes
knowing that i was already a couple months behind
i am just now starting to get some tomato production
i have a few heirloom ones that are large and green
that should be ripe soon
my wife she is not allowed near these
no fried green tomatoes are allowed from my garden

luckily
the local gardens that sell at the farmers market
will let her come out to their place
to get nice big ones to make those
delicious fried green tomatoes
they taste better knowing they are not from my garden

this is a japanese eggplant
notice the leaves have lots of holes in them
some folks would ocd over the holes
my take is
as long as i can get my produce produced
the insects can just enjoy themselves

this is a zucchini squash
now in texas at the country n garden
i gave up on my growing of squash
because of the squash boerer
which would completely wipe out the squash
after about one crop
here they dont seem to be a problem
so
i am on several pickings of squash with no end in site
i hope

then
here is a quicky overall harvest from my garden
today i plan to harvest more
bell peppers banana peppers small cherry tomatoes jalapeno peppers
eggplant squash basil swiss chard kale
soon i will be harvesting beans

now
here is a dish with peppers swiss chard tomatoes eggplant
that is one of my favorite dishes
my wife she cooks this one
this is one of the reason i garden
to eat straight from the garden

now
this is the other reason i like to garden

the picture speaks for itself

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-scan it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-SCAN IT

today we head down to ucla
to the alzheimers center there
as i enter the 22nd week of the aducanumab study sponsored
by biogen

for those who dont know
the aducanumab is a monoclonal antibody against the
what i call
the bad beta amyloid that accumulates in the brain as
alzheimers disease progresses
causing brain cell death and initiating that snowball happening
that leads to more and more and faster and faster
rolling down that downward decline
that we call the progression of the disease

as the aducanumab binds that bad amyloid
it removes it from the spinal fluid
it also binds to the plaques as they have formed in the brain

in my case
if i am not getting the placebo
knowing my results of my initial amyloid pet scan
its spread over the brain

as it binds to the bad stuff
as it peels it off
it can be like a scab on a wound
there can be some oozing of blood that occurs

this event
can cause headaches and other symptoms
it also if it shows up on scans
gets you removed from the study

those at high risk for this to happen
are those who carry the apoe 4 apoe 4 gene
and
that would be me

i had headaches after the first infusion
but
have not really had any since then

there is just fatique a week after the infusion
i am in that period of time now
its easily helped with a short afternoon nap

as i wrote in this blog about vertigo
that i had
i thought about that this morning as i awoke
i wonder if that episode of vertigo had anything to do with all this
i hope not
since as i head down today for my mri of the brain
i
dont
want
them
to find anything on that scan
if they do
thats it for this study

so we are in the prime time for these bleeds to occur
called aria
amyloid related imaging abnormalities
this will be my third mri for this study
the last two have been normal

how do i know
since they dont give me the results

if its positive for anything i am not allowed to continue
this study

the thinking is that if when this stuff gets on the market
if it works
that even small bleeds will not one day prevent you from
continuing the treatments
but
for this study they have to be discontinued

i personally would not discontinue it if these occur
especially if there is nothing else out there available
to help slow down the disease

also
i will have blood drawn today
the blood is usually tested for the level of the antibody in the body
that is still present since the infusion
and
also it tests to be sure my body isnt making an antibody to destroy
the aducanumab
which would prevent the aducanumab from doing its job

next  up
in two weeks its infusion #7
we will be one year away from the end of the first segment
of the aducanumab study
thats when if this stuff seems to be working
and
if there arent too many side effects
then
all in the study even those getting the placebo
will be getting the drug aducanumab
for another 3+ years

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 docotr

the statues and the flag

THE STATUES AND THE FLAG
when i was growing  up in the south in southern arkansas
i really dont remember no statues
anywhere
im sure they were there but i just dont recall them

now i do recall the flag
the confederate flag

after high school after dropping out of college
ok so i flunked out from lack of effort
i worked at a bag making factory
had a red maverick car
put the concederate flag on the front license plate

it never crossed my mind that this was rascist
it was the time of rebelling against things
the tv show the rebel was coming to an end
i felt like a rebel
rebelling against things

when i drove around with that flag i never
thought about my white heritage
the civil war
whether it would be offensive to folks
i saw it as part of the times
rebelling against authority

im sure the black folks around there didnt quite
see it that way though
im sure they felt much different about that flag

so
keeping my southern heritage in mind
my relatives fought in the civil war
some died fighting
for the cause
yes
some were slave owners

what was the cause
it was to fight to maintain slavery
why
because
the civil war no matter what folks say
was all about economics
pure economics

the problem was
that economics was built on the backs of slaves
the institution of slavery held up the economy
in the south

if it was removed
the souths economy would collapse

thats what the war was about
economics
slavery

anything else spouted as a reason is wrong

there are  a few folks who will say that slavery is ok
if they do they dont belong here

so now fast forward to today
the flag the confederate flag the one i drove around with for at
least a year on my car
the statues
i guess the only one that i feel questionable about is robert e lee
it could have easily been a general for the union
but
he chose to go with his southern roots

now
ive thought about it a lot
sitting here today if i was asked i would say i would not fight for the south
but
that was over a hundred years ago
ive thought about this a lot now
discussed it with historical brother and my rainwater brother
my guess is
had i lived in southern arkansas during the civil war
i would have probably fought for the south

if i say otherwise
i would be lying

today if it happened with my present belief systems
i would not be a supportive of the rebel cause

so with this perspective
my 2017 perspective
i would not be a rebel supporter

now in 2017
there are three people

a relative who is a historian a black historian
a black writer and friend
a black friend who lives there in the deep part of southern arkansas

i would ask them
should the confederate flag be flown
should those statues those confederate statues be placed on
public property like colleges and courthouses

all three of them would say the same i thing

no
no
no

so
i have to go with those folks
those folks who represent a group that has been so severely affected
and
by the historian who truly understands what this all means
what the real truth is

so for karen and louise
for you and our kids
i say this

they need to all come down
general lee opposed them
he understood what they meant
they belong in the historical settings
like  museums

its time
that we all move forward

take then down

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-thanks frank

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THANKS FRANK

frank is frank broyles
if you are a sports fan
a football fan
a razorback fan
you know him as the iconic football coach for
the arkansas razorbacks
who won the national championship in 1964
one well known player on that team
was jerry jones the cowboys owner


frank broyles had a lot of battles with
the university of texas darrell royal
another iconic football coach

they have something else in common
they both died from alzheimers disease

darrell royal left the
darrell k royal alzheimers fund which funds basic alzheimers
research in texas and alzheimers education

now frank
left his mark with a book
that he wrote after his wife was diagnosed with the disease
ironic that he would develop and die from the same disease

here is the book
for sale at
this link at the alzheimers association book store
or
here on amazon



i discovered this book when my mother who lived in arkansas
was diagnosed with alzheimers disease
one of my sisters gave it to me

even as a physician i really didnt understand alzheimers disease
this book helped a lot
i was able to read it and understand what was going to happen
i was able to figure out where she was with the disease
what was going to happen next

i must say its the best book on the disease for folks who
are having to deal with it in their family

i obtained other copies and kept one in each of my three
exam rooms

i even occasionally would lend them out

i went back and read it more than once

its still a good book to have if you or your family are affected
by this disease

so
thanks frank
your legacy you have left like darrel k royal
is more than a sports one

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-take out the batteries

DEAR MS B-TAKE OUT THE BATTERIES

ms b
go back into your room and grab that device
take out that battery so it doesnt work
take a strip of duct tape and put over the eye of the device

now once you have done that
i want you to read this article from kim komando
on
how disney is using its apps
yes thats their apps
to spy on kids
thats you ms b
so
if you go on your device
click on
moana island life
then they can access all that you are doing
like your location
your email
etc

but ms b you are barely over 2 years old
and
they are already collecting data on you

i know i know
but
you already like watching moana
ok ok
i know
i enjoy watching moana too
but
lets find another way to to watch it

maybe old school
like with a dvd or a disk

so below is a list from the article
of apps that they
thats disney

i know i know
thats donald ducks bosses
but
they arent doing good things with all of this

heres the list from her article

This is the full list of games named in the complaint filed last week:

• AvengersNet
• Beauty and the Beast
• Perfect Match
• Cars Lightning League
• Club Penguin Island
• Color by Disney
• Disney Color and Play
• Disney Crossy Road
• Disney Dream Treats
• Disney Emoji Blitz
• Disney Gif
• Disney Jigsaw Puzzle!
• Disney LOL
• Disney Princess: Story Theater
• Disney Store Become
• Disney Story Central
• Disney’s Magic Timer by Oral-B
• Disney Princess: Charmed Adventures
• Dodo Pop
• Disney Build It Frozen
• DuckTales: Remastered
• Frozen Free Fall
• Frozen Free Fall: Icy Shot
• Good Dinosaur Storybook Deluxe
• Inside Out Thought Bubbles
• Maleficent Free Fall
• Miles from Tomorrowland: Missions
• Moana Island Life
• Olaf’s Adventures
• Palace Pets in Whisker Haven
• Sofia the First Color and Play
• Sofia the First Secret Library
• Star Wars: Puzzle DroidsTM
• Star WarsTM: Commander
• Temple Run: Oz
• Temple Run: Brave
• The Lion Guard
• Toy Story: Story Theater
• Where’s My Water?
• Where’s My Mickey?
• Where’s My Water? 2
• Where’s My Water? Lite/Where’s My Water? Free
• Zootopia Crime Files: Hidden Object

now i recommend gorilla tape duct tape

its real hard to get off

can you imagine the data that will be collected on your kids

over their young lives

i hope this gets all fixed so we can watch moana again

without getting spied on

the organicgreen granddaddy

vertigo

VERTIGO
no this is not about the movie
that hitchcock did in the 50s
that real psycho scary movie

its about yesterday
here at our place

i take a short nap usually every day after lunch
but having not slept well the night before
probably from my aricept (donepezil)
a common problem i have that i use low dose melatonin
to help with my sleep
well
i fell asleep early the night before
woke up real early too early
so
when i laid down for my retirement nap
i knew it would be longer than usual

as i awoke
i was on my back
no problems
as i turned over to get up
well i did sit up
the room was aswerving like i was on a
merry go round
something i never ever do
get on a merry go round
kerpluck back on the bed i went

i got too much i need to do this afternoon
i must have slept hard in one position
i know if i sleep on my left side i tend to get vertigous symptoms
when i first get up
but not like this
this was super merrry go round stuff

so i laid there on my back
that made the room quit spinning
so i just went into the smartphone world
on my back for awhile

tried again to get up
wow thats really a lot of spinnnnnnning going on
so
back on the back

so my wife she came in
would you get my traveling pill
a dramamine pill called dimenhydranate
that i take when i fly
since i get bad motion sickness

its not as powerful as the meclizine that is used sometimes
and is also used for vertigo
that one just knocks me out for a day

so i took the milder one
waited thirty more minutes
went back into the facebook vortex
then
i slowly turned to the right
slowly sat up
whoa
i think that merry go round got sped up
so
i whirled back on my back
thinking
i may have to take that one pill that hammers me for a day
then
i remembered once when i had this real bad
i found this video on you tube on how to do a  maneuver
to make this go away
since
as you get older the little rocks in your semicircular canals
those little balance beams in the inner ear
get stuck
these maneuvers loosens them
so
i googled it
there it was
no video but the description of the epley maneuver
so
it said
turn you head 45 degrees to the left
since the left is the side that bothers me usually
then
sit up for 30 seconds
i think the room sped around 30 thirty times
then
i lad back with my head in the same postion
back onto a pillow under my shoulders
i waited 30 seconds
the room slowed some
then
i turned my head ninety degrees to the right
waited 30 seconds
someones putting on the merry go round brakes
i was thinking
then
it said sit up for 30 seconds
i already was about to puke
if this didnt work
i was sure i would be puking if that merry go round
were to take off

now
wanting this to stop
i sat up with my head turned to the right
the merry go round
well
it wasnt go around anymore
it all stopped

thank you dr epley for figuring this all out

i was able to get up
go to the bathroom since i needed to go bad
then
into the living room for the rest of the evening

wished i had known about and used this method in the past more
it would have saved me a lot of wiped out days

i swear if i turn my head back and forth
i can hear those little rocks sliding across those
little hairs in my inner ear now

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-in memoriam

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IN MEMORIAM

i thought about these two guys a lot last week
both were from arkansas

one was my brother joe who died 4 years ago
in the final stages of alzheimers disease

here is the blog i wrote about him after his death
he was the mirror i looked into
as
i saw myself
knowing that this is where i will be sometime in
the future
when i dont know
im doing what i can to slow it down

here is the blog
THE SMILE


the other person
also had that same smile
it was glen campbell
who died last week in that final stage of alzheimers disease

now i have read some criticism of his family
sending him on his tours
when he struggled so much at times trying to remember his lines
however
he was doing what he loved to do
he was able to do it longer than most would have

may he rip
when you get to that final stage of this disease
death brings peacefulness
to the person
and
their family

hopefully they are at peace


this last week i had my first visit at ucla
the worse part was the traffic
its like worse than than the worse austin traffic

i had to undergo reevaluation and reintroduction to
the aducanumab study
i am able to just pick up where i left off at ut southwestern

i am about the fifth one in the aducanumab study by
biogen here at ucla

i chose ucla instead of a private neurology group
since i wanted the connections to a research facility
in case i need to be in other studies in the future
i have found it makes a difference knowing the folks
and
knowing what new stuff is out there
when it happens
it will be happening here at ucla

they have the mary easton alzheimers disease center here
that does the different research
eg they are also doing one of the bace inhibitor studies
that will probably benefit folks who have no symptoms

they could be used like the statin drugs are being used
to prevent stroke and heart attacks
these bace inhibitors may help slow down or prevent alzheimers
time will tell on that one

the aducanumab study that i am in
has more promise for us with symptoms
although if it works it will probably be given
with the bace inhibitor before folks
develop symptoms

so i went down to the infusion center
got all hooked up again
took my two hours it took to get all set up
and
get in my infusion #6
then out the door into the throngs of the traffic

12 more to go until they put everyone
placebo and real drug on the real drug for another 3 years
then soon after we will find out if this study really works

next
more blood work and an mri of the brain at ucla in two weeks

so far
i have just some daily fatigue i experience
thats hard to separate whether its the infusions
or my aricept (donepezil) or my sleep issues or my chronic iritis
i am hoping its my infusions
since that would mean i got the real deal stuff
and
not the placebo

time will tell

i also volunteered for a substudy of this one
which does extra amyvid pet scans for the
bad stuff beta amyloid
to see if it really all got cleared out after a year
that is
if i got the real stuff

however i will never know if i got the real stuff
this first 18 months
thats part of the deal
they will know but i wont

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