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
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
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