alzheimers news-ptcgsd

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-PTCGSD

we all know what ptsd stands for
post traumatic stress disorder

well
ptcgsd stands for post traumatic caregivers stress disorder

if you want to know what its like to have this caregiver disorder that i have called
ptcgsd
then
take the time to read this latest blog by karen garner a wife mother excaregiver of an early onset alzheimers husband who died almost 3 years ago

i followed her blog for close to 5 years
it oozed with pain and with love

he a late 40s early 50s dad
healthy athletic military guy
struck at this young age with the disease we expect to see only in older folks
he with a young wife and two young kids

i started reading her blog not long after i was diagnosed
it was painful to read
all i could think was im not far behind him am i

he continue to worsen
all the grief she laid out for all of us to read see and feel

i somehow feel guilty at times when i think of him and her and their family and i think of my younger brother and his family and how he was struck so young also
its just not fair

i feel like i have had a reprieve that i wasnt expecting
but i am glad and gracious to have been given

is it fate
is it my healthy living
is it my medicine
is it this monthly infusion i am receiving now for two years
i dont know
but
although i do feel guilty sometimes
its this guilt and wanting to see my family age that motivates me

so
if you want to know what post traumatic caregivers stress disorder is like
take the time to click here on her last blog
read it
then
you will understand what those caregivers are going through when its all over with
well
its never all over with
is it
it stays with them forever

please dont forget them

when its my wife she and my families time
remember them

here is the link to karen garners latest missing jim confessions of an alzheimers wife blog
called
missing jim continues

warning
if you read through her last 5 years of blogs you will need a larger box of kleenex


update
i received my for sure not placebo aducanumab infusion #3 yesterday
combine that with what i think was not placebo infusions before
then i am closing in on a full two years of infusions of this experimental drug that may slow down the disease some

lets put disease off as long as we can

the organicgreen doctor

sb country n garden news-fruta citrica

SB COUNTRY N GARDEN NEWS-FRUTA CITRICA

for years in texas i tried to grow citrus where we lived at the country n 40 miles north of austin texas
the winter temps sometimes would drop down to the mid teens
and
occasionally would be in the single digits
these temps are not compatible with growing fruta citrica

so i would get a citrus that would withstand mid twenties temps
put them in large pots
move them indoors to my small greenhouse with its heaters
then
move them out in the spring when things got warmer
my wife she would whine and complain when i would ask her to help me move them

even when i did all this they just didnt produce much fruit

so
when we moved to santa barbara i was amazed at all the citrus around here
just a few steps from our door is lemons and oranges
we could pick what we want

then
at the garden where i garden they have well over twenty citrus
many i dont even know what they are
but they sure taste good

i was determined to grow a citrus on my patio
so
i spent some time talking with the person that planted and cares for the citrus fruit at the communtiy garden
i did a google search also on how to grow them in pots

now
my favorite citrus is
the satsuma

so
i chose a dwarf satsuma tree that i got from a local nursery
i spent time talking to the workers there on what to do to grow these

a friend gave me a container she got off the street
i filled it with a high quality potting soil
remember put a $5 plant in a $50 hole rule
then
planted it

i thoroughly water it once a week
more when it gets hot
i placed it in the corner of our patio where it gets sun most of the day

each month i use this organic fertilizer with all its goodies
then
twice a month i water it with this fish emulsion seaweed mixture

i was greatly rewarded for the care i gave this plant over the last year
it has produced so far 20+ satsumas

when you pick them they just tear off the plant
they easily are peeled

i took one to ms b last night to see if she approves
she was busy playing with her bouncy ball
then
she wandered over
picked it up
ate all of it
later
she walked back over and said
can i have another one

yes
sweetie i said
you can eat all 15 of them if you want
as i looked guiltily down at my feet
i ate the other 5 already

so
i approve them
my wife she approves them
and
the most important test is
ms b highly approves them

so
these are two reasons we moved here
to grow satsumas
to make ms b happy

the organicgreen doctor

my last trip home

MY LAST TRIP HOME

no this isnt about our friends book last trip home
her last trip home was more disturbing
here is the link to my blog on her book
i titled the blog my last trip home

so now i have two blogs with the same title
her story
my story

mine
well its just the opposite direction of her

i have 7 siblings
one my brother joe died a few years ago with alzheimers disease
the remaining 6 siblings live from the lower ozarks in arkansas down into texas to san antonio
a trip of about 600 miles total
their age ranges from 64 to 78
all are retired
like my wife she and i
we mainly only visited with my siblings

my recent blogs on alzheimers disease and how it may eventually affect me and my siblings made me realize that we my wife she and i need to seize this moment while we can
while we are healthy and able
to visit my siblings
i realize that now was the time

now we have a family reunion each year in the summer
my wife she and i had to miss this year because mr h had to be delivered early and was eventually in the hospital so long
we also wanted to wait to visit the bros and sises when mr h had stabilized
well
mr h stabilized quite well right now
so it was go we did

we made my last trip home

now i dont mean this is really my last trip home
since we plan to return to see everyone as long as we are physically able

what i mean is
i wanted to extract a good visit with each sibling and their spouses
really visit without entering those areas that we shouldnt go to
but
you know a really good visit
you know when that happens
well
it happened at every stop along the way

as we left each home
my wife she and i looked at each other
you know
that was really a good visit wasnt it

no we didnt run around and go places since we have seen over the years all we want to see of the area
all we wanted to do was visit

i guess
what im trying to say is
if i never got to go back home to visit family again
and
this one was the last one i ever got to do
then
i am happy
quite happy
quite content

this
my last trip home
was the best one

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-yes i read about it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-YES I READ ABOUT IT

yesterday several people messaged or called wanting to know if i saw or read about the new alzheimers research study

yes i said
ive known about this study now for a few  years

eight years ago i signed up to be in 2 studies at the university of texas southwestern at the alzheimers research center
click here and here to see a video on my wife she and i that they made and also a newsletter article on me

the studies were part of the tarcc studies and the adni 2 study

as part of the study i had to see a neurologist once a year for a neurological exam
several times i was honored to see the head researcher and director of the center

his name was dr rosenberg
picture a greyheaded man who looked like a research scientist but who also looked like a grandpa
his personality was that of a man whom you would want to be your grandpa

he would walk in with this yellow pad and start asking me questions
once when discussing my issues with sleep i told him i only took a tiny dose of melatonin at 0.25 mgm
he just smiled and said thats a placebo dose
i said well if it is its working for me

ive seen several neurologists over the last 8 years as part of research studies
each time i dont tell them i have weakness and abnormal reflexes in my big toe
a residual defect from my ruptured disk
it doesnt ever bother me

he is the only one that picks up that deficit on exam
the other neurologists miss it
he doesnt

he is business like but friendly then moves on
twice though he paused and became quite animated and excited about alzheimers research
spending a long time talking with my wife she and i

one was the biogen aducanumab study that i am in now
i started the study there but later transferred to ucla when we moved

he felt like many other well known researchers felt that this was an exciting study that may help slow down the disease

another time he started talking about his new alzheimers vaccine study that he and other researchers had developed
he felt like if it was effective as it was showing in animal studies that his new vaccine may help slow down the disease also

his vaccine uses skin cell stem cells injected under the skin
these induce the body to make antibodies against the amyloid and the tau tangles that cause the brain cell destruction in alzheimers

the theory is that the amyloid protein gets deposited first which kills brain cells
then
the tau inside the brain cells get tangled up and released
they then cause more brain cell destruction
then inflammation occurs leading to more destruction of brain cells

dr rosenbergs vaccine leads to antibodies against the amyloid and the tau tangles

my drug aducanumab is man made in the lab and given as an iv infusion
it attacks just the amyloid not the tau

thats part of the treatment im missing is the tau removal part

here is the article from forbes on dr rosenberg and the study

yes
im excited about this new treatment
it moves the ball farther down the field

would i take it
i sure would
i would be lining up now to be in that first few folks who get his vaccine

if i had to chose between his and mine if they were both available
i would probably chose his since it does more to remove the bad stuff than my aducanumab will

im excited but sad that i may not qualify for this study since it may be awhile before this gets tested on humans
when i stop my aducanumab i will be ineligible for a long time for any new studies
if at all

thats a decision i made when i entered the aducanumab study
i viewed it as my last chance study

all that said
i am excited for dr rosenberg and his research study that may do more for slowing down the disease than my aducanumab

its exciting times for alzheimers treatments in the future
it may be there for our kids and their kids to take advantage of so they wont get the disease

yes
i read about it
yes
again
i cried
i know what it all this means for me and you

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-these may slow it down

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THESE MAY SLOW IT DOWN

ive written about this before but it bears repeating since i read once you have to say things 10 times before folks will act on it
so
folks this is the 10th time so act on it

doing these things may slow down your chances of getting alzheimers
i know you are worried that you are going to get it
well
this is what you need to do now and have your kids and grandkids do them also

now i do all these things plus i also do the monthly infusion of the biogen aducanumab each month at ucla
i just had my 2nd for sure aducanumab infuison on monday
so far no side effects noted
yes

do these things and maybe youll remember them when you get older

exercise regularly
like the nike ad says just do it and do it regularly get moving doing something
it increases blood flow to the brain providing more oxygen and food to the brain cells
they last longer that way
it also lowers blood pressure and helps with a sense of well being which is important

get a good night sleep
its the sleep where the brain gets recharged and the garbage cells clean up all the debris that accumulates

eat the mind diet
this may decrease things significantly in the dementia risk category
its not complicated  click on this mind diet link

relieve stress
stress causes too much steroids in the brain
use meditation yoga or something that relaxes you
i use my gardening to relax and exercise

socialize
that social interaction is important like clubs volunteering church etc

learn new things
this makes new brain cells
some folks i know are learning a new language

control your blood pressure and cholesterol
whats good for the heart is good for the brain
dont be afraid to use meds if thats what it takes to control these

control your weight
if you have the apoe 4 gene and you are overweight then you will probably get alzheimers disease much sooner

brush and floss every day
the inflammation and the bacteria in the gums and teeth can get transferred to the brain
in the development of alzheimers its amyloid then tau then inflammation

do brain games
this also makes new brain cells
read a lot or write a lot or do games or learn a new language

consider supplements
they havent been proven to definitely help but they havent been disproved
i personally take them since i feel like i cant wait for these to be proven to work or not
so i go ahead and take them
warning again dont take them without discussing them with your doctor
you can also go to webmd.com and check your supplements against your meds to see if they interact with each other

protect your head
falls or bike wrecks can damage your brain which increases your risk

take care of your gut germs
normal gut germs can prevent inflammation that transfers to the brain
this may be important in several neurological diseases like alzheimers and parkinsons
this is where the mind diet helps
i also take a gut bacteria pill every day

take drugs when they become available
look for research studies like mine at clinicaltrials.gov or www.alz.org
by doing clinical trials you can get access long before they become available
eg
my drug aducanumab if it gets approved will be available probably around 2022
by that time i will have had it for 4-6 years

remember in the near future they will be treating you long before you develop symptoms

here is the article i read as a reference for this blog

so finally
do all of these things to lower your chances of developing alzheimers disease

so
yes there are ways to slow this disease down some

the organicgreen doctor

lets get rid of it

LETS GET RID OF IT

the birds dont care
the bunnys dont care
the squirrels dont care
the coyotes dont care
the owls dont care
the deer dont care
none of them care

they just keep on living like they were living
following the sun or following the moon

its a man made thing
this time change stuff

i bet the old farmers from years ago would laugh at us
they would still get up with the sun as it rises in the east and go to bed when it sets in the west

here we voted to leave it at daylight savings time all the time if the state wants to

well
i want to

this just seems to make me tired
this daylight savings time things
i get good and adjusted then it all gets changed

the other option i have
which may be a better idea
is to just quit using my watch and clock and just live my daily life
then
what time it is wouldnt really matter

now if i could chose
this is for me personally
i would like to leave it like it is now
since i like the early morning light
i can get more done when the sun arises earlier
of course the sun doesnt really change when it rises just the clock changes
the sun comes up now no matter what we say when its time to

yes i say leave it like it is now
others im sure prefer the longer hours after work
im ok
i guess
whichever way is chosen
just quit changing it

my biorhythms
my biological clock dont like to be messed with

yep
lets get rid of it

are yall all in

the organicgreen doctor

go vote

Go Vote

yesterday while i was getting my monthly infusion at ucla i had a new nurse that ive not had before
i asked her
have you voted yet
no
but i plan to tomorrow
its my first time to vote ever
i plan to go to the polls to vote since i want to experience it all
how old are you i asked
she said
im 32

it this election is too important she said

she in our short initial conversation put it all in perspective

your vote our vote their vote
it all counts
its all important

when the day is over today
we should all be happy and proud
even if we lose
since
our system seems to be working
yes
at the end of the day the american people will have spoken

what their final answer is
well
thats the way it will be for another two years
then
oh my we have to do this all over again

it seems we need some rules like some of the european countries do
but
whatever happens today
our system is doing its job the way it was all planned out

i hope over the next two years that the parties can come together someway
to permanently not temporarily fix

healthcare    apparently this one is the number one issue folks worry about  we didnt hear enough about this one from both sides

the immigration system    just fix the damn thing so each president cant mess with it

taxes    some more breaks for the middle class and lower income folks and less breaks for those upper income folks who dont need it
you know the saying the rich get richer the poor get poorer
thats what seems to be happening now

racism    this may be the one that destroys our country

the national debt    actually this one may need to be first on our list
it may ruin us all financially

yep
this vote is real important
if you havent voted

Go Vote

the organicgreen doctor

i had a dream

I HAD A DREAM

this weekend i spoke for a few minutes at the opening ceremony for the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers about why i was holding the blue flower that represented those of us with alzheimers disease

yes i cried they cried we all cried
later someone said there wasnt a dry eye in the crowd
mine wasnt for sure

all week i have been thinking about alzheimers
about how i was diagnosed
how i am doing
about my mom and younger brother and their battle with the disease
how those who were caregivers had to deal with them as they worsened

i guess i have thought more about all this in the last week than i have in a long time

do you ever have a dream that when you woke up it seemed real and it takes a while for that dream to fade away and the real world to finally return

friday night thats what happened to me
i had to get up early what i call dark thirty to help the crew set up the walk event

during my dream
which even now two days later seems more like not a dream but like it really happened

when i woke up from my sleep i was so worried i started doing memory tests on myself just to make sure i was ok

during my sleep dream i was working in the medical office seeing patients
but
during the dream i was confused
i couldnt remember what the patient was telling me
i couldnt remember how to work my computer
i couldnt remember how to take their symptoms and figure out what the diagnosis was
i couldnt remember how to order the labs and xrays on patients
i couldnt remember how and what medicines to order on my patients
my colleagues talked to me about my memory and told me i shouldnt be practicing medicine
about that time when they were confronting me
thats when i woke up

it all seemed so real
i will admit that thats why i quit practicing medicine when i did
i didnt ever want to reach that point

i will admit i was still bothered by the dream even after i was driving to the alzheimers walk
it all seemed even then to be real

now
nothing like this ever happened to me
i quit before this could have happened
something i vowed to do years ago once my mother and younger brother were diagnosed
i didnt hesitate at all when i quit

yes even this morning as i head to ucla for my second for sure infusion
it even now seems real like a true memory

now
before you feel sad for me and my memory
i really am doing well
knock on wood

i do all our financial stuff
i do all our financial planning
i do most of our shopping
i do all of our checkbooks
i do our taxes
i plan all of our vacations doing the reservations for airline tickets hotel and cars
i do this blog most days
i do my alzheimers talks when asked
i do my memory tests several times a year so i know how i am doing
i even can score my memory tests as i take thme
my memory probably is as good as many of you reading this

so
dont feel too sad for me
ive outlived several friends who left us since my diagnosis
i figured i would go before them

yes
as of right now i seem to be doing just fine

except
i must say that dream is way back in the back of my brain
reminding me
i really dont want to be like i was in my dream
ever

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-flowers of alzheimers

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THE FLOWERS OF ALZHEIMERS

below you will see pictures of the flowers of alzheimers in the promise garden from a couple of alzheimers walks we have done in the last few years

those flowers as they are held up in the air
all spinning in the breeze
as the announcer talks about each color
what it means to each of us that hold them up
i always get tears in my eyes

when i walked through these promise gardens i felt like i was walking through a graveyard
each flower representing someones battle with the disease
all die from it
its a solemn quiet space
like when you go to a cemetery to honor those who are placed there


here are the colors and what they mean

yellow     i am caring for or supporting someone with alzheimers or dementia
my mom and younger brother died from the disease
since we lived so far away we could only show up on some weekends to help out or be there to visit them

orange     i support the cause and the vision of a world without alzheimers
im doing all i can to get the word out on finding a treatment or cure for this awful disease

purple      i have lost someone with alzheimers or dementia
i lost my mom and brother to alzheimers
my dad probably had it as did my maternal grandmother and all her kids had it
my dads mom probably had it and at least one of his siblings had it

blue          i have alzheimers
my diagnsis of early mild cognitive impairment is due to alzheimers disease
the is the flower that i hate to have to hold carry and talk about
but i do it since i think it helps to advance the cause


white        thats the new one
its for the first alzheimers survivor
my hope it has to be my hope is that i can hold that one high in the air one day

sadly to say
i meet the criteria or have met the criteria for all of them
except the white one
so far that is
this is the one that i really want to be able to hold up one day and talk about it

tomorrow at our walk
i will talk for a couple of minutes on why i am walking this year
yes ill be holding that damn blue flower again
an alzheimers treatment and a cure has to be our goal

we need two things to reach that goal

money
thankfully the feds are putting up more money not enough though for research
these alzheimers walks raise a lot of money for research

we need you
one of the obstacles to finding a cure is having enough volunteers to conduct these studies
it took over 12,000 volunteers to find the 1600+ folks in my study

yes
we need your help



here is the information on our team for the walk to end alzheimers next month

my team in the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 3rd is called
organicgreendoctor

click the link above and donate and or walk with us
we are close to reaching our goal

the organicgreen doctor

voting

VOTING

this is the sticker i got for voting
i early voted
by mail

my wife she has her early voting envelope but she wants to go to the polling place on voting day to experience the whole voting in person thing
after watching the news and reading about voting turnout
she may be in for long wait in line next tuesday

now she has a history of waiting in long lines
she is best known for waiting in the long long lines at franklin bbq in austin texas
you get there at 730am to get a spot so that you maybe can get bbq at 12-100pm
she does it
she enjoys it
so
i guess she will do it again next tuesday waiting in line to vote
she always has these stories to tell

once at franklins she met this lady and developed a friendship over the years
they still stay in contact via facebook and other social media
another time the lady next to her in line struck up a conversation about her dad who was it turned out was a student in my historian brothers class
when asked my historian brother said yes in fact i have a letter i kept in my files that he wrote after the class was over
another time the person in line was from arkansas and use to coach in the high schools there
he knew my brother in laws who were coaches and he also attended a small college in arkansas that my two nieces attended

so when she does vote this year im sure she will come back with some story like these

she always attracts these stories it seems
just last evening as she was walking from our condo up the sidewalk and over to the garage
i was standing on our second floor porch since she walks fast she seemed to be flying up the sidewalk

pause for a minute
i chose for her sake not to take any photos of this event
i will spare her that but i will tell the story
it is funny sort of but probably not to her

she was dressed in this halloween outfit as superwoman i guess
she had the cape and tshirt
black pants
thsoe rbg superman socks with capes hanging down
she tends to walk fast so as she was walking the capes were flying in the breeze
so
i looked down and texted her
you sure look cute
i knew our granddaughter ms b would love her outfit
a lot
since she dresses up like that and runs through the house sometimes

so as i was texting i heard this yelp
i looked up
she had disappeared from site behind a long line of shrubs
i heard her laughing almost a os laugh
then
the bunnies who live in those shrubs were scattering across the lawn like some fox or dog was after them
then
up popped up her head above the shrubs
she turned and walked limped back to the condo
i noticed her pants were all ripped

what happened i asked
she said i fell on something and hurt my leg
i need to change pants so i can get to the trick or treating with ms b and mr h
i looked at the leg
another os moment

well it looked like someone attacked her leg with a butcher knife
so
i gently cleaned it up
i thought i wish i had a suture kit to sew her up
or
maybe i could just use some gorilla glue and duct tape

nope
she wouldnt go for that
so
i said we need to go to the er

so we did
a 3 hour trip
for xrays and suturing
a lot of suturing i must add

oh
she as she was turning to wave to me tripped and landed on a 2 ft metal sprinkler head
had a sharp edge like a knife

what i was getting to in this story is that she always has these meet up experiences when she does things

last night the er doctor did his residency here in california where i almost did mine
when he heard my southern accent he asked you from arkansas
ever heard of this town in southern arkansas
yes i said
i worked there in the hospital in high school and later as a lab assistant after college then later as a physician
he went to the same medical school i did and we knew a lot of the same professors and state doctors
some my fellow classmates

so im sure when she returns from voting next week she will have some story like she always does

now back to voting

i am excited for this election this year
why
because there so many people voting this year in the midterms
usually its just old white folks that vote
now its young and old folks
folks of different races different religions different political views different educational levels different financial levels

all voting at the same time at the highest numbers ever in a midterm election

i think this is what the starters of our country envisioned when they started our country

yep im happy that all yall are voting
even though i dont agree with half of yalls vote

yes
my wife she is ok this morning
no
she didnt have kryptonite in her pocket when she fell

here are some smart remarks
you should have been batman
you didnt get krytonited did you
did you fly over here
you should have been flying
there were more but ill spare her more jokes

vote
if you havent yet

the organicgreen doctor