organicgreendoctor: hey you are going the wrong way

organicgreendoctor: hey you are going the wrong way: HEY YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY we had friends visiting from out of state who went to a butterfly garden display in san diego there was b...

hey you are going the wrong way

HEY YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY

we had friends visiting from out of state who went to a butterfly garden display in san diego
there was butterflies everywhere of all kinds
especially monarchs
we were shown several butterfly pictures especially monarchs

so
i said
you know if they release them they wont know where to go
they wont go south down to mexico where they are suppose to stay for the winter
if they go north well that dont end well when winter comes
like
what happened in the book i read called flight behavior by barbara kingsolver 
where the monarchs didnt go south like they were suppose to and many of them didnt make it

what are you talking about they said

well i said according to this research study if you raise butterflies in captivity like some folks do at schools and at home and release them
well
it seems they all go willy nilly in different directions
they all need to go south
for the winter
thats their life cycle
to end up way down south

it seems some have different genes that are raised and sold commercially but even those with all the regular genes they lose that sense of direction
sort of
the way i thought of it
when my wife she drives
if she doesnt have her gps maps on her phone
well
just like the monarchs she can drive willy nilly to where she goes

trust me
eg
once when driving across country i let her drive after a pit stop
i instantly fell asleep before she took off
as i woke about two hours later
where we at
i dont know
so i using my map
now this was pre gps times
i figured she had gone the wrong way 100 miles the wrong way
so
now
ill call her
my monarch butterfly

so it seems these home grown monarchs dont know which way to go
unless
they are left outside to hatch and grow through their various stages
then
off they go headed down south

monarchs in hawaii and australia and central america and south america and africa dont have to migrate
but
those in north america have to go south
or
they wil end up like those in the book mentioned above

lesson
raise them outside or they may be doomed to be willy nilly butterflies
like my wife she

the organicgreen doctor

my story revisited 11

MY STORY REVISITED 11

after i was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment amnestic type and placed on aricept generic donepezil i was not allowed in the normal control group of the adni 2 or alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative study

later after being stable on the drugs for three months i was placed in the mild cognitive impairment wing of the adni 2 study

i was in the adni 2 study for 5 years

they wanted an intial mri so i would be ready for the study and for diagnostic reasons for my neurologist

now

i have had a lot of mris done over the last 8 1/2 years in the two long studies i have been in 

i think its well over 10 but you know after a while you quit counting

now as part of these studies you dont get the results

however

for some reason i would get copies sent to me of some of the mri reports

so 

unlike the amyvid pet scans done in the study which i never got an official written report 

so

i know that mine all are normal except for two specks of white matter hyperintensities which are small white specks that are associated with an increased risk for stroke and dementia

when these are seen on folks mris its a warning sign to the patient and to their doctors

no doctor told me that i found out by reading research papers on these white spots

so

thats one of the reasons i got more aggressive with my blood pressure control and my cholesterol control 

doing what i could to not get any more

there is a number for some reason off the top of my head this morning its 7 that means your risk is even greater for these events stroke and dementia to occur

so

i jumped right on a statin drug and my pressure drug and improved my diet and improved my exercise and kept my weight under control

now when they do these mris for memory issues they are looking for explanations for why a person had memory loss

eg

my mom had diffuse cerebral atrophy or brain shrinkage that was compatible with alzheimers disease

she also had a small subdural hematoma from a fall that cleared on its on

my younger brother with his first mri had changes compatible with alzheimers disease

another close relative had brain shrinkage of their frontal and temporal lobes 

these explained all their memory issues

other things they look for is too much fluid in the ventricles of the brain like what happens in the babies that have hydrocephalus

if this normal pressure hydrocephalus can be discovered in adults it can be potentially be treated with shunting of the fluid from the brain like they do in the babies

in some of these patients their memory and neurological symptoms almost totally resolve

other things to find on mri are strokes masses like cysts or aneurysms or tumors or old scars like from trauma or like that lady in the news lately who had a tapeworm cyst

many of these are treatable

if an old stoke is seen then preventative measures can be started like cholesterol and blood pressure measurements maybe aspirin or other drug therapy

so on all my mris the only thing that is found are those two white matter hyperintensities that havent changed but are just sitting there warning me to 

take care of my health to maybe prevent more and maybe slow down the alzheimers thing some

now after the initial mri then i would have more tests 

some i was able to duplicate in the private world

like 

the genetic blood tests for early onset alzheimers genes and the late onset gene apoe 4

the spinal fluid analysis for amyloid and for tau proteins levels of which become abnormal in alzheimers disease

here is what i wrote 8 plus years ago about that first of many mris i would have

as i read these old blogs i realize how much i didnt know and i realize how much i have learned in the last 8 plus years

12-30-2010

MRI TODAY 
i have my mri today as part of my workup
it will be looking for other causes of this disease
such as infection, stroke, abnormal masses, etc that
could be treatable

then the diagnosis might be mci nonamnesic type

that would be nice
then the chances of progression would be about 20-30%
vs the sucky 50-80% of what i have

also there are certain changes on the mri that are seen with
alzheimers and may be found on me in the early stages of
this disease like changes in the part of the brain called the
hippocampus where alzheimers starts
or increases in the size of the ventricles of the brain
or shrinkage in the cortex of the brain

if it is normal then that doesnt mean i dont have mci amnesic type
it just means that changes havent shown up on mri yet

i will give the report of the scan on this blog when i get it

next
in february i will probably have a lumbar puncture for the
research study i am it     

i will have some of the fluid sent off
to a lab to test for tau and amyloid proteins which are proteins that are
found in abnormal levels in alzheimers patients
i will also have dna analysis to see if i carry the genes for
this disease

these tests by themselves dont make a diagnosis but like a
lot of things in medicine when added together they will make the
diagnosis more likely

later on
i will have a pet scan done which will show even better
any changes that may occur in the brain

also when i enter the studies i will have all these tests
on a regular basis as they follow me during the study

except i will not receive the results since i had to sign a waiver

the worse test i may have to have again this year and annually
is the neuropsychological testing
this is where they pick up abnormalities by asking questions
doing drawings etc
i think i would rather have the lumbar puncture instead

but its important since the neuropsychological testing shows how well the brain is
functioning in real time

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: no not that clint

organicgreendoctor: no not that clint: NO  NOT THAT CLINT google map i plan on this to be a short blog today when i saw on the news about the clint texas facility with all th...

no not that clint

NO NOT THAT CLINT

google map

i plan on this to be a short blog today
when i saw on the news about the clint texas facility with all those kids
i figured that well it must be one of those places way out in the middle of nowhere in west texas where you can drive for hours and never see a car or a human or a bird or another animal
so
i googled clint texas
why
its just 30 miles from el paso tx

first let me say when you read the description of how these kids there are having to live with dirty clothes reduced caloric intake no soap no tooth brushes kids with dirty or no diapers snotty stained nasty clothes kids taking care of babies etc
well
its a disgrace

now before yall democrats start trashing trump and the republicans about this
be real careful
since
if trump loses in 2020 this is now your problem

my suggestion to the democrats if you plan on winning the election in 2020 i suggest you work with trump and the republicans to fix this problem now
its the right moral thing to do
even
if you lose the next election
sorry its still your problem
just fix it now

its all our problem this disgrace
dont wait for 18 months to fix it
yall meaning the democrats and the republicans are all responsible for this national disgrace

all i can say is

just do yalls damn job
quit embarrassing all of us

the organicgreen docotr

organicgreendoctor: my neck hurts

organicgreendoctor: my neck hurts: MY NECK HURTS from cnn article on neck horns i notice that my neck hurts after i spend about 3 hours each morning on my computer using m...

my neck hurts

MY NECK HURTS

from cnn article on neck horns

i notice that my neck hurts after i spend about 3 hours each morning on my computer using my laptop and occasionally looking at my cellphone if i need to

i reach up and find this tender spot that gets sore
i know since i am a doctor and took human anatomy that that spot is called the occipital protuberance

now mine which you cant really see is a big one

im sure if i had a shaved head that if you looked at the back of my head from afar
you would think you were looking at the end of a football

now after reading this article which i link here i understand why that hurts

i
like our president
had in his heel
i have
a
skull spur

i wonder if thats a medical condition that is in the medical books
i think not
its a digital age disease
like
years ago when folks would get atari tendinitis of the thumb

now
the infamous bone spurs in the foot that the president has or should i say says he had
is where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone or calcaneous
this plantar fascia holds the foot in its spring like position

yes
women who wear those awful high hells designed by men mess up that spring like position
commonly athletes will get bone spurs and or plantar fasciitis
the constant pull on the fascia can lead to microtears that can be very slow to heal
and can be quite painful

yes
i suffered from this called plantar fasciitis for several years
im sure i had those microtears
im sure if my foot was ever xrayed i would have bone spurs
they dont usually go away unless they are removed
these spurs can develop as calcium builds up along the fascia attachment to the heel bone
now back to my head

it seems that according to this article that folks are now developing these
what they called neck spurs
from
too much bending of the neck looking at computers and cell phones
especially vulnerable may be kids and young adults

then
is saw another article that said this isnt really happening

i dont know the truth
but
i believe the first article
since
i can reach up this morning after 2 hours on the computer
push on that skull knot
ouch
that hurts i said

the cure
stop looking down so much

lay down those electrical devices and enjoy whats going on around you
like talking with family and friends

the cure and treatment if its for real is simple

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-can a virus in a mouse treat alzhe...

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-can a virus in a mouse treat alzhe...: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CAN A VIRUS IN A MOUSE TREAT ALZHEIMERS the answer time will tell after the research is moved to humans warning it make...

alzheimers news-can a virus in a mouse treat alzheimers

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CAN A VIRUS IN A MOUSE TREAT ALZHEIMERS

the answer
time will tell
after the research is moved to humans
warning it make take a while to get the research done

in the theory of alzheimers amyloid for some reason starts to accumulate in the brain causing brain cells to die

as these cells die the protein tau which provides structure to the brain cells get damaged and start to unwind
this tau protein unwinds and forms tangles which get deposited in the brain leading to brain cell damage

amyloid deposition starts the alzheimers disease process then the tau tangles finishes the job

amyloid is the match that starts the fire and tau is the forest fire that burns through the brain

then to the virus
you can take a virus
its covered with a coat of proteins that surrounds all the dna and genes of the virus
scientist can remove all the dna and the genes leaving just this shell of proteins
they can add tau protein to this shell of proteins
they are called virus like particles or vlps
these are used to induce antibodies against the tau as the virus coat infects the brain

by doing this these anti tau antibodies attach to the tau and then the tau can be removed from the brain

the scientists have made mice that develop alzheimers disease
i always wondered about that how an alzheimers mouse would survive in the wild
wandering around all lost and all
not well i would think

so
at the university of new mexico scientists as described in this article took that virus shell covered with tau protein and infected these alzheimers mice with the virus
the virus induced a lot of anti tau antibodies and removed the tau from the mices brain

the mice had mris done of the brain
now i cant really picture how they got a mice to let them do an mri on them
do they have this mice sized mri or do they use a regular human sized one

the mice that were treated showed improvement in their memory compared to those not treated
the mice that were treated showed that the brain had less shrinkage especially in the hippocampus where alzheimers starts
remember 100% of these alzheimers mice will get alzheimers
except
maybe those who are treated with the virus infection

so how does this get to humans
well
it will take millions and millions of dollars to get there
from
the federal government
maybe the alzheimers association
maybe some drug company willing to plop down millions and millions

the pay off if it works for a drug company will be in the billions
the pay off for alzheimers patients will be a new treatment for alzheimers
the pay off for society is that it will save millions and millions of health care dollars
and
much heartache for thousands of us families

i may too late for this treatment if it became available
since it can take 10 years or so for it to be completely studied

but
as one who has followed mouse alzheimers studies over the last almost 9 years
what works in a mouse
well
many times it dont work in humans

this technique has been successful in treating many cancers

however
this one does seem promising though for treating alzheimers

of mice and men

we just need an answer to how to treat this awful disease

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: santa barbara country n news-kids compost

organicgreendoctor: santa barbara country n news-kids compost: SANTA BARBARA COUNTRY N NEWS-KIDS COMPOST this is the picture of one of the garden beds from the elementary schools kindergarten garden t...

santa barbara country n news-kids compost

SANTA BARBARA COUNTRY N NEWS-KIDS COMPOST

this is the picture of one of the garden beds from the elementary schools kindergarten garden that i volunteer at once a week for a couple of hours during the school year

now in this bed this year the kids prepped the soil then planted lettuce swiss chard see the big one thats left kale carrots tomatoes green beans sweet peas
yes they ate all that veggie stuff they grew in the garden

after the school year was over i came in and cleaned up the bed
i added a lot of garden soil
i left the two cherry tomatoes that i will keep growing  this summer so that there will be ripe tomatoes to pick and eat for them when they return to school this fall

included in the soil is layers of the compost that they made in their blue worm composter bin

my wife she found this blue storage bin for me to use
i drilled holes around the sides and in the bottom
i put in a layer of newspapers to act as a cover on the bottom holes
this would keep the worms from escaping and would allow all the liquid stuff produced to drop down into a large metal cooking dish with high sides that sat under the blue bin

in that dish would be this dark nutrient rich liquid the kids called worm juice
we would dilute it with our rainwater and water all the veggies with it
they sure liked pouring that worm juice mix all over the garden

here is how we made the blue worm composter compost

i added a starter handful of worms and compost from our community garden as well as some from the teachers garden probably less than 100 worms
to that we added pages and pages of ripped to pieces shredded newspapers

the kids layered in leaves that were collected and piled last fall in the corner of the garden
then
they added food scraps from home and from their snacks and their lunches
the teacher had to watch since some wanted to put all their lunch in there
over the year they also added any weeds from the garden and any veggie trimmings from the garden

the blue box was kept moist
all of this was covered with a layer of newspapers
then
the blue lid was kept on top to keep out vermin

then
the kids watched as the worm population grew and grew and the worm compost grew and grew
and
the worm composter got heavier and heavier

many a time during the year the kids would dig in the composter looking at the worms and rolly pollies and other things that somehow got i there

once we put a pumpkin from halloween in there and it slowly disappeared

at the end of the year we harvested all the worms and counted them
each kid would put 10 worms in a small cup then 10 cups of them in a larger cup to make a 100
then they took the 100 worm cups and put them in a larger cup to count to 1000
in the end
we went from less than 100 worms to more than 1000 worms

then
after the school was over with

this is what the bin looked like as i harvested over 20 gallons of worm compost and spread it out over the garden beds

if you have ever used worm compost in the garden you know how rich it is for the soil

its this years kindergardeners as i call them contribution to next years kindergardeners garden

the most squeamish of the group who wouldnt touch garden soil and most definitely not a worm
became the ones that wanted to go first when digging out the worms in the worm bin

my job was successful

another group indoctrinated

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited 10

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited 10: MY STORY REVISITED 10 if you have a loved one who has to take aricept or donepezil or is contemplating taking aricept or donepezil for mem...

my story revisited 10

MY STORY REVISITED 10

if you have a loved one who has to take aricept or donepezil or is contemplating taking aricept or donepezil for memory loss you might read my todays blog
now these are my experiences taking it over the last 8 years which may be slightly different from others who take it

i realize that most folks dont get to hear someone who is on aricept or donepezil be able to really describe the side effects that they have and have had while taking this drug
since
many folks are too far along with the disease when the drug is started

the day i saw the neurologist she wrote me a prescription for aricept or donepezil
i had read in the drug book all the side effects of this medicine
i use to open the book and read the major side effects of drugs to patients
in fact
the day before i got my prescription of aricept i had written one for my patient
i opened the book and read the major side effects of the aricept to him and his daughter
that probably was one of the last prescriptions i ever wrote
it seems sort of surreal doesnt it or is that ironic

now  before my appointment i had read research that implied that the earlier you start aricept in the alzheimers journey the better it works to delay symptoms
eg
my mom and younger brother were started on it in the middle part of the disease
i started it just when minimal symptoms were detected
in the research studies those who started it early like me might get say 10 years of benefit
those who started it later like my mom and younger brother might only get 1-4 years of benefit
then
symptoms fall off the cliff down into the abyss of alzheimers disease

i know and understand that its possible that might happen to me some day
when i dont know
im just enjoying these moments now in my life

as i look back on the side effects in the list in the book and compare it to what i experienced
today
i dont have major ones

at first
i was dizzy for a few days but that went away
i would get vertigo if i moved my head too fast
that went away
i started having abdominal pain in the morning that would take a few hours to go away
i remember meeting my nurse for lunch once soon after i was diagnosed and i was not able to eat anything because of the discomfort
this abdominal pain is mostly gone now
i eat breakfast spread out over the morning doing so 4 times starting at about 600am and finishing at about 1000am
basically i keep my stomach full for a few hours
this prevents the abdominal pain
i never get the diarrhea some folks get but lets just say constipation is never an issue here
i did get blurry vision for about a month after i took it but that has pretty much gone away now

as i write about in the old blogs from 8 years ago i do get hyper in the morning and also seem to be hyper alert and clear headed until about noon time then it seems to fade some
in fact
i have noticed that in the morning i can find myself doing all the talking like if you have ever been around someone with hyperactive add
by the afternoon and evening you will find me to be almost the opposite
im the quiet guy in the room

now i take my aricept in the morning even though it says take it at night
thats because of the abdominal pain it can cause
however
taking it at night can also prevent you from sleeping

when i take it at night i will not sleep
its like i took speed or something
speed for those who dont know are amphetamines

so i take it in the morning
i eat small frequent eatings in the morning
i do ok with that
i sleep not good but better

now my younger brother took it at night and it never bothered him

so today
my biggest side effects of the aricept or donepezil
are

sleep
i have no trouble falling asleep at night but i wake up about 5 hours later and sometimes i cant go back to sleep
luckily i am retired so i compensate some by taking an afternoon nap

if i dont do this after a few days i get totally exhausted which happened this last week
i do take a low low dose of melatonin that seems to help but i noticed after taking it for a few days i have even more problems with fatigue

its like being on a roller coaster sometimes
but
i manage to handle it ok

i must say right now i have a good life i am happy with

another issue i have with the aricept or donepezil is the vivid vivid dreams that i have that usually arent disturbing or violent
once i was on a herbal supplement for sleep that made me develop these horrible god awful dreams that made me stop taking the herbal supplement
i think it was the interaction between the aricept and the herb

now i have problems that has sort of developed over the last few years where i yell out at night and sometimes act out the dreams
my wife she says i yell real loud and thrash about and sometimes knock things off my bedside table
i keep a container of water on the bedside table but keep a lid on it
several times its gone flying across the room

lucky for my wife she i face away from her on my right side so all this activity is away from her
yes
ive scared the bejivies out of her a few times

i know this is the aricept
but
i also know that this could be the alzheimers disease advancing on me
since
this happens with this disease even without the aricept
it always is concerning to me when this happens since i wonder which is it

another thing that happens as a side effect is leg cramps and fasciculations
the leg cramps are better over time but they still happen usually after i have done a lot of physical activity
the fasciculations have not gotten better
i see them as a more ominous sign for me

these fasciculations are caused by small muscle fibers contracting and relaxing sort of independent of the total muscle ie the calf muscle
these only seem to happen usually on the calves of both legs

its common in folks with neurological diseases
eg
my friend greg who died from huntingtons disease had them all over his body especially his arms and legs
also like him when they are happening if i lay down my feet and lower legs get real fidgety so that i cant keep them still
in fact
if i lay still they will just move some on their own

yesterday after working 4 hours in the garden as i was lying down for my nap
i had my wife she look at them from afar
she could see this weird movement in my calves like snakes crawling around
she even put her hand on them and could feel all the movement
yep it weirded her out

now some if not all of these fasciculations are probably from the aricept
it inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine in the nerve endings so that the nerve cells will fire and contract
in the brain this is good since damaged brain cells work better
this is how aricept works
but
the side effect is you get muscle cramps and fasciculations elsewhere
ie
for me it is in the calves

why dont i just stop this aricept stuff and be done with it
well
you can bet ive thought about it
ive even tried it for short bursts of time
things get better
however
it seems
if you have the disease like i do and its helping you to slow down the disease symptoms and you stop it
then
its possible you will not return to the same improved memory that you had when you stopped

if fact
say for me
if i stopped it my symptoms from the drug will be gone
but
i might be worse off with my memory so that those around me would notice a significant change
so
there is no way i will ever stop this aricept until i reach the point where it doesnt matter anymore

so
this the pill story that started 8 years ago
heres hoping for at least 8 or more years of it


12-27-2010

THE PILL
the pill sits on my desk
its name is aricept
its generic name is donepezil
the mgm strength is 5 mg
i just wrote a prescription a few days ago for my patient to take
now it sits here in front of me to take
i had to listen to the neurologist go over the side effects
hell i already know about it as i gave the same speech last week

do i really need this
lets see the side effects are nausea,vomiting, diarrhea
(that would be good since i have to have the black snake ie a colonoscopy
this week),
weight loss(i do need to loose 5-10 lbs), dizziness(i know what
thats like as i have recurrent vertigo), weakness, trouble sleeping
(every one that knows me knows that may be a good side
effect as i have probably fallen asleep on all of them in the past)
tremors, or muscle cramps(that dont sound good)

then they list the bad stuff that im sure the lawyers made them
write-seizures, dark emesis, irregular heart beat(i had that one
time 25 years ago and i did not like it at all), trouble peeing
(thats bad),
severe abdominal pain, and severe allergic reaction

then it says but most people do fine without major side effects-
well why did they not just write that and end it there

i mean do i really need this
if i had not had that neuropsychological testing a year ago
that was normal when i applied for long term care insurance
if i had not signed up for that study on alzheimers and had
that neuropsychological exam done that was abnormal
then i would not be sitting here writing about taking that damn
pill but would have been writing about something more
pleasant like the holidays

well when you put the total picture together-family history,
subtle things noted at work, abnormal test after a normal
one last year and the chance that all this could take off
sometime in the near future and the fact this pill will slow it
down for awhile
then i have decided to take it and never look back on the
decisions i made this week

now maybe i can find my shovel i misplaced

here goes i had my coffee and my bagel and now the
journey begins

12-28-2010

THE PILL DAY TWO
well today is day two of the pill-aricept(donepezil)
i got the generic brand for a $15 copay
when my mom was on it was over $100 a month
now the branded cost is $263

so alzheimers can initially be treated for $180 a year now
vs cash price of $3156 a year
(full generic price not available when this was written)

this is one way to decrease health care cost
i am glad i have health insurance
i feel sorry for those that do not

again i sit here ignoring that little white memory pill
-but i dont have memory problems thats noticeable

i am suppose to take it after eating breakfast
(oops not suppose to eat today see below)

will aricept really make a difference
i dont know but i think so in the long run

the only thing i noticed was some dizziness that lasted for
awhile but then it went away
i demonstrated last night that insomnia is not part of the
side effect for me yet

i did notice that i beat everyone at jeopordy even my
historic relative after i took the aricept (donepezil)

no just kidding!

here goes day 2

12-29-2010

THE PILL
my wife likes the side effect of this medicine
no not that side effect

it makes me slightly hyper and fitigitty so i am able to
get a lot done in the am after i take it
(so this is what add hyperactive type feels like)

the other side effect is insomnia
but i have found an afternoon nap helps a lot with that

12-30-2010

PILL HOLIDAY
i took a pill holiday as i had to be fasting until scope time
it was nice to not have some of the side effects-insomnia
and hyperactivity and dizziness
supposedly some of these will resolve over time or may
get worse
time will tell
i hope the hyperactivity continues as i sure have a lot of
projects to do around my place

i wish to thank my wife she for being with me through all this

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: gardening is the answer to longevity

organicgreendoctor: gardening is the answer to longevity: GARDENING IS THE ANSWER TO LONGEVITY every tuesday am i go to my garden around 800am and work on my two garden plots then at 900am i jo...

gardening is the answer to longevity

GARDENING IS THE ANSWER TO LONGEVITY

every tuesday am i go to my garden around 800am and work on my two garden plots
then
at 900am i join 1-3 or more volunteers doing what ever needs to be done for our community garden
sometimes like when i built the bean fence involves some math and creativity
sometimes its just plain old physical labor like two weeks ago when i helped pick up 30 donated bags of soil and compost from the local hardware store and stored them at the garden for future use

so when you look at my activity on these days
first
for the first hour i am almost in a meditative state as i work in my garden
its quiet since i have the whole garden to myself
except for the chickens and a cat that always wonders through and lots of birds and bees and butterflies
or
if you listen real good you will hear me talking to myself

i get to look up towards the perfect view of the mountains usually surrounded by these misty clouds
so
as i sort of meditate i munch on whatever i am growing eg now its green beans sweet banana peppers kale zuchini squash cherry tomatoes etc
then
as folks arrive i then do more physical labor
a lot of socializing
so
at the end of the  morning
i have meditated for an hour
ate quite healthy foods
made my peace with nature
got social interactions
got a lot of physical exercise
 it seems i usually walk around 1.7 miles when i go to the garden on these mornings

folks are always sending me articles on gardening and alzheimers disease
one recent article showed that you might be able to decrease your incidence of dementia by 36% by gardening

the same article which ill link here also mentions some common threads of groups of people who tend to live much longer than other groups
like eg
loma linda folks who tend to do these things i do every tuesday morning

meditate for them its prayer
exercise
a plant based diet
social interaction
mental exercise

another of these blue zones is okinawa
they do these above and say that folks as they age need
ikigai
a reason for living
thats where gardening comes in

longevity is like a chair
with four legs
one diet
two physical activity
three mental engagement
four social connections

if you are missing one of those legs
well you know what its like to sit in a three legged chair
right
yep
it doesnt go well

so especially before you get old you need to start doing what these blue zone folks do
making sure their chairs can stand up longer

i firmly believe that gardening is the answer to longevity

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: 10% rule

organicgreendoctor: 10% rule: 10% RULE i was a late bloomer i was 40 years old before i finished college medical school residency and a three year obligation to the n...

10% rule

10% RULE

i was a late bloomer
i was 40 years old before i finished college medical school residency and a three year obligation to the national health service
as it turned out i only had about 20 years to save and prepare for my retirement since i had to suddenly retire at 60

why at 40 3 of my siblings had retired from the military and one had retired from the fire department
they all had second careers and some a second retirement

so the 10% rule didnt work for my wife she and i
it was more like the 30-40% rule for us
plus adjusting our lifestyle down to the level we are in now in retirement
doing all that has allowed us to retire in comfort

i do think a lot about the generations behind us
the pensions are going away
being replaced by 401ks which they fund themselves mostly
or
if you have a pension like my wife she it doesnt really increase with a cost of living increase
or
like some folks their pensions have been cut significantly
or
like some folks they have lost their pensions all together
then
there is the issue with social security which it seems congress wants to mess with
not for the best im sure

so
i read this article this weekend about the 10% rule

it says starting in your 20s you should save 10% of you income so that you will have enough to live on in retirement
think of it as a tax on yourself that you will get back with interest and growth in 40 years

eg
if your employer puts in 3% of your income in your 401k then you put in 7%
so you get taxed by yourself at 7%

when i look at folks now working so many will not have pensions
they are gone or going away
if you are expecting one well it may get taken away
so
what you or most of you get left with is your 401k or ira or some type of self retirement plan

i suspect that social security will be there for these folks but it may not be as good
they have to do some changes to make it survive
like
increase the income levels more on what they tax for social security say maybe up to 500 k
change the cost of living rates some
i dont like increasing the retirement age
remember our age at which we die in the united states is decreasing some each year
i dont like using the social security money for private investments

so the 2 or 3 generations behind me are at risk for not having money to live on in retirement
many will live in poverty
maybe the 10% rule should be forced on folks
maybe like if your company puts in 3% you have to put in 7%
yea
i like that
we usually have to be forced to do something in the us like this since we wont do it ourselves

i look at my close relatives and friends in retirement
unless they are wealthy they rely on a pension plan like the military retirement or teachers retirement or some get one from the private industry
social security
401ks or 403bs or iras
some even have to keep working you know like you see at retail stores where those old folks are working stocking or greeting folks or checking you out

yes
i say do a forced 10% rule on folks now

if they we dont do something then they we will live in retirement in poverty

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-did this cause our early onset alz...

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-did this cause our early onset alz...: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DID THIS CAUSE OUR EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMERS DISEASE years ago when i started controlling my highly abnormally elevated ldl...

alzheimers news-did this cause our early onset alzheimers disease

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DID THIS CAUSE OUR EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMERS DISEASE



years ago when i started controlling my highly abnormally elevated ldl cholesterol  i thought it was to prevent early coronary artery disease or stroke
but
now it seems if this report is true that it was doing more than that

when i was close to 40 i did my first lipid profile
it showed my total cholesterol was well over 300
my triglycerides were well over 500
my hdl cholesterol the good one was below 30
then
my ldl cholesterol my bad one was well over 200
a level that was known as early heart attack level

now today my total cholesterol is under 200
my trygycerides are less than 100
my hdl is over 40
my ldl is under 100

too late i think
about 40 years too late

it the high ldl cholesterol now after reading this article may also be known as early alzheimers disease level

apoe 4 may represent the cause of 10% of the cases of early onset alzheimers disease
apoe 4 is commonly though called the late onset gene

it seems from their research that the elevated levels of ldl cholesterol also may be one of the causes of early onset alzheimers disease and also late onset alzheimers disease
along of course with other things like smoking obesity lack of exercise poor blood pressure control diabetes etc

i really did not control my ldl choleterol well until after 2000 when i was in my 50s
throughout my 40s looking at my levels they stayed around 150-165
during the early 2000s my levels were much lower thanks to a change in diet exercise and some mild medication
then
when i was diagnosed with mci that is due to alzheiemers disease i become more aggressive and now with atorvastatin or lipitor i keep it well below 100

so what that means is that i went all my life from birth to my early 50s with an abnormally elevated ldl cholesterol
around my 40s when i first had my ldl cholesterol level done i dropped the number by about 50+ points by changing my diet and my life style

adding to that high ldl was an 8 year of smoking cigarettes and a pipe which didnt help

i have the apoe 4 apoe 4 gene which increases my chance of developing alzheimers disease
the apoe 4 gene is also tied to the elevated ldl cholesterol

my younger brother who died from alzheimers in his early 60s and was diagnosed in his early to mid 50s
so by definition he had early onset alzheimers probably caused by his like mine elevated ldl cholesterol and maybe apoe 4
looking at the dose of his cholesterol meds he took i can predict that his numbers were probably bad like mine were

now he didnt have his apoe 4 gene checked but just knowing that i have the apoe 4 double gene means he had a good chance of having the apoe 4 gene  and most likely he had the apoe 4 double gene also
this means that both my sons have the apoe 4 gene and both his kids have the apoe 4 gene

life style can overcome that apoe 4 gene it seems

these two the ldl cholesterol and apoe 4 gene would explain along with his like me smoking history and blood pressure history as reasons he got diagnosed in his early to mid 50s
and
i got diagnosed at 60

we both were bad at controlling our cholesterol and diet and blood pressure
but
from what i can tell i was much better than he was
but
it looks like not good enough

it seems the apoe 4 like a key fits into the amyloid protein to activate it so that the amyloid accumulates in the brain which is the beginning of this disease probably in both of us began in our late 30s or early 40s

what if
we both had known when we were in for in our 30s what our genetics were and what our ldl cholesterol levels were
and
what if
we had aggressively both of us attacked the ldl cholesterol with diet and exercise and a strong statin like atorvastatin  lipitor or rosuvastatin crestor
what if
neither of us had smoked

yes what if

its possible had we known we could have both prevented or delayed the onset by years

i hope that this can be a lesson or incentive to our family members especially my sons and my nephews and nieces and hopefully to you to be more vigilant in taking care of your health

it would be nice to be able to visit with my younger brother at our reunion next month or to look forward into my future to know that i would probably be dying of old age
and
not this terrible disease

yes what if

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: santa barbara country n news-recycle final harvest...

organicgreendoctor: santa barbara country n news-recycle final harvest...: SANTA BARBARA COUNTRY N NEWS-RECYCLE FINAL HARVEST PUMPKINS a few weeks again following a big wind storm that come through here one night...

santa barbara country n news-recycle final harvest pumpkins

SANTA BARBARA COUNTRY N NEWS-RECYCLE FINAL HARVEST PUMPKINS

a few weeks again following a big wind storm that come through here one night
i walked out around our condo and looked down towards our pool
something about that big ole ancient oak that must be over a hundred years didnt  quite look right
so
i walked down to take a look
it had fallen over onto our pool fence crushing it
at the base of the trunk where it was cracked open was a big ole hollowed out center

alas it had to be chopped up
so
i asked the chainsaw person to cut me a piece of one large limb about 2 ft long
i carried it up to our condo originally to use as a table on our patio
but
later i decided i would transfer it to my garden to use for that purpose

i thought i want to save a piece of that old tree so it will stay around a little longer and gradually be returned back to this earth like nature would do
not to be ground up for mulch or chopped up for firewood
so
it now sits at the corner of my garden bed inviting folks to have a sit and enjoy the garden
its especially attractive to kids

im sure the tree would have been proud

my son has a 5 ft x 8 ft garden that i asked to plant stuff in as i try to expand my gardening areas
so
i took over his plot

now ms b and mr h help with it some
in fact mr h loves the garden
he likes to pet the dinosaur kale and pull off the tips of the green onions
ms b loves the carrots as she can pull them up wash them off and take a bite
soon she will start eating the cherry tomatoes we planted in the bed
one of them is called sungold
its a sweet yellow cherry tomato that tastes like candy
if you want your kids to learn to eat tomatoes thats the one
it produces tons of yellow tomato candy
kids love to eat them

this week i did my final harvest off the winter plantings in his garden
i harvested the last of my 1015 onions
the onions in my sons garden did much better than in my garden
im trying to figure out why so i can duplicate that next year in my garden

i then planted the bed with billie beans that my mother in law gets from the mexican market
i named them after her
these are our favorite beans to cook
they are peruvan beans

then
the owner of the santa barbara ace hardware recently donated outdated seeds to our community garden as well as a pick up truck load of broken bags of garden soil compost potting soil etc

i volunteer 3 hours each tuesday in the community garden
this week we took the donated pumpkin seeds winter squash seeds and gourd seeds
filled up 100 1 gallon pots with the donated potting soil
planted them with the above seeds
we then set them up on an automatic dripper
we plan to plant 50 more later in pots

later this summer we will transplant them into a larger area at the front of the garden for our fall education series with the elementary schools and for our fall pumpkin sale
the pumpkins sale is a big fund raiser for the community garden

also mixed in with the pumpkins will be pole beans red amaranth heirloom rows of popcorn
this area is loved by all the kids well over 500+ that visit this fall

thanks to ace for the donations

the organicgreen doctor