organicgreendoctor: garden news-protect your skin

organicgreendoctor: garden news-protect your skin: GARDEN NEWS-PROTECT YOUR SKIN thats a picture of me several years ago at the country n weedeating notice i have a hat on with flaps on it an...

garden news-protect your skin

GARDEN NEWS-PROTECT YOUR SKIN

thats a picture of me several years ago at the country n weedeating
notice i have a hat on with flaps on it and a long sleeve shirt and long pants and gloves

most but not all of my skin is covered


today in 2021 i usually add a mask due to covid to my protect my skin
what i have noticed is that i dont really get  much sun on my face anymore
i also add a wide bream straw farmers hat with a long neck flap attached to it
this does a better job of protecting my neck my ears my nose my eyes

speaking of my nose
thats where  most of my skin damage has occurred
i guess it just stuck out under my hats over the years

over the last several years i was pretty good at wearing sunscreen and wearing a hat
however
most of my life i wasnt as good at protecting my skin

so
i have paid the price 
twice
i have had to have mohs surgery for basil cell cancer of the nose

it started as a small speck that would bleed occasionally 
i knew it was probably a skin cancer

so i went to a dermatologists who sent me to a mohs surgeon

she biopsied the lesion
looked at it real good under the microscope
sorry we need to get a bigger piece
so she took a bigger piece

sorry she said
i gotta make the hole bigger
when she got through 
the hole in my nose was the size of a dime
so
she made an incision like an upside 7 and moved the edge over the hole and sewed it up
it looked like a 7 was cut into my nose
actually when it healed it wasnt that noticeable

since that surgery i have had regular skin checks 
i have a lot of precancer lesions called actinic keratosis
about 30% of them turn into skin cancer
so
i use a topical cream called 5fu that kills the cancer cells
or
if the dermatologists sees them they just freeze them 

i did good for 3 years 
then that small pin point bleeding reoccurred

i went back
biopsy done
its a basal cell again 
cut look cut look cut look cut look 
we finally got it all 
now i have a nickel sized hole 
actually i looked at a picture of the hole recently at the dermatologists office
it looked more like a quarter

sorry the plastic surgeon has to do this one
he said we can either run a flap of skin from your forehead and attach it to your nose for several weeks to cover the hole 
then trim it off
i tried to visualize that 
it didnt sound too good
so
i chose chose number 2


cut another 7 on my nose
make a flap of half of the skin on my nose
likely suture in place for a few weeks
then
go back and recut that 7 flap out leaving it attached on one side
then stretch it over the hole and sew it in place

this one was about 10 times worse than the first time
the scar is worse but not too bad

several weeks later when it was all healed i put 5 fu on it twice a day for a month to kill any left over cancer cells

so far 3 years later i have had no reoccurrence
fingers crossed on that one

so 
why am i telling you this story 
well it could have been all prevented
if
i would have wore a cap or hat while out in the sun 
if
i would have wore a good sunscreen on my face and especially my nose

i didnt
so 
i have paid the price

so
i use a sunscreen with mainly zinc oxide in it
most of those other ingredients are being taken out of sunscreens since they damage the environment 
like
eg
the reefs

imagine what some of those sunscreens must do to a growing child

i wear my farmers hat
i wear my neck scarf
i wear a long sleeve shirt
since covid hit i wear a face mask
i notice this mask wearing also keeps the pollen and molds from being inhaled
which helps my nasal allergies to them
i wear gloves
i wear long pants unless its warm then i wear shorts

so as you garden or go to the pool or the beach or enjoy outside
protect your skin
especially protect your kids skins

its a lifetime of sun exposure that leads to skin cancer

usually basal cell cancer invades locally 
it doesnt metastasize

squamous skin cancer can metastasize 
eg
an acquaintance got recurring squamous cell skin cancer on their scalp
it kept reoccurring
even with mohs surgery
theirs metastasized to their neck
the treatment was a neck dissection followed by radiation treatments followed by chemotherapy 

melanoma is the bad skin cancer
it metastasizes  more aggressively 

if caught early its curable
if not it may not be curable

so
protect your skin and your kids skin
but
enjoy the outdoors while you do

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story #105-will stoking slow it down

organicgreendoctor: my story #105-will stoking slow it down: MY STORY #105-WILL STOKING SLOW IT DOWN willie is now 8 years older since i wrote this blog when i listen to him being interviewed he seems ...

my story #105-will stoking slow it down

MY STORY #105-WILL STOKING SLOW IT DOWN

willie is now 8 years older since i wrote this blog
when i listen to him being interviewed he seems as sharp as ever
so
maybe there is some truth to something in marijuana slowing down alzheimers disease

willie is a clinical trial of one to see if it works

there are two components to marijuana
thc (tetrahydrocannabinol)
cbd (cannabidiol)

thc makes you high
cbd doesnt and it has antiinflammatory effects

cbd is the one thats usually approved for medical use in states who allow it just for medical use
it is approved in many states to be used to control previously uncontrollable seizures in kids

the study of thc and cbd has been greatly hindered by laws from the federal government

studies that have been done on cbd seems to imply it may have an influence on slowing down the disease

in the theory of alzheimers 
first amyloid accumulates
second tau tangles occur
third inflammation occurs

all three kill brain cells

it appears that cbd has anti-inflammatory effects that may slow down the inflammation in the brain that is occurring in alzheimers disease

there are ongoing research studies ongoing now to see if it works

i accessed the protocols for one study to get the dose of cbd they were using
i started taking that dose every day 
however
i started developing these weirder than normal dreams 
some were violent and disturbing 
so
i had to discontinue the cbd

i think it was interacting with the aricept (donepezil) that i take for alzheimers

but 
that willie
hes being doing a life long one man study on its effect
maybe he will donate his brain when he dies so researchers can look at it
__________
07-26-2013
WILLIE MAY BE SAFE
in the theory of how alzheimers disease develops in the brain
beta amyloid accumulates in the brain and this accumulation
and its residual damage it causes is the cause of this disease

the brain has a blood brain barrier that protects the brain
eg certain drugs and chemicals and hormones cant get through
this barrier to affect the brain

it also works against the brain sometimes
eg
as this beta amyloid accumulates it cant be transported back through
this blood brain barrier so the body can dispose of it
so it just starts accumulating
then alzheimers disease develops


now this is where willie nelson comes in
you notice how old he looks
well he is old hes 80
and he seems sharp to me when he is interviewed
maybe a little laid back

but he is known for smoking the weed on a regular basis
real regular basis
and this may be protecting him from the devastating disease
alzheimers disease

it seems that marijuana may help the body clear this bad beta
amyloid from the brain by helping transport this beta amyloid
back across the blood brain barrier allowing this disposal of
this beta amyloid
thus it may delay the onset of the disease
and possibly actually prevent the disease

of course
these studies right now are all animal studies
excuse me how easy would it be to study humans
theres plenty of weed around
theres im sure plenty of volunteers
heck i would be first in line if it turned out to help

so i think i might just find me some special chocolate bars to eat
for dessert twice a day
and do my own one man study

or like willie says just roll me up and smoke me when i die
__________
so
if the cbd hadnt interfered with my dreams
i would probably still be taking it

thanks willie
for advancing science

the organicgreen doctor 

organicgreendoctor: where you from

organicgreendoctor: where you from: WHERE YOU FROM i get asked that frequently when i talk to someone who has never meet me before well at least since ive lived here in santa b...

where you from

WHERE YOU FROM

i get asked that frequently
when i talk to someone who has never meet me before
well
at least since ive lived here in santa barbara

i dont think i had been asked that very often when i lived in texas
well not in the last couple decades i lived there

recently i was working in the community garden by myself on a saturday morning 
i was by myself enjoying the solitude

a young man wondered into the garden 
he didnt know i was there
he was singing and talking to himself
sampling some produce on the tables under the shade oak tree
i recognized him as being from the church next to our garden
he had been here volunteering in the garden before
i also recognized that he was emotionally challenged also

he jumped
when i said good morning how yall doing
we talked some about the garden and how peaceful it was
as he walked off he turned and looked at me
like 
are you messing with me look on his face

he said
with an almost hurt look on his face
an are you just talking like that to me look

no i said
im not messing with you
thats just the way i talk
so
i went into my deep southern drawl 
actually i started talking like my older brother who lives in the deep south and talks naturally that way

now
out of my 7 siblings 5 of us lived outside of the deep south many in northen states and western states and some in foreign countries like europe and eastern countries 

only one of them never lost their deep southern drawl no matter where they lived

i lived 20 years in arkansas then lived 8 years in southern calfornia then lived in arkanasas and texas for the rest of my life except for the last 4 years where i have lived in southern california

when i listened to my alzheimers presentations it seems i have a western accent mixed with a southern drawl

im sure in the south it sounds more influenced by the western accent
here it probably sounds more influenced by the southern drawl

i remember when i first moved to california in my twenties folks would like to hear me talk

where you from they would ask

when i would return back to the south to visit and live they folks in the south would say you have a different accent 

where you from

now 3 of my siblings that lived elsewhere dont seem to have that drawl that my older brother has
its there some but they might be able to pass as not from the south
well maybe not in new york or las angeles
two of them traveled a lot with the military 
one was always in a university setting
maybe thats why 

im sure they got that question 

where you from

there probably isnt a week that goes by that someone doesnt ask me
when they meet me or talk with me
even the trader joes cashiers will ask me

where you from 

now what i do 
i think about my older brother 
i just reply to them like how he talks with his deep drawl and add in some yalls and gonnas 
just to entertain them

yall just aint gonna believe what this here lady asked me

that seems to entertain them some

i know i know
he only adds to the stereotype 
right 
like 
the beverly hillbillies

but
what you have to be careful about 
is
that underneath that southern drawl that can suck you in 
there is a wily wise ole man doing that talking
dont let yourself get fooled
remember the country lawyer ben matlock played by andy griffith 

so
where you from

now i just say
im from austin
that seems to make them happy

but
actually 

im from everywhere

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-booster shot here i come whats your risk ...

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-booster shot here i come whats your risk ...: COVID 19-BOOSTER SHOT HERE I COME WHATS YOUR RISK FOR YOUR ACTIVITY THINGS MIGHT GET BETTER i am scheduled on friday to get my booster shot ...

covid 19-booster shot here i come whats your risk for your activity things may get better

COVID 19-BOOSTER SHOT HERE I COME
WHATS YOUR RISK FOR YOUR ACTIVITY
THINGS MIGHT GET BETTER

i am scheduled on friday to get my booster shot for the pfizer vaccine
i received my second shot on march 6 2021

why am i getting my third shot this booster shot

i am 71 years old 
because as one ages your immune system wanes so that your immunity against the covid virus drops making you susceptible to getting an infection
most of those who died from covid after being fully vaccinated are older folks or immunocompromised folks

i also want to protect mainly mr hudson who is immunocompromised from his meds he takes to prevent rejection of his kidney
even a mild or even an asymptomatic breakthrough case can transmitted it to him
thus we wear masks around him and avoid risky activities that could infect us which would infect him
think about your loved ones and contact persons who are highly susceptible to this infection

here are the recommendations the final ones for the booster shot for those who got the pfizer shot
and
yes i agree with all the recommendations

get a booster shot

if you are immunocompromised like cancer treatment connective tissue diseases like rheumatoid arthritis ulcerative colitis lupus etc  had a transplant and other diseases that compromise your immune system

if you are 65 and older

if you live in a long term facility 

if you are 50-64 and have an underlying condition that puts you at risk for a severe covid infection
eg diabetes obesity asthma emphysema heart disease etc

you should consider a booster shot also 
if you are 18-49 with certain underlying medical conditions

if you work in a covid risky occupation like eg healthcare worker or front line worker like eg a teacher

this is only for those who got the pfizer 2 shot series
you need 6 months since your first shot
the side effects seem to be the same as the first two shots

those who got the moderna and johnson and johnson need to wait
its expected they will get approval for the booster shot soon in a few weeks

hopefully soon they will approve mixing up the vaccines but for now its not recommended to do that

so
soon i will be triple vaxxed 
i will be as protected as i can be
i will continue to wear my mask
i will avoid gatherings etc until more folks are vaxxed and this epidemic is slowed down
see below

new predictions are 
IF
there is no appearance of a new aggressive variant
the 5-12 year olds get vaxxed in high enough numbers
the under 5 year olds can start to get vaxxed
those unvaxxed numbers drop
then
and only then
we may not have a winter surge

dally deaths may drop from around 2000 a day to around 100 a day 
remember those deaths are almost all unvaxxed

the curve will drop down to where it was in march of 2020

the common factor in all the predictions mentioned in this npr article is based on folks getting vaxxed especially the kids
mask wearing

we are close real close now it seems to slowing this down

i know i know we said this once before earlier this year
but
folks didnt do what needed to be done

hopefully this time they will do whats right

then finally here is a website with a calculator that will predict how risky a certain activity is in the area where you live
eg
i looked at shopping at a grocery store in austin area and in santa barbara and in idaho the worst area hit right now
i also looked at a sporting event like a texas longhorn game in austin

i put in the info like it was me eg i wore an n95 mask and i was double vaxxed

shopping for me at a grocery store in austin was moderate risk
in idaho was high risk
in santa barbara was low risk

going to a ut longhorn football game for me is very high risk
its worse if you are unvaxxed
yes all these games are superspreader events
wonder why the media doesnt talk about it as much 

if you are wondering what your risk is for like going on a plane or going to a concert or going to a bar or going to an indoor restaurant etc you can put in the zip code and enter your vax status and mask wearing etc 
it will then give you a risk profile based on the information

eg
going to a bar in idaho one of the worst hit areas unmasked and unvaxxed would be dangerously hi risk

going to school unvaxxed umasked in texas would be an extreme risk for catching covid
that why 
you are seeing such high numbers in the schools there
and
not here for example

so
get vaxxed if you arent vaxxed
thats the only way this will ever end

consider like me to get your booster shot

wear your mask

use the calculator to assess how risky your activity is
then
decide if its worth the risk

the oganicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-are they using crisis standards on...

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-are they using crisis standards on...:   ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ARE THEY USING CRISIS STANDARDS ON ALZHEIMERS PATIENTS an enquiring mind might ask what is crisis standards well do you re...

alzheimers news-are they using crisis standards on alzheimers patients

 ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ARE THEY USING CRISIS STANDARDS ON ALZHEIMERS PATIENTS

an enquiring mind might ask
what is crisis standards
well do you remember the hoopla by those opposed to the obamacare or affordable health care
one of the hooplas was
death panels

these panels will decide to not provide treatment to folks who are less likely to live much longer
you know
like demented alzheimers patients

now
here we are over 10+ years later
we now have death panels
now they are called initiation of crisis standards

the first state that may enact them is idaho
why is this happening

well many of the same group that opposed the affordable health care or obamacare are the ones that have gotten us to the point in the covid war where those in medicine have to become death panelists in the emergency room and icus and probably the ambulances and fire departments
who gets treatment and who dont
who lives who dies

these groups of folks are antivaxxers antimaskeres antimitigationers 
all those things that have made it safer in some states that dont listen to all that bs

now it not only affects those with covid 
remember almost all those folks clogging up our medical system made a decision to not get vaxxed against covid got it and now are suffering because of it
and
might i add their families
making all of those other patients without covid suffer too
so now
things like heart attacks strokes appendicitis head injuries etc may not find a bed available when its needed 

so
what does this have to do with alzheimers
well
you know when it comes time to make a decision on that crisis standard protocol or death panel
you can bet when they see the diagnosis of alzheimers on the chart
that person
will be put at the back of the line or worse the front of the line for the body bag freezer that now sits outside of the hospital in many states

when i seek medical care now
as the nurses are checking me in 
when they get to my diagnosis
they say 
with a question on their face
alzheimers disease
they say 
oh

i can see a change in their approach to me

now this is me
no one would expect i have this diagnosis
right now i am doing good with really no symptoms
i feel like i am in as good health as i have been in a long time
eg
when i work in the garden i can keep up with folks a lot younger than i am 
but
if things got bad around here like it is in texas or florida or idaho etc
if i were to have a stroke or accident
when they see my diagnosis mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease
will that make them pause
look at each other
and say
lets death panel him or lets crisis standard him since that doesnt sound as harsh

no
you say 
thats not going to happen

trust me on this one
it will happen
for many of you its happening now in your area you just dont know about it

i chose to not do a no cpr form yet just because i dont want to get death paneled before my time

now 
if i am deeper into the throes of alzheimers disease
hopefully several years from now
i would say to those death panelists

you may put me first on the list

just
not right now

for awhile i chose to keep the word alzheimers disease off my charts
because i knew it affected the approach the medical system would take in caring for me
but
i decided to be open to everyone and to the medical system about my diagnosis
i freely talk about it to anyone medical or nonmedical about alzhiemers disease

many of my medial providers talk to me about my diagnosis and how alzheimers has affected them in their families
many ask me about research and treatments 
even the last neurologist i saw asked me a lot of questions about aduhelm and about my receiving those monthly infusions since they arent doing it for their patients yet

no
im not ready yet to be death paneled

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: garden news-fall garden prep

organicgreendoctor: garden news-fall garden prep: GARDEN NEWS-FALL GARDEN PREP this week while removing a long row of tomatoes planted along a trellis made of cattle panels last spring in ea...

garden news-fall garden prep

GARDEN NEWS-FALL GARDEN PREP

this week while removing a long row of tomatoes planted along a trellis made of cattle panels last spring in early april we noticed this chrysalis that according to a knowledgeable college student helping us said it was a butterfly about to escape from inside the chrysalis
she said it was a monarch chrysalis

i sent the picture to ms b to review
her reply was
its definitely a monarch


we used the cattle panels which are 5 ft x 16 ft
we used two panels to the 30 ft row for our tomatoes
we either weaved them through the panels or tied them up with string
we had a fair tomato season here compared to last years abundant tomato crop
why
more morning fog and a cooler summer

so today we said thats it 
you be gone
out came the old tomatoes

in its place we wanted to use a veggie that could use the support that was used for the tomatoes
so
we chose vining sweet peas and bush sweet peas
we will run vining sweet peas on one side and the bush peas on the other side
we try to choose veggies that people want to have donated to them to eat
like food kitchens soup kitchens womens shelters food pantries etc

we removed the old drip irrigation first


then
we add a layer of compost that we make ourselves
i usually try to make it as thick as i can based on how  much compost we have
then
i add a layer of good organic fertilizer based on the bags recommendation
then
i use a broadfork that is about 3 ft wide with about 7 12 inch long tines to fork all of this into the soil
then
we rake it all out into a bed thats about 3 ft wide
in this case 1/2 is on one side of the panels and 1/2 is on the other side
then
we add three rows of new drip tape which has drippers every 6 inches 
then
this is covered with a layer of mulch to keep the soil from drying out too much
then
as soon as our sweet peas are ready in about 2-3 weeks we will pull back the mulch and plant the plants 
then
we plant between the sweet pea plants sweet pea seeds so we will have another crop that is about a month behind the planted pea plants

the sweet pea plants were started about two weeks ago in our greenhouse and should  be ready in two weeks to go into the ground


so
here is what the finished bed with trellis looks like

so 
thats how we do our garden prep here in our community garden
we have being doing it this way for almost 4 years now and have noticed the soil is getting easier to work and grow in and that it tends to have more earthworms in the soil
earthworms are a good measure of how good the soil is 

next is prepping and planting cabbage onions celery carrots beets parsley lettuce swiss chard broccoli garlic leeks kale and cauliflower
we will do serial plantings of cabbage broccoli sweet peas lettuce kale also
so
the garden will be growing fresh produce and donating it all fall and winter long
im sure we will add more veggies later as the season goes on
all of this produce is donated to those in need

its all worth it 

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #104-its called subjective cogn...

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #104-its called subjective cogn...: MY STORY REVISITED #104-ITS CALLED SUBJECTIVE COGNITIVE DECLINE if you think you have a problem then you might just have a problem with your...

my story revisited #104-its called subjective cognitive decline

MY STORY REVISITED #104-ITS CALLED SUBJECTIVE COGNITIVE DECLINE

if you think you have a problem then you might just have a problem with your memory

dr daniel gibbs wrote in his book a tattoo on my brain how he had subjective cognitive issues
he had memory testing that was normal though but he went ahead and stopped practicing as a neurologist since he felt like he was at the beginning of the start of alzheimers disease

it turns out he was right after all
he has alzheimers disease and it now shows up on memory testing and his amyloid pet scans and his tau pet scans are all positive

it was only because he was superacutely aware of his memory issues that he was able to recognize he had a problem

his book is a  must read if you or your loved ones are in the alzheimers world now

he tells you what its like to have the disease early on 
he views it as a physician a researcher a family member and now as a patient
his story is similar to mine also

if you think you might have memory issues then get evaluated early on
then
consider finding a research study to volunteer in 

he did
i did
you should also

as you read the blog below note the video interview is no longer available

nowadays those with subjective memory issues would probably end up being prealzheimers or prodromal alzheimers
ie
normal memory testing with positive biomarkers for alzheimers like blood tests and pet scans and spinal fluid tests

there are several treatment studies starting or will be starting for these prealzheimers patients using drugs like my drug biogens aduhelm (aducanumab)

an aside here
i have a mri scan next week at ucla to make sure i dont have aria or microbrain bleeds
so far i have no symptoms
in 3 weeks i get my 5th infusion of aduhelm in the restart biogen adhuhelm clinical trial making a toal of 11 infusions of the real drug aduhelm and 18 infusions of placebo at the beginning 
_________
07-09-2013
I THINK THAT...
if you think that there is a problem
well maybe there is a problem

its called subjective cognitive decline
it may be the first clinical indicator of
alzheimers disease
ie
its the first sign of alzheimers disease

its the self reported perception of memory or
cognitive problems

at the alzheimers association international conference
in boston this week this was one of the topics discussed
with special interest to clinicians

if you can find ways to identify people early real early
get aggressive with treatment early maybe you can make
a difference in whether the disease progresses at all or
maybe make it less severe

right now you have aricept (donepezil) and namenda that can
be used initially or later on in the case of namenda
then
get aggressive with treatment of the blood pressure cholesterol
diabetes obesity sleep disturbances depression anxiety
and improve exercise diet and mental activity

this early subjective cognitive decline combined with new
testing with blood tests and amyvid pet scan allows for an
early diagnosis to be made
then
new treatments can be started early on these patients

also these patients can be used for some of the research studies
on new drugs that will probably work better if started early on
the disease

there are a lot of social and psychological factors to consider
of course in this early detection

the study im in the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative
has started a study of patients who have subjective cognitive
decline and are following them with the same tests that im having
done in the mild cognitive group

im glad to see this research on subjective cognitive decline
because if i didnt have some changes on my neuropsych exam
and spinal fluid protens i probably would be in that group

here is a link to a nbc story on alzheimers disease with
maria shriver and dr nancy snyderman
this video talks about why early detection to this patient is
important
click here to watch the video
__________
so
if you think it you may have it
get evaluated

read dr daniel gibbs book a tattoo on my brain to know what its like to have this disease early on before others notice it
so much of what i have experienced is in his book

get tested early on

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-will i get the third booster shot

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-will i get the third booster shot: COVID 19-WILL I GET THE THIRD BOOSTER SHOT there is only one answer for me thats yes i will qualify since i am over 65 years old since i am ...

covid 19-will i get the third booster shot

COVID 19-WILL I GET THE THIRD BOOSTER SHOT

there is only one answer for me
thats
yes

i will qualify since i am over 65 years old

since i am in the biogen aduhelm (aducanumab) study i have to time my immunization no matter which one 10 days after my infusions and 10 days before my infusion
i think its because aduhelm is a monoclonal antibody 
so
i have circled friday october 1st as the day i will get mine

i got the pfizer shot 2nd shot on march 6th of this year
so that will be at least 6 months after my last one

why am i getting it
one answer
mr hudson who is immunocompromised from his kidney transplant
i dont want to bring it to him

remember even if you are double vaxxed you can still transmit the virus to others
if you get sick your case may be milder

many dont even realize they are sick when they are contagious
thats what makes this virus so dangerous
it can be transmitted just 3 days after exposure
you may not even know you have it when you pass it to someone
thats what makes this so dangerous to the vulnerable folks

so i try to avoid high risk situations that could expose me to the virus
i always wear a mask outside the condo
i wear an n95 mask to protect myself better

my wife she and i are doing about 90% of the things we were doing before the pandemic
we are doing them safer
granted
we arent going to indoor restaurants concerts staying in hotels flying or traveling 
i have limited my volunteering to just the community garden

i plan to do this until i get triple vaxxed and this pandemic has waned a lot more than it appears it will in the next several months
expect another surge or bump to occur later this winter

if the kids get vaxxed and my wife she and i get triple vaxxed then we will be in good shape i think
until them
i aint changing what i do
weve come too far in the last 18 months+ to let our guard down now

also
the fda advisory committee recommended only vaxxing the over 65 year olds and the immunocompromised folks
im not sure how they define immunocompromised but that will include a lot of you
eventually moderna and johnson and johnson will get approved for the additional shots

then
the fda panel will vote on all of this
sometimes they dont agree with the fda advisory committee

then
the cdc reviews all of this and makes their recommendation
sometimes its the same and sometimes its slightly different than the fda panel

my guess it will be the same

eventually all of yall will be recommended to get a 3rd shot

i hope that they will better identify those immunocompromised persons 
eg
an obese male middle age with high blood pressure and diabetes is immunocompromised
there are also a lot of high risk folks with diseases that make them high risk
just read the stories of folks who are immunized against covid who get real sick
they have a lot of comorbidities

yesterday i was talking to a local nurse who works at the local hospital
now thats who folks should be talking to 
they see it every day

she was immunized against covid in december of 2020 
she is exposed everyday at work to covid patients
in my mind that makes her high risk
she should get the 3rd shot also now
she also told me of cases of long haul covid where theyre are in and out of the hospital multiple times over the last year

these nurses know
they are big covid vaccine advocates
they live this disease every day 

they should make some of these governors in the hard hit states walk through the covid units to see what their decisions do to people
well one of them will have to use his wheelchair to tour these dying covid patients

also
im getting my 3rd shot since i am older and im sure my immune system is not as good as it was years ago
i read of too many older folks catching this and getting gravely ill 
either dying or becoming a covid cripple
i dont want it to all end for me that way

i will wait to get my flu shot after my covid shot in my next 10 day window in later october
its ok to get the flu and covid shot together
i just didnt want to feel bad from the flu shot and the covid shot together

ao
hopefully in about 10 days i will be triple vaxxed
take that you covid virus

also
my wife she got the moderna vaccine
it will probably get approved in two weeks for a 3rd shot
it will likely be an half dosed one since its first two shots were higher doses than pfizers
thats why its working better and also why it probably had more side effects

also if you had the covid infection and didnt get any vaxxine 
you may or may not have good antibody protection from the virus
it is recommended you get vaxxed

talk to your medical provider about getting your 3rd vaxxine

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-will there be another peak

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-will there be another peak: COVID 19-WILL THERE BE ANOTHER PEAK   the answer to the question in the title of todays blog is maybe probably does it have to happen no wil...

covid 19-will there be another peak

COVID 19-WILL THERE BE ANOTHER PEAK 

the answer to the question in the title of todays blog
is
maybe
probably

does it have to happen
no

will it
yes

1 in 500 americans have died from covid
1 in 35 folks older than 85 died 
1 in 150 folks from 65-84 died
thats a lot of lost grandparents
554 kids died
1% of infected kids get admitted
0.01% of infected kids die
240,000 kids have been infected in the last couple of weeks
in total 660,000+ americans have died from covid
almost all unvaxxed
even today when the vaxxines are readily available

it doesnt have to be that way
but
sadly it is

in mississippi its 1 in 330 died from covid
in arkansas its 1 in 410
in texas its 1 in 490
in florida its 1 in 440
in california its 1 in 590
in vermont its 1 in 2100

how to prevent the peak
all wear masks whether masked or unmasked
more aggressive vaxxine mandates
vaxxine requirements for schools colleges medical care facilities etc
vaxxine requirements for participation in events plus wear a mask
vaxxing kids from 5-12 next month
vaxxing kids from 6 months to 5 the next month
avoiding large gatherings yes weddings etc

if thats done there will not be a winter peak
we may start to see the pandemic putter and slow down a lot so that things can really get back to almost normal again

sorry
i was daydreaming there for a minute
you know thats not going to happen
thats just asking too much of us americans

here is the link to the university of washington covid prediction model
its been pretty accurate
by december 31 its projected the death toll will reach 775,000+
the worst case would be 893,000+ deaths 

in my zip code 70+% are fully vaxxed
that number will climb a lot when the kiddos get vaxxed
when you go to a store here folks have masks on 100%
in a concert here last night you had to have a vax card to get in or a negative covid test
if you added a mask requirement to that then that event was fairly safe
not 100% though

our walk to end alzheimers is still scheduled to happen live in november here in santa barbara
i have chosen to not participate this year even though i usually speak for a few minutes each year
vaxxines are not required
masks may or not be required
they are recommended
thats not good enough for me
even though by that time i will be triple vaxxed
well
maybe next year ill do the walk
thats what i said last year
hopefully thats not what ill say next year

so for us here in santa barbara i foresee things improving in a few months
thankfully we live where things are being done to slow down this pandemic locally 
much better than in those places that are suffering right now
they sadly to say will continue to see things get worse 

there will be a slowing next month but things will go up again with thanksgiving christmas new years day and cold weather spreading this aggressive contagious delta variant

remember even if you are double vaxxed you can get covid
usually unless you are immunocompromised you may not get real sick
even if your are vaxxed you can still spread covid

your kids if they get covid probably wont get real sick but they can still spread covid

so
we may not peak here
but
sadly many of yall live where there will be another peak or surge

it doesnt have to be that way 
what more can i say

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-cholesterol and alzheimers disease

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-cholesterol and alzheimers disease: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CHOLESTEROL AND ALZHEIMERS DISEASE in listing all the healthy things one can do to help slow down or aid in the prevention o...

alzheimers news-cholesterol and alzheimers disease

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CHOLESTEROL AND ALZHEIMERS DISEASE

in listing all the healthy things one can do to help slow down or aid in the prevention of alzheimers disease along with things like controlling your blood pressure etc is controlling your cholesterol

when you get your lipid profile done
you get these numbers
total cholesterol
triglycerides
hdl cholesterol called the good cholesterol
ldl cholesterol called the bad cholesterol

usually you like to have the ldl cholesterol less than 100 when it comes to preventing heart disease and stroke and probably alzhiemers disease

as i have told folks 
if you are going to have to take cholesterol meds then get the ldl below 100

my original ldl cholesterol done when i was about 40 was well over 250
now after watching my diet and taking atorvastatin or lipitor it is less than 100

so i am helping to prevent heart disease and stroke and now probably alzheimers disease progression

what if i had really controlled my cholesterol like it is now for 71 years instead of just 30 years
would it make a difference

well
maybe

in this article from the university of virginia researchers say that cholesterol drives the formation of amyloid plaques

remember
in alzheimers disease
amyloid plaques form first
then tau proteins unwind and form tangles
then neuroinflammation starts up
all three lead to brain cell death
ie
alzheimers disease

they found that cholesterol produced in astrocytes in the brain use it to make amyloid plaques
these plaques deposited in the brain kill brain cells
thus starting the cascade of events that leads to alzheimers disease
ie amyloid plaques then tau tangles then neuroinflammation

these astrocytes cells make cholesterol then carry it to the brain cells or nerve cells or neurons where they are deposited
normally the amount of cholesterol deposited is kept low but in some cases too much cholesterol is deposited leaving amyloid plaques
thus killing brain cells

in mice studies they blocked this amyloid production by the astrocytes to slow down the production of the amyloid plaques

one treatment may be to used will be a medicine to block this overproduction of amyloid by the astrocytes to prevent the over deposition of the amyloid in the brain cells thus preventing amyloid plaque

in the meantime
ill keep following the research
ill keep my ldl cholesterol less than 100

remember whats good for the heart is good for the brain

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #103-yes i think we are almost ...

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #103-yes i think we are almost ...: MY STORY REVISITED #103-YES I THINK WE ARE ALMOST THERE about 8 years ago i asked that question  are we there yet my answer then was no we a...

my story revisited #103-yes i think we are almost there

MY STORY REVISITED #103-YES I THINK WE ARE ALMOST THERE

about 8 years ago i asked that question 
are we there yet

my answer then was
no we are not there yet

however my answer today is
yes i think we are almost there

the treatment study mentioned below using the what i called the alzheimers vaccine was actually the monoclonal antibody that i am receiving now in the biogen aducanumab study at ucla

in fact yesterday i got my 4th dose of aduhelm (aducanumab) in the study restarted a few months ago
i have received 18 placebo infusions and 7 real infusions in the previous study that the pandemic stopped

i will get about 18 more monthly infusions in this restarted study then i will continue them after that if the study is extended or i will continue them in the private world
so
if this aduhelm works then we are there almost
__________
07-12-2013
ARE WE THERE YET

as many of you know i am in an alzheimers research study
at the university of texas southwestern alzheimers research
center
in this study i receive a lot of testing
some not available yet to the general public
some that are available but not readily available to the
general public
i dont get to see the results of the tests but when i take
the neuropsychological test i know how im doing when i
take the test

but
there is no treatment part to the study
just monitoring
this all helps progress the knowledge base of what happens
in alzheimers disease as it progresses
but
nothing is offered or really available to slow it down except
for managing my health and taking aricept (donepezil) to slow
down any symptoms

but
im at the point where i know that i have a window of time
maybe 5 years maybe 10 years or
maybe im too late already

as this disease starts years before any symptoms start
so that the time to attack this disease eg in me would have been
20 years ago when i first moved to texas in 1989

so im monitoring new developments and i keep a close eye
on new possible treatments

here are a few


the alzheimers vaccine
they give you a vaccine that ends up inducing antibodies that
attack the beta amyloid in the brain by binding it up and preventing
it from accumulating or binds it and removes it from the brain

it seems the time to do this is years before symptoms start

a new study will be doing that
it appears that i may qualify for this study later this year
if so i will get a beta amyloid pet scan of the brain called amyvid
and if its positive i will either get the vaccine for 3 years or get
a placebo
i plan on doing this study if nothing else shows up

if im in the treatment group i will get the vaccine for 3 years
if it helps ive benefited from the treatment
ill take what i can get
if im in the placebo then im not worse than i am now
since im on nothing already

keeping my fingers crossed on this one


several anitcancer drugs some new ones and at least one old generic
anticancer drug are starting or are in studies now
the bexarotene study is starting soon
its an old one that is available now since its fda approved already
there are reports that some people are already taking it by getting
a prescription from their doctors

my thoughts on this
is whattheheck
there is nothing to lose by taking it
the end result of doing nothing is not a good one

my problem with the bexarotene study is that im not far advanced
enough to qualify for the studies

another new drug is an enzyme that was discovered in a group of
people in iceland that do not get alzheimers disease
this enzyme inhibits the production of beta amyloid
thought to be the culprit in alzheimers disease

i hope to qualify for this study when it gets started
 
there is a study thats starting where a drug is given that prevents
the destruction of tau protein that occurs in alzheimers disease
ive applied for this study and again im not far enough
advanced to qualify

this all seems cruel somehow
they are treating people in some of these studies who may not
benefit as much even though they are early in the disease
since the treatment may turn out to work better if you start it
before the symptoms occur

so are we there yet
no
but we are getting closer to treatments that will work
maybe not for my generation but for the generations behind me
my kids my future grandkids my nieces and nephews
__________
those anticancer drugs didnt show in these studies to work very well

we have made progress though in new drugs that are being studied now

we i think in the near future will be giving people who have alzheimers with no symptoms known as prealzheimers or prodromal alzheimers infusions or injections of an antiamyloid drug like my aduhelm  and an antitau drug plus a drug that finds neuroinflammation in the brain 

in fact if i could take the antitau drug and the neuroinflammation drug that are in clinical trials right now
i would do it in a minute for sure

those drugs are here now being evaluated or about to be evaluated soon
such
that 
in 10 years that trifecta treatment may be out of the research world and into the private practice world

so
answering my question again 
my answer to the question
are we there yet
i can say 
yes
well almost yes

the organicgreen doctor