organicgreendoctor: read this to check your hearing

organicgreendoctor: read this to check your hearing: READ THIS TO CHECK YOUR HEARING cdc.gov hearing loss can be caused by something in the outer ear like ear wax the most common cause somethin...

read this to check your hearing

READ THIS TO CHECK YOUR HEARING

cdc.gov
hearing loss can be caused by
something in the outer ear like ear wax the most common cause
something wrong in the middle ear like fluid behind the eardrum or damage to the hearing bones
something wrong in the the inner ear like damage to the hearing nerve or the cochlea

i say huh sometimes when my wife she says something to me
i hear her ok but i do it just to mess with her

sometimes i pretend i dont hear what she says
sometimes i seem to have selective hearing 
ie i hear just what i want to hear

it seems a lot of husbands have this hearing problem

ive tested  my hearing several ways using methods i used in the office
so 
i know my hearing is ok

but there are folks who obviously have a hearing loss that they wont get evaluated
they seem to miss a lot when they are in the middle of a conversation

now i have issues sometimes if i am inside in a noisy environment like a restaurant
i can have trouble understanding what folks are saying
thats not unusual in folks as they get older
in a normal conversation without a lot of noise i hear ok
thats called speech discrimination

recently i found this youtube video on kimkomando.com
i watched the video and followed the instructions

the first time i did the simulator i couldnt hear the noises very well
i flunked it
but
i realized i had my sound turned down on my computer
so
i turned it up and redid the test
it showed i had normal hearing

to take the test get in a quiet environment 
i did mine without my ear buds and passed ok

you can test your hearing in the privacy of your home
maybe your loved ones who wont get tested will agree to do this simple test
you basically just sit still and quiet and listen 

if you have a hearing loss thats significant on this video
then
get tested

you start with making sure your ear canal isnt full of ear wax or you dont have fluid behind your eardrum 
have a doctor or nurse look in the ear
then if thats ok get a good hearing test done
some primary care doctors do them
ent doctors do them
audiologists do them

some hearing loss responds to a hearing aid
some hearing loss does not

if a hearing aid works
get it
wear it
you will be surprised what you are missing

so
sit in at quiet room
watch this video
get evaluated if you dont do well on it

now sometimes folks just like to not hear folks
thats ok if it makes your life better

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-oh my cron variant

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-oh my cron variant:   COVID 10-OH MY CRON VARIANT thats what im calling the new variant omicron oh my cron since when i heard about this new covid variant varia...

covid 19-oh my cron variant

 COVID 10-OH MY CRON VARIANT

thats what im calling the new variant omicron
oh my cron
since when i heard about this new covid variant variant
i said to my wife she
oh my

its official designation is b.1.1.529

it caused
the stock market to go down
the oil prices to drop
countries to close their borders

its in the uk and europe and in canada
you know its here already
what a christmas present for all of us

is this the one we have been worried about
that super variant that is immune to our vaxxines and to our antibodies obtained naturally via immunization or infection or antibody infusions

is it that the virus that overwhelms us

well thats the worse case scenario 

i worried when i listened to well known infectious disease folks who all seemed to have that worried look on their faces

this oh my cron variant has over 50 mutations mostly on its spike proteins the sticky things that sticks to our cells and infect us
its those virus parts that the antibodies work against
changing that many may make the vaxxine less effective or worst not effective at all

it will take about 2-3 weeks before we know how really bad this oh my cron variant is

lets see thats about right before christmas and new years when there is a lot of traveling going on
stirring up the covid pot so those unvaxxed and those with decreased antibody protection will be the ones getting infected

from reading about the oh my cron variant here is maybe what may happen
based on what is known and expected to happen

this virus is more highly transmittable than the delta virus which was more transmittable than the original virus
some folks said it the oh my cron variant is 100x more transmittable
if so it may overtake the delta as the predominant variant 

it appears that the vaxxines may prevent folks from getting real sick and dying we hope
but that the protection from being single vaxxed or double vaxxed is decreased
getting triple vaxxxed provides better protection
remember being triple vaxxed may keep you from spreading covid to others
being double vaxxed may not

we dont know yet if the oh my cron variant causes worse disease or not
if it does then it will dominant and make a lot of folks real sick
causing a 5th wave they probably will call the oh my cron wave

by christmas we will know how worried to be

oh by the way ivermectin and chloroquinoline doesnt work against this one either
if you chose to use these make sure you are triple vaxxed also

how bad it will be will be determined by how susceptible it is to all the antibodies we have in our bodies

its thought there will be partial protection enough to protect us from severe disease

if its a superspreader you will see it take over fast and cause a lot of illness
how bad will be determined soon

luckily it seems the new antivirals like the new pfizer one will probably work
the antibody infusions may not be as effective though

the best thing to do is to get triple vaxxxed
if you got two pfizers or two modernas you need your third booster asap
if you got jandj you probably dont have good protection against the delta or this oh my cron variant 
you need to get your booster also asap
it the third vaxxine can keep you from transmitting covid to others

i spoke to two pregnant folks last week
their obstetricians recommended they get triple vaxxed at 28 weeks to protect themselves and their babies
remember pregnancy causes the immune system to be immunosuppressed
late in pregnancy covid can cause preterm labor and still births
so easy to prevent this from happening

bottom line
make sure you are triple vaxxed asap to be ready
now is the time 
waiting may be too late if this oh my cron variant is a bad one

we lost our first relative this week to covid
they were unvaxxed and in their 50s
its sad to lose someone to covid since we know it shouldnt happen

so here is what togd and his wife she are going to do different to get ready for this new 
oh my cron variant

0
thats right
zero
nada
nothing

we are already doing what we should do 
we are triple vaxxxed
we wear our masks most of the time
especially around vulnerable people
we safe distance from others as much as possible
we only get together with vaxxxed folks
we dont plan to travel yet or to attend large gatherings

thats what we have been doing since we were double vaxxed earlier this year

now is the time to access where you are with what you are doing to protect yourselves and your vulnerable loved ones

the most important thing to do is to get triple vaxxed

remember it will infect the 
unvaxxed
the vaxxed who have waning immunity 

the rest of us will probably have good protection

listen to the experts
ive got my favorite infectious disease experts i listen to
they know 
they do have that deer in the headlight look though with this one
they all say 
we wont really know for 2-3 weeks

i at first felt sad and depressed when i first heard about this
im tired of wearing a mask and limiting what i do
however
i realized that on a day to day basis i really dont have to change what im doing
just keep on doing what i was doing
which is what i planned to do anyway 

i saw some hope listening to my favorite experts
which 
made me
feel a little better about all this

i hate waiting though
is this what its like to be in a war

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #113-what if what if

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #113-what if what if: MY STORY REVISISTED #113-WHAT IF WHAT IF i wrote this blog below around thanksgiving 2013 i was thankful then and i am thankful now that i w...

my story revisited #113-what if what if

MY STORY REVISISTED #113-WHAT IF WHAT IF

i wrote this blog below around thanksgiving 2013
i was thankful then and i am thankful now that i was still and am doing cognitively well
if you asked me then what i would be doing today the day before thanksgiving 2021
i would have said i would be in a memory center hoping my family would visit me on thanksgiving
or
i would be bedridden 
or
i would be gone after going through the final stages of alzheimers

my younger brother had died in the final stages just three months earlier
so
this was always and still is on my mind
i think of it every day 
then
move on

i posted the result of my spinal tap showing my spinal fluid amyloid and tau
it was in the mild cognitive impairment range
i do wonder where it is now
since my amyvid pet scan for amyloid is positive
my guess is that that spinal fluid results have moved to the consistent with alzheimers disease range
or
as i found out this week reading research articles
my drug aduhelm and more so some of the newer antibody infusions against amyloid are changing the amounts of amyloid and tau in the spinal fluid
so
if i am lucky and if the aduhelm or aducanumab is working then my numbers could be getting better in my spinal fluid

i sure hope so

i mention two studies the a4 and the colombian studies
the a4 uses an antibody thats given to prealzheimers patients and they have been followed now for several years
some final results may be available soon
they probably will not be good results since preliminary ones werent promising
the drug solanezumab doesnt seem to work as well as my drug aduhelm or aducanumab

in the colombian study on folks with early onset alzheimers disease so far the results arent promising

i was hopeful then and i am hopeful now
since
i was hoping and trying to get in a treatment study
i did eventually 3 years later
then
my drug my study aduhelm or aducanumab got approved and is showing some promise to have some effect on slowing the projectory of this disease

im glad i didnt get into the a4 study
i tried but was declined since i was not normal enough 
interesting is today if i tried to get in with my improved memory tests i probably would be accepted

fate maybe

__________
11-24-2013
WHAT IF
for those of us who follow the alzheimers research
there are two things that we know about and are anxiously awaiting
the results

a4 study
colombian study
 
in both these studies
people in the a4 study who have
positive beta amyloid in the brain on scans called
amyvid pet scans and abnormal levels of beta amyloid and
tau levels in the spinal fluid
and in the case of the colombian study
family members who carry the gene for alzheimers that
means you will get the disease will also have these
two tests done

no one in either group have any symptoms yet

both studies will have regular amyvid pet scans and spinal
fluid analysis for the beta amyloid and tau
both imply if positive that the patient will get or will have
alzheimers disease

however

the study subjects will also be given one of the new alzheimers vaccines
which will induce or produce antibodies against
the beta amyloid and remove it from the brain

over time we will know if giving this vaccine early on
will prevent the development of alzheimers disease
which it will if the beta amyloid theory is correct

how does this affect me
the ogd

this last week i had my regular yearly visit with my neurologist
for follow up for
my early mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
that may turn out to be from alzheimers disease
diagnosed almost 3 years ago

i have been stable over this period of time except for some
mild problems with short term memory that only i notice

i presently take aricept (donepezil) 10 mg for the possibility
of having alzheimers disease
its used when the diagnosis is first made or in my case
strongly suspected

i take care of my health
especially my blood pressure and cholesterol
2 of the 3 most important to control to prevent or slow down
alzheimers disease
the third is diabetes which i dont have
more about this later

what i am looking for in research studies now

im in the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative now
its not a treatment study but its the most important one ever done
on alzheimers disease
the information from this study has provided the basis for the
a4 and colombian studies

i want to get treatment now while im so early no one notices anything
these two studies would be what im looking for

the colombian study is restricted to family members in colombia
that carry that awful gene which means they will get it
i know that i dont have that gene since ive been tested

the a4 does not
if i qualify i will get the beta amyloid scan amyvid and yes have
to get that dang spinal tap again and again
but i might receive one of those new alzheimers vaccines
that if it works would slow down the process at least while
i was on the study
unless of course i would get put in the control group
which i dont want to be in

if i dont qualify for that one
i will get in a nasal insulin study for 6 months
the nasal insulin increase the glucose into the nerve cells
in the brain where alzheimers starts as the insulin travels up the
olfactory nerve the smeller nerve i call it
which may slow down but wont prevent the disease
this may be my fall back study

then in 2014 or 2015 there is a study that will start in arizona
 
where those who carry the apoe4/apoe4 double gene like i have
which increases your chance of getting alzheimers disease significantly
will be given either a new research drug or one of the new
alzheimers vaccines
and
will be followed over a period of time monitoring the
beta amyloid scans and levels and the tau levels to see if they decrease
and to see if it prevents the development of the disease

the budget cuts and sequester had shut this study down
but the nih scrapped up funds to get it going

i am on the contact list for that study when it starts
i will do it if i qualify
but
please on please dont put me in the control group
__________
well i didnt get in those studies thank goodness
if had i wouldnt have been accepted in the aduhelm or aducanumab study

however i didnt get my wish since i got in the placebo group for 18 infusions
i did get 7 infusions of the real drug after that before the study was paused
then
when it was reactivated i have now gotten 6 infusions of aduhelm or aducanumab

for this im thankful
i am in a better place than i was 10 years ago
and
i am doing better than i expected i would be in 2021

so
i will be quite thankful tomorrow on thanksgiving day

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: why are gas prices so high

organicgreendoctor: why are gas prices so high: WHY ARE GAS PRICES SO HIGH since i moved here to santa barbara i rarely look at my gas gauge any longer in fact i tend to throw my mask on t...

why are gas prices so high

WHY ARE GAS PRICES SO HIGH

since i moved here to santa barbara i rarely look at my gas gauge any longer
in fact i tend to throw my mask on the shelf in front of the gauge so i usually cant see it

its only when i glance over at it and see it flashing at me warning me im about out of gas that i realize i need to stop to get gas
heck
sometimes i put in more gas then the listed cars tank capacity

i hardly ever notice the price of gas
its always high here
so if its high i just pay the man when i buy gas and move on

i no longer commute every day and rarely drive my car outside of this area
my car gets about 40 mpg so i dont need to fill up my tank very often

i saw this article on why the gas prices are high
it seemed to be a simple explanation as to why our gas is high

its not bidens fault or trumps fault
its 
the covid pandemics fault

the average cost of gas is around $3.22
prepandemic it was around $2.00
here you can usually add at dollar or more to that to get our price
so
we are use to high prices
i just pay the man and move on

when the pandemic hit folks quit driving as much
folks stayed at home didnt travel as much and many worked from home

where we noticed it a lot was driving on the 101 and 405 to los angeles
during the week during rush hours it was like a sunday morning drive
zooom zooom and we were there

now
folks are traveling more and going back to school and going back to work
you can see the increase in traffic on the 101 and 405
its back to the prepandemic traffic

more driving more demand

apparently the refineries during the pandemic slowed down production
many closed
so
there is less gas capacity is in the system

we are now close to the prepandemic demand for gas
but
we arent producing as much gas as we were in the prepandemic era

supply and demand
decrease supply and increase demand means higher prices

either decrease demand which isnt going to happen
or
increase supply which will happen eventually
the refineries have to reopen and some have to rebuilt
it will take time

in the article there is a graph that predicts by the end of january the average price will be less than $3.00
and it will continue to drop over the next year

increasing release from the national reserves wont have much effect
or
doing congressional investigations
thats what politicians on both sides do to show they are doing something

but
really 
its just supply and demand

right now
our demand is outstripping our supply 
so
we pay more for gas

so
thats why gas prices are so high

sounds logical to me

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-waxing and waning immunity

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-waxing and waning immunity: COVID 19-WAXING AND WANING IMMUNITY  will there be a winter surge the answer is yes i would rename it the holidays surge thanksgiving christ...

covid 19-waxing and waning immunity

COVID 19-WAXING AND WANING IMMUNITY 

will there be a winter surge
the answer is
yes

i would rename it the holidays surge
thanksgiving
christmas 
new years
why
all the travel 
all the family get togethers
all those parties

the only really safe folks are the triple vaxxed folks
next are the double vaxxed folks whose immunity hasnt waxed and now waned some

only 59% of americans are fully vaxxed
that leaves 41% as vulnerable
the number actually is worse when you consider those double vaxxed folks who were vaxxed over 6 months ago
their immunity is waning

those getting sick and dying from covid are mostly the unvaxxed folks
some and their numbers are climbing are the susceptible vaxxed folks

that why its recommended that folks get triple vaxxed
eg
if you were vaxxed over 6 months ago you should get your third booster shot
if you are 18 or over

the pool of unprotected numbers is 
100 million unvaxxed
100 million not triple vaxxed

thats a big reservoir of victims for the covid infection
they will be the ones on that covid holidays surge graph

now some of you probably had the covid and have natural immunity
that immunity is quite variable
it also is waxing and waning
you may be vulnerable for reinfection even if you got covid before

in 2020 we lost around 385243 to covid
the number should be much lower
in 2021 we so far have lost over 385457 with that number increasing by about 1100 deaths a day

the number of deaths for 2021 should be close to zero
we did it to ourselves

why
they were almost all unvaxxed
the unvaxxed has kept this pandemic going
the wax and waning of immunity from natural infections and from the vaxxine is also now keeping it going

we have ourselves to blame for this 

those 1100 who die today from covid shouldnt happen today
but
they are going to die today
almost all of them will be unvaxxed

also we sometimes dont emphasize the effect of post covid symptoms
over 50% of those who got covid infection suffer physical and psychological symptoms for over 6 months
this disease may break our disability system

when you see those miracle recovery cases on the news 
remember they probably will be permanently disabled
many are readmitted multiple times after discharge
many die in the first year

we arent taking this disease serious enough

so
what does one do if they get covid
if you arent vaxxed or if you are ineffectively vaxxed

you need to get an early diagnosis
if you get diagnosed early enough and your symptoms are worsening

get the antibody infusions
you might have to be proactive and find a place to give it

soon when its approved later this year get one of the new treatment pills to take
it may be 90% effective in preventing severe disease or death

seek steroid treatment early in the disease

sometime next year there may be an antibody injection that will remain in your body for months to protect you also

or
you could do like 
i did
my wife she did
ms b did
mr hudsons parents did
mr hudson and ms bs other grandparents did
my mother in law did
mr ns parents did
mr ns other grandparents and his other aunts and uncles did
most of my relatives and siblings did
and
get fully vaxxed
thats actually the almost 100% way to keep from getting sick from covid
definitely keeping you out of the hospital and from dying
keeping you from being on that covid holidays surge graph

have a safe and happy thanksgiving this year

hopefully it wont be a sad time a few weeks from now 

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-nasal alzheimers vaccine may slow ...

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-nasal alzheimers vaccine may slow ...: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NASAL ALZHEIMERS VACCINE MAY SLOW DOWN THE DISEASE several years ago as i was ending the five year adni 2 or alzheimers dise...

alzheimers news-nasal alzheimers vaccine may slow down the disease

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NASAL ALZHEIMERS VACCINE MAY SLOW
DOWN THE DISEASE

several years ago as i was ending the five year adni 2 or alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative 2 study there was a study about to start that i almost entered
im glad i didnt since it might have delayed or prevented me from being in the biogen aducanumab now aduhelm study
the aduhelm or aducanumab was approved for use in mci and early alzheimers disease by the fda

in the nasal study i was looking at they were going to use nasal insulin that was sprayed into the nose
the insulin traveled up the olfactory nerve or as i call it the smeller nerve to the brain
there the insulin forced glucose into the brain cells making them work better
in initial studies it seemed to help
however 
they had trouble getting the insulin formulated and had trouble getting an adequate delivery system for the insulin
i dont know if the study ever got done

im just glad i didnt get nto the study

now almost 8 years later another nasal spray is being studied 
they are about to open a clinical trial on folks who have early alzheimers
they will be given the drug twice over a period of time then the patients will be studied to see if this medication helps slow down memory loss or if it improves the patients memory
 

in the study a drug called protollin an immune modulator is administered via a nasal spray
the drug stimulates white cells in the lymph nodes on the sides and back of the neck to
enter the brain to remove amyloid plaque 
basically it uses the immune system to treat alzheimers disease

this protein protollin will be used in this phase 1 study on a limited number of folks to check for its efficacy and potential side effects

here is an article on it

if it is safe and seems to be effective then it would move to phase 2 studies

the process from now to when it would be available if it works may be 5-10 years
it warrants keeping an eye on this study

for me
aduhelm or aducanumab is the last drug that may help that i will be able to take most likely 
by the time some of the better drugs come available ie get fda approval i will probably be too advanced by then with my disease

since i am on aduhelm or aducanumab i very unlikely would qualify for any future clinical trial treatment programs

i knew that when i continued the aduhelm or aducanumab study 
i didnt want to lose any time being not treated
so
i went for the aduhelm or aducanumab treatment study

eg in about 6 months from now after having received a year of aduhelm or aducanumab treatment i will have an amyloid pet scan to measure the amyloid levels in my brain
there may not be any measurable amyloid on my amyvid pet scan

this is one of the tests thats used in clinical trials to measure the effectiveness of treatment

if its negative to begin with then i wouldnt get into the new studies

so if you are in the alzheimers world keep an eye on the clinical trials that are ongoing
there will be new blood tests available soon to tell you if you have it
there are several promising drugs being studied that may work much better than my drug aduhelm or aducanumab

like eg
this protollin immune modulator to be given as a nasal spray

it probably wont have worse side effects than those covid shots or flu shots

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: garden news-i dug a grave for those pesky gophers

organicgreendoctor: garden news-i dug a grave for those pesky gophers: GARDEN NEWS-I DUG A GRAVE FOR THOSE PESKY GOPHERS this is the grave i dug for the gophers that try to get into my garden these are some of t...

garden news-i dug a grave for those pesky gophers

GARDEN NEWS-I DUG A GRAVE FOR THOSE PESKY GOPHERS

this is the grave i dug for the gophers that try to get into my garden


these are some of the plants i am trying to protect from destruction
that tall palm looking plant on the left is a curly leaf kale i planted last year
as it grows i pull off the leaves
using them in salads or in stews or soups or beans
i also donate any excess kale leaves to the shelters food pantry soup kitchens family friends etc
i usually only plant three each year as that produces all we can consume
the rib after the leaves are stripped i give to my sons great dane who loves them
all these are safely planted in a gopher graveyard bed with thick gopher wire in the bottom

the other palm looking plant is a dinosaur kale
the great dane really loves the ribs off this plant
kids like to touch the leaves since it feels like a dinosaur skin
well thats what we tell them it feels like

also in the middle of the bed is a zucchini squash thats still producing squash
its at the end of its life though
in the front of the bed is a malabar spinach thats growing up those wooden poles
they are still producing new growth since we have had a warm october and november

its possible without that gopher wire buried deep in the beds that none of this would have survived

also protected and just planted are more kale radishes bush sweet peas vine sweet peas celery cilantro lettuces caulflower broccoli cabbage garlic and soon leeks and onions


these are a multiplying onions my dad gave me years a go 
they keep coming back each fall providing us with lots of green onions in the fall and winter
these were dug up from the grave bed above
they will be replanted and some will be eaten and some will be given to other gardeners and some will be planted in our main garden
thanks dad for the donation


we didnt have gophers where we lived in texas
i guess they couldnt chew through rocks
so i never had to deal with them

our community garden has a five foot metal fence around it with gopher wire buried deep into the ground which keeps the vast majority of them out 
however
a few do get in our community garden and those few can be quite destructive
recently we put in a sonic gopher thingamajig that elicits a sound every 15 seconds
well know soon how it works

we use a lot of gopher traps that takes out a few of them

of course when i moved here all i knew of gophers were from watching caddyshack 
and
from watching my brother in law dealing with them in his yard

it seems though that the gophers somehow always wins

so here is what i do 
ive written about this before
i have found writing about it is quite cathartic
since
i know i am only going to partially win the battle

so
my beds are 3 ft x 8 ft and are slightly raised and bordered by sandstone rocks
the volume of soil removed is 0.89 cubic yards

i dig down about 1 foot and put the soil in several 30 gallon barrels and 20 gallon barrels
when i get through digging i have a hole like that in the first picture above

as my wife she said
it looks like you are digging a grave

i am 
i said
for those gophers
may they not rest in peace
or
should i say may they rest in pieces

after i dig my gopher grave i drop in a 4 ft x about 10 ft piece of gopher wire
it looks like chicken wire but is much thicker and stronger and its better galvanized against rust
gophers can easily get though chicken wire

i run the edges up over the sides of the bed and cover the edges of the wire with my rocks
it sort of looks like a dish that has a cheese cloth placed over it with it draped over the sides of the dish

i found several holes in the ground that were large enough to run a 2 inch pvc pipe in 
i envision some gopher rapidly running down that hole and going full blast into that gopher wire
i sure wish i could see it happen

i then walk around in the bed to make the wire conforms to the shape of the gopher grave 

in the grave i put layers of
soil
mulch
compost 
leaves if i have them
cardboard or newspapers if i have them
several limbs not gopher ones but wooden ones or logs if i have them
in the top half i layer just soil and compost

then i scatter an organic fertilizer on it and soak it all with fish emulsion
i add back my drip lines
then 
cover it all up with pine straw mulch

this particular bed will be used for leeks which will arrive after new years from dixondale farms in texas

i have eight beds this size in my garden
so far i have done 6 beds with this gopher grave method
this spring when i harvest those last two beds i will make them gopher grave beds also

im sure bill murray would be proud of my gopher grave garden beds

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #112-the alzheimers peanut butt...

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #112-the alzheimers peanut butt...: MY STORY REVISITED #112-THE ALZHEIMERS PEANUT BUTTER SMELL TEST   eight years ago i did the peanut butter smell test for alzheimers disease ...

my story revisited #112-the alzheimers peanut butter smell test

MY STORY REVISITED #112-THE ALZHEIMERS PEANUT BUTTER SMELL TEST 

eight years ago i did the peanut butter smell test for alzheimers disease
i used real peanut butter first 
then
i used my wife shes monster cookies she cooks
they are loaded with creamy peanut butter and brown sugar and old fashioned oats
if you have eaten them you know why we call them monster cookies
people ask for them on their birthdays
some couples will even hide them from their spouse and kids
ive been known to hide mine from her and the grandkids
sorry ms b mr hudson mr n
some things i just dont share

i was diagnosed with mci thats due to alzheimers disease based on
my medical history
a positive gene test for homozygous ie double version apoe 4 the late onset alzheimers gene
a spinal tap showing abnormal spinal fluid values for amyloid and tau
a neuropsychological exam consistent with my mci diagnosis
more than one positive amyloid pet scan called the amyvid pet scan
now
i can add 
the peanut butter alzheimers test being positive to that list of tests 

here is a recent link to an article on the test but the old blog below has a better description and how to do the test in it from 2013

you can get out your peanut butter and your measuring ruler and do your own test

when i did this test 8 years ago i hadnt had an amyloid scan that i was given the report yet
that would be about 4 years later
i had  just recently had my spinal fluid results by that date 
i had my apoe 4 results
my memory tests had dropped some but began to improve over the next few years
__________
10-11-2013
MONSTER TEST
my wife she makes the best cookies i have ever tasted
just ask my two sons
since they expect to get a box of them in the mail for
their birthdays every year
and
like me they do not like to share them

these cookies have oat meal brown sugar unsalted butter and
i guess the main ingredient is peanut butter

so this morning i picked out the monster cookie above

got out my ruler which didnt measure in centimeters but only
in inches

then i put my nose at the end of the ruler
closed my right nostril and smelled the cookies
no smell was detected at 10 inches
so i inched it closer and closer until 3 inches away there was
that monster cookie smell
then i closed the left one and it was about the same

so what the heck was i doing with my wife shes cookie
well after the test i ate it

but theres a new test for alzheimers from the university of florida
researchers who developed a peanut butter smell test

based on the fact that the left smeller nerve that goes to the underneath
surface of the brain where alzheimers starts seems to get affected
first
that is
its the first to go
the right goes bad later as the disease progresses

so what they do is take a tsp of peanut butter
close the right nostril
starting at 10 centimeters away they move the peanut butter
closer and closer to the nose until the patient can smell it
then they compare it to the right nostril

it seems in studies that this test is positive in alzheimers patients
and not positive in other dementia about 70% of the time

so this could be used as a screen test for alzheimers disease

in other words if its positive then a more aggressive workup might
need to be done
especially as we get closer to finding a treatment or cure

now they are looking at patients with mild cognitive impairment
to screen them to see if the test is positive

so
i just did it myself
i took a tsp of peanut butter and my ruler
instead of using donald i used the organicgreen doctor as my
study subject

i started on the left side with the right nostril pinched
i could smell the peanut butter at 5 inches
then i did the right side with the left side pinched
it was about 7 inches before i smelled it
then i ate the peanut butter
nice breakfast huh

so based on the peanut butter test i may have alzheimers disease
which correlates with all my testing so far
abnomal neuropysch test showing short term memory loss
apoe4 double genotype which increases my chances of getting the disease
some noticeable short term memory issues
abnormal biomarkers beta amyloid and tau protein in the spinal fluid
amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid to be done soon

so ill just add this positive test to my list now
__________
one of the other studies i did was a sniff test of a large number of scents impregnated into circles on a piece of paper
eg cedar pine rosemary mint etc
the olfactory nerve is the first to be affected by alzheimers disease
the left greater than the right side
then it spreads over the brain

a insulin nasal spray was developed that shot insulin in the nose then it would travel up the olfactory or smeller nerve to the brain 
the insulin would force glucose into the brain cells to make them work better
they have had trouble making the sprayer and insulin stable enough to work
 
i read today of a new nasal spray that was used that has a chemical in it that activates the body to destroy the abnormal amyloid in the brain
there will be a clinical trial eventually using this but the results will be closer to 10 years away

the nose provides a quick route for these meds to get to the brain by traveling via the olfactory nerve rather than through the blood

so 
get out your peanut butter
see how well you can smell it using the protocol above 

i get my mri of the brain next week to make sure i am not having microbleeds as they increase my dose of aduhelm
next month i get my first maximum dose of 10 mg aduhelm
this dose is the one that has the potential to cause microbleeds
i get another mri in january

the max dose i got in the prepandemic study was 6 mg

i also have a day long of memory testing labs ekg neurology visit next month at the 6 months time since the study was started

so far so good

i tried to do a smell test with my wife shes monster cookies again but i tend to eat them all first before i think of repeating the test

the organicgreen doctor