organicgreendoctor: covid 19-trifecta of respiratory viral infections

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-trifecta of respiratory viral infections: COVID 19-TRIFECTA OF RESPITATORY INFECTIONS the news media is calling it the tripledemic of infections i call it the trifecta of infections ...

covid 19-trifecta of respiratory viral infections

COVID 19-TRIFECTA OF RESPITATORY INFECTIONS

the news media is calling it the tripledemic of infections
i call it the trifecta of infections

they are
the flu
rsv or respiratory syncytial virus
covid

there is an in house rapid test for all three of these

so you can be seen and soon know if you have one of these three trifecta infections

the news stories are all about the overflow of these three infections that is starting to overwhelm the emergency rooms and pediatric intensive cares across the us

we all know about the flu
it can be prevented by getting the flu shot especially pregnant moms who can carry that immunity to their newborns
those newborns and those under 6 months get hit the hardest especially with the rsv

covid can be prevented or slowed down by getting the covid shots and boosters
like with the flu shot you can still get sick but it can prevent you from getting bad sick

rsv has no specific treatment for most cases
its all supportive care
it hits the younger harder especially kids younger than 6 months and those who are immunosuppressed and those preterm babies
they are working on a vaccine to give pregnant moms and older folks to keep them from getting sicker
younger babies get bronchiolitis which causes mucous to clog up their airways causing them to have more respiratory distress than older kids

one reason these viruses have surged is that we have been isolated for the last two years with our masking and social isolation
thus the medical community saw less of these infections last year
alas with the good comes the bad
now there are two years of kids who have no immunity against these germs that now will be exposed to them
thus filling up the hospitals

so
keep sick adults and kids away from your newborn and your younger babies
watch for decreased appetite respiratory difficulty increasing cough fever wheezing irritably 
if these happen they should get evaluated

get your kids immunized against covid and flu and make sure those around them are immunized
especially pregnant women who can pass immunity to their newborns
it will be a long winter im afraid of this trifecta of respiratory infections in kids

then
be aware of exposure to the grandparents from these infections
make sure they are immunized to protect themselves
yes
rsv can make an older person sick with bronchitis and pneumonia and can lead to hospitalizations and in some cases death in these old folks

wear a mask
wash your hands
stay away from sick folks with these viruses
if you have them stay away from vulnerable folks like newborns babies immunosuppressed folks and folks like me with gray hair

well
i can mark off two of the trifecta
now
i just need to get my flu shot so i wont get that third one

be careful
protect others 
protect yourselves

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-i dont have a tatto on my brain

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-i dont have a tatto on my brain: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-I DONT HAVE A TATOO ON MY BRAIN last week when i was at ucla getting my #22 aduhelm infusion in the biogen study called emba...

alzheimers news-i dont have a tatto on my brain

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-I DONT HAVE A TATOO ON MY BRAIN

last week when i was at ucla getting my #22 aduhelm infusion in the biogen study called embark to remove the amyloid from my brain
i had gotten 18 months of placebo before i got the real drug
do the math
thats 40 infusions so far

i asked the research director any chance i could ever see my amyloid pet scans or my tau protein pet scans or my mris

i told her i would like to line them all up and compare them over time

eg
i had a amyloid pet scan around 2013 then one in 2016 then i have had two since
one before the pandemic and one last year
i have one scheduled next summer and the next
it will tell the true story of how much amyloid is still present

i have had at least two tau protein pet scans also
i have one scheduled next summer also

i have had 15+ mris of the brain

man if i could just line them all up and look at them

so i have two amyloid pet scans that would show the amyloid that went untreated for several years
i wonder if it  progressed 
then
my last two should show less amyloid
the one next summer should show little if any amyloid in my brain

my tau protein pet scans hopefully would show it hasnt progressed any
its possible aduhelm may slow this down some also

then my mris all laid out would mainly look the same
which is remarkable that there has not been changes over the last 12 years
i definitely dont have any tattoo on my brain

no she said
as of right now there are no plans to let yall see the scans

bummer i said


this week dr daniel gibbs wrote a blog doing just what i want to do
he was able to access his old scans and line them up for us to see
he then correlates what problems he is having with the location in the brain of the amyloid and the tau

if you are in the alzheimers world you should read his book and follow his blog and watch for his upcoming documentary on his story

if you are a new reader from the weekends audience that heard our panel of those who have the disease talk and answer your questions
you should read dr gibbs book and follow his blog
he is one of you
a medical professional who did alzheimers research and treated alzheimers patients
but
he also is one of us who has the diagnosis
he has mild cognitive impairment that has now progressed to early alzheimers

sadly as this disease wins in the end he like me will not be able to tell you what we see think or feel about this terrible disease
take advantage of the access you have now
thats also true of any of your family who have this disease

he like me sees this as a patient and as a physician
he adds the fact he was a alzheimers research neurologist
a unique prospective

i suggest you pause and click on this link for his most recent blog and read it
looking closely at the scans

his amyloid pet scans show the amyloid going away some while he was taking the aduhelm infusions
when they were stopped because he had a large aria bleed then the amyloid has returned and worsened

his tau pet scans show how his tau tangles have progressed unstopped
it correlates with some issues he has

he still writes but no longer does the financial stuff

he also shows the mri scans that show the aria bleed he had in his brain


man oh man
for me when i read his blog it felt sobering to me
knowing that thats going to be me soon
not the aria bleed but the progression of the disease
where you can see it marching across you pet scans as it progresses
like watching a metastatic cancer move across your pet scan of your body

i really wish i could line mine up and look at them
its a request that i will pursue after the study ends in two years

now
lets see what effect the aduhelm infusions has on my memory and my activities of daily living

thats the true test 



i have been asked to talk for a few minutes at our walk to end alzheimers this year in santa barbara
i will be representing those of us who have the diagnosis

you can join and or donate to our organicgreendoctor walk team for the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 5th



here is the link to the conference
i will be on an alzheimers panel for alzheimers los angeles on saturday october 29th
the audience will be medical professionals

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #155-find a purpose

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #155-find a purpose: MY STORY REVISITED #155-FIND A PURPOSE the conference that weekend was full of caregivers and patients our seminar was filled to the brim wi...

my story revisited #155-find a purpose

MY STORY REVISITED #155-FIND A PURPOSE

the conference that weekend was full of caregivers and patients
our seminar was filled to the brim with folks
they asked lots of questions
afterwards i spent a long time in the hallway outside the seminar answering more questions
many folk i met that day still follow my blog and occasionally reach out to me

this weekend my panel i am on at the usc facility will be for a slightly different audience
the audience will be mostly medical folks like doctors nurse practitioners physician assistants nurses social workers and administrators
of course some of them will be or are caregivers 

my panel will be couples where one of them have alzheimers disease
i will be on the panel with the couples
my wife she prefers to be in the audience
we will tell our stories and will answer questions from the audience

the conference will be on early diagnosis of alzheimers disease
which i am a big advocate for 
plus
i am the poster child for early diagnosis
and
what benefits there are in getting diagnosed early

i have my #23 aducanumab infusion in 10 days
i am excited to have gotten another 13 months extension of my infusions so ill get about 20 more before this study is done
those results will show how effective the aduhelm really is

the company biogen should have waited until these studies were completed before they tried to get approval for its use
that would have avoided a lot of the problems they encountered getting folks to use this drug
_________
09-22-2014
THE WEEKEND THAT WAS
you know we have to have a purpose in life
it just makes each day something to look forward to
it may be important to only you that purpose
but you must have a purpose

i have that purpose
well i have several ones
but
this weekend my purpose was fulfilled

my goal is to talk about and to educate
as many people as i can
about alzheimers disease

just ask me and ill start talking to you  about
alzheimers disease

lets get this disease out in the open
for all of us to talk about
those who are affected personally via themselves
or family members or friends or neighbors
need to open up and start talking about it

its also therapeutic in a way

so thats what i did this weekend
did my therapy

i was asked several weeks ago to do a seminar for the
austin area agency on aging
sharing the podium with a primary caregiver
we would both answer questions from the audience
from our two perspectives
hers as a primary caregiver
mine as a physician
a family member whose mom dad and brother had the disease
and
a patient who may have the disease

ck the primary caregiver should write a book
and talk more to others on how to be a primary caregiver
taking care of yourself while you take care of your loved one
using the resources that are available

she used a wheel she drew with herself and her faith being
in the middle
then the spokes went out to her friends her church her financial
planner etc
when she needed help she reached out to the appropriate spoke
to help her
so many caregivers dont do this

the questions that were asked never stopped coming
nor did the answers
heck ill talk all day on alzheimers unless you tell me to stop
its so personal you know

they only made me choke up once
when i was asked about being diagnosed and stopping practicing
ive told the story several times
but that day it seemed hard
they did seem to be able to push some sensitive buttons that
are always looming back there in the back of the brain
just sitting there

so i went to therapy this weekend
it was good for me
i hope it was good for them

find a purpose
we all need one
__________


 

you can join and or donate to our organicgreendoctor walk team for the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 5th


here is the link to the conference
i will be on an alzheimers panel for alzheimers los angeles on saturday october 29th
the audience will be medical professionals

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: r u a mosquito magnet

organicgreendoctor: r u a mosquito magnet: R U A MOSQUITO MAGNET cdc mosquitoes in the usa in the us they can spread west nile virus zika virus dengue malaria and chikungunya zika is ...

r u a mosquito magnet

R U A MOSQUITO MAGNET

cdc mosquitoes in the usa
in the us they can spread west nile virus zika virus dengue malaria and chikungunya
zika is the one that can harm fetuses 
 
the answer to the question if addressed to me
r u a mosquito magnet
is no

if its addressed to my wife she
its a definitely absolutely no doubt
a yes

if you asked my wife she one good reason to have moved to santa barbara 
the answer at least one of them 
would be
there are no mosquitoes

we have lived here now for around 5 years and we have not seen a mosquito yet

its kinda nice since the weather is nice here most of the year that you can go outside without having to wear some mosquito repellent thats bad for your health

now supposedly there are mosquitoes here 
weve just not seen them

now at the country n we had mosquitoes 
lots of them

i had 4 large watering troughs which were converted to ponds 
we kept gold fish or minnows from the river in them to keep the mosquito larva all eaten up
they have mosquito fish you can buy 
we got minnows free from the river plus the minnows survived the cold weather in the ponds but the goldfish and mosquito fish did now

we use to let kids catch the minnows in the river for us

i had a large number of rainwater tanks that had openings that had screens on them to keep the mosquitoes out of the water

but man on man if you let water stand anywhere you would get mosquitoes laying their eggs
so
no matter how hard you tried they still seemed to appear

one thing that helped was running a fan if we sat out on the deck
i guess the air movement blew them away

but as the sun went down the mosquitoes would come out
they would cover my wife shes arms and necks
but
they just left me alone

i always wondered why 

i told my wife she it was because she was so sweet

well
it appears that its because she had more fatty acids in her skin than i do
you can read this article about the research that shows this to be true

now i didnt say she had fatty arms
just fatty acid 

i was hoping it was because it was my male pheromones
but
it was just less fatty acid it seems

whatever the reason 
im glad im not a mosquito magnet

r u one

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-rebound time

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-rebound time: COVID 19-REBOUND TIME the new subvariants of omicron which are variants of the original wildtype are not the same viruses the wildtype or or...

covid 19-rebound time

COVID 19-REBOUND TIME

the new subvariants of omicron which are variants of the original wildtype are not the same viruses
the wildtype or original covid was much more virulent 
the wildtype killed over one million americans
the new subvariants are less virulent but are much more contagious and are more evasive of our immunity
these subvariants will only kill around 120,000 this year which is way too much
thats about 80,000 more than a bad flu year will cause
this could be a bad flu year by the way so get your flu shots

the new subvariants are mainly killing unvaxxed folks immunosuppressed folks and us old folks

the rest of the folks are surviving the infection intact

lucky in the us most americans over 90% have some immunity at least from the original wildtype covid which gives them some protection from getting real bad sick like hospitalizations and dying

many of us have had all four shots and many have had the bivalent covid shot
which i highly recommend everyone eligible gets asap 

heres my story
in march 2020 i think i had covid which would be the wildtype
i couldnt ever prove it though since the testing was negative but wasnt accurate at that time
i must admit at one point i thought i was going to die
fatigue almost 50 lbs weight loss shortness of breath palpitations loss of appetite almost killed me
but i recovered
my primary care doctor and other specialists feel like i had covid
so do i
now two+ years later the testing is accurate and readily available

i had my two original vaxxines and my two boosters then i was scheduled to have my bivalent booster which i had to reschedule since it was too close to when i got my biogen aducanumab infusion
i have to wait 10 days before or 10 days after the infusion is given
now
i have to wait until january to get it

a contact went on a trip and got sick with covid
my wife she and another acquaintance got sick with covid
about 5 days after they got sick i got sick

almost 2 weeks ago i worked in the garden came home ate lunch then all of a sudden i felt bad ran fever had headache had body aches had nausea and had more nasal congestion
my covid test was positive
i borrowed a dose of her paxlovid and took it then got my pcp to call in a prescription
i took to for 5 days

within 48 hours i was asymptomatic

one week before when my wife she got sick my test was negative hers was positive

at 6 days after turning positive my covid test was negative and i was asymptomatic

then last friday afternoon which was 10 days after testing positive my symptoms started to return
fever headache marked nasal congestion a persistent annoying dry cough body aches some nausea
and fatigue
the next two days my symptoms got worse

it felt like what you would feel precovid when you would get a bad cold that lasted for several days

now on this monday morning 3 days later i feel ok so far
i have no fever or headache or body aches or cough or nausea and no fatigue this morning so far
i still have mild nasal congestion

i opted not to test myself 
i just isolated myself for 3 days which i had no problem doing since i felt washed out
today i plan to leave the condo wearing a mask if i am around anyone just to be safe

it been almost 2 weeks since i developed symptoms and tested positive

i plan on getting my bivalent covid vaxxine in late december or early january unless the recommendation changes on getting the vaxxine after catching covid

i plan on getting my flu vaxxine later this week 
i have to wait 10 days since my last infusion last week to get my flu shot

would i have gotten sicker if i hadnt taken the paxlovid
i dont know 
but
i wasnt willing to take the chance since i am in the high risk category 

i know how i felt the last 3 days so i sure wouldnt have wanted to have been worse than that
my wife shes course was worse than mine 
the paxlovid seemed to shut her sickness down significantly
i have no doubt she would have gotten much worse without the paxlovid

im well aware that even if i get the bivalent covid shot that i still can catch covid again as can any of yall whether vaxxinated or not
but
you might get sicker without it

this covid infection and rebound infection has disrupted all the things we like to do 
plus
we felt bad for days

get your bivalent vaxxine and your flu shot
consider paxlovid if you catch covid and are at risk

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-a pill that may help slow down mem...

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-a pill that may help slow down mem...: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A PILL THAT MAY HELP SLOW DOWN MEMORY LOSS i have gone in for monthly infusions in the biogen aduhelm clinical trials for 40...

alzheimers news-a pill that may help slow down memory loss

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A PILL THAT MAY HELP SLOW DOWN MEMORY LOSS

i have gone in for monthly infusions in the biogen aduhelm clinical trials for 40 infusions
the first 18 infusions i got were placebo infusions
the last 22 were the real drug aduhelm or aducanumab

my original amyloid pet scan was positive for amyloid plaques
now
after receiving those 22 infusions of aducanumab my amyloid pet scan should be showing little or no amyloid plaques
my next one is scheduled next summer
by that time i will have had around 30 infusions
no i dont get to see the scan results though

it looks like doing this removing this plaque may slow memory decline by about 22%

in the theory of how alzheimers develops 
amyloid plaques accumulate first and kill brain cells
then
tau proteins inside the nerve cells unwind and form tau tangles
these tau tangles kills nerve cells in the brain
then
an inflammatory response occurs in the brain from the brain injury and damages things even more

besides aduhelm there are several new drugs that will be here soon that work similarly to remove the amyloid 
one lecanemab will probably get approved early next year with the others soon following this

now there are drugs that are being developed to remove the tau tangles
when these get here they will help also to slow down memory loss
so
you can treat amyloid and you treat tau tangles to help slow this disease down

a new drug a pill is in the 3rd stage of clinical trials
its a pill called hmtm or hydromethylthionine mesylate 
its an antitau drug made by taurx
no infusions no injections just take a pill

man would that be nice to just take a pill instead of an infusion

one problem they have is it makes your urine blue
you get blue pee

they are having trouble getting a placebo pill

the study may have to be done without a placebo pill
which is unusual for a clinical trial

the company taurx will probably plan to move forward without a placebo

so if you are in the study you are on the real drug and your pee will be blue

heck
if my pee turned blue that wouldnt bother me at all
blue is my favorite color

thats better than red pee right

also researchers are working on several antiamyloid pills also

man 
just take two pills a day to keep the amyloid tau and alzheimers away
sounds good to me

 

you can join and or donate to our organicgreendoctor walk team for the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 5th


here is the link to the conference
i will be on an alzheimers panel for alzheimers los angeles on saturday october 29th
the audience will be medical professionals

i will be on a  panel with other patients telling our stories and answering questions from the audience
this is my first panel ive done live since the pandemic hit

help us find a cure
help yourself while you are at it

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: for some reason this bothers me

organicgreendoctor: for some reason this bothers me: FOR SOME REASON THIS BOTHERS ME nasa.gov this is the dimorphos asteroid that was hurling itself through space recently really bothering no o...

for some reason this bothers me

FOR SOME REASON THIS BOTHERS ME

nasa.gov
this is the dimorphos asteroid that was hurling itself through space recently really bothering no one
when
out of the blue this nasa satellite hit it on the side and made a big crater in it
making it to veer off course somewhat

it was called the dart test by nasa

do we really need to be messing with mother nature like this

what if it got rickshoted off course and headed right towards us
was there a backup satellite ready to keep it from hitting us

i know it was a practice run to see if we could change the course of the asteroid
thinking maybe if one was hurtling towards the earth like in a science fiction movie that nasa would hit it like a cue ball and make it go elsewhere
ala we dont wont to end up like the dinosaurs when that giant astroid wiped them off the earth

what if it all busted up and thousands and thousands of asteroid pieces went hurling everywhere
creating a space mess for us to worry about

it looks like it all turned out ok
another satellite will do a fly back to see what the crater looks like

it also bothered me when they shot that rocket and made a crater in the moon

here is the video of it hitting the asteroid


why i ask do all of this
just
lets just leave mother nature alone

the organicgreen doctor

 

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #154-we have some control over ...

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #154-we have some control over ...: MY STORY REVISITED #154-WE HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER WHETHER WE GET IT i feel like i am doing my part to slow down this disease my family histo...

my story revisited #154-we have some control over whether we get it

MY STORY REVISITED #154-WE HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER WHETHER WE GET IT

i feel like i am doing my part to slow down this disease

my family history of alzheimers disease ie my parents my younger brother aunts uncles grandparents i cant do anything about that

my inheriting the homozygous or double version of the apoe 4 gene i cant uninherit that

but
i can do things well listed below in my old blog to counterbalance the effects of these two things above

i do wish i had known all this when i was younger like in my 20s so i could have been better at limiting my risk factors

but
at least as i got older mostly after my diagnosis did i get more aggressive at taking care of my health
really it would have been better to do it for 40 years instead of the last 12 years

i feel like it would have made a difference

a warnig to you younger folks

i also have added to my regimen

getting these biogen aducanumab infusions at ucla to END ALZheimers

#22 so far
yesterday i found out i will get another approximately #22 more in this study im in 

i think of these infusions as being the icing on the cake for slowing this disease down

now we know that these infusions probably need to be done when you are younger
eg
in me when i was 50 which was 22 years ago

my amyloid pet scan that will be done next summer should show little if any amyloid plaque buildup
my original one which i havent gotten to see from 2016 should show a lot of amyloid plaque buildup in the brain
now does removing all that plaque make a difference
well
we will know at the end of all this if it does
_________
09-19-2014
CONTROL THE RESULT
you have some control over the outcome
whether or not you get alzheimers
its the 6th and some recent studies suggest its the 3rd leading
cause of death in the united states

yes i wrote you have some control over the outcome
whether or not you get alzheimers

this report on
world alzheimers report 2014 on dementia and risk reduction
can be reviewed at this link

here is an article on a summary of the report

basically
here is the togd summary
well ive written this many times

you have control on whether you get dementia and or
how bad it is if you get it
somethings like genetics family tendencies environmental
exposures you cant control
like ddt exposure like carrying the apoe4 gene like your age eg

see that kid in the  picture above
put your kid your grand kid your nephew or niece in that picture
do this for them also

so you can control

-your blood pressure especially starting in mid life
its interesting that this time is when the bad stuff
beta amyloid accumulation and tau destruction starts in the brain
again please dont worry about potential side effects of meds
they cant be worse than a stroke heart attack or the most dreaded
disease alzheimers disease

-your diabetes in mid to late life
folks the chances of getting alzheimers if its not controlled
is 50%
that an impressive number
diet and exercise and medicine
even the old diabetic drug metformin may help slow things down

-dont smoke dont start stop if you do

-your cholesterol easily done now a days with medications and
diet and exercise
if you have ever dealt with the family member or friend with
alzheimers the side effects of the cholesterol meds arent that
important

-those things that make a healthy heart make a healthy brain

-exercise
-healthy diet like the mediterranean diet
-your weight as normal as possible
-mentally active all the way through your life

-get as much education as you can
the goal is to enter your late life with a healthy robust brain
with lot of brain cells to withstand the on slot of this terrible
disease

-stay socially active
-control stress anxiety depression
-get adequate sleep
-enjoy your music

also take notice that these things also help in the fight against
stroke heart attack cancer diabetes

so yes you have some control
start now while you are young
although its never too late to start

then finally
we need your help fighting for a cure and treatment
its the nih and the alzheimers association who lead in
providing the research monies for this fight
__________
 

you can join and or donate to our organicgreendoctor walk team for the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 5th


here is the link to the conference
i will be on an alzheimers panel for alzheimers los angeles on saturday october 29th
the audience will be medical professionals

i will be on a  panel with other patients telling our stories and answering questions from the audience
this is my first panel ive done live since the pandemic hit

help us find a cure
help yourself while you are at it

the organicgreen doctor