my story revisited #161-a 36 point program revisited

MY STORY REVISITED #161-A 36 POINT PROGRAM REVSITED

last week i mentioned the 36 point program in my blog
several folks reached out to me about the program
below is a blog i wrote in 2014 on the subject

if you read the 36 points you realize that most of them we all should be doing anyway
i took all the supplements for a few years but eventually discontinued most of them
why
some research found them not to be effective
some gave me side effects i couldnt tolerate
eg ashwaganda gave me awful murdering dreams i couldnt tolerate
i noticed this herb is in some memory pills sold otc
the others i eliminated since i wanted to cut down on the numbers i was taking

i did match each of the pills against my meds especially aricept or donepezil to make sure there were no interactions
webmd linked below has a site for doing that
its linked in the blog below

i decided i wouldnt take anything that didnt have good scientific proof it helped
eg
i take vitamin b12 since i dont absorb enough b12 from my diet
my levels were well below the normal levels
supplementation makes them normal
low b12 can cause memory loss

i take vitamin d3 since my vitamin d3 level is below normal
my levels are normal on supplementation

i take folic acid and vitamin b12 since my homocysteine level is elevated
some believe a high homocysteine level is associated with heart disease and maybe alzheimers 

i take probiotics each day since inflammation in the gut can be transferred to the brain
maintaining a level of good bacteria may help

the rest of the supplements i stopped

one shouldnt do this for memory loss unless you have had a good thorough evaluation for memory loss and without discussing it with your primary care provider and or neurologist or psychiatrist
many of them will not like you being on this regimen

i decided if it was doing me no harm it was worth doing

warning dont do this without seeking medical approval and cross checking your meds with the supplements


yesterday i had infusion number 24 of the real drug aduhelm at ucla

i also spent about 30 minutes reviewing with the neurologist the results from the big annual alzheimers meeting in san francisco

she seemed excited about some of the presentations

my drug aduhelm has a big study that the fda is requiring called envision 
my study called embark may get fused with this study 
the folks will all get the maximum dose for several years
my study is due to last another two years
the results will be out probably at that time

if it shows which it probably will that the amyloid is removed and the tau is reduced
then
i have gained time by getting almost 5 years of this drug

it also will probably show that we will need to get intermittent infusions eg like every 3 months instead of monthly to keep the amyloid levels low

i like i said before have no regrets of doing this study
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THIS MAY HELP

examiner.com

alzheimers disease is a progressive fatal disease for which
there is no treatment or cure

so when you look at treatments and side effects eg
the medicine aricept (donepezil) which doesnt treat the disease
it just treats the symptoms
just slows them down some
if it was used for angina or diabetes or high blood pressure
then doctors and patients would not use it since it has so
many side effects

but
since we are talking about a progressive fatal disease for which
the only real treatment right now is aricept (donepezil)
then we use it for the alzheimers diagnosis since its our only
choice

so thats the view i use when i look at treatments for alzheimers
experimental and other ones
there are no choices as of yet
if something looks promising then ill do it
as the choices otherwise are what
thats right there arent any

now before i proceed forward
vitamins and supplements are like medicines they have side effects
and they interact with each other and other medicines
eg vitamin e interferes with coumadin

if you read this and you have memory loss that has not been
completely evaluated
dont do any of the things recommended in
the article unless you have had a complete evaluation with
a doctors exam and good medicial history labs mental status testing
scans medicine reviews etc

remember some memory loss causes are treatable and reversible

now
last week in the press there were articles on using vitamins and supplements
to reverse memory loss from an ucla research study
here are two links to two of those articles
abc news
ucla news

the second link is a more in depth article

now here is the link to the research article that was published in Aging
the title is
reversal of cognitive decline a novel therapeutic program
by dr dale bredesen from the department of neurology ucla

this study may have the only recommendations that are available
right now in medicine for ways to slow down
or reverse memory loss

yes i wrote reverse memory loss

in this study he took 10 people who had memory loss and treated
and followed them for two years
there were patients with sci or subjective memory impairment which
means you think you have memory loss but it doesnt show up on
memory tests
studies have shown that these folks many of them develop eventual
dementia or impairment

there were patients with the diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive
impairment
that is what my diagnosis is
these patients have abnormalities on memory tests and some have
abnormal scans of the brain

then there were patients with early stage alzheimers disease

there was one patient with later stage alzheimers disease

this regimen on these 10 patients had 9 of the 10 improve
on their memory
many of them were able to return back to work

the only one who did not get better was the patient who
had the more advanced disease

now i know this was on a small number of patients
but the findings seem quite significant
there will be more studies done on a larger number of patients
who will be followed for several years
then we will definitely know

sorry but i dont have time to wait for that study
for me this seems like evidence enough to proceed

so i will use myself as an example as to how this study will be
used to treat me

first i have had a very thorough evaluation for memory loss over
the last 4 years
as good an evaluation as you can have
neuropsych tests labs mri scans spinal taps pet scans
so i feel like my diagnosis is accurate

i am also followed by my family doctor and by my neurologist
and by the alzheimers research center at ut southwestern
on a regular basis

i have sat  down with my family doctor and my neurologist and
have discussed my trying this new treatment regimen
i have their blessings

there are 36 points to the treatment regimen
many i was already doing

exercising

eating a mostly vegetarian diet
i only occasionally eat meat
i rarely eat simple carbohydrates and dont eat a lot of grains
i usually eat at 6pm and dont eat again until 6am so i have a fast
during that time and have 3 hours fasting before bedtime
this fasting or ketogenesis may be helpful in providing ketones
as a source of food for the brain cells

getting adequate sleep by taking an afternoon nap to compensate for
my two hours of sleep i lose at night

i try to meditate or stare i dont do yoga
i use my walking and my gardening as my meditation times

i stay active physically and mentally
eg for this blog today i have spent over 4 hours reading and writing it

i maximize my health as much as possible controlling my weight
my blood pressure my cholesterol
i stay happy and content and dont really feel stressed out

in the article there are references for each recommendation
these are based on research articles that are referenced
not much of this is anecdotal but is based on research

as baseline labs i did
vitamin b12   25-oh vit d3  
homocysteine level   crp c reactive protein  these two measure
inflammation in the body
my levels of these two were elevated in the past

thyroid level    testosterone level
my wife she said for me not to do that one but i did anyway

these are not back yet but i expect them to be normal except
for the homocysteine level and the crp
for that i will take folic acid to lower the homocysteine level
for the elevated crp i will use things that help inflammation
vit e  omega 3 fish oil curcumin or tumeric acid and will
be good about dental hygiene
and take vitamin b6

for sleep i tried the low dose melatonin but felt drugged all day
so i will utilize the nap system to get my 7-8 hrs sleep
dont plan things with me after lunch please

for mediation which lowers beta amyloid i will do the walking
and gardening version

for gi health i couldnt do the gluten free diet which i dont get much
of anyway
i will add probiotics to my regimen

for reduction of beta amyloid i will take curcumin and
will try the indian herb ashwaganda
when i tried it the first time i got 8 hrs very restful sleep
but i had the most god awful disturbing violent dreams ever
and have not taken it again
it also lowers blood pressure so i have to monitor  my blood
pressure closely
i plan to try half the dose again when i can get the courage to do it

for cognitive enhancement i will take bacopa monniera

to increase nerve growth factor i will take alcar or acetyl-l-carnitine

to provide synaptic structural components-thats where the nerve
endings meet-i will take citicoline and fish oil

to optimize antioxidants i will take omega 3 fish oil and eat antioxidant
foods in my diet and take alpha-lipoic acid

to optimize mitochondrial function the batteries of the brain cells
i will take co q   alpha-lipoic acid   alcar   and drink a glass of red wine
ok maybe two glasses sometimes

to increase focus i will take pantothenic acid (vitamin b5)

to get median chain triglycerides i will be taking coconut oil twice a day
i chose not to take the prescription food axona even though i have some
as its expensive and is a hassle to mix up and take each day

so there it is
my treatment plan for reversal of cognitive decline

ive looked at patient number two in this study as he seems closer
to my history
his ten year decline seems to have been halted in its tracks
thats what im after

so
i take or will be taking 17 supplements each morning along with
my regular medicines
a handful for sure
i started yesterday and have noticed no side effects so far
i was worried about nausea but that didnt happen

i plan to add ashwaganda again at a lower dose but will stop it if
those dreams still occur
it was shown in studies to lower the bad stuff beta amyloid

if my labs are abnormal i will start replacements if they are needed
like vit b12 or vit d3 or thyroid or testosterone

since i have regular neuropsych tests done and moca tests and mmse tests done
at the research center i will know if im better
plus i will know myself

so in summary
make sure your memory loss has been thoroughly evaluated before
trying this
talk with your doctor before you start it
remember these things are like medicines they have side effects and
can interact with prescriptions
look up the supplements also on this link on webmd
its one of the best ive found

www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/

do not do this without doing all my recommendations
__________
remember
these studies are available to all of you
clinicaltrials.gov is a good place to start to find out where they are being done
the 3 that are doing trials in folks who have no symptoms but probably have alzhiemers ie they have positive biomarkers are aduhelm lecanemab and donanemab

there are more coming in the near future

prevention can make a difference in whether you end up with alzhiemers
if you do get it preveention can slow it down a lot

you can alter this disease

the organicgreen doctor