organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-you can see it in the eyes

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-you can see it in the eyes: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE EYES it could be that in the future you can go to your ophthalmologist who will look in your eye maybe...

alzheimers news-you can see it in the eyes

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE EYES

it could be that in the future you can go to your ophthalmologist who will look in your eye
maybe do a retinal scan
then say to you
you know you have alzheimers disease

in this study linked here and then reviewed here researchers took 3 groups of people 
at autopsy
they looked at the brain to tell if they had alzheimers disease
thats the most definitive way to tell if folks have alzheimers disease

they looked at their retinas for evidence of amyloid deposition called amyloid beta 24
remember the retina is connected to the optic nerve which is connected to the brain
similarly for example the olfactory nerve or smeller nerve goes from you nose to the olfactory center
this nerve goes first in alzheimers disease

then they also had the persons medical history so they knew if they had
alzheimers disease 
mci or mild cognitive impairment
normal memory

they were able to correlate the changes seen in the eye with amyloid deposits with what is seen in the brain and comparing it to the patients medical history

the researchers think that using retinal scans that show the amyloid deposits could be done 
warning the patient that the disease was there

the question is how accurate will this be and how easy will it be to get it done

the trend in the alzheimers world is to use the newer alzheimers blood tests as a screening test to identify those with the disease early on in the process so treatment can be done

in 2023 that treatment would be
controlling health factors like diet exercise mental health issues sleep weight diet cholesterol diabetes high blood pressure mental exercise

then starting aricept or donepezil at diagnosis

then starting infusions like the ones i taking to remove the amyloid plaque
the earlier these things are started the better it is to slow down the disease
there will soon be 3 to chose from
aduhelm or aducanumab
leqembi or lecanemab
donanemab

maybe if a scan could be done that would be easy for the eye doctors to do would be useful
one that was noninvasive that could be used as a screening test to get a patient to seek care early in the disease

any test that can help diagnose it early would be useful
the earlier treatment can start the better it is to slow down the disease

the eyes have it

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #172-dont do this to me

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #172-dont do this to me: MY STORY REVISITED #172-DONT DO THIS TO ME i thought about some of these things in this old blog recently i dont like it when i am in a medi...

my story revisited #172-dont do this to me

MY STORY REVISITED #172-DONT DO THIS TO ME

i thought about some of these things in this old blog recently

i dont like it when i am in a medical providers office and instead of talking to me that look at my wife and talk to her
the same thing has happened before outside medical offices

my guess is and she probably would agree with me that between the two of us my memory testing will probably be better than hers
i cant score any higher on my moca tests or mmse tests nor can you

even i caught myself when i was talking to patients and their loved ones to look at the affected person and talk to them
i would find myself not doing that but would look at the spouse
i had to learn to not do that

when i progress with my dementia i want friends and family to not correct me if i tell a story wrong or get a word wrong
let it be it doesnt matter

talk to me 
shake my hand
hug me
pat my shoulder

thats what i what you to do for me


embark study update
yesterday i got my #28 infusion of aduhelm or aducanumab in the embark study
i have two more left in the embark study

yesterday like the nfl stars i signed a one year extension of the study to do 13 additional infusions
that should give me when im done at total of 43 infusions of aduhelm plus those 18 placebos i got at the beginning

the end of may and the first of june i have my end of study extensive memory testing neurological exam labs ekg mri of brain amyloid pet scan of the brain and a tau protein pet scan of the brain
then
these get repeated again next year

then im done with the study unless they extend it again

its amazing to look back over the last 7 years when i started this journey with its ups and downs

now it seems it may have been worth it all to have done these treatments

stay tuned
__________

01-16-2015
If I Get Dementia

1. If I get dementia, I want my friends and family to embrace my reality. If I think my spouse is still alive, or if I think we’re visiting my parents for dinner, let me believe those things. I’ll be much happier for it.
2. If I get dementia, I don’t want to be treated like a child. Talk to me like the adult that I am. 
3.  If I get dementia, I still want to enjoy the things that I’ve always enjoyed. Help me find a way to exercise, read, and visit with friends. 
4.  If I get dementia, ask me to tell you a story from my past. 
5.  If I get dementia, and I become agitated, take the time to figure out what is bothering me. 
6.  If I get dementia, treat me the way that you would want to be treated. 
7.  If I get dementia, make sure that there are plenty of snacks for me in the house. Even now if I don’t eat I get angry, and if I have dementia, I may have trouble explaining what I need. 
8.  If I get dementia, don’t talk about me as if I’m not in the room. 
9.  If I get dementia, don’t feel guilty if you cannot care for me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s not your fault, and you’ve done your best. Find someone who can help you, or choose a great new place for me to live. 
10.  If I get dementia, and I live in a dementia care community, please visit me often. 
11.  If I get dementia, don’t act frustrated if I mix up names, events, or places. Take a deep breath. It’s not my fault. 
12.  If I get dementia, make sure I always have my favorite music playing within earshot. 
13.  If I get dementia, and I like to pick up items and carry them around, help me return those items to their original places. 
14.  If I get dementia, don't exclude me from parties and family gatherings. 
15.  If I get dementia, know that I still like receiving hugs or handshakes. 
16.  If I get dementia, remember that I am still the person you know and love.
17. by racheal wonderlin in alzheimers reading room
     

__________
in june next year i will receive my last infusion of aduhelm
i expect that will be last time i will seek treatment for alzheimers in a clinical trial
i feel like i did my part 
i did my placebo treated study
i dont want a placebo again
now i knew that if i got the placebo that after 18 months they would do a crossover to the real drug
thats what happened to me
i will receive around 43 total infusions more than enough to totally remove all the measurable amyloid plaques in my brain

the question is how long do i need to wait till i need retreated
no one knows how to answer that question yet

i have about 18 months to find that answer
then
i will have options
aduhelm or aducanumab
leqembi or lecanemab
donanemab
all three you will be able to get in the private world

then i will also keep an eye on the research world for something new
maybe

it is possible though my almost 15 year journey in the alzheimers research studies will be done

like i told the head alzheimers physician yesterday 
ive done my duty

yes
she said
you have

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: why are more people wearing glasses

organicgreendoctor: why are more people wearing glasses: WHY ARE MORE PEOPLE WEARING GLASSES   thats a picture of me when i was in practice with my glasses on i got my first pair when i was 12 and ...

why are more people wearing glasses

WHY ARE MORE PEOPLE WEARING GLASSES 

thats a picture of me when i was in practice with my glasses on
i got my first pair when i was 12 and have mostly wore than since
i did wear contacts once for a short period of time

getting my glasses was a life changing event
i could recognize classmates from a distance
i could see the blackboard in classes
the moon wasnt so big
car lights at night were no longer huge
i could see the stars better
i could see the scoreboard when playing baseball football and basketball
the list goes on and on

i have myopia or nearsightedness
mine is probably genetic
my vision is corrected to 20 15 with glasses
i go from being blind to being eagleeyed

the last pair of glasses i broke was when i fell in the chicken coop while fighting a huge eagle in our coop 

it seems the percentage of folks who have myopia or nearsightedness is going up
it now is over 50%
its not all genetic
it appears to be environmental

its simple
kids dont get outside enough
their eyes need the sunlight to work correctly
kids are doing more close up work
a lot of that is screen time

being myopic puts you at at increased risk of getting glaucoma macular degeneration cataracts and retinal detachment as you get older

it seems the best prevention is 
to get outside a lot


this is a good video describing in more detail what is happening to our eyes

so when your parents said yall go outside and play
well
they were just thinking about helping your eyesight

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-it didnt work

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-it didnt work: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IT DIDNT WORK amyloid begins to accumulate in the brain forming plaques years before symptoms start the amyloid plaques caus...

alzheimers news-it didnt work

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IT DIDNT WORK

amyloid begins to accumulate in the brain forming plaques years before symptoms start
the amyloid plaques causes brain cell destruction in the brain
next 
tau proteins accumulate in the brain as tau tangles causing more brain cell death
next
the body sends in its inflammatory army which kills more brain cells

it was felt that if you could remove the amyloid from accumulating you could stop or slow down the alzheimers disease process in the brain

antiamyloid antibodies called monoclonal antibodies were developed

solanezumab was one of the first
later came my drug aduhelm or aducanumab and now we have leqembi or lecanemab
soon to be approved is the newest one donanemab

each one seems to work better than the previous one

solanezumab approached the amyloid plaques differently
as the final report shows it was not good enough
when i read the final report it didnt work better than placebo

lucky for us in the alzheimers world the newer ones do work in removing amyloid plaque and slowing memory decline

i recently read an old blog i wrote about 8 years ago about trying to get in the solanezumab studies

one study was treating folks with moderate alzheimers
i wasnt far enough along to qualify for that one
that study was not effective in slowing down the disease

the second study 
the a4 study
antiamyloid treatment in asymptomatic alzheimers

to get in this study

you had to have amyloid plaques in the brain
ie a positive amyloid pet scan or positive amyloid levels in the spinal fluid

you had to have normal memory on memory testing

that would mean you are prealzheimers or prodromal alzheimers

i tried to get into the study but was turned down even though my memory was back to normal on testing
it was those initial scores those first two years that kept me from being in that a4 study

as it turns out for me im glad i didnt get in the study since i later got into the aduhelm or aducanumab study that i am in now

in the a4 study solanezumab didnt work
amyloid pet scans showed no change in the amyloid pet scans in either the treated group or placebo
memory continued to decline in both groups

these three other ones i mentioned above do remove all the measurable amyloid from the brain
most within 12 months
these three other ones also show a slowing of memory decline
these three others ones are approved for use in early alzheimers and mci or will be soon

these three other ones are doing their own long term studies in folks who are prealzheimers
ie positive amyloid pet scans with normal memory 
i expect these three other ones to show that treating people before symptoms start will be successful

for me
when i was say 50 had i known then what i know now and this was available
i would had asked to be in these prealzheimers studies 
i would have been getting monthly infusions while in my last 10 years of practice
and
if it worked i would not have had to quit practicing medicine at 60
then
i would die at an old age but it wouldnt be from alzheimers

thats what we are looking at if these newer antiamyloid drugs work

i think about the folks who were in the a4 study
some got placebo some got the real drug
it didnt work
they had all hopes for over 5 years some a lot longer
then
to find out 
solanezumab just didnt work
at all

how devastating that must be

i remember how i felt after about 18 months our study was abruptly stopped
i felt like i had been kicked hard in stomach
im sure thats how the a4 study subjects felt

they lost ground on their disease that they will never get back

in medicine sometimes you have to have a lot of failures before you have success

next tuesday i get my #28 infusion of aduhelm or aducanumab at ucla
my amyloid pet scan is in about 6 weeks
it should read out clear of amyloid plaques
oh how i would love to see that scan

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: togd brackets

organicgreendoctor: togd brackets: TOGD BRACKETS here is the updated bracket for the mens ncaa basketball championship from ncaa.com growing up i fell in love with basketball ...

togd brackets

TOGD BRACKETS

here is the updated bracket for the mens ncaa basketball championship from ncaa.com
growing up i fell in love with basketball by default
my sports were baseball where i mainly pitched and while not pitching i played first base
i started little league at 10 yrs old and played until i was 15 years old
and football where i always played quarterback. i started in the 6 grade playing football until the 9th grade
i played basketball to fill in the time between football and baseball

in the mid year of my 9th grade we moved to a small town that only had basketball
so
i played basketball full time all through high school and played intramural basketball or city basketball for another 25 years

so i learned to love basketball
i have watched high school basketball and college basketball and nba basketball
both mens and womens

i even coached youth basketball for several years at the 10-12 year level
i never coached girls basketball

when my younger son played i coached a spring summer team for a few years

so i learned to love basketball

each year my wife she and i do our brackets
she commonly picks the winners by their mascots or their team names or for some other reason unrelated to basketball skills
sometimes she does better than others do

so we are down to the sweet 16
that means there are 16 teams left
then there will be 8 teams
then there will be the final four teams
then there will be the final two games for the championship game on april 3

she has 5 teams left
alabama houston texas gonzaga ucla

i have 6 teams left
alabama houston miami texas ucla connecticut 

she has 3 final four teams left
texas alababama ucla

i have 2 final four teams left
alabama texas

i try to pick the ones that i think have the best chance to win with some home cooking picking
my favorite team is texas since we lived there for over 30 years
then
its arkansas since i grew up there and lived there 10 years after college
then
its ucsb or university of california at santa barbara since we live here now
i also follow them during the season through the local media
then
i like the underdogs teams that arent suppose to win like fdu farleigh dickinson  or furman 
then
i like it when the patriot league teams do well 
they dont offer scholarships
the prime example is princeton
they have ruined many a big name schools season in the tournament
this year is no different
the knocked off arizona and missouri
they made it to the sweet 16

there are only two #1 teams left
alabama and houston

purdue a #1 lost in the first game to #16 fdu
when that happened there were no prefect ballots left in the espn bracket pool

there are only two #2 teams left
texas and ucla

so looking at the 16 teams left 
here are the teams im rooting for
texas
arkansas
princeton

no im not in a pool
i just bracket for the fun of it

my goal is to not have my wife she to beat me

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-they will cover its use in alzheimers

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-they will cover its use in alzheimers: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THEY WILL COVER ITS USE IN ALZHEIMERS alzheimers patients accumulate amyloid plaques in the brain that damages brain cells l...

alzheimers news-they will cover its use in alzheimers

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THEY WILL COVER ITS USE IN ALZHEIMERS

alzheimers patients accumulate amyloid plaques in the brain that damages brain cells
later tau protein tangles are released to kill more brain cells
then the body releases an inflammatory attack on all the damaged cells
all three of these things causes the damage seen in alzheimers disease

the hope is that by removing the amyloid plaques that this will slow down the disease process

so
enter the antiamyloid monoclonal antibodies

the first major one was solanezemab that didnt work
next came my drug aduhelm or aducanumab
it binds to amyloid plaques and removes them so that measurable plaques are gone after treatment 
eg
i will have an amyloid pet scan in 2 months
this scan should have very little measurable amyloid that shows up on the scan
of course i wont ever get to see this scan or know its results

my study called the embark study will be reported out in about 1-2 years
it will probably show that it works
it probably wont work as well as the next one called leqembi or lecanemab

it will lower memory decline by about 22%
leqembi lowers memory decline by about 27%

biogen tried to rush approval for aduhelm or aducanumab
before the studies were finished
however the fda approved its use but medicare medicaid or cms did not agree to pay for it

esai and biogen handled both drugs
leqembi or lecanemab finished its studies and got approval by the fda
it works similar but different than aduhelm or aducanumab
it appears to work better 
it has to be given twice a month
it will cost less than aduhelm or aducanumab

my guess is that even though they both work 
doctors will give leqembi since it works better costs less has less side effects and doesnt have the stigma that aduhelm or aducanumab has 



so
leqembi is approved by the fda
medicare medicaid or cms has not agreed to pay for it yet
that decision will be in july of this year
there is a lot of pressure from advocacy groups to have them pay for it
the big one is the alzheimers association

now enter the va
they have around 160,000+ patients with alzheimers disease
some of them are early in the disease process
the va has agreed to treat their patients with mild alzheimers with leqembi

patients have to meet the criteria that one has to meet for clinical trials
here is a link to the criteria for a study similar to mine

the patients will be monitored closely
the va has a better system to monitor these than in the private world

if i was a veteran and was a va patient i would definitely qualify for this treatment
i have several relatives who are veterans who if they needed treatment could access it

it seems the va cost for this drug will be much less than the expected yearly cost of $25,000 a year expected in the private world

compare this to the the yearly cost of humira for rheumatoid arthritis of around $70,000
leqembi seems like a bargain to me

i think of these drugs as chemotherapy for alzheimers disease
were we talking about treating cancer or rheumatoid arthritis the feds would pay for this treatment

for me
in over 2 years from now i will have had close to 40+ monthly infusions of aduhelm
my results will probably be the same as what they would be if i was on leqembi
i will have to make a decision as to which treatment i want to do

it may be that if all the measurable amyloid is gone on the amyloid pet scan that i will go off the infusions and restart them only when the amyloid starts to reaccumulate again
or
there is talk of doing a maintenance dose every 3 months or so to keep the level down of amyloid 

by the time i finish my study they should know which way to go

will i do another clinical trial with a  new drug 
no i probably will not
i dont want to be in the control group again
i did my duty 
i did 5 years of the adni 2 study from 2010 to 2015
i did 18 months of placebo infusions in the beginning of the aduhelm studies
so
ive done my duty 
i want to be rewarded

if you are a veteran or have a veteran relative or acquaintance and they have the early symptoms of alzheimers you should consider seeking treatment with leqembi

there are no other options for now to slow the disease down

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-does it matter where it came from

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-does it matter where it came from: COVID 19-DOES IT MATTER WHERE IT COMES FROM the answer is  yes and  no yes it matters where it came from since we dont want to have this typ...

covid 19-does it matter where it came from

COVID 19-DOES IT MATTER WHERE IT COMES FROM

the answer is 
yes
and 
no

yes it matters where it came from since we dont want to have this type of epidemic again
knowing where it came from can help scientists to figure out how to maybe prevent this from happening again

there are two possibilities
one from a wet market in wuhan china
the other is an escapee from a research lab in wuhan china

the more likely source is the wet  market in wuhan china
the less likely source is a lab leak

both need to be considered sources and ways to prevent these two bodes of transmission in the future need to be addressed

despite what the fbi or energy department says we will never know for sure where the covid 19 came from

for me i want scientists to make the determinations on all of this
not politicians

hopefully we have learned a lot from this pandemic that we can use for the next one
one thing is to listen to the scientists not the politicians
not doing so left us with thousands of dead americans that didnt need to die

misinformation lies conspiracy theories politics killed those folks
i personally hold those folks that spouted all that accountable for all those dead americans
plus all those permanently damaged americans many who are still suffering
they provided a disservice to humanity

history will not be kind to them

there are bad viruses that have hit the world in my lifetime that was much worser than covid
had those got out into the world the death toll would have been so much greater

i was thinking about three years ago when i was locked isolated in my room for three weeks how much we really didnt know about covid
we did a lot of things we didnt need to do
we stayed isolated longer than we really needed to be
a lot of folks were damaged by the viral infection and a lot were damaged from the prolonged isolation
especially the younger folks

as i sit here today i dont fear covid at all
i only occasionally wear my n95 mask
i soon will stop wearing it unless im sick and im around others
something we should do with colds flu covid pneumonia stomach bug anyway
here in california the mask requirement for most places including hospitals are being lifted

thankfully most americans are immunized at least partially with covid shots
i have had all of mine and plan to get the covid fall booster with my flu shot each year
most americans also have had covid now and have some natural immunity
the covid virus is constantly changing but lucky for us it is not generally causing bad disease now

yes covid will not go away 
it will probably be like the flu
it will continue to sicken folks ast risk killing several thousand a year like the flu does
i will wear my mask if im sick or if im am around someone at risk eg someone undergoing chemo
something i should be doing anyway

personally i think some masking should be required in medical facilities where high risk folks are all year round like icus cancer wards transplant wards etc

there will be another outbreak
it will come from animals probably wild ones
it will be a badder virus probably
we have a lot of tools to use now
we have learned a lot
now
lets get ready for the next one and not make the same mistakes again

so i say it doesnt matter where it came from

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #171-can we stop this

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #171-can we stop this: MY STORY REVISITED #171-CAN WE STOP THIS it is my opinion from following the research that the answer will be yes we can stop this before it...

my story revisited #171-can we stop this

MY STORY REVISITED #171-CAN WE STOP THIS

it is my opinion from following the research that the answer will be yes
we can stop this before it progresses

it was about this time 8 years ago when i was starting to have improvement back to normal that i got a phone call from my older brother

he gave me permission to write about him 
please do he said if it helps someone else

from looking at his labs and memory testing and seeing his ct scan report he probably has alzheimers disease
he was placed on aricept or donepezil
i have been on this now for 12 years
my younger brother was on it as was my mother

he also had his heart completely evaluated had a pacemaker placed had his blood pressure meds and cholesterol meds and heart medicine fine tuned and had heart surgery
he said he changed his diet some and tired to be more active
he seemed to be getting worse so he had namenda or memantine added to the aricept that made him even worse so both the aricpet and namenda were stopped
these two are sometimes used together if the disease progresses 

since this was done he seems as near as i can tell to be stable
my guess it was the improvement in the management of his blood pressure and heart medicines and his heart surgery and his pacemaker that improved his memory
he basically was getting a better blood supply to his heart and his brain

this is an example of why you should have your memory evaluated early on when symptoms start
sometimes other health issues make things worse

so does he have alzheimers disease
probably 
it seems in our family its programmed to get worse in our late 70s and early 80s
my younger brother was an exception 
he was diagnosed in his early 50s and died in his early 60s

my guess is if you could go back in our ancestry tree you would find a lot of  folks with the apoe 4 gene some with the double homozygous apoe 4 gene and with high cholesterol and with high blood pressure and with heart disease and with strokes and with obestiy 

all are risk factors that are modified with diet exercise and medication nowadays

how many could have had a longer life if they had been treated at a younger age

then
now
add the ability in 2023 to diagnosis alzheimers before symptoms start
maybe in your 50s in my case

soon those diagnosed before symptoms start can and will be treated if they want to avoid alzheimers in their later years
starting soon probably in a few years with the new infusions of monoclonal antibodies like my aduhelm or the newest one leqembi and others soon to follow

those studies are being done now on prealzheimers patients
i was recently contacted by someone with prealzheimers who soon will be starting on leqembi 
this will probably delay the onset of alzheimers symptoms for hopefully several years
so maybe those folks will die of something else beside alzheimers in their old age

then if you add starting in your younger years with the mind diet or mediterranean diet and weight control and exercise and blood pressure control and cholesterol control and stress and sleep 
then
you might really push the alzheimers disease symptoms even further down the line

so 
the answer to my question
can we stop this 
yes
is my answer
__________
01-09-2015
NOT AGAIN
my historian brother is quite actively involved in doing
our ancestry through ancestry.com

he recently sent me a link which showed my ancestry
from my kids and nephews and nieces back through me
to my parents their siblings and their parents
it looked like a big tree pulled up from its roots
with my parents in the trunk area

i recently sat and looked at all the names on there


my mother died in the final stages of alzheimers disease
her mother died with dementia i presume its the same
her grandfather her moms dad had the same
all 5 of her siblings died with dementia

my dad probably had alzheimers disease when he died of
a heart attack
he was spared going into those final awful stages
his sister had dementia when she died
im not sure of his other siblings
his mom died with dementia

 
then in his early 50s my younger brother joe
the one with the blue eyes and smile
was diagnosed and died a few years later
in the final stages


then at 60 when i volunteered for an alzheimers study
in the normal group of a big study
it was shown i had short term memory loss
eventually getting the diagnosis of
early mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
that time between normal and alzheimers disease
it was felt to be probably due to alzheimers disease
and i was placed on aricept (donepezil)

most if not all my siblings went to their doctors later
to get screened for memory loss
they reported everything was ok

i remember sitting in the chair while doing my
neuropsychological tests
and
when they read those words to me
and
i couldnt remember them
i got this sweaty cold feeling
a surreal moment
i knew it was my time

last week i got a message
could you call me

so i called him back
i started noticing some problems with my memory so i went
to my dr
he did this test on me
from asking questions it was the mincog test
he didnt pass it
now i knew if you dont pass the mincog test then you are
farther along than i am
i could be 8-10 years before i reach that stage

so he said he had labs done that was normal
and
his ct scan of the brain
he couldnt have a mri since he had a pacemaker
showed changes in the brain where short term memory is stored

he placed me on aricept he said

who was this
its my older brother

i felt that same sweaty cold feeling again
and
i teared up

not again i said
its not fair

so that makes three of us brothers that got it
its not fair is it

i asked him
do you mind if i write about this and talk about this
when i do my dementia talks

no he said
i want you to

if you hadnt talked about it so much
i wouldnt have gone and got tested

if my story will help someone else
please tell it

so i just did
i like his attitude about the diagnosis
it really matches how i feel about talking about it

but
i still was thinking

its not fair
not again

we need a cure or treatment for our kids and grandkids
__________
so to my kids and my grandkids and to my nieces and nephews and cousins
yes
we are close to preventing and treating this awful disease that has hit our family so hard

take care of your health
treatment is almost here


update on my aduhelm study
i get my #28 infusion in two weeks
in two months i get my end of this segment of the study evaluation to include a few hours of memory testing a mri a tau pet scan and an amyloid pet scan
then
i will start an 18 month extension of this embark study i am on now

when i finish this one i will have to make a decision of what medication i want to be on
by then my study and several other studies will be reported out so i can have more than one treatment to chose from
hopefully cms or medicare and medicaid will come through and cover these treatments

a treatment or treatments that all those in my ancestry tree would have benefited from taking

we are getting closer to
stopping this disease

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: i sprang forward

organicgreendoctor: i sprang forward: I SPRANG FORWARD on saturday night i went to bed at around 900pm i was anticipating maybe sleeping longer even though it was daylight not sa...

i sprang forward

I SPRANG FORWARD

on saturday night i went to bed at around 900pm
i was anticipating maybe sleeping longer even though it was daylight not savings time
well
i awoke wide awake at 157 am on sunday morning
i looked at my phone
then it switched to 158am
then it switched to 159am
then
it went from 159am to 300am
it just went zippo real fast
then
just like that an hour of my life was gone 
forever

no i couldnt go back to sleep

at least i thought we kept our grandkids up who were staying with us so they could sleep to the new daylight not savings time

alas
their little bodies were programmed not by legislation but by mother nature
they were up at their old body clock time
600am instead of the daylight not savings time of 700am

maybe you can figure it out
it seems they got up at 500am the old time right
i am sure thats right since my body even three days later says thats right

i sprang forward and feel like i landed flat on my face

biologically it shouldnt make a difference right
the birds still came out as soon as the sun came out
they seemed to not care about daylight not savings time

then
why does it affect us humans so much
lets see what the teachers say this week
theyll know how bad its affected us all for sure

so
i am ready to declare i want this time changing to stop
for me
i want to go back to the old regular times like it was before it all started

im sure the farmers didnt care since they use their body timers to know when to get up
so
then
should we

so congress put the time back and leave it alone

i dont like daylight not savings time at all

all i got to say is

yawn yawn

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-will i write while impaired

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-will i write while impaired: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WILL I WRITE WHILE IMPAIRED the answer to the question in the title of this blog today is yes as long as its not frustrating...

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-will i write while impaired

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-will i write while impaired: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WILL I WRITE WHILE IMPAIRED the answer to the question in the title of this blog today is yes as long as its not frustrating...

alzheimers news-will i write while impaired

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WILL I WRITE WHILE IMPAIRED

the answer to the question in the title of this blog today is
yes

as long as its not frustrating for me to write
and
as long as my blog makes sense

dr daniel gibbs wrote recently in his a tattoo on my brain blog about
writing while impaired

his book with the same name as his blog details his journey with mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease 
he was in the aduhelm or aducanumab study i am in but he had a large microbleed that forced him to withdraw from the study
it took him a few months to recover

his book also talks about things he notices and thinks about as the disease progresses
he can compare what he sees with what shows up on his scans
ie a certain part of the brain has amyloid plaques and tau tangles and he can compare that to the symptoms he has

he does the same with his blog
in this latest blog he couldnt remember the name of the street he was on near his house and couldnt remember any of the names of the other streets
hes lived in this area for years

eventually he will get lost as he goes for his walks and want find his way back
will that be next week or next month or next year or 5 years from now
he doesnt know

he has developed writers block so is finding it hard to write his blog and come up with new ideas
its probably caused from alzheimers disease
he has noticed trouble finding words and spelling words and leaving words unspelled and using the wrong word

i always read his blogs and i read his book because i know where he is now i will be there soon
when that happens ill know im at his stage of the disease

i have seen a change in his writing from when i read his book

of course the disease can cause issues differently for different folks based on where in the brain it metastasizes to

so far ive noticed things when i write like he has noticed
spelling is big issue but thanks to spell check and google i can spell
sometimes i cant think of a word so ill google synonym for something similar to what im thinking of
usually that word shows up 

many of the things i notice that he noticed some times ago he can explain it as a clinical neurologist and point to the part of the brain involved

he sort of is providing me a road map of where i am going

i once a week reread a few of my old blogs from 8 years ago when i do my story revisited blogs each week
i can notice sometimes a difference in my writing

some of this is probably my age and its normal cant remember stuff aging so i dont really worry about it much
but its back there in the back of my mind

i also make a lot of errors when i do my original draft but i do multiple reviews of it to clean it up
my wife she does an audit each day but shes not good at letting me know of errors

so will i write while impaired

yes
as i know its important to write this blog
for myself
to exercise my brain each morning
to document my journey
for others about to embark on this journey
for others who are there now

so my answer is 
yes

follow me on twitter
follow my blog facebook page

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: when in doubt throw it out

organicgreendoctor: when in doubt throw it out: WHEN IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT thats a picture of our freezer in our refrigerator recently we had a power outage that lasted several days our po...

when in doubt throw it out

WHEN IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT

thats a picture of our freezer in our refrigerator
recently we had a power outage that lasted several days
our power box in our condo complex got flooded and it shorted out
it took them almost a week to fix it

lucky we were out of town when this happened
unlucky for us we werent there to salvage our food in the frig

it was an easy decision to make on what to do 
it had been several days so we followed the rule

when in doubt throw it out

we did
or
should i say i did

that freezer was full of onions leeks garlic tomatoes bell peppers jalapeno peppers squash malabar spinach that were frozen from the garden last year

it was sad to throw it away
its now all been eaten by the chickens or is mostly compost now

so it mostly ended up back where it started 
back in the garden in the soil

we threw everything away that was in the freezer
even the ice
well it was water now

i looked at this good article linked here on what to throw out and what to save

well
when in doubt throw it out me 
threw it all out
so
when we finished the frig was completely empty
well except for things growing here and there that responded well to a bleach solution

the last time we saw the inside of this frig was 5 years ago

luckily we arent big meat eaters so we didnt have a lot of expensive meat to throw away
just mainly our good old organic previously frozen veggies from the garden

looking at that article you can find items you have in your frig
some doesnt need to be thrown away
like
mustard or ketchup
sorry 
when in doubt throw it out
we or should i say i threw it all away
much to our composts benefit

it will all come back to us this summer as squash tomatoes leeks onions and peppers squash malabar spinach

we have had several outages of 6-12 hours recently as they are working on the electrical infrastructure here
i usually have a 4 hour rule but i did get lenient on these since the frig was kept closed

my goal is not to get refrigerator positioning
if it was up to my wife she that would have happened months ago

do read the article if your frig or freezer is out of electricity for a length of time
its a good guide on what to do

dont taste it or smell it to see if its good
thats my wife shes technique
mine is
if you gotta smell it or taste it to see if its good
then
follow the rule
when in doubt throw it out

i dont want to die of something i can prevent

then theres the seven day rule i follow
thats another blog though

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #170-i am at peace with myself

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #170-i am at peace with myself: MY STORY REVISITED #170-I AM AT PEACE WITH MYSELF each december i write a blog about the anniversary of my diagnosis and my decision to stop...

my story revisited #170-i am at peace with myself

MY STORY REVISITED #170-I AM AT PEACE WITH MYSELF

each december i write a blog about the anniversary of my diagnosis and my decision to stop practicing medicine
over 8 years ago i wrote this blog below 
its interesting to see where i was at that time

i was in the 5 year adni 2 or alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative 2 where i got serial labs mri scans amyloid pet scans spinal taps lots of memory testing each year
i was actively looking for a treatment study
the adni 2 study was just diagnostic studies
i was ready for a treatment only study

one study called the a4 study was looking for new participants
one needed to not have memory issues but have a positive amyloid pet scan
since my memory had returned back to normal range back then i tried to get in the study but was turned down
interestingly i tried to get in the aducanumab study a year or so later and was turned away initially but later when they got all my medical records they changed their mind
it would be 3 more years before i got into the aducanumab study

the a4 study will be resulted out in a few weeks
they have been treating folks with higher dose of solanezumab for almost 10 years
solanezumab works similar but differently than aducanumab

researchers are anxiously awaiting the results since these prealzheimers patients have been treated for these 10 years with this drug that removes amyloid
will these patients be better off having been treated
will this treatment slow down or stop the disease from progressing

now the newer drugs like my drug aduhelm or aducanumab and lecanemab and others coming soon probably will be more effective in these prealzheimers patients
those studies are several years behind the a4 study

so if a4 works to slow it down some then its a good sign the other newer ones will do an even better job

again
fingers crossed


yesterday at ucla i got my #27 infusion of aduhelm or aducanumab in the biogen embark study
i also got 18 placebo infusions prior to that
ive been at this since 2017 with a year and a half pandemic hiatus

i have spent 135 hours getting infusions
i have traveled 18,000 miles to get the infusions
i have traveled around 270 hours traveling to get the infusions
that doesnt count all the trips for labs mri scans amyloid pet scans tau pet scans memory testing neurological visits

its all worth it i might add

i have at least 16+ more infusions to go in this study 
its results will be reported out in about 2 years

i then have a choice to make
stay with monthly infusions of aduhelm or aducanumab
or switch to lecanemab infusions since they work better
both will probably be given in the private world by then

exciting times in the alzheimers world and my world
__________
12-19-2014
THE ANNIVERSARY
each year at this time
i stop what im doing
try to slow down some
to reflect on the last 4 years
especially that day 4 years ago
when my life came to a screeching halt

one day i worked seeing over 30 patients
one in the mid day that day was
an alzheimers patient
one of my surreal moments when i reflected back
i wrote him a prescription for his aricept (donepezil)
which he took for his alzheimers disease
little did i know
that the next day almost exactly 24 hours later
a  neurologist would write me the same prescription
and go over the same side effects that i had done
with my patient and his daughter
surreal it was

my last patient of the day
was an employees child who was due for his
two year check up
i asked her to come in after my last patient so i
could do it
knowing he would be the last patient i ever saw
as a practicing family doctor

i also for a few weeks had refilled folks prescriptions
and
even had some come in early for rechecks and
physicals knowing i would not probably return

i got the news the next day fours years ago
my life changed

here is the link to the blog i wrote to my patients
called
last day thanks

each year i reflect back at where i was
and where i am now

in these 48 months i have learned a lot about
alzheimers disease
as much if not more than most family doctors
heck sometimes i am asked for recommendations
and
advice from some who are practicing 

i still keep in contact with my patients via this blog
email facebook twitter
that helps a lot
i have enjoyed watching the younger ones grow up
many entering their chosen careers

i do wish i could practice again
to take care of more dementia patients
and
do it the way it should be done

i am still in the big alzheimers study
the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative
the alzheimers blood test study
and
hopefully soon to be in a new treatment study using
one of the iv alzheimers vaccine

i recently as ive mentioned a lot recently
am doing the 36 point reversal of cognitive decline protocol
that was published from uclas alzheimers center

i personally as i have said before feel better
i think there has been a slight improvement
reflected on my moca and neuropsychological tests
just awaiting on that cure
this stuff im doing probably doesnt stop the disease
but
it does i think slow it down

i am active physically and mentally
reading a lot
doing this blog
volunteering at meals on wheels
volunteering at habitat for humanity builds
volunteering big time for the alzheimers association
presenting talks on alzheimers disease to different groups
here at the country n i do gardening a lot of landscaping
repairing things rainwater harvesting
and
this year i am adding beekeeping to my activities
yes
country n honey coming soon
add that to our country n girls egg production

so in summary
i feel better much better than four years ago
i see more hope than four years ago
i see more hope for future generations
i stay as busy as i want to be

i do miss practicing medicine a lot
but
have accepted my new place in this world


i am at peace with myself
__________
when i read this old blog and think about the last 8+ years i realize i have made some good decisions to get me where i am today

i think that since i was diagnosed so early on that i am more like a prealzheimers patient and that being on the aduhelm early on in my diagnosis may help to slow this down 

i feel like i am in a good place
yes
i am totally at peace with myself


the organicgreen doctor