organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-now they may pay for it

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-now they may pay for it:   ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NOW THEY MAY PAY FOR IT the fda has given approval for using aduhelm or aducanumab my drug to use in early alzheimers or m...

alzheimers news-now they may pay for it

 ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NOW THEY MAY PAY FOR IT

the fda has given approval for using aduhelm or aducanumab my drug to use in early alzheimers or mci mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers
if you have the money you can get it or if you sign up for a clinical trial
then usually in a clinical trial there are folks on placebo or the real drug
you dont get to decide which

my guess is that aduhelm will not be the best one to take in the future since the newer ones may work better

medicare or cms center for medicare and medicaid services says they wont pay for it unless its in the clinical trials
limiting its use since its expensive to pay out of pocket

now enter leqembi or lecanemab 
it should get full approval by the fda in a couple of months
if they treat it like it did aduhelm then its use will be limited based on finances
the va system though has said they will approve leqembis use and pay for it

now medicare according to this article says it will cover leqembi if the fda approves it
but
yes 
there are buts

all patients
have to sign up for a registry thats not established yet
have to meet the strict criteria approved by the fda
eg you have to have early alzheimers or mci with a positive amyloid pet scan or other positive biomarker like i presume a spinal fluid positive biomarkers
have to find some place that will give the infusions
have to follow strict guidelines

finding a place may not be easy 
there may be too many folks wanting to get on this stuff 
there arent many places that will initially be giving the leqembi

now
if
it was 2010
leqembi was approved back then
i was just diagnosed with mci 
my spinal fluid was positive
my amyloid pet scan was positive

i would at the age of 60 if it was available would happily get on this drug
right then 

now in 2010 there is no other option that may really slow this down
except
maybe
doing all the things i have done for the last 13 years

like controlling your blood pressure weight cholesterol blood sugar sleep being active physically mentally and socially not smoking limiting alcohol use etc
doing all the healthy things we are suppose to do 
taking aricept or donepezil early on
i have been on it almost 13 years now

if it the leqembi had been available in 2010 i would probably be in a much better situation with my alzheimers than i am now
not cured
but 
it may be slowed down

i have 14 more months of aduhelm infusions
then
i will seek out whichever approved anti amyloid drug that is available and works the best and get on it
i will probably need to be on a  maintenance dose of maybe eg 4 infusions a year

when that time comes i probably will have several to chose from
aduhelm or leqembi or donanemab or newer ones

so
if you or your loved one was recently diagnosed with early alzheimers or mci due to alzheimers
it has to be definitely diagnosed with a spinal fluid analysis or an amyloid pet scan
then you or they should qualify for receiving bimonthly infusions of leqembi if they qualify and meet the treatment criteria
it probably will slow down the disease

you dont want to wait too long to do treatment since if you get past a certain point it will be too late to work

finding a place that is all set up may be the hard to find right now

now there are risks to taking these drugs
like having a major brain bleed or dying

i was willing to accept those risks knowing what would happen if i didnt get treatment
i might die maybe sooner from alzheimers disease
these are risks i was willing to accept
i felt like i am monitored closely while i am on this drug

now if they pay for it 
we have to get the word out this is available

i call it
some hope

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: garden news-my spring summer garden

organicgreendoctor: garden news-my spring summer garden: GARDEN NEWS-MY SPRING SUMMER GARDEN a few months ago i opted to move my two plots in our community garden to the opposite corner of the gard...

garden news-my spring summer garden

GARDEN NEWS-MY SPRING SUMMER GARDEN

a few months ago i opted to move my two plots in our community garden to the opposite corner of the garden
it had a third more sq ft of gardening space
it was in mostly full sun
my old plot was partially shaded on part of it

i opted to move because of the increase space for gardening
i hated to leave my old plots since i had spent 5 years enriching the soil
the new plots have good soil but they are overgrown with bermuda grass and mint
a big obstacle to gardening

so i chose to cover the whole plot with plastic sheeting then covered that up with a thick layer of mulch
then
i am gardening above ground this first year
next year i will slowly remove the plastic hoping the grass and mint are all dead

i had just added additional soil to my old garden so i transferred that to my new beds
i also moved my eight 3 ft x 7 ft frames to my new garden
i also moved my drip system keeping the spacing the same as my old garden but i also had to add extra drip irrigation 

in the middle of the picture above are 6 black grow bags that hold about 20 gallons of soil
each bag has a dripper to the bag
in the bags for the spring summer are planted strawberries lettuce and greens 2 egg plants black beauty and long or japanese and red malabar spinach which will grow on a trellis
i have one bag with lettuce in it but will put something else later in the year

i have two irrigation controllers 
one for the right side of the garden and one for te left side of the garden
right now i am watering for just 15 minutes twice a week
that will change based on the moisture level in the soil


this is the right side of my plot
i moved my onions over to this first new bed 
they are doing ok but are stunted some by the transfer
in the first bed with the onions are two tomatoes planted in gopher cages
a sungold and a sweet 100
since the frame is over plastic i have mounded up the soil so its around a foot deep where the tomatoes are planted
next year i will remove the plastic under the bed and use the garden soil under the plastic to grow my veggies
im sure my tomatoes will be stunted some from the lack of soil depth but ill watch the moisture level closely and will maybe fertilize more like i was growing a tomato in a pot

the three beds above that have
a black krim  and a cherokee purple
two early girls 
two celebrations

each tomato will have its own large cage to grow in
each is planted in a gopher cage

then behind that is a bed that is 3 ft by 8 ft
it has a layer of gopher wire under it
the sides are trucks of a banana tree
it has planted in it a row of christmas lima beans the best beans i grow
my favorite beans
we will harvest them in october or november

on the far right in the front in  this picture is a 2 ft square raised bed with gopher wire and banana trunks
it has a collard tree or walking stick kale growing in it
it will provide tender collard leaves all year round
many of them will be donated 
we use the small leaves in salads and the larger ones in soups stews etc

the next raised bed up from that is about 3 ft x 7 ft
it has growing in it zucchini squash and tatume squash
tatume grows on a vine up a lattice 
when small its like a zucchini 
when larger its like a winter squash
it will produce a lot of squash 
some we will freeze and some we will donate

the next raised bed behind that is about 4 ft square
i made it into an asparagus bed
i planted new asparagus called millennial 
we may harvest some next year but it will probably be two years before we really harvest them

just next to this is a 20 gallon black plastic pot that has these three herbs we use a lot
oregano thyme and rosemary


this is my left side of my garden 
in the first bed i moved my leeks from my old garden
they didnt like being moved
i expect to not have a good crop this year

in that plot i have planted a shishito pepper
later i will add two basil plants
we use the basil to make pesto 

next i have planted a california wonder bell pepper
one pepper plant usually supplies all we need plus we freeze a lot
also on the other end i will plant an okra plant

next i have planted a sweet banana pepper 
this is a fifth generation pepper that i save seeds from each year
these we eat raw by themselves or in salads
sometimes we pickle them
on the other end of the bed i planted a jalapeno pepper
it supplies alll we need for the year
we freeze a lot later for cooking

next i have two curly leaf kales planted
these i transplanted from my other garden
they also were stunted for awhile
but are starting to grow now
we use them a lot for salads soups stews etc

in the back bed its like the christmas lima bed
i planted a row of french cut beans called emerite
these we eat raw and cook in soups stews etc
if we have extra we freeze them whole to use later

then i have noticed we brought some volunteer flowers in our soil like calendula and borage
i use the flowers in our salads
the bees love them also
i notice amaranth is also cropping up 
we use it in salads and soups stews etc

i have also found volunteer veggies like tomatoes and squash and malabar spinach
some i just let grow since i figure nature knew what it was doing

so thats my spring summer garden this year
im sure ill find spots for other veggies 
maybe even a tomato or two
i always do

we seem to be having more insect pests like aphids this year
im sure its all the rain we got this winter
we also are heading into our foggy morning period 

this is rough on our tomatoes and squash and beans

its always an adventure
i always say 
im glad i dont do this for a living
i enjoy it though for a hobby

its
my gym
my meditation site
my yoga site
my zen site
my happy place

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-it still works after its stopped

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-it still works after its stopped: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IT STILL WORKS AFTER ITS STOPPED i take monthly infusions of the anti amyloid drug aduhelm or aducanumab at ucla when i fini...

alzheimers news-it still works after its stopped

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IT STILL WORKS AFTER ITS STOPPED

i take monthly infusions of the anti amyloid drug aduhelm or aducanumab at ucla
when i finish the extension of the clinical trial i am on called the embark study i will have gotten over 40 monthly infusions of aduhelm or aducanumab plus 18 placebo infusions

the 40+ infusions of aduhelm should be enough to remove the measurable amyloid plaques from my brain

the studies mentioned in this article in regards to aduhelm is for less infusions than i have gotten
my drug in comparison to some of these anti anmyloid drugs doesnt remove the amyloid as fast as the others mainly because of the way theirs are dosed
eg leqembi is given twice a month

when they measure amyloid in the brain there is a cut off number of 25 centiloids
this is the number that means most is removed from the brain
i expect my amyloid pet scan i get next month will show most of my amyloid is gone

since its part of the study i will never get to see the results

yesterday i requested that i be able to see my amyloid pet scan and tau protein pet scans when i finish the study next year
knowing those results would tell me where i am with my disease
i would know if my amyloid plaques are mostly gone
i would know via the tau pet scans where in the brain my alzheimers disease is taking hold
eg
if its heavy in the frontal lobes my journey will be a disturbing one for myself and my family

like i told the research neurologist i want to know where i am at with my disease when this study is over so i can start planning my next 10 years of my life
i have considered paying out of pocket for these scans at the end of the study if i cant access the study scans

i will not qualify most likely for any new treatment clinical trials in the future
my day of alzheimers clinical trials afer 13 years will be over
unless for some reason biogen extends the trial i am in now which is unlikely
since
they are marketing leqembi with eisai
it works better than aduhelm does
the other ones coming on the market in the next few years will work better than aduhelm

what they found in lay terms is that folks who are getting these anti amyloid drugs like aduhelm or leqembi or the soon to be approved donanemab when they do their amyloid pet scans after the treatment study is completed shows that the amyloid plaques are below that acceptable level of 25 centiloids

those in the study i was in initially that ran for 18 months showed most was gone but the level was still above that 25 centiloid level
leqembi and donanemab treated folks were below that level

there are people in my study that have gotten it for 5 years +
their scan reports will eventually be reported out as will mine next year

i fully expect mine to show the amyloid is below the 25 centiloid threshold level
of course i wont get my results ever

what they have found and its mentioned in this article is that when the drug is stopped and the folks are followed that the patients are maintaining their memory ie its not getting worse maybe not improving but not declining as much as those who didnt get the drug

in my study which was initially stopped prepandemic those who got placebo deteriorated
those who got the drug like me did not deteriorate as much
also biomarkers they measure also have not gotten worse either

eg the amyloid isnt accumulating
the same may be true of the tau protein tangles
the biomarkers such as nfl or ptau also are stable

in alzheimers amyloid plaques accumulate first then tau tangles form then inflammation follows

how much tau tangles are present when the drugs are started determines how well these drugs work
the more tangles the less effective they are
women tend to have more tau tangles at the start of the study
women tend to have more alzheimers then men do

there seems to be some effect on the tau tangle levels in the brain and the inflammation seen
basically it seems to maybe slow down that cascade of events that happens in alzheimers

so what does this mean
it means the drugs are working and may still have their effects months after the drugs are stopped

the plan i think in the future is to give intermittent doses to keep the amyloid levels below that threshold mentioned above

its expected these drug makers will soon apply for fda approval for intermittent dosing as a maintenance dose after initial treatment is done 
this to keep down the amyloid plaque levels

there is a new anti amylod drug that should have its study reported out in 2024
it appears to work even better than any of these mentioned above
it is not given as often

ill keep my eye on that one for when i get off the aduhelm study in a little over a year

i had a long discussion with the research neurologist yesterday about a plan for managing my alzheimers care after i get off the aduhelm

i get my last aduhelm infusion in june 2024
i do a final follow up visit in late fall 2024 which will include neurological evaluation multiple memory testing
i will have a final mri a final amyloid pet scan and a final tau protein pet scan
these testings will tell me where i am with my disease

it will be my new baseline moving forward
i will be watching the research closely to see what to do with future treatments
if i can not get the testing released i will pay to do my own amyloid pet scan and tau pet scan
the mri i get to see its reading and i can score my own memory testing as i go

i will be able to plan my life accordingly

i expect i will take intermittent dosing of one of the newer anti amyloid drugs
whichever works the best

it will be a different world for us moving forward
i look forward to it

so
yes
i made the right choice over 8 years ago
it may be making a difference

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: cancer vaxxine

organicgreendoctor: cancer vaxxine: CANCER VAXXINE this is henrietta lacks she died from from cervical cancer her cancer cell lines called hela have been used all over the worl...

cancer vaxxine

CANCER VAXXINE

this is henrietta lacks
she died from from cervical cancer
her cancer cell lines called hela have been used all over the world in cancer research
she had an hbo documentary written about her as well as a best selling book

sadly
had she gotten a hpv vaxxine when she was a young teen she probably would not have gotten cervical cancer and died from its metastasis through her body

hpv stands for human papilloma virus
it causes cervical cancer 

there is a vaxxine that will prevent other cancers listed below 
100% of us are exposed to this virus

in the us the hpv vaccine is given around 12 years old
its given to boys and girls before they get exposed to the virus which causes cervical cancer

in australia its given to boys and girls around 13 years old and his required to attend school
its expected that in australia there will be no cervical cancers there in about 20 years
ie they will eradicate cervical cancer there 
as long as they give the hpv vaccine like they are doing now

in the us only about 50+% of boys and girls get the vaxxine for hpv
so that leaves 50% of the population at risk for the cancers this virus causes later in life
cervical cancer
penile cancer
anal cancer
oral cancer

its a young adult disease
totally preventable

almost 100% of kids will be exposed to hpv and carry the virus
and
thus the risk for these cancers
totally preventable
cancers we should not see any more
but
sadly
we do 
in the us

the hpv vaxxine if given later after exposure to the virus doesnt work as well
it works best if given preexposure to the virus
thus
the early teen vaxxine ages 

sadly we lose thousands each year to these cancers
deaths we shouldnt see

we should follow australias lead on the vaxxine mandate
3 states rhode island virgina hawaii and washington dc mandate it
the rest of the states dont
dooming their kids to a cancer risk that should not exist

prevent this cancer risk in your kids
get them vaxxinated against hpv

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #175-cant take these

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #175-cant take these: MY STORY REVISITED #175-CANT TAKE THESE i take aricept or donepezil which inhibits an enzyme acetylcholinesterase in the nerve endings in th...

my story revisited #175-cant take these

MY STORY REVISITED #175-CANT TAKE THESE

i take aricept or donepezil which inhibits an enzyme acetylcholinesterase in the nerve endings in the brain and keeps the enzyme from breaking down acetylcholine which makes the nerves fire
taking this med makes the nerve cells work better

one class of drugs i was told not to take was antihistamines
like benadryl or loratadine or similar once a day histamines
they block the effectiveness of the aricept or donepezil
there are other drugs below that do the same thing

i had a relative who was having memory issues
he had all his meds fine tuned and his health problems adequately treated
eg heart failure and arrhythmias and sleep issues and blood pressure and cholesterol
his memory improved when these were adequately treated

i volunteered with a local neurologist who when he got a new memory patient
he looked closely at their health and fine tuned it before he did a major workup
one thing he would look at was a patients meds like those mentioned below
________
01-30-2015
OTC MEDS CAUSE THIS

healthtap.com

in alzheimers disease as the brain and nerve cells get damaged
the substance in the nerve cell endings called acetylcholine
starts to decrease
this acetylcholine in needed for the nerve cells to fire
ie for them to work

as alzheimers disease destruction continues
these levels of acetylcholine get lower and lower

then enter
aricept (donepezil) that is used to treat alzheimers symptoms
it inhibits an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase
which is the enzyme that breaks down the acetylcholine

by inhibiting this enzyme
it makes more acetylcholine available for the nerve cells
to work better those that are left in the brain

this week a study was reported on some otc meds and rx meds
that may have an effect on this system

benadryl (diphenhydramine) that is used for allergies allergic reaction
and commonly sold as a sleep aid

doxepin (brand sinequan) is an antidepressant that is used some for
depression or chronic itching

oxybutynin (brand ditropan) is a bladder medicine that many will
recognized as having been advertised a lot on tv in the past

when these are taken at usual doses some low doses for at least 3 years
they increase the chances of getting alzheimers disease by 60+- %

that is a significant increase

one of the warnings on my aricept (donepezil) that i take
says not to take antihistamines with it
thats benadryl claritin zyrtec allegra and chlortrimeton
since it blocks acetylcholines effect
it counteracts the effects of the aricept

gosh durn
theres enough side effects from the aricept
if i take it i want it to do its job
of raising the acetylcholine in the brain

now these studies were done on older folks over 65
for a seven year period
not sure what effect it would have on a younger population
say like kids and young adults

even with this new evidence these drugs cause drowsiness
and can cause confusion in older folks
they are some of the meds that are looked at when someone
complains of memory loss
they are usually recommended to be discontinued

note the doxepin shouldnt be discontinued if its being
used for depression unless under the direction of a
medical provider

i can just hear the doctors as they prescribe ditropan for
bladder control
now your bladder will start working better
but
your brain wont be

wonder what happens if you add on risk factors like
high blood pressure high cholesterol diabetes family history
of alzheimers genetic predisposition to alzheimers

it is concerning since so many folks take this stuff

so
its seems the recommendation will be
dont take these things especially as you get older
there are other substitutes
like

use other sleep aids

use other newer antihistamines like loratidine
unless of course you take aricept (donepezil)

use other antidepressants like citalapram sertraline fluoxetine
ie celexa zoloft prozac

use another approach or med for you bladder control

it seems throughout medicine
that there are always these things that drugs cause
that show up years and years later

this one seems disconcerting to me
60% is a large number
and
like cancer
no one wants to get alzheimers disease
even me
__________
if you are having memory issues one of the things to do is have a medical provider look closely at your meds to make sure they are not contributing to the memory issues

next week i go in for my next infusion of aduhelm or aducanumab
next month besides my monthly infusion i have 4 days of more testing as part of the study at ucla
then i start my final year of getting aduhelm infusions in this study

there are some interesting results coming out of this study and others
it seems when you stop this med after getting all these infusions that your memory loss continues to slow down even though you arent on the infusions anymore 
the same thing is seen with the other similar anti amyloid drugs

so i guess this drug may be working even after you stop it

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: rainwater tanks revisited

organicgreendoctor: rainwater tanks revisited: RAINWATER TANKS REVISITED five years ago i started helping with a kindergarten class and its garden the teacher was a mentor to my wife she ...

rainwater tanks revisited

RAINWATER TANKS REVISITED

five years ago i started helping with a kindergarten class and its garden
the teacher was a mentor to my wife she several years ago when she taught my nephews
when we moved to santa barbara she knew of my interest in gardening and asked if i would help reactivate her kindergarten garden or as i called it her kindergarden 

someone i volunteered with at the alzheimers association was talking to me at a luncheon and we started talking about gardening and she said you know i have these two rainwater tanks i dont need and also a composter
so i took them
the composter was set up at the kindergarden and is being used now for 5 years

i took the rainwater tanks and found 4 others on the internet
i painted them so they would match
i hooked them up in a series and altered the rain gutter down spout so it would fill up the first tank then the water would flow to the other 5
it caught the water off a large area of the roof
the total rainwater the tanks would hold is around 300 gallons
a few inches of rain fill up the tanks

the kindergarten class has been using the rainwater for the last 5 years
i havent helped with the garden since the pandemic hit
but i have helped clean it up and provided veggie plants

recently because of the drought here the school district shut off the outside water at all the faucets
so now
the only water source for the garden is the rainwater tanks
or
hauling water back and forth from the classroom

i think they may have enough water to last them till school gets out in june



this section is raised beds that are all flower beds now
they have nasturtiums growing and lantana and lavender and alyssum and marigold and lots of other flowers
in the background are raised beds for veggies with covers over them to keep out varmints like squirrels birds gophers raccoons skunks and rabbits

they also have whiskey barrels with herbs like lavender rosemary mint 


now this area is an outdoor tk classroom
tk stands for transitional kindergarten
or for 4 years olds
in california they are starting tk programs in most of the schools

the teacher is the kindergarten teacher that got me to do all this
she taught my nephews at this school
she taught ms b in kindergarten during the pandemic year
thank goodness ms b had an experienced creative teacher for that year
sadly this would have been ms bs kindergarten play area and kindergarden

the tk kids have their classes everyday outside unless the weather is bad
which usually doesnt happen often in santa barbara

the kids love this creative classroom outside

this year the teacher is being nominated for teacher of the year
a well deserved honor

last evening i went to the kindergarden to check the tanks and to fix some things in the garden beds
what a phenomenal classroom for kids to learn in

i recently read where its important for kids to have outside time during the school day
preferable at least 2 hours
well 
these lucky tk kids get all day everyday with this teacher all year in the outside classroom 

lucky students

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-do they make your brain shrink

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-do they make your brain shrink: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DO THEY MAKE YOUR BRAIN SHRINK the drug i take in monthly infusions is called aduhelm or aducanumab it is an anti amyloid dr...

alzheimers news-do they make your brain shrink

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DO THEY MAKE YOUR BRAIN SHRINK

the drug i take in monthly infusions is called aduhelm or aducanumab
it is an anti amyloid drug in that it removes amyloid from the brain
doing so seems to slow down cognitive decline

other ones are leqembi or lecanemab and donanemab
the first is approved for use and is waiting finally approval from the fda
the second should get fda approval for use in july
my drug aduhelm is already approved for use in early alzheimers


bmcimaging
this is a ct scan of an aging brain
the dark butterfly looking area is the ventricles that hold cerebrospinal fluid
the gray areas are the white and gray matter of the brain
as one ages the brain shrinks and the volume of the ventricles increase

now enter the anti amyloid antibodies
they go into the brain and remove amyloid plaques so after several months of infusions there is no measurable amyloid plaques seen on amyloid pet scans

it seems though that there is an increase in the fluid in the ventricles and a shrinkage of the white and gray matter of the brain
normally when this happens there is a drop off in memory scores 

however 
what is noticed with the anti amyloid drugs like mine is that even though its noticed there is shrinkage of the brain white and gray matter there is an improvement in memory decline

the theory of one researcher is that the amyloid plaques all being removed from the brain makes the shrinkage seen in the white and gray matter in us treated patients

it may not be a bad thing
or will it be

here is an article linked here where different alzheimers researchers weigh it on this

for me i have had a lot of mri scans of the brain
i have one scheduled in 6 weeks
there has been no increase in the volume of my ventricles and no noticeable shrinkage of my white and gray matter

i will have an amyloid pet scan also in 6 weeks to see if my amyloid plaques are all gone 
i also will have a tau protein scan to see if my tau has increased or been reduced

some researchers think the shrinkage is caused by aria or microbleeds as the drug removes the amyloid plaques
others dont agree

so normally brain shrinkage is not a good thing but in my case and others on these anti amyloid drugs it may not be a bad thing

so
it seems they can make your brain shrink
this may not be a bad thing
maybe

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: thats a big ole tree

organicgreendoctor: thats a big ole tree: THATS A BIG OLE TREE i had read about this ole fig tree and saw pictures and saw it in a documentary on santa barbara but i had never seen i...

thats a big ole tree

THATS A BIG OLE TREE

i had read about this ole fig tree and saw pictures and saw it in a documentary on santa barbara
but
i had never seen it live

yesterday my wife she and i did a walking tour of the ocean front area of santa barbara
we have wanted to do that for several years since we moved here
but
covid got in the way
so
i saw a break in our schedule and we felt it was time
so
we scheduled the tour yesterday

the tour lasted 2 hours and started at the maritime museum on the harbor and ended by the amtrak station at this big ole fig tree called the moreton bay fig tree

a lot of history was learned during that 2 hour walking tour
at the harbor sitting just outside it was a huge passenger ship emptying off lots of tourists to see the santa barbara area

in our group were local folks one a harbor patrol person a couple of folks from australia a couple from brazil and mexico and a fellow from england
everyone had an accent including my texas drawl

the part i was anxious to get to was to see the big ole fig tree
it didnt disappoint me

an australian sailor brought the seedling to santa barbara in 1876 gave it to a young girl whose friend planted it in its present location
it has since survived and grown to its huge size now
its official name is the moreton bay fig tree since it came from moreton bay in australia
its scientific name is ficus macrophylla
its fruit is not edible
they are small hard fruits
it is about 80 ft tall and its canopy is 175 ft
it is listed on the registry of big trees
its the biggest fig tree in california

it is located 1 block off the 101 freeway
the freeway was built up to accommodate the big roots of the tree
before the 1990s there use to be a stop light on the highway before the freeway was built
the fig tree was a common site for hitchhikers to rest to pick up a ride
our guide use to play under the tree with friends when he was a child
families use to picnic under its canopy

now there is a chain link fence around it to protect it from vagrancy

so
now
my wife she and i can check this one off our long local bucket list

get to know your local history

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #174-he is missed

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #174-he is missed: MY STORY REVISITED #174- HE IS MISSED he has been gone now for almost 10 years i got to visit with him a few minutes by myself as he lay in ...

my story revisited #174-he is missed

MY STORY REVISITED #174- HE IS MISSED

he has been gone now for almost 10 years
i got to visit with him a few minutes by myself as he lay in his lounge chair sitting outside in the shade
this was a month before he passed
i knew that would be the last time i would see him
i cried on the way back to the motel
i have cried every year at the anniversary of his death

as i have said many times
he and i were like twins growing up as we were a year apart
when i saw him as he progressed with his battle with alzheimers disease i felt like i was looking in the mirror
i would wonder when would it be the time that i would be where he is

so far
i am not there yet
but
i know its coming i just dont know when

as i looked at him that day i really thought i would be where he was 10 years later
but
here i am writing this blog today
i am thankful for being here today physically and mentally

his birthday was 4 days ago
he would have been 72

im sure his wife and kids and grandkids and now a great grandchild all miss him dearly
our thoughts are with them 
__________
04-08-2015
IN MEMORIUM
today he would have been 64
he was struck down too soon
by
the devastating effects of alzheimers disease
having been diagnosed with it in his early 50s
too young much too young everyone said

we are making strides in alzheimers treatments
there are lots of new potential game changing ones
on the horizon

they are too late for him
probably too late for me
too late for my recently diagnosed older brother

i read this morning an article where they are finding
the bad stuff the amyloid in folks as young as the early 20s
so
the treatment and preventative measures may have to be
started younger than we realize
 
my younger brother was struck at the peak of his career
now he had retired as a fireman captain
and
was working as a deputy sheriff
going strong every day
working and enjoying life
hunting and his grandkids
i know they really miss him a lot

as ive written before
everyone remembers him for his smile
and
his blue eyes

his wife gave me a small wrench he carried in his pocket
i carry it around all the time when im working here at
the country n
turning my water valves on and off to my garden and landscape
im reminded of him every day that i use this wrench
it hangs in the kitchen with all our keys

i pause for a minute every time i see the wrench
and
think of him
and
like him i smile
yes like him i have blue eyes

his illness and death bothered me a lot
i think
because it seems i was looking in a mirror when i saw him
as he progressed
my last visit with him a few weeks before he died was especially
bothersome
knowing that this could be me in a few years
our family had seen this before
he had too
does that make it worse

i realize that his kids and grandkids
and
my kids and my future grandchildren
may be spared all this if research ongoing now
works to stop or slow down the disease

i think he would accept that
i know i do

we just realize we were born a generation too late

so
yes ill think of him all day today
and
his wife
his kids
his grandkids

a real nice friendly likable guy he was
we all miss him
__________
its possible his kids will be spared this disease if the drugs available now and soon to be available work as we think they will
most certainly his grandkids and great grandchild will be spared

the secret it seems to fighting this disease is to do those healthy things one needs to do at a young age
like
blood pressure cholesterol weight control exercise mind diet avoid stress get adequate restful sleep control your blood sugar dont smoke limit alcohol stay active physically mentally socially
then
add to that in your middle age or later years consider if you are at risk to get screened for amyloid via blood test or amyloid scan or spinal tap then get in a clinical trial using the anti amyloid drugs like i am on
i predict that these drugs like leqembi or lecanemab and aduhelm or aducanumab and donanemab will be used in these younger prealzheimers patients with normal memory but with amyloid in the brain
eg that would be me probably in my mid 50s

there are other drugs being studied that will also be used to slow down this disease

there is a lot more hope now in the alzheimers world than there was 10 years ago

the organicgreen doctor