organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-i will do it

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-i will do it: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-I WILL DO IT that is me speaking last year at the walk to end alzheimers  in four years i want to be able to vote again and ...

alzheimers news-i will do it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-I WILL DO IT

that is me speaking last year at the walk to end alzheimers 
in four years i want to be able to vote again and be able to know that i voted again
i want to be able if asked to speak at the 2028 walk to end alzheimers

to do this
i have to
maintain my healthy living like i have been doing
continue taking my aricept or donepezil to slow down symptoms
then
look for other things that may come available to slow down this disease

i may have found one
maybe

in 2016 i had an amyloid pet scan that was positive for amyloid plaques in my brain
this is the hallmark of alzheimers disease
if you have alzheimers you will have a positive amyloid pet scan

i was accepted in the biogen aduhelm or aducanumab treatment study in 2016

i started infusions for 18 months that turned out to be placebo
the study was delayed twice once by the pandemic and once by problems with the study 
it was eventually restarted and i received 34 months of aduhelm infusions

in the fall of 2023 my last amyloid pet scan was negative for amyloid plaque

in February of 2024 i had a final interview and studies for the biogen aduhelm study 

so the goal was to remove the amyloid plaque
it aduhelm did its job

these drugs called moncolonal amyloid antibodies slow down memory decline by about 25-30%

my drug aduhelm was removed from the market in favor of its sister drug leqembi which showed slightly better results and had all its initial clinical trials completed 

so leqembi is approved for use in mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers and for early alzheimers
the sooner you take it the better it works
another similar drug kisunia also was approved

now here i am 1 year after having all the amyloid plaque removed from my brain
what do i do now
wait

well no i dont l like to wait

so enter this thing below

this is the leqembi auto injector
it probably will be approved by the fda for administering leqembi

when i got my infusions it was a 3 hr drive to ucla and a 3 hr drive home
a visit to see the neurologist to approve the infusion
a wait for the meds to be mixed up by the pharmacist 
an hour infusion time to get the meds
total time 9 hours

enter auto injector
time involved 
15 secs to inject
done

if the autoinjector is approved by the fda then folks ie me can give it myself at home eventually

they are seeking approval by the fda for leqembi to be given as a maintenance injection once a week to keep the amyloid plaque from reaccumulating

i am anxiously waiting its approval

here is a review article about this from alzheimers weekly

my thoughts
ill definitely do it

if you are in the santa barbara area join us for our walk to end alzheimers at the link below
or
join a walk where you live
here is the link to our team organicgreendoctor to join or donate 
see you on saturday november 16th at chase palm park

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #212 -why we walk

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #212 -why we walk: MY STORY REVISTED #212-WHY WE WALK this is a picture of my first walk team for the walk to end alzheimers in austin in 2011 it was the first...

my story revisited #212 -why we walk

MY STORY REVISTED #212-WHY WE WALK

this is a picture of my first walk team for the walk to end alzheimers in austin in 2011
it was the first walk after i was diagnosed
i will have done 13 years of these walks this month

the flowers we carry at these walks have the same names on them 
there thank goodness have not been any additions 
well maybe my name could be added

i wrote this to ms b to tell her about my younger brother who died with alzheimers
plus my mother who died with it and my father who probably had it when he died

this year we will do the local walk here in santa barbara
this year i will not be talking at the open ceremonies like i have done for years
i look forward to it 
just savoring the moment with my family
i promise to cry
__________
10-12-2015

DEAR MS B-YOUDVE LIKED HIM


ok ms b this will be the last sad blog i write to you
well i hope it is

you have two ancestors named joe
both are not with us now
both taken down by two different diseases
one taken by an als like disease
the other taken by alzheimers disease
one your other grandpa
the other your great uncle

now your grandpa joe i only met once
even though he was ill you could tell he
was a powerful man
powerful in the way he carried himself
but
compassionate

i wish i could have got to know him better


the other joe
your uncle joe
was also compassionate
had a great smile
worked for years as a fireman then later a deputy sheriff
loved his family like the other joe did
loved life like the other joe did
loved hunting and outdoor stuff the other joe loved the outdoors

ms b he had two daughters and two granddaughters
so he knew about raising girls

now this weekend ms b
we will be honoring uncle joe
at a walk to end alzheimers in little rock
walking with his familys team
#joe nash

we will be walking to raise money for the
alzheimers association to use for research and education
on alzheimers disease

you see ms b
we are getting close real close to finding a true treatment
and a cure
real close

when we walk this weekend these are the four folks we
will be walking for

nell-your great grandmother a nurse
charles-your great grandfather a minister
joe-your great uncle joe taken like your grandpa joe much too
soon before their lives were complete

ms b uncle joes wife 2 daughters 1 grandson 2 granddaughters
will all shed tears this weekend as they walk
as will his friends and siblings that are walking
and
those who cant be there will be thinking of him and his
family saturday morning

yes ms b
your gma and i still cry every time we do this
walk for uncle joe and our other family members
affected by this terrible disease

ms b
if you met your uncle joe
you would have liked him
his smile
his laugh
yes he would probably pinch your cheeks
maybe give you a kiss

yes ms b

youdve liked him
_________
ms b you would have liked him
all kids did
yes
like me 
he would tease you a lot
and
make your smile

this is why we do the walks
to honor these relatives affected by this horrible disease

yes
we are getting closer to a treatment for this disease
lucky for me i was able to receive treatments that may slow things down
which means i may be around a little longer to tease you

if you are in the santa barbara area join us for our walk to end alzheimers at the link below
or
join a walk where you live
here is the link to our team organicgreendoctor to join or donate 
see you on saturday november 16th at chase palm park 

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: its a disadvantage

organicgreendoctor: its a disadvantage: ITS A DISADVANTAGE today is election day thank goodness all those political ads will go away sadly those medicare disadvantage ads will take...

its a disadvantage

ITS A DISADVANTAGE

today is election day
thank goodness all those political ads will go away
sadly
those medicare disadvantage ads will take over now until the end of the year
you know the one with folks like joe namath hawking these 
just call this number
we will help you decide
no
they will trick you to decide

ill be upfront here
i have regular medicare that comes right out of my social security check
it gets adjusted based on your income
i have a medicare supplement f i pay $294 a month for 
i have a prescription drug plan i pay 84 cents a month for

I have been on these since 2010 and except for some small copays for meds i have not paid anything extra for my health care

my wife she is on the same plans

she was offered a medicare disadvantage plan with her retirement but she opted not to take it

why
when someone advertises like crazy all day like a political ad someone is making money
here is who
the folks selling it to you
the insurace company like humana etc
the doctors
the hospitals
but
who is paying more if they get real sick
its the patient
thats you

some disadvantage plans are better than others

having worked with these plans in the beginning when they first came out
the ones that lost out were the patients
think medicare hmo with all its rules of denying or delaying care

with my non medicare advantage plans ie regular medicare i chose where to go and dont need referrals and have no extra monies i have to pay for care

also 
when they offer you free stuff someone is getting wealthy off of it
its usually at the cost of the patient or the taxpayer

that is why we chose to go with regular medicare and a medicare supplement and a prescription plan that is the best health insurance we have ever been on

know what you are getting when you look at a medicare disadvantage plan

here is a good review article from investopedia on these disadvantage plans
i suggest you read it before you decide what to do

the organicgreen doctor