welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Friday, August 28, 2015

alzheimers news-what to do

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WHAT TO DO
thats what they ask me
via facebook email phone calls this blog
or
via friends and family

i try to take the knowledge and experience i have
accumulated over the last 5 years

from dealing with this in my family
mother father two brothers and myself
from reading several articles a day on alzheimers
from doing presentations and answering countless
questions from folks seeking answers
from following closely the research thats going on
from being involved in that research as a study subject
from being involved with the alzheimers association
from being involved on a statewide committee
on how to properly evaluate a patients memory loss
from being a family doctor for years caring for patients
when i say caring i mean really caring for their well being

Image result for memory loss
its with all this combined together
i try to help them figure out what to do for themselves
or
their love ones to get the treatment evaluation
and
knowledge to care for the person

so in comes a series of questions
my husband cant remember where he is going
he forgets important things
he gets lost when he is driving
he is in is early 50s
these are not good symptoms to have at this age

he apparently had a stroke that left him with speech problems
and
use of one side and numbness and tingling
but
most of this has resolved over time
but
these symptoms above are interfering with his ability
to work

he
is morbidly obese
has high blood pressure not completely controlled
has high cholesterol that takes high doses 4x what i take
has sleep problems with what is probably sleep apnea
does not exercise
doesnt eat right
definitely not a blue zone person-see last blog

Image result for stroke mri
so when i heard the story and got the medical history
eg there is evidence of the stroke on mri
he probably has already had most of the labs that are needed
i made some recommendations for the spouse and the patient

first
he is sort of lucky that this will not probably due to alzheimers
disease
its probably vascular caused memory issues
which
if he gets real aggressive he might be able to stop the progression
or at least slow it down significantly
for if he doesnt
his fall into the dementia abyss will be rapid and disturbing
for him and his family

he needs to see a neurologist which he has an appointment
for a good complete evaluation
to include all the labs he hasnt had
like cbc metabolic profile-electrolytes kidney test liver test sugar
vit d level vit b12 level folate probably homocysteine level etc
a good baseline in office memory test with maybe a
full neuropsychological test to complete define his memory issues
a complete sleep evaluation
his wife going with him to the appointment with a list of
the specific things he is having memory problems
warning dont let them go alone
fill out the 21 question questionnaire about what he is doing
then score it and take it to his appointment

i warned them that he might be a candidate for aricept even
though this may not be alzheimers disease
each neurologist thinks differently on using it in these cases

let the neurologist do the evaluation and monitor and treat
his memory loss
then
the treatment that really will make a difference
is in the hands of the patient
he is lucky in that what he does for his health
will determine if this is stopped or improved

control aggressively his blood pressure
his cholesterol
his weight
move and move and move as much as possible
aggressively do his speech therapy and physical therapy
get on the  mind diet
correct any sleep issues since sleep is where the toxins
in the brain are removed each night

so
his future for himself and with his family
is in his hands
get a grip is what my advice to him is

Image result for walk to end alzheimer's logo

here are the walk to end alzheimers we are participating in
click the links to donate and or join our team
or
one in a walk to end alzheimers in your area

september 26   williamson county in georgetown
team organicgreendoctor

october 10   travis county in austin 
team austin regional clinic

october 17   little rock
team #joe nash

october 31   hays county in san marcos
team organicgreendoctor

november 7   bell county in temple
team organicgreendoctor
i will be the honorary chair for this event

future speaking engagement
senior expo belton texas
september 22 at 1030am
i will be speaking and answering questions on alzheimers

we need your help
we are close to a treatment and cure
its in your hands

the organicgreen doctor

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