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, December 7, 2012

remembering, its in the name

REMEMBERING


today is the 71st anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor
that killed 2,402 people
its my parents 9/11
remembering those who were lost that day
hopefully this day will be remembered by future generations
as a reminder like 9/11 that evil is still out there

ITS IN THE NAME

i participate in the alzheimers discussion groups as i feel
like i have a unique perspective on that disease that
maybe others do not

i am a doctor who treated patients with alzheimers disease
although looking back probably i didnt do a good job of it
sometimes i do wish i could go back to get a second chance
at caring for them

i am a family member whose close relatives mother father
and now younger brother had or have the disease

i have the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
that may be from alzheimers disease

its from those three perspectives that i contribute to that
community of folks looking for answers or support in dealing
with the disease in themselves family and friends

i hope that my input has helped some in dealing with this
awful disease

some are intrigued by my name the organicgreen doctor
wondering if i have some magic potions of diets and pills and
supplements to cure or help this disease
a question that ive been asked several times

so no i dont have any magic potions
just these things
some call it best practices in the alzheimers community
the diet is the mediterranean diet minus the fish
since i dont always like the smell of fish

the organic comes from the fact that i grow all my garden stuff
in a totally organic fashion using organic made compost some
i make myself using no pesticides except organic ones that
will not hurt the environment or anyone who eats my produce
i only use rainwater on my garden

its this organic produce that i eat that i recommend as one of
the treatments and as a prevention for this disease
its better if it started at a young age

the green is from my belief that we need to maintain a green
environment because somehow this may all be involved in many
of the diseases we have to deal with
eg mercury is bad    
atrazine for weed control in your yard is bad
when frogs get three eyes or 5 legs it cant be good for us

producing solar electricity is a green energy source without pollution
recycling plastics and paper and glass saves the environment
and helps empty the landfills

the doctor comes obviously from the fact that i am a
family doctor who is now retired

i offer no magic potion
but
good healthy living is part of the answer
no special vitamins or concoctions
i personally take no vitamins or supplement
i dont do juicing
i do eat a lot of vegetables from my garden and if not available
from the grocery store
we cook them all our self and eat very few processed foods
i do eat meat but on a limited basis
i eat a handful of nuts and fruits every day
i eat 2-3 pieces of fruit every day
i use olive oil in as much of our cooking as possible
i drink a lot of rainwater every day
i drink two cups of coffee a day
i drink 1-2 glasses of wine a day
i do not smoke
i get plenty of sleep but aricept does some interfering with it
i do not have blood pressure but if i did i would aggressive treat it
i take two cholesterol meds and eat the healthy diet to keep my
cholesterol levels at normal levels
i dont feel like i have much stress in my life
i exercise every day in some way either hiking or working here
at the country n or at the habitat for humanity
i am not depressed and if i was i would aggressively get it treated
and am screened once or twice a year for depression
i stay active mentally
as i read every day do this blog which can take anywhere from
1-3 hours to do based on how much research i have to do
and i communicate people regularly through this blog facebook twitter
and email
i have regular interaction with people at least 3-4 times a week for
several hours and the other days i usually reserve for myself or for my
wife she and i together
i do take aricept (donepezil) as i feel like its the only thing that has
been proven to help the symptoms but not the disease but its
most effectiveness is for a limited amount of time

so thats how i approach this healthy living thing and how im approaching
dealing with my diagnosis

my sign name below is organicgreen doctor with the separation
between the organicgreen and doctor because when i started this
blog and used facebook and twitter and google i had to separate the
organicgreen from doctor in order for them to accept this as my
signature

the organicgreen doctor

2 comments:

  1. Your name is just the tip of the iceberg. You forgot about all the support,joy and compassion you give to others. I am sure that helps your happiness barometer stay high.

    Lucky us.
    Cowgurl friend.

    ReplyDelete