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, September 30, 2016

alzheimers news-is this the one

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IS THIS THE ONE

Alzheimer's Texas

there has been an observation over the years
that folks who get chemotherapy for cancer
seemed to not get alzheimers as often

an article
here is the link
describes the approval of a phase 2 study
for a
no not a new drug
a drug already approved by the fda
for use in certain leukemias

Image result for tasigna
its called nilotinib
brand name tasigna

what this means is that its already on the market
really any doctor could order it off label
if they wanted to

an example of an off label use of a medicine
was
albuterol brand ventolin and proventil

originally it was not approved for use in kids under 12
in my practice at one time
most of my use of albuterol
was in that age group
so
i was using it off label
ie
 not approved by the fda for that age group

so
this drug is just sitting that with this potential to work
it has already been used in lewey body dementia
think robin williams
and in parkinsons disease
with good success

so in this study phase 2 it will be used in folks
with mild to moderate alzheimers

they will be using lower doses of the nilotinib

how it works is it goes through the blood brain barrier
to stimulate the garbage cleaner cells to
eat up the bad beta amyloid and the tau tangles that
have accumulated in the brain
these two are the hallmark of alzheimers disease

i am afraid that like a lot of alzheimers studies
they are treating the wrong group of folks
they used stuff later in the disease before and it didnt work well
it really needs to be used in folks with normal memory
or with
folks with early symptoms
who could take this medicine to prevent damage from
occurring in the first place

like me for example
eg
i had short term memory loss diagnosed as
early mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
which means this could be early alzheimers disease

i take aricept (donepezil) and am aggressively taking care of
my health
doing all the healthy things i can to slow it down

i have the apoe 4 double gene putting me at high risk
for having alzheimers disease

my level of bad beta amyloid and tau in the spinal fluid
were near alzheimers disease levels five years ago

i am about to get the amyvid pet brain scan for the bad
beta amyloid
if its there i most likely have alzheimers disease

so i am a prime candidate if its positive for a treatment
like this one
i still have a lot of brain left to protect
lock me in to where i am now
i would be quite happy

so this drug is a chemo drug
with a list of side effects
like
nausea vomiting diarrhea constipation headache fatigue
low blood count muscle and joint pain uri sx etc

heck
ive had a lot of these just from taking my aricept (donepezil)
and
from a chronic problem with iritis
and
from just plan old osteoarthritis and an old ruptured disk

i think i could handle these side effects if i were to take
this pill

especially when you consider the side effects of
alzheimers disease
like
certain death from it
losing short term memory
eventually losing all memory
not knowing your wife your kids your grandkids
mumbling gibberish
having to be fed
drooling
having to be diapered
having problems walking
getting lost
becoming eventually bedridden
changing your personality sometimes for the worse

sorry
ill take this chemo drug any day
no side effects can match what would be in store
for myself
and
my family

bring it on i say
i am ready now


we will be walking in another
alzheimers texas walk
at
camp mabry in austin texas
at
the travis county alzheiemers texas walk
on
next saturday october 8, 2016
for the
austin regional clinic team

donate and or join us
to help
in the fight against this disease

we are getting closer to a treatment or cure

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, September 29, 2016

do debates matter

DO DEBATES MATTER
thats the question i was asking myself
we watched all 90 minutes plus of the debates
we watched the pre show and the post show
Image result for presidential debate
slate.com

i have a rule
i dont listen to pundits from either side
since i have a mute button on my remote
my
darwinian mute button

the reason we watch the debates
are
that we dont want to rely on someone elses opinion
on who won
what was discussed
was it fair
etc

ill decide that myself

now i realize that
the debate no matter what happened or what was said
was not going to change my mind on whom i was going to vote
nor
i doubt that many of you got your mind changed

now
looking at the debate
i think hillary won the debate
since
scattered across the new media and from politicians
who were trump supporters
agree with my assessment

did it matter
well it didnt change my mind
nor did it change most of everyone elses minds

it seems the ones that it could affect are
those millennials
yep yours and my kids and grandkids
may decide this election
scary huh

white women
see
i tell you they are always are under control those females
subtle like
if you are married and are a male
well you already know this

so
does it matter
these debates

i would say from what i hear and read
yes
it matters

the election may hinge on these next two debates

no i personally dont care if
he releases his tax returns
her emails i could care less about
i dont care about bills indiscretions since all know about them
i dont care about hearing childish words slug back and forth

i care about

how each treats other human beings

pensions which may break state and city government
guess who will be paying when that happens

healthcare
dont just say get rid of it
solution please
i for one am a big advocate of medicare for all
with a lot of tough decisions which our politicians cant seem to make

medicare

social security the big elephant in the room

immigration a fair policy please

taxes
sorry we have to have taxes
even fairminded billionaires recognize we have to tax people
just make it more fair
we cant cut taxes and keep spending

race relations

most of these werent even discussed

so thats what i want them to talk about
how to fix these issues

i want all the millennials to vote
its really thier future here we are talking about

they need to speak on their behalf

all those who say they are going to sit this one out
you cant do that
there is too much at stake

if you arent registered to vote
or if you dont vote
there is no excuse
you have no right to complain about anything

if you arent registered to vote
here is a link
walks you through how to
register to vote in every statte

www.vote.org

remember
if you dont use it
you might lose it

the organicgreen doctor

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

dear ms b-it doesnt matter

DEAR MS B-IT DOESNT MATTER

thats what i say
it doesnt really matter does it

so i went upstairs to look at how how ours was arranged
was it an outy or an inny

now since my wife she never replaces an empty roll
or an almost empty roll
or
maybe placing a full one on the floor as a backup
the placement of the roll
falls squarely on my shoulders

a failure to do this right
its all me
it seems ours get put on there both ways
i sat down
reached over
spun it
it spins either way
tore off a few pieces
they tore ok either way
seems ok to me either way

now if you go to a hotel or motel
it is always i guess over the front
supposedly
an outy

so you can see the prints on the paper
so you can easily grab it and spin it
so your kiddos like you ms b and those kitty cats
have a harder time grabbing it and spinning it
into a big pile
or
worse i guess putting the end of the roll into
the toilet
letting the water wick up the paper to the
roll making the whole thing soaking wet

i will admit i have done that one before
just to make folks mad

i have found a kiddo once sitting in the floor
having a great time
spinning that roll so it unwinds
onto the floor

i have found a kitty before who started playing
with that end of the paper that blows around
in the air
so those playful kitties just cant resist it
until
the whole roll is clawed down onto the floor
they are all wrapped up in it

if you havent ever seen this
if you do
dont get mad at the kitty
they are just following their instincts

so ms b
walk into the bathroom
see which way your paper is hanging
reach up and grab the end
then
take off running
until you get that roll aspinnnnnnning real good
then
play with all that paper

if you get caught
just look up at mommy and daddy
smile real big like you are having a good time
they might understand
maybe

or
take the paper
put it into the potty
pull that leaver that mommy and daddy pull down
to make that water twirl around
then
run away
so you dont get all wet
when that water comes flowing out over the top
of the toilet bowl

enjoy

i think we have more to worry about in this world
than this

the organicgreen doctor

Monday, September 26, 2016

we did it

WE DID IT

Alzheimer's Texas

last february i got the email letting me know that the
central texas chapter
now known as the
alzheimers texas
would be pulling out of the alzheimers association
like other well established chapters did
like
san diego los angeles new york chicago etc

it seems that all the funds raised would have been  sent
to the national office
leaving less control
and
less funds going back into the
central texas area for education and support

so
the board and directors
felt it would be better for the central chapter to be
independent
which it had really been operating as for 25 years
being a strong willed chapter

i was skeptical but decided to continue to support them
as i have for the last 6 years

i have seen and see up close where the money goes
from these fund raising events
all going to the local cause of alzheimers
all staying here in central texas
i just like the feel of doing it this way

for this area its the best way i think

so the funds we raised for our alzheimers texas this weekend
all $40,000+ will all stay around here
to pay for local research
and
education about this awful disease
alzheimers disease

this weekend our team
the organicgreendoctor
got together to join the 500+ walkers
at san gabriel park in georgetown texas
for the williamson county alzheimers walk

all for the same cause


most of us walking are affected by alzhiemers in some way

this young lad has been walking with me for the last 6 years
a former patient he lost his grandmother recently to this
awful disease
here he is today

this cute as a bug little girl
cuter than a ladybug
another former patient
has walked before
she is walking for me dr duck
but
also is walking for her grandpa who has alzheimers disease

so we slowly walked over the 2+ miles
all for the same cause
teary stories being told along the way

i recognized
former patients
folks that have been to my talks
folks i worked with
folks with the disease
folks in the alzheimers research studies like me

we were all walking for the same cause

a treatment and cure
for our families behind us
and
for you and your family

so
we did it this weekend

thanks to all of you who either donated
and or gave your moral support


we also have another alzheimers walk my wife she and i are doing
with
the austin regional clinic team
at
the travis county alzheimers texas walk
at fort mabry
saturday october 8th 2016

come join us

the thankful organicgreen doctor

Friday, September 23, 2016

alzheimers news-lets do it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-LETS DO IT

Alzheimer's Texas

as i sat in the committe meeting for the Alzheimers Texas walk
which is at san garbriel park this saturday
they said
as the captain of a team
you can determine what percentage of the teams donation
goes to each category

i thought to myself
mainly thinking of myself and my family
i want 100% of my teams donations to go to
research
that would mean that the funds our team raised
would go to one of the universities in texas
that does alzheimers research
the biggest one is where i go in dallas
the alzheimers center at university of texas southwestern

easy choice i thought

then as i went through the next several months
looking at the caregiving and educational classes that
Alzheimers Texas does in central texas
looking at the caregiving and educational seminars
that they sponsored
some i was a presenter for
or
i manned the Alzheimers Texas table
so
folks could come by and ask me questions
that they did
lots of lots of questions
they just needed answers

i thought to myself
they really need education
and
help
where to get help was a common question

thats when i changed my mind
on where the funds would go

i decided that i would allow the funds our team raised
to go back into the pot
to be used as most of the funds will be used
mainly research and education

for those about to deal with this disease for the first time
for those in the middle of dealing with this disease
for those whose loved one is now not with us
i realized that
the educational part of Alzheimers Texas
is much more important

as many of you know who have read this blog
this is why i am an avid supporter for these
alzheimers walks especial the Alzheimers Texas walks here in
central texas

my mother and younger brother died with the disease
my father probably had it when he died
my older brother may have it now
i have the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
i may have it also
i take aricept (donepezil) and am in alzheimers research studies

i saw us dealing with all this
without knowledge and help to understand what was happening
to us and our family

these funds help to do that
we here in central texas are lucky
to have such a well established Alzheimers Texas group
this is their silver anniversary
the 25th one
to provide all the educational services to help us understand whats
happening to us

so
tomorrow
is the big day for our walk team
to raise as much as we can to fund all this
thats the only way it gets done

no federal or state grants or monies are used
no national office to send down funds
its all of us locally helping this area


lets put the boot to alzheimers

so
we will walk tomorrow
at
the williamson county Alzheimers Texas walk at san gabriel park
in georgetown texas
registration starts 830am
preceremony at 930am
walk starts at 1000am

come join us
if you cant you can donate below to
donate and or join my team organicgreendoctor

we cant do it alone

thanks again for all of you that will participate
by your presence tomorrow
and or
by your financial and emotional support

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, September 22, 2016

country n news-dont do it yet

COUNTRY N NEWS-DONT DO IT   YET

this week as i headed to my garden i walked passed
this arugula plant that planted itself at the entry to
our garden
it started as a transplant probably 10 years ago
i let it flower and go to seed each year
the butterrflies and bees love these yellow flowers

i have found the wild type arugula all over our yard
i usually just let it grow
picking the leaves whenever we need arugula for a salad

then
i walked into the garden
there sitting on top of a milkweed that was growing
in the garden
was this beautiful butterfly
not sure if its a monarch
its not quite their time yet but close
this milkweed was planted in the corner of the garden
3 years ago
i let it go to seed
it seems to find the right place to grow
usually on the edge of a garden bed

our contribution to the monarch problem
we as a society seems to be determined to
wipe them out
there are wild type milkweeds called antelope horns
that grow wild on our property
i mow around them and let them go to seed
apparently these wild ones are better for the
monarchs

as i walked around my garden
the fall tomatoes are growing good
and are getting blooms
getting ready to produce our first fall tomatoes
we are harvesting a few juliet tomatoes that planted
itself around a citrus tree i planted this spring
the juliettes have been producing all summer long
they are now bursting with tons of blooms
getting ready to produce an abundant fall crop

the okra are growing like crazy
we use them in cooking
pickle them
fry them
grill them with other veggies
cook them in the crockpot with tomatoes and onions

we are still eating the malibar spinach that grows
the hotter it gets
we eat it in salads
spinach casserole
pasta dishes

the purple hull peas i planted in our winter bed
are making its final push to produce its last crop
since
after this crop
i will trim them to the ground
leaving the roots in place
feeding the vines to the chickens
which coverts them to compost for us to use

then
i plan to put down about 3-4 inches of our country n compost
spread a generous dusting of cottonseed meal
a sprinkling of organic garden fertilizer
i use ladybug 8-2-4
then
i gently rake this into the top couple inches of soil
then
water it well with liquid molasses and humates
then
cover it with a layer of mulch
either leaves or if i have access to it
pine straw

now its ready to plant

its cool this am
its 69 degrees
it feels fall crisp
makes you want to start planting the fall garden
todays temperature here will rise to 95
a cool front is coming through though
dropping the daytime temps to upper 70s and low 80s

now
i listen the the natural gardener folks on the radio each weekend
a big warning they are giving for gardening in central texas
dont plant you fall garden yet

i know the plants are at the nursery and big box stores
but
they say now they are the gurus of organic gardening around here
dont plant until the garden soil temperature gets 85

why
seeds like carrots beets lettuce dont sprout good
another heat attack is coming ready to wipe out what you have planted

plants like broccoli cabbage kale etc may survive
but get stunted by the warmer soil and heat
the plants get stimulated to go fast to bolting and flowering
which can make the final products
taste bad

now i am speaking from experience
since ive learned my lesson
having replanted seeds and plants multiple times over the years

all i can say is

dont do it
yet

the organicgreen doctor

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

stagecoach robbery

STAGECOACH ROBBERY
several years ago the cheap living guru clark howard
suggested changing your banking to a credit union

Image result for stagecoach
wellsfargo.com

now at that time i was with the stagecoach bank
i had been with them for years
but
i noticed that i was started to get nickeled and dimed
with more nickling and diming going on every month

once
i calculated it was costing me close to $300+ a year
just to have a checking account with the well known
western bank

so
i changed to a credit union
i pay well i pay nothing for my checking account
i pay well i pay nothing for my savings account
i pay well i pay nothing for my checks
i pay well i pay nothing for my credit card
which since i am a dave ramsey fan
i rarely use it
if i do i get money back if i use it
i pay well i pay nothing for a debit card
which i do use a lot
since i never have cash in my pocket
but
when i do use my debit card i get cash back at the
end of the year

so
in summary
i pay well i pay nothing for my checking account
i make somewhere between $200 to $300 a year
on the cash back program

Image result for elizabeth warren wells fargo
npr.org

then
yesterday
i was watching the news
there was that consumer bulldog advocate
elizabeth warrren
chewing up that stagecoach ceo

i am sure his rear end was bloody
like a pit bull had grabbed ahold of his buttocks
and
wouldnt let go

when she finished with him
then
thank goodness for bipartisan  politics
the republican senators finished him off

we always need a bulldog in congress
who is on our side
protecting us

i realize some of you dont like all of her politics
but
you have to like her for what she is doing for us
the consumers
someone has to be on our side

so
as i watched her ream that ceo good
i thought
i am so glad several years ago
that i got off that stagecoach
and
changed to a better banking alternative

thanks again
ms warren
for being on our side

the organicgreen doctor

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

dear ms b-you sure are pretty

DEAR MS B-YOU SURE ARE PRETTY

we call my granddaughter ms b
i write a blog to her usually each tuesday
sometimes mostly they are funny or educational
sometimes though they can be sad

its writings that i hope she will look at later in life
when i am no longer here

but
today i wanted one she could watch and laugh

we facetime with her frequently
well its never frequent enough

so to get her attention so she will focus on the phone
that her mom or dad is holding
i do my donald duck talk

now
when i do it
she seems to like it
she foucuses like a laser beam to the iphone
and
does a lot of smiling while im talking to her
sorry ms b i cant talk like minnie or mickey

those of you with kids who use to see me
know that they like many of the kids i saw in the office
lked to hear me talk to them in my donald duck voice
thus
many only knew me as dr duck

when i see them out and about they say
hi dr duck
can you talk to me like a duck

so i have parlayed this into
entertainment for ms b

i hope this video brings a smile to your morning
and
certainly hopes this video makes ms b have a good day

enjoy



the organicgreen doctor

Monday, September 19, 2016

r u addicted

R U ADDICTED
i receive email feeds from
kim komando about the internet

it is my way of keeping up with what i need to know
to be safe on the internet
eg
i also use her site to evaluate purchases like
this computer i am on now
a recent cell phone purchase
and
this quiz i saw come through this weekend

Image result for facebook
i am always accusing my wife she of being caught in
the facebook vortex
if you arent careful it will eat you up

so kim komando posted this quiz
to see if you are addicted to facebook

now i use facebook to link folks to this blog
probably half the readers of this blog
connect with this blog on facebook
others
connect via google or email signup or direct email
or other feeds

so
i did mine
i got
not addicted to facebook

i pretended i was my wife she
i answered the questions as i see her usage of facebook
she got
casual facebook user

not sure if that was accurate on her though

so
for yourself
click here for a quiz to see if you are addicted to facebook

answer all the questions honestly
at the end
it will give you an assessment of
whether you are
addicted to facebook

if you are addicted
maybe there is a 10 step program for you

the organicgreen doctor

Friday, September 16, 2016

alzheimers news-smell it good first

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-SMELL IT GOOD FIRST

Alzheimer's Texas

you know how when you go out to eat at a restaurant
order a bottle of wine to drink with your meal
the wine person brings over the bottle
lets you look at the label
ok you are suppose to say
then
he will open it in front of you
they always seem to use the simple opener they
carry in their pocket
then
the cork is popped
i think you are suppose to smell the cork
then
they pour a small amount in the glass
you are suppose to
swirl it around several times
sniff sniff sniff it
then
take a taste
then
say its good thank you

well
all this i must say
seems fufuish to me

i just say
pour me a full glass please
i dont swirl it or smell it
i do what you are suppose to do
i drink it

now
this week i read an article that changes my approach
from now on
i plan on swirling and sniffing that glass real good
so it looks like the swirl you see in a toilet
when you flush

heck
after reading this article i  plan to
stick my nose deep down in the glass
and
snort me a big snort of that stuff into my nose
hold it as long as i can
so it can get absorbed into my smeller nerve

yep im agonna sniff all my wine real good
from now on
even if i drink box wine

what the heck are you talking about
you gone nuts or something

no
they by they i mean researchers
did a study on 13 people who were
sommeliers
Image result for sommelier levels
if you dont know what that is
im not gonna tell you

you will need to just google it like i did

so they took 13 sommeliers and 13 non sommeliers
did scans on them
what they found on the scans were that the areas of the
brain that handles smelling and memory
were
larger and thicker
in the sommeliers

these are the areas of the brain
where alzheimers attack first
making this part of the brain atrophy as the disease progresses

the thinking is that these
sommeliers
you looked it up yet
have a less chance of getting alzheimers
than
if you are a non sommelier

so
what ive deciced to do
is to snort my wine
be fufuish when i drink my wine
so dont think ive changed from the simple soul i am
when
you see me
swish sniff swish sniff slow taste
my merlot
then
take a deep snort of it

plus
my 36 point regimen for memory loss prevention
has now changed to a
37 point regimen

we are one week away from our williamson county
alzheimers texas walk to raise funds to support
research here and education services for alzheimers

this only happens if we get donations to fund these



lets put a boot to alzheimers
www.txalz.org/walk

donate and or join my team organicgreendoctor
for the alzheimers texas williamson county walk on september 24th
in georgetown texas

donate and or join our team austin regional clinic
for the alzheimers texas travis county walk on october 8th
in austin texas

to join the team you will need to register first
to only donate just hit the donate button

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, September 15, 2016

country n news-boost the web

COUNTRY N NEWS-BOOST THE WEB

about 3 years ago i wrote this blog
click on the link here
on how to get an improved cell signal here at the county n

my two brothers were here
one had sprint
one had att
we had verizon

so we walked around the house and the property
comparing our signals
the final analysis was that
none of us got good reception

the problem of living in a bowl with towers too far away
so
we added this web booster device that worked for awhile
then it just seemed to not work well anymore

since that time i have learned a lot
i learned to find where the tower was for our service company
verizon
which it seems works best for this area
i located it two ways
going on the internet after googling
cell phone towers for verizon
then
i drove my car around with my cell phone
watching my bar graph
when it hit five bars and lte mode
i knew i was sitting next to our tower

so
i drove home
got on our upper deck
raised my phone as high as i could
moved it around until i located the strongest signal
a 4 bar signal

now
we had gotten down to a 2 bar in the living room
a no bar in the kitchen and a back bed room
a no bar on the stairs

now we have three choices for internet service
a dish satellite
a satellite company like hughesnet or wildblue etc
a verizon card
we settled on the card thats called a jetpack
Image result for verizon jetpack 4g
so here we sat with areas of no service in the house
an internet connection that comes and goes
so
i researched the internet again
i wandered back to the same company we had used before
then
researched which one i needed
here is the link
www.weboost.com

then
i called the friendly real english speaking person who was
quite helpful
then
i ordered it
weBoost 470101 Home 4G
note
you can buy it at stores like walmart and best buy
i personally liked dealing with a real person who knew
what they were talking about

so
i hooked it up
Image result for web booster antenna
the outside antenna thingy looked to me like
a madonna bra thing she use to wear
you point it towards the tower thats yours
then
clamp it on the side of the roof
run the cable to the inside of the house to a booster
which
you got it
boosts the signal throughout the house
eg
as i sit her writing this
my verizon card shows 5 bars
my cell phone shows 4 bars

now our neighbor has one also
but
he doesnt have as good a direct view of the tower as i do
sorry
our two story house and trees block the view for him

but
for us it has solved our cell phone reception issue
and our internet issue
but
i sure enjoy it though when we visit someone
hook up to their internet
then
watch things move much faster on our computers

but
that is the sacrifice we made
in living in this
paradise
called

the country n

the organicgreen doctor