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

Monday, October 30, 2017

she is wrong

SHE IS WRONG
Image result for george hw bush
nbcnews.com

first let me say
that sexual harassment is unacceptable behavior
that should not be tolerated in normal society
at least 50% of you that are reading this
have probably been the victim of it

that said

thats what i told my wife she as i watched her on tv
i think she really doesnt understand
on the news i dont hear anyone really explaining why
this may be happening
but
finally on one news show there he was
a neuroscientist explaining what can happen

these are the major dementias
in the order of their prevalence
many of the folks with dementia really have a mixed type
of some of these
eg
the most common mixed dementia is
alzheimers disease and vascular dementia

first is alzheimer disease
second is vascular dementia
then
lewy body dementia thats robin williams disease
parkinsons dementia
frontotemporal dementia

the two i wouldnt want to have for my familys sake are
lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia

i call them the fast and furious dementias
the behavior can be very inappropriate
it can be extremely stressful on the family

with parkinsons dementia
usually the disease starts with the movement stuff
think michael j fox and george hw bush
then
after a period of time the parkinsons dementia can kick in
it moves like the lewy body dementia
with some inappropriate behaviors
plus there is the side effect of all the drugs

just ask any nurse who works in a memory center
about those behaviors
they are not acceptable to the rest of us in society

now enter expresident george hw bush
he has had parkinsons for years the results of
small strokes
he probably is in the later dementia stage now
it will not get better
it will only worsen
the death like alzheimers disease or lewy body dementia
can be an awful terrible gut wrenching end to ones life
devastating to the family

so i say
she whoever that person is is wrong about george hw bush
is he really responsible for his actions
maybe his family is responsible
by
exposing others to what he really has no cognitive control
over
here is a well done news report on usa today about all this

i think she should apologize to the bush family for
her lack of understanding
i can only imagine how they feel

one of my biggest fears
as i progress down that alzheimers disease journey
near the end of it
i fear that i will change
as the disease takes over the brain
takes over that personality part of the brain
takes over the front part of the brain
making people like me say and do things that we would
never ever do

i right now while i am able to i want to apology to anyone i offend
when that happens
please dont report it in the news
for my familys sake
i will like george hw wont know the difference
but they will
things will be bad enough for the family
without making it worse for them

i personally hope that i die before i reach that point

so back to expresident george hw bush
im sure that if he was his brain normal self
that this would never ever happen

we as a society and her as a person
if you dont understand this all
then
well
we have gone too far with all this

the organicgreen doctor

Friday, October 27, 2017

alzheimers news-can we afford it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CAN WE AFFORD IT
Image result for organicgreendoctor
if someone develops alzheimers disease
they may end up in some type of long term care facility
maybe for a year or two
that was the time my mother and younger brother spent
in those places

at a cost of $60,000-$85,000 a year for two years
equals $120000-$170,000 for just those last two years
of care
then theres care that is paid for up to the point of entry
into the nursing home
that varies based on how sick or how severe their disease is

so for this blog today
lets just use the $170,000 for those two years in the nursing home

now
my question is
this new drug im taking in the aducanumab study
well its going to be an expensive one
more expensive than the arthritis or ulcerative colitis or
cancer drugs
more in line with the new hepatitis c drug

the prediction is that it will cost someone
$40,000+ a year for these monthly infusions

so if it works or if it just slows down the disease
lets say for 10 years
then that allows the person to die from something else
like
cancer heart attack or stroke or old age if they are lucky

so i looked at some of the expensive drugs that are listed
by those drug controlling pharmacetical companies that
provide us all with our drug plans

i am on medicare part d drug plan
i have a $400 deductible i have to meet
then
there is this donut hole thing
that compromise spot the congress made to get the
medicare part d bill passed years ago
my donut hole is around $3,000

after the donut hole there is suppose to be a 5% limit on
how much one has to pay
however
as usual with these insurance things
it dont really work that way

many of you know this from using your health insurance or
car insurance or prescription insurance or
maybe more like homeowners insurance

so that means i may be on the hook for at least $12,000 a year
or the full $40,000 a year if its not covered at all

so lets see if i can do some math
if i treat myself for 10 years to stay out of the nursing home
ill save maybe $175,000 in nursing home care total
since maybe ill die fast after that ten years is up

ill spend anywhere from $120,000 total for the aducanumab drug
during those 10 years
so if it works ill save someone $50,000 total over that time period

of course
if i pay full price that will be $480,000 for the drug over 10 years

now
i do have long term care insurance that right now will pay
$160,000 for those two years in the nursing home
that would leave only $15,000 owed to the nursing home folks

so
if my math is right
it may be cheaper for me to just not get treatment but to just
slide down that alzheimers curve into those last two years
of nursing home care
many of us know how awful those last two years can be

so
doing my math it looks like i could probably afford to pay
for my aducanumab infusions for 10 years
let my medicare part d pay what it will if it does at all

i guess my life those last 10 years would be more tolerable
for myself and those around me

however if i have to pay full price
i may not be able to afford it
ill just use my long term care insurance instead

but
the question is
can society afford to pay for this new treatment or not
or
does society just fit the bill for the nursing home
by society i mean you and the government

tough question
with no answer

oh by the way
biogen and its investors will make billions off this drug
worldwide if it works
but
can we pay the price
is it worth it

in the mean time lets find a cure

support us at our next walk
or
donate and or walk at your local walk

santa barbara walk to end alzheimers october 28th

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, October 26, 2017

dont let them do it

DONT LET THEM DO IT
like reagan use to say
there you go again

those congress folks are after us again
cant they leave us along

i know i know he said i wouldnt be touched
but
weve been here before

why cant they just do tax change stuff that
mainly affects all those rich folks like
the president
and
most of congress

back in the 90s this word popped up
on my radar
401k
my rainwater brother who is a certified financial planner
explained it all to me
of course
as he talked my eyes got real blurry
my mind started to wander
what the heck he is talking about

but
over time i read more about it
he talked to me more
i gradually started to understand it better

basically
i knew we couldnt live off social security
we needed more money
pension for teachers wasnt an issue at that time
since my wife she hadnt made that
i wanna be a teacher movement yet

it really didnt matter as it turns out
the teachers pension
since she is getting from the pension
what she lost from the social security that she earned
in the preteaching era and from my paying in it over the years

bottom line
teachers pension minus her would be social security equals zero

so i knew we needed more
Image result for 401k
investopedia.com

my rainwater brother finally got me to understand
how to do this
maximum how much you can put in in your 401k
so i did
make sure you put enough in to meet the match from
your employer
so i did
then
on the teacher side you have this thing called a 403b
just think of it like its a 401k
put as much in there as you can

i must add that most teachers dont make enough to put in
a 403b
very few do

so
over 25 years thats what we did
so when i had to quit and she retired
we have enough in our 401k/403b to live comfortably
when you add in our
well my social security
and her teachers pension

if that 401k had been not there
i am not sure all that incentive to make you save
make me save
would have been there
we would be hurting in retirement without it

so it is with a lot of folks

now
again
like i said the other day
this affects all of us
whether we are democratic republican independent
no matter our race
no matter our politic
no matter our religion
whether we are rich
whether we are poor
well
maybe not if we are rich
as this probably dont affect them much

so no matter your politics
you should be ticked at these congress people
trying to take this away from us
the only vehicle that many folks have to provide for
their retirement
i you are promised a pension by a company or government agency
be aware that some have stopped paying the pension
or greatly reduced it

so eg the texas teacher retirement doesnt give any
cost of living adjustment so thats their way of
reducing the payout
even then it can be reduced easily by a vote from
the legislature

we shouldnt let these folks do this to us
there are probably very few if any congress folks or cabinet members
or presidents or vice presidents that will be affected if they do

i think
congress if they want to cut things to save money
they might look at their own pocketbooks and financial statements
to find areas that really need to be cut
just leave us regular folks along

maybe we just need a regular folks movement

the organicgreen doctor

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

we lost again

WE LOST AGAIN
no im not talking about the astros
though they didnt win last night
the dodgers did

we
thats us
the consumers
Image result for consumer protection agency
recolblegal.com

two events in the last year
has affected most of us forever

the equifaux debacle
will cost us many of us over the next
well however long we live and maybe beyond
partly to blame for this is congress

equifaux even tried to sneak an arbitration clause
in so folks couldnt sue them when you went to
freeze your credit
but
the uproar was large enough from all of us
that they relented

thats what it may take
to keep us the consumers from getting screwed

the wells fargo debacle where the wells fargo folks
just went and opened accounts in our names
many of you are affected by this
for millions of dollars

now these debacles
they dont care
what color you are
who you voted for
what church you go to
where you live

they just screwed all of us together

now there was a bill in congress yesterday
that prevents us thats you and i
from suing these crooks in the financial industry
when they do us wrong
like equifaux and wells fargo did

but
now
the 50/50 tie was broken by the vp
now
you cant sue folks when they do you wrong in the financial world
you have to go to arbitration

i must say
there is no amount of money that will pay some of us
back
for the misery we will suffer from the equifaux debacle
it will last a lifetime and probably beyond that

thus stuff affects all of us
equally
unless of course you are one of the investors in these financial
companies

the score yesterday was 1-0
wall street 1
consumers 0

the organicgreen doctor

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

go stros

GO STROS
Image result for houston astros
mlb.com

thanks to my historian brother
when we were little
we all ate slept breathed baseball
he collected all the baseball cards he could get his hands on
they
if they were around now
would be worth a ton of money
all those hall of fame rookie cards

ok
so some of them got used on our bikes
clothes pinned to the spokes
so when we rode the bikes
it sounded like a motorcycle
the more cards
the louder it was

so most folks where i grew up in southern arkansas
they were cardinal fans
everyone listened to the cardinal games
on the radio
then
came the astros in houston
came the rangers in dallas

so most folks in that area liked one of those
three teams
the oldie guys they liked the cardinals

we were rangers/astros fans
while my boys were growing up
we went to several rangers games
we all loved nolan ryan
he had played for both the astros and rangers

then a local businessman bought the astros
his son was my sons best friend growing up
so
we became astros fans after that

my son attended the astros games several times
over several years
even
jeff bagwell gave him a personalized signed
ball for his birthday once

so
after the astros were sold to the present owners
we over time sort of lost our interest in watching
baseball
its a long slow game not made well for tv
i usually reserved watching games to the
allstar game or world series
but havent watched either the last few years
spending my sports time on tv on
basketball and football and soccer

after the astros were sold
they cleared their roster of anyone anyone had heard of
it was a young team
that has waxed and wane with its youth

now this year
although i havent watched a game
i sort of peripherally have kept up with them
somewhat

so
this may be the first world series ive watched in a long time

now
here where we live
we are most definitely in dodgers country

being an astros fan here would be like being an aggie fan
in austin or more like an oklahoma fan in austin

now
i dont have any astros stuff to wear
yes i do have one dodger shirt
i was given it
i like it because it has my favorite color on it
blue
i actually wear it when i garden since i dont mind getting
it all dirty

so
here in dodger country
i will proudly say

go stros

it just seems right that houston is in the world series
after all the destruction that harvey has done to the area
kinda like the saints in the super bowl after katrina

it just seems right that they also win the world series

go stros

the organicgreen doctor

Monday, October 23, 2017

i say do it

I SAY DO IT
thats what i said out loud when i read the article
just do it
like the nike slash

now i have never voted as a republican
ok i voted for independents who were really republicans
on more than one occassion
otherwise
i have usually voted democrat
even then not always feeling good when i pushed the
voting lever

now in 2020 i may vote for a republican president
the first time in my life

ive told my wife she several times
we need a candidate who is not really a democrat
or a republican
who speaks his or her mind
who appeals to those of us in the middle of the
political spectrum
really those were the ones that won the election for trump
in states like wisconsin michigan pennsylvania etc
ok
so facebook helped a little in those states
thanks to mr vladimir

but there is a place if you remove the political labels
where the dominant electorate sits
the problem is that half sits on the democratic side
half sits on the republican side
never the twain will they meet

so now
possibly
i sure hope so
enters someone who says he is 4 out of 10 that he may run
for president of the united states in 2020
yes
he is another billionaire
a self made billionaire
who
when i listen to him talk
seems to get it

a lot of the social stuff that the millennials dont really
care about making an issue over
well
he feels like they do

ok he can be brash
but
not brash crazy like trump does

he says hes an independent but if he chose a party
he would chose the republican

man if he ran next time
wow
him vs trump would be a sellout every night
the democrats wont have a chance

and
if he were to be nominated
he probably could get elected

he is a i think somewhat social liberal on some issues
i guess thats what you call that
who is fiscally conservative

thats the type of leader we need right now
trump could be that if he didnt do all that crazy ass stuff


Image result for mark cuban
cnbc.com

so
mark cuban
i say
do it

if you do
you got my vote
yes
as long as you dont let them change you
you got my vote

the organicgreen doctor

Friday, October 20, 2017

alzheimers news-alzheimers flowers

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ALZHEIMERS FLOWERS
this is the our team for the alzheimers texas walk we did in
september in georgetown texas.
thanks to those who walked that day

when you go to the walk to end alzheimers there are 5 flowers
to chose from
blue is for those of us with alzheimers

purple if you  have lost someone with alzheimers

yellow if you are supporting or caring for someone with alzheimers

orange if you support the cause and a vision of a world without alzheimers


fox6news.com

white is the new one
its the one so far no one gets to carry
its the one i want to carry one day
its for the first alzheimers disease survivor

so you pick the flower that represents where you fit into the
alzheimers picture

i have been able to carry all of the colors as i write about below
just not the white one
yet
then you place them in an area where they are all placed together
in the promise flower garden
they spin in the breeze
there always seems to be a breeze
at the walks i have been to

its like mother nature knows
to send down a breath of breeze to spin those flowers
since
she knows what it means to everyone
the visual of the spinning flowers
many with loved ones names on them
well
i
at least
tear up

so in the opening ceremonies
someone from each flower group
speaks for a few minutes about why they are carrying that color
well
i get the blue one
since my mci is due to alzheimers disease

here is what i plan to say
good morning
thank you for being here for this walk to end alzheimers and supporting
us in our fight against this disease

i am here representing with this blue flower
those of us who have alzheimers disease

i have mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease
i have been diagnosed for over 6 years
i take the alzheimers drug aricept (donepezil)
i am in a large experimental drug treatment at ucla that has some
promise to be a potential treatment for the disease

i have seen alzheimers disease up close and personal
its a ugly awful disease

on my blue flower are 4 names

nell
my mother

joe
my younger brother

both died from alzheimers disease

charles
my father probably had it when he died

charles
my older brother has it now

so this is why i am walking to end alzheimers today
the same reason many of you are walking today
to find a treatment or cure for this awful disease
so that in the future no one will have to be carrying these blue flowers
since
when a treatment is found we would all be able to carry the white one

thats my hope for the future

thank you

support us at our next walk
or
donate and or walk at your local walk

santa barbara walk to end alzheimers october 28th

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, October 19, 2017

dear ms b-plant it theyll eat it

DEAR MS B-PLANT IT THEYLL EAT IT
Image result for organicgreendoctor school garden
ms b
ive found that to be true

if you take a kid who doesnt like a certain food
tell them all about the food like a veggie
have them hold the seed in their hand
press a hole in the ground
plant the seed
cover it with compost or dirt
pat the dirt smooth
water it
care for it
watch it as it grows

usually when the time comes
they will pluck it from the ground
and
eat it

at the school garden where i volunteer
this cute little kiddo was helping me pull
up the weeds in the garden
she ran across a carrot that had been missed
by a previous class
she plucked it from the ground
we went over to the water hydrant
washed it off real good
she held onto the carrot with the green stalk
and
ate the whole thing

later she was all excited about finding that carrot
telling her mom all about it when she got home

thats why i like to garden with kids

now ms b
when we pick you up at the preschool near my garden
we always wander over to the garden

recently all these gourds and pumpkins are on display
they were grown in the garden for kids to see and enjoy
as we walk by you always have to stop and pet them
you have favorites
like the dark one with all the bumps on it
then
its off to see the four chickens
or
bock bocks as you call them
then
its over to my garden
where you water my garden
then
you always love to fill up the bird bath with water
sometimes while you are there
a bird will fly over to take a drink
sometimes a bee will
then
this day
the garden apprentice said
its ok to pull up one of those carrots from the kids garden
so
i had you pick one
pluck it out of the ground
wash it off in the bird bath
then
you wouldnt let go of that carrot
so
when we got home
you pulled up your step stool
turned on the water
youre good at that
washed it real good
then
you crunched and ate the whole carrot
well you tried to eat the green stalk but i stopped you
not sure if it was ok to eat or not

later
i told your mom about you eating that carrot
but
she said
she doesnt like carrots

well
she does now

the organicgreen doctor

Monday, October 16, 2017

rise up

RISE UP
now the rendition of this song that i like
the best
is the one by alicia keys once sung on the voice
it sings in my head frequently
as i walk or hike or garden or drive around

this weekend on the news i saw another rendition
no they werent as good musically as alicia keys
but
they probably gave me more chills and tears
than her rendition did
i think that young man in the video that sings
the lead part
he should be on the voice

here are the lyrics

You're broken down and tired
Of living life on a merry go round
And you can't find the fighter
But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
And move mountains
We gonna walk it out
And move mountains
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
And I'll rise up
High like the waves
I'll rise up
In spite of the ache
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousands times again
For you
For you
For you
For you
When the silence isn't quiet
And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe
And I know you feel like dying
But I promise we'll take the world to its feet
And move mountains
We'll take it to its feet
And move mountains
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
For you
For you
For you
For you
All we need, all we need is hope
And for that we have each other
And for that we have each other
We will rise
We will rise
We'll rise, oh oh
We'll rise
I'll rise up
Rise like the day
I'll rise up
In spite of the ache
I will rise a thousands times again
And we'll rise up
Rise like the waves
We'll rise up
In spite of the ache
We'll rise up
And we'll do it a thousands times again
For you oh oh oh oh oh
For you oh oh oh oh oh
For you oh oh oh oh oh
For you
now you can apply these lyrics to a lot of situations
these kids possibly have a different inspiration 
than say i would

i feel inspiration when i hear these kids sing
i felt it when i heard alica keys sing it that night
i put myself into the words
i feel inspiration after i hear it sung
as i feel the words somehow apply to my life

so
can you 

the organicgreen doctor