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

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

organicgreendoctor: how to unstick stuck bowls

organicgreendoctor: how to unstick stuck bowls: HOW TO UNSTICK STUCK BOWLS several weeks maybe months ago i reached into our dishwasher and there was this custard dish sitting inside a ...

how to unstick stuck bowls

HOW TO UNSTICK STUCK BOWLS
several weeks maybe months ago i reached into our dishwasher and there was this custard dish sitting inside a soup bowl
i reached down to remove the custard dish
it was stuck like it was part of the soup bowl
i ran hot water over it
still stayed stuck
i soaked it in a vinegar solution
still stayed stuck
i soaked it in warm soapy water
still stayed stuck
i soaked in in a solution of oxiclean
still stayed stuck

i reached down picked it up and opened the trash can to throw away the stuck dishes
my wife she said what are you doing i want that soup bowl dont throw it away
so
i put it in with the other soup bowls

once
when she wasnt looking i got out my hammer
my plan was to wack that custard dish to shatter it
i would throw away the shards in the trash
and
then what was left was an intact soup bowl

as i lifted up the hammer to wack the custard dish i thought
nothing good is going to come of this
so
i put it back into the cupboard
leaving it as a permanent decoration inside the cabinet

now when i read my news feeds and social media i am always on the lookout for articles on
uses for duct tape
uses for wd 40
both of these things amaze me
at
how well they work

then last week
there it was on facebook
uses for wd 40
i clicked on it cautiously
there was pictures and descriptions for all these uses for wd 40

as i clicked on them suddenly there it was
how to unstick stuck dishes
so
i read it
then
i got out our two stuck dishes that had been joined together for weeks maybe months
i sprayed a generous supply of wd 40 on the stuck areas
i pushed
i pulled
i shook
i twisted
then
i heard this almost pop
i thought i had broken the custard dish
but
voila
here they are all separated now

i must say my wife she was happy to have her soup bowl back

the organicgreen doctor

Monday, June 29, 2020

organicgreendoctor: this is our moment

organicgreendoctor: this is our moment: THIS IS OUR MOMENT when i go out the door i wear my mask even if its a short trip to the garage or laundry it has become a habit a ritua...

this is our moment

THIS IS OUR MOMENT
when i go out the door i wear my mask even if its a short trip to the garage or laundry
it has become a habit a ritual like putting on my shoes or putting my keys and cellphone in my pocket
its what i do going out the door
i dont even think twice about it
i have 5 cloth masks that i change each day
each day i wash the one i wore that day
to remove any germs that may have accumulated on the outside of the mask

i wash my hands going out the door or returning inside
its part of my routine

i wipe down any areas i might have touched before i wash my hands
like the door knobs or entry door to our 4 condo unit

none of this i really thought about just a few months ago

i would hate to be excessively ocd about this though on the abnormal side since i think it would drive you crazy

we still quarantine our mail and our groceries and packages for 3 days
frozen goods we wash down or wipe with disinfectant wipes
i know they say its ok but i would like to see a study done to prove if it does or not
until then thats what we are doing

we use hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate with since its easier for us to get in gallon containers
i would prefer clorox or ethanol since the peroxide has to sit longer to work on surfaces
we have some clorox but we save that for the time we need extra deep cleaning

so
my wife she and i are doing our part to slow down this outbreak

we wear masks
we social distance
we wash our hands or disinfectant them
we avoid high risk places
if we do enter a high risk area we switch to our n95 masks eg grocery store pharmacy doctors office etc

are you doing your part
i sure hope so since its all of us together doing what needs to be done to slow this down until we get a vaccine or the virus slows its self down

if you will not wear a mask and social distance
then
look around your circle of friends and family
please stay away from these high risk folks

your parents
your grandparents
anyone pregnant yes pregnant women have now been moved into the high risk category
obese folks
if you arent sure if they are obese take their height and weight and put it into a bmi calculator
diabetic folks
asthmatic of any age
emphysema or other lung diseases
immunosuppressed folks like cancer patients transplant patients pts with arthritis like rheumatoid or psoriasis or lupus on immunosuppresive drugs heart patients etc
there is probably not anyone who doesnt have someone at risk for severe infection with the covid 19 in their circle
you probably need to add hypertension to that list also

this is our moment in our history when each of us can make a difference on how this all turns out
its really up to us to do what needs to be done
some of this the politicians cant do
we have to do it
each of us individually

so if you arent going to do these things please isolate yourself from your vulnerable family and friends

lets not let history say we didnt do our part to fight this disease

as vice president pence and multiple governors said yesterday
wear a mask
keep social distancing
wash your hands

thats really not too much to ask to save your family member or friends life is it
and
maybe your own

the organicgreen doctor

Friday, June 26, 2020

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-a new alzheimers brain scan

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-a new alzheimers brain scan: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A NEW ALZHEIMERS BRAIN SCAN the brain scans that you can get during the evaluation for alzheimers disease are mri of the...

alzheimers news-a new alzheimers brain scan

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A NEW ALZHEIMERS BRAIN SCAN
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the brain scans that you can get during the evaluation for alzheimers disease are

mri of the brain
i have had several of these
they have all been normal
most were done as part of alzheimers research studies
some i got the reports others i didnt
however if something shows up like a stroke or brain tumor or mass etc they notify you
as one gets a workup for memory loss one of the later tests to do is a mri scan of the brain to rule out treatable causes of memory loss or explanations of why one has memory loss like strokes old head injuries masses arterial abnormalities etc
insurances tend to pay for the mri of the brain

a glucose metabolism pet scan of the brain
iv glucose is given to you and wherever in the brain normal working brain cells are taking up glucose they will show on this brain scan
if you are further along with alzheimers disease this scan will show defects in the areas when the brain isnt working taking up the glucose
insurances might pay for this scan

an amyvid pet san of the brain
a radioactive material is given iv and is taken up in the brain where amyloid is deposited
if you have alzheimers disease this scan will be positive even if you arent having symptoms yet
i have had 3 of these done
i got the results of my last one that was positive for amyloid at the beginning of the aducanumab study i was in
this scan is not covered by health insurance


empr.com on tauvid

now just approved is a tau pet scan of the brain called tauvid
using tauvid given iv it identifies tau neurofibrillary tangles in the brain
where tau goes usually thats where the patient is having symptoms
this is not covered by health insurance either yet
i have not had one of these done
mine will probably be positive
the adni 3 study is doing these as part of their long term study
i opted not to do the adni3 study since i wanted to get into the treatment study with biogens aducanumab infusions 3 years ago

so the workup would go
mri of the brain to rule out treatable causes and also for the brain shrinkage that comes with alzheimers disease
amyvid pet scan for amyloid to more definitively diagnose alzheimers
then
maybe do a tauvid pet scan to define how extensive the tau spread is

the thinking is that amyloid accumulates first in the hippocampal area then spreads across the brain
the amyloid will show up on the amyvid pet scan before symptoms occur
later
maybe 5-10 years later the tau protein tangles will show up on the tauvid pet scan

you can also measure amyloid and tau in the spinal fluid and track its progression that way
that requires spinal taps

having had both the scan is easier and better and safer than the spinal tap

as the tau spreads first to the hippocampal area it then moves on
eg it may go to the frontal part of the brain first and you will see frontal lobe symptoms

we are getting closer to good diagnostic testing for alzheimers disease so a patient or family can know where their loved one is in the alzheimers disease process

these scans also improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of alzheimers

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, June 25, 2020

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #47-can you prevent it

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #47-can you prevent it: MY STORY REVISITED-CAN YOU PREVENT IT i wrote this blog below almost 9 years ago since then more research has shown that doing all these ...

my story revisited #47-can you prevent it

MY STORY REVISITED-CAN YOU PREVENT IT
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i wrote this blog below almost 9 years ago
since then more research has shown that doing all these things may help slow down alzheimers or maybe prevent it maybe
ill take slow it down as a second option if prevent it doesnt happen

slow it down has seemed to happen with me

last week i wrote this blog titled these may slow it down on research about 5 things to do that may slow it down by 60% if you do all 5
yes they are on the list below

i have done these things for the last almost 10 years and hope thats the reason i can sit here today and write this blog
something almost 10 years ago i didnt think i would be able to be doing today

also if you do all these things your overall health and well being will improve
__________
12-09-2011
PREVENT IT?
people are always asking cant you prevent alzheimers
disease
before they were told no you cant
youre just screwed if you are going to get it

now it appears there are those things you can do to prevent
alzheimers disease or to slow the progress down or to delay
the onset
sometimes you are genetically programmed to just get it
like i may be with my positive apoe 4 genotype
but maybe it can be slowed down

how do you do it
its what your doctors have been telling you for years
start now
start early
start young
for these to work well
even if you have alzheimers or mild cognitive impairment these things
can slow it down

exercise regularly
control your blood pressure over your lifetime
control your lipids-triglycerides, good hdl cholesterol, bad ldl cholesterol
maintain a normal weight
control your diabetes throughout your lifetime
eat a normal diet especially a mediterranean diet
get normal restful sleep
avoid excessive alcohol
dont smoke
stay active mentally throughout your life
listen to music or play a musical instrument
stay socialized with friends, churches, groups, family

these also will make you live longer and healthier
___________

i hope to do all of these as long as i can

the organicgreen doctor

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

my telemedicine visit

MY TELEMEDICINE VISIT
when i was typing up the title of todays blog my spell checker didnt recognize the word telemedicine
it will not be long though before it will be in the spell check vocabulary

i never thought i would like to do a telemedicine visit
i like the idea of going to the clinic and seeing the front staff and seeing the nurses and talking face to face one to one to my primary care doctor whom i will call dr m
my mother in law says he reminds her of me

after coming out of the throes of my covid 19 experiences i was off all my medications
some i couldnt tolerate when i got the gi stuff eg my aricept (donepezil) which is notorious for causing stomach upset
let me tell you get the covid 19 gis and you wont be able to take it at all
that was my case
then i guess i lost so much weight and probably was on the dry side a lot ie dehydrated that my blood pressure was low most of the time
so i had to stop my blood pressure meds for awhile
eventually i was able to get back on them as i gained some weight and became more active and was able to eat more food
even though i had to lower the dose some

so not long after i was feeling better i felt i needed help getting back on all my meds and need more evaluation for my exertional shortness of breath and hoarseness and sore throat and lack of appetite

at that time they were discouraging in the clinic visits and recommending telemedicine visits
so
i thought what the heck ill try that

i had done several zoom like meetings and felt comfortable doing it

so
i thought what would i want a patient to have ready and do before we do a visit

take a blood pressure and pulse and weight
i even got out my stethoscope and listened to my heart and lungs
i gave them my findings
list all your medicines you are taking
mine at one point was easy
i wasnt taking any
but
at the point of my visit i had restarted  some of them

i had also sent via the electronic my chart a list of things i was having issues with so the nurse and doctor could read them before they did the visit

i made a list to check off of things i needed addressed
keep the list short and to the point
really what you should be doing anyway when you do an in office visit

in other words be prepared for the visit so you will get your questions answered

we worked our way down through the list and he addressed all my concerns
he ordered diagnostic testing
adjusted my medications
he ordered labs
then
after all of these were done and a period of blood pressure readings were to be done then a follow up visit was to be done

i did the followup in a month again as a telemedicine visit and i was more comfortable doing one this time

i do wonder how this will change how we do health care in the future

i do like seeing dr m in the office though
there is no substitute for those face to face interactions

my plan is for my next follow up visit to be in the office
i have done three visits in office to the specialists there and feel comfortable doing so
i would say its like going to trader joes to shop as far as safety is concerned
at trader joes i am in and out in 10 minutes
i did feel uncomfortable in the waiting room even though they had folks spaced out at least 6 feet apart and all had masks on
i also made the first of the afternoon appointments so it wasnt a full waiting room

i wear my n95 mask
i carry a pocket size hand sanitizer which i freely use

of course when i did the telemedicine visit i didnt have to do any of that

have any of you done telemedicine visits yet

the organicgreen doctor

Monday, June 22, 2020

organicgreendoctor: coins

organicgreendoctor: coins: COINS after reading an article about coin shortages and before i started writing this blog i searched around our condo looking for change...

coins

COINS
after reading an article about coin shortages and before i started writing this blog i searched around our condo looking for change
i could only find these few coins that were in my key bowl

i know that since i became sick 3 months ago with the covid 19 i have done no transactions with cash
i had cash in my wallet but my wife she stole it
i figure if i use cash then they have to give me back change with those gloved hands that has touched all those shoppers purchases and via the checkout the check out person has now deposited those germs onto the change
my wife she told the person just keep the change
i bet that cvs clerk hasnt gotten a $3+ tip before

my solution
i only use a credit card or debit card that i can hold in my hand and put in the scanner myself and not have to put in any passwords

there is really no place i go to shop that i have to do this use coins that is
except
if i wash my car at the automatic car wash and i decide to vacuum out my car

you have to go inside and hand them a dollar and get back 4 covid 19 coated quarters
well thats the way i think about it anyway

my decision last time was ill just use my small hand vac when i get home
ill live with the stuff it leaves in the car
its all garden soil and compost and mulch anyway

so i plan today to donate my 5 coins somewhere and say just keep the change
to
do my part
to
help increase the coin supply in the economy

please release some of your coins into the supply chain to help with the shortage

the organicgreen doctor

Friday, June 19, 2020

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news- these may slow it down

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news- these may slow it down: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THESE MAY SLOW IT DOWN the national institute on aging or nia did a study recently looking at lifestyle changes that we ca...

alzheimers news- these may slow it down

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THESE MAY SLOW IT DOWN
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the national institute on aging or nia did a study recently looking at lifestyle changes that we can all do that can slow down the risk of getting alzheimers disease by as much as 60%

here is a link to a review article on the study

these 5 things arent that hard to do
many of you are probably doing them already anyway

like many things the younger you start them and the longer you do them the more effective they are

here they are

150 minutes of moderate exercise a week
eating a well balanced diet like the mind diet or mediterranean diet
light to moderate alcohol consumption
engagement in cognitive activities like chess reading writing etc
not smoking

if you do 2 or 3 the risk goes down by 37%
if you do 4 or 5 the risk goes down by 60%

that doesnt seem to be to hard to do right
then
add
controlling your blood pressure
controlling your cholesterol
maybe even controlling your blood sugar

these will not only reduce your risk for alzheimers disease as you get older
but
it also will decrease your risk for heart disease and stroke and the complications of diabetes

there
see how easy it is to drop your risks

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, June 18, 2020

organicgreendoctor: garden news-tomatoes beans and more

organicgreendoctor: garden news-tomatoes beans and more: GARDEN NEWS-TOMATOES BEANS AND MORE this week i made a big pot of vegetable soup trying to use as much as i could from my garden suppleme...

garden news-tomatoes beans and more

GARDEN NEWS-TOMATOES BEANS AND MORE
this week i made a big pot of vegetable soup trying to use as much as i could from my garden supplementing it with veggies from the store and our freezer

in reading posts specifically from the south you guys are in the throes of tomato harvest
our tomatoes are just now starting to turn
here are a few sungolds i harvested last week
these are sweet in fact ms b says these are her favorite tomatoes
she is planting one in her garden in the picture above

the green beans are french filet beans
we like to snack on them as does ms b

here are my t tomatoes named after my relative who grew them from a volunteer tomato in her yard
i harvested the seeds and started tomatoes from them
i call them t tomatoes
they grow in bunches and the vines are loaded with all of these green tomatoes
it will interesting to see what the end product will look like and taste like

in my garden i harvested to put in my soup
kale
swiss chard
malabar spinach
celery
amaranth
zucchini squash
tatume squash
onions
garlic
christmas lima beans
bell peppers
the other ingredients were corn potatoes sweet peas black beans and pinto beans
yep a hearty soup for sure

i have used the garden as my go to place to get some exercise and to do it safely
i spray the lock to the gate to be safe then wait a few minutes before i put in the code and open the gate
i put on my work gloves which have a plastic or vinyl palmar surface so i can spray then with disinfectant or what i commonly do is wash the well like i am washing my hands for 20 seconds
i wear a cloth mask
if more people show up in the garden i switch to my n95 mask
i social distance at least 10 ft
my garden is at the far corner of the garden so there is usually no traffic there except for me
if i am doing volunteer work elsewhere in the garden i usually am alone and away from other people
the property is about an acre in size
i usually use my own tools that i bring back and forth into the garden
i have my own water hose to use and no one else uses it
as i leave i wash my gloves and wash my hands and respray the lock before i lock it up

so
im being safe
in my happy place

the organicgreen doctor

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #46-memory testing at home

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #46-memory testing at home: MY STORY REVISITED #46-MEMORY TESTING AT HOME over the last ten years i have had a lot of folks reach out to me about having memory testin...

my story revisited #46-memory testing at home

MY STORY REVISITED #46-MEMORY TESTING AT HOME
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over the last ten years i have had a lot of folks reach out to me about having memory testing
there are a couple of in home memory tests that you can do yourself

these are
the ad8 test which is usually answered by the patient or a loved one

the other is the sage test which is a good in home test to do
if you do it be honest dont cheat dont get help
its probably the more accurate test that is similar to the in clinic ones done like the mmse or the moca
eg
when i do the sage test i get them all correct
if someone with early alzheimers does the sage test you should obviously tell there was an issue
if someone more advanced did the sage test they might not get any correct

here is the ad8 test

here is the sage test description and here is the sage test from ohio state
__________
12-02-2011
AD8 TEST
the ad8 test is a screening test designed by washington state
it can screen for cognitive changes in dementia
the i cant remember **** stage

it can be taken by a patient or can be administered by a family
member or friend
eg
when i take this test i get a perfect score
and when i take the sage test i do ok also
however when more advanced tests are given to me thats
when the slight cognitive problems i have show up

(report-one year follow up neuropsych tests from ut southwestern
show no change in cognition over the last year)

the ad8 test will pick up someone with problems more advanced
than i am eg pat summitt would probably have problems with
this test and glen campbell
my younger brother he would probably not get any of these
correct as he is in stage 5 of alzheimers disease

go to this link to read about the sage test and take the test online

the ad8 test can also be obtained online at this link and printed off
to be done manually

if you or a family member score poorly on this test consider
seeing your primary care provider for evaluation
__________
if you or your loved one has a problem with their memory thats not too early it will show up on these two tests

its better to know early on there is an issue
i am a good example for that
yes again i got them all right today

the organicgreen doctor

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

organicgreendoctor: the letter e

organicgreendoctor: the letter e: THE LETTER E it is pronounced e if you have more than one its called ees it almost became the letter folks got when they didnt pass a ...

the letter e

THE LETTER E
it is pronounced e
if you have more than one its called ees

it almost became the letter folks got when they didnt pass a test
but
thankful i guess it didnt

of course if you didnt pass your tests or if you didnt get a passing grade on your report card
you could say well i got all ees
and
that doesnt sound as bad as if you got all fs
right

i thought about it as i listened to this video about the letter e grading

in the 1800s a womens college used the letter scale with the letter e as the not passing grade
a excellent
b good
c fair
d barely passing
e failed

i had a sibling who barely made it out of high school with a high d average
he now has two bachelors one masters and a phd

the e spread to some schools over time but eventually was eliminated from use

so
back then you could say man i eed that test instead of saying i elfed it
that just sounds better
and
seeing a big ole red e on a paper with a circle around it just doesnt look as bad as a big ole red f circled on the paper

maybe they should bring back the letter e

the organicgreen doctor

Monday, June 15, 2020

organicgreendoctor: my covid19 toilet paper

organicgreendoctor: my covid19 toilet paper: MY COVID 19 TOILET PAPER during my throes of my covid 19 infection i realized we were going through all of our toilet paper rapidly since ...

my covid19 toilet paper

MY COVID 19 TOILET PAPER

during my throes of my covid 19 infection i realized we were going through all of our toilet paper rapidly since i mainly had gastrointestinal symptoms initially
luckily i had just bought a 6 pack of toilet paper on my last shopping trip before i got sick

as our supply dwindled i got creative in ways to save the use of this scarce commodity
ill spare you the details
i also researched some survivalist websites for suggestions
we started accumulation of newspaper like material just in case

we tried to get some on our instacart order from the grocery store
there was none available
the same from the pharmacy

i went on amazon
there was some toilet paper on there but they were back ordered or not in stock
then

6/8/12 Family Rolls Toilet Paper,Ultra Soft Roll Toilet Paper,280-Sheet per roll,3-Layers Standard Rolls,Gentle Toilet Tissue Soft Paper Towels Enviro Friendly Recycled Bath Paper,White (6rolls)


there was this short non descriptive ad for toilet paper for rolls of 6 for about $12
i jumped on it and ordered it
then
the notice came
its back ordered but will be shipped soon
a few weeks ago a notice arrived its on its way
i waited
i waited
i waited
it said it was coming from china
a slow boat from china i presumed
then
after several weeks it never arrived
i notified amazon
they said they would refund me my money
then
a few days it arrived
looking like this below

then i opened it
there were 12 of these little bitty baby rolls of toilet paper
the one on the right is the one i bought from trader joes
the one on the left is the one i received on the slow boat from china

all i could say was
well ive been had
my wife she and i had a good laugh out of it
we even come up with a few joke lines
ill spare you them also

any suggestions for what to do with this
we arent disappointed
we got our toilet paper
we got our refund i think
ive decided not to complain if i dont get my refund
since
i guess i cant complain
right
we got a much needed laugh out of it

i think we will keep them as our backup in case we run out of our adult toilet paper

the organicgreen doctor

Friday, June 12, 2020

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-neurobiology of covid 19

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-neurobiology of covid 19: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NEUROBIOLOGY OF COVID 19 that is the name of the article published recently in the journal of alzheimers disease linked h...

alzheimers news-neurobiology of covid 19

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NEUROBIOLOGY OF COVID 19
Image result for organicgreendoctor
that is the name of the article published recently in the journal of alzheimers disease linked here
warning its 17 pages long
in a review of the article i read this morning from businesswire linked here it gives a good summary of what they found

there are  neurological symptoms folks get that can be due to the covid 19 infections
thinking back over my illness for what i am sure was a covid 19 infection i only had a bad headache relieved with acetaminophen and hoarseness
the hoarseness after about 3 months has mostly about 90% cleared up

folks who get covid 10 can have these symptoms or events happen to them
stroke
paralysis
seizures
confusion
coma

they can be left during recovery with long term effects like cognitive decline and add and brain fog and possibly alzheimers disease

what happens is that there is an inflammatory response that occurs
the body uses cytokines to release these inflammatory chemicals which does the damage
it the lungs with a covid 19 infection the inflammatory response from the body can be so overwhelming it the response to the infection does most of the damage to the lungs
its commonly this lung damage that kills covid 19 patients

also
they get lots of blood clots everywhere there are blood vessels
the brain is one of those areas
now its found this inflammatory response also attacks the brain

the author of the article describes three stages with this excerpt from the businesswire one
  • NeuroCovid Stage I: The virus damage is limited to epithelial cells of nose and mouth and the main symptoms include transient loss of smell and taste.
  • NeuroCovid Stage II: The virus triggers a flood of inflammation, called cytokine storm, which begins in the lungs and travels in the blood vessels throughout all body organs. This cytokine storm leads to the formation of blood clots which cause small or large strokes in the brain.
  • NeuroCovid Stage III: An explosive level of cytokine storm damages the blood brain barrier, the protective insulation layer in blood vessels of the brain. As a result, blood content, inflammatory markers, and virus particles invade the brain and patients develop seizures, confusion, coma, or encephalopathy
these patients who recover from stage 2 and stage 3 need a lot of physical therapy and occupational therapy and nutritional support and close monitoring
the author recommends they have a baseline mri of the brain before they leave the hospital
they some of them may even leave the hospital with minimal symptoms but develop issues later after discharge especially with cognitive issues

so
i guess
we need to add
covid 19 as another potential cause of alzheimers disease

now will you
wear a mask
social distance
wash your hands

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, June 11, 2020

organicgreendoctor: can asymptomatic folks give you the virus

organicgreendoctor: can asymptomatic folks give you the virus: CAN ASYMPTOMATIC FOLKS GIVE YOU THE VIRUS the answer appears to be yes i was asked that question this week by someone who heard the new...

can asymptomatic folks give you the virus

CAN ASYMPTOMATIC FOLKS GIVE YOU THE VIRUS


the answer appears to be yes

i was asked that question this week by someone who heard the news that the who said that if you are an asymptomatic person it was rare to transmit the virus to someone
then
they said no we were wrong

why do they do that

asymptomatic i will call it a carrier thats my word not the scientists has the virus and never ever has any symptoms
lucky folks they are
there are a lot of folks who are asymptomatic carriers my word not the scientists
it helps me keep all this separated in my brain
dr fauci says that 40% of the cases may be from these asymptomatic cases
now i saw that in writing from a news article and didnt hear him say it on the news

so its my understanding is that asymptomatic folks who never have symptoms probably can spread the virus
none of the screening thats done like temp checks questions of your health separate them out
they can be found by doing covid 19 testing for the infection
ie
the dreaded nasal swab
although you have to worry about the high false negative results

then there are presymptomatic folks
these are infected folks who have the infection but dont have symptoms yet
but
they will usually in a few days
they then develop the infectious symptoms we hear about fever cough headache etc

this group is another one you need to worry about also being around
they dont know they have it yet and you dont know they have it

when i see someone come near me without a mask i consider them either
asymptomatic
presymptomatic
covid 19 infected

i keep my distance not 6 ft either its more like 20 ft
i wear my mask since if it does get blowed around in the air around me the mask will help me some
a n95 mask would be the best

thats how you will catch it by going maskless and breathing in the virus when you are around someone with it

if you are one of those without a mask
well
the several days if you get infected before you start having symptoms you are infecting folks as you wander around
or
if you are one of those who become an asymptomatic carrier my word not the scientists then you might be even more dangerous
you will spread the virus a lot longer since you wont get sick
but
those you infect will

so
thats why you should wear a mask

the organicgreen doctor

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #44-the lost lady

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #44-the lost lady: MY STORY REVISITED #44-THE LOST LADY i see the sign on the freeway frequently called silver alert it has a license plate and car descript...

my story revisited #44-the lost lady

MY STORY REVISITED #44-THE LOST LADY
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i see the sign on the freeway frequently called silver alert
it has a license plate and car description about a missing person
sometimes it doesnt end well

ive heard stories and known cases of elderly usually demented folks driving and just keep on driving until they run out of gas
some are found like the case below off a cliff or in a river or in a wreck
hopefully they wont turn out that way

my mothers car got disabled so it wouldnt start
thats how she accepted not driving
she had a dangerous intersection near her house she had to turn onto the highway
i was glad when she no longer drove her car

we had an elderly neighbor once who was pulling out of his farm onto a busy highway
he was killed instantly

i dont want to be one of those persons who has that happen to them
or
get lost somewhere
or
worst hit some family with my car

i have already started become more defensive
driving slower
watching closely for pedestrians and bicyclist
avoiding bad intersections

like i wrote 9 years ago when my time to quit driving happens i want to quit driving without any argument

here is a link to the alzheimers association websites section on dementia and driving
if you are worried about yourself or a loved one take time to read this dementia and driving section
__________
11-29-2011
LOST LADY
at a town near here a lady who lives in an assisted living home
got into her car and drove off and didnt come back
friends and family notified the police and
she got her car information put on those big highway signs on the
interstate

usually those are child abductions, lost children, or a lost old person

luckily she was found not too far away driving lost on a road near the
town where she lives
sometimes it doesnt work out this well

a few years ago a couple near here got into their car and just
disappeared
they were an elderly couple
they were found 500+ miles away off a cliff in the hills of arkansas
where they had missed a curve on that winding road and had
gone over the cliff
they were accidentally found by a hunter/hiker

a family had lost both parents and grandparents because they
were lost and kept on driving

on the alzheimers association  website-www.alz.org-there is a
section on dementia and driving resource center at this link
if you have a family member who is at risk read this link
you may save their lives
dont be afraid of offending them

my wife she and i have an agreement that when my time comes that
she will take my keys away from me
i am sure i wont resist

dont let them be the lost lady or lost man and get their names and
car license numbers on those signs on the internet

i am glad not being able to parallel park is not on the list of warning signs
__________

since i wrote that blog there have been a lot of news stories about these silver alerts that didnt end up with a happy ending

dont let your loved one be one of them

the organicgreen doctor

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

organicgreendoctor: this seems different

organicgreendoctor: this seems different: THIS SEEMS DIFFERENT i set my timer for 8 minutes and 45 seconds to see how long that time was its a long time when you are watching the c...

this seems different

THIS SEEMS DIFFERENT
i set my timer for 8 minutes and 45 seconds to see how long that time was
its a long time when you are watching the clock
its a long time to be held down on your belly handcuffed hands behind your back
with your neck turned to one side with an full grown man with his knee on the side of your neck

there was a point where it should have been stopped
he was subdued enough
he would have been taken to jail
none of this would have happened

i still havent watched the whole video
i cant make myself do it

it seemed to me like the policeman was like he was choking him to death
what he did was the same as if he had done that
choked him to death with his bare hands

thats how the courts should look at it

i think most of us find this video disturbing and what the policemen did desiring of his arrest and hopefully eventual conviction for murder
i am not sure how they can rule otherwise

in 1992 our family went to the state championship game of the top division football in texas
as i remember it was at the university of texas longhorn football stadium
it was overcast
misty foggy
somewhat cold fall day

on that field playing tight end was george floyd described as a gentle giant
im not sure where his life led him up until he was held down by the policemen who killed him
history and the news folks will tell his life history
it doesnt really matter
what happened happened and shouldnt have

the movement that has been started feels different this time
if you look at the peaceful protests you will see a cross section of america
coming together to keep this movement going

in 1968 i was a senior in high school and later attended college
we lost martin luther king and robert kennedy to assassins
georger wallace who was running for president was shot and paralyzed
there were race riots in the streets in every major city in the us
i was aware of what was going on but not like we do now with all the news coverage

there were afterwards changes that were made which were good but the progression of changes eventually stopped

things got better
but
in other ways they didnt get better

i as a white guy dont really completely understand
those of you who are black and hispanic you understand

this movement whatever you call it
spawned by the murder of george floyd has ignited a movement
like the antivietnam war movement and the civil rights marches did in the 60s

this movement seems different
this movement demands we do something
we have to make the changes that need to be made
we cant afford not to do this

history will demand it of us

the organicgreen doctor

Friday, June 5, 2020

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-this leukemia pill may help

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-this leukemia pill may help: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THIS LEUKEMIA PILL MAY HELP in the theory of how alzheimers develops in the brain there is first an accumulation of beta a...

alzheimers news-this leukemia pill may help

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THIS LEUKEMIA PILL MAY HELP
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in the theory of how alzheimers develops in the brain there is first an accumulation of beta amyloid that causes amyloid plaques that kill brain cells
then
inside the brain cells there are tau proteins
these tau proteins get damaged and unwind to form tau tangles which also cause brain cell destruction
where the tau tangles start showing up is usually what part of the brain shows symptoms

you can measure beta amyloid in the brain with an amyloid pet scan and in the spinal fluid
you can measure the tau levels also in the spinal fluid
now there is a new tau pet scan that just got approved that also measures tau levels in the brain

the thinking is if you can remove the amyloid and later the tau you can slow down the disease
the drug aducanumab i was on and am still waiting for the study to restart again removes the amyloid from the brain and maybe affects the tau levels

so remove amyloid and tau especially early on you might be able to slow the disease down

enter
nilotinib or brand name tasigna
its a drug a pill thats given for chronic myeloid leukemia or cml
its already fda approved for this use
ready to be used in alzheimers
once of course the research is done

here is a link to an article and here to the research article on using nilotinib in mild to moderate alzheimers patients to lower the amyloid and the tau levels in the brain

its given for cml at 600 mg twice a day
the biggest side effect at that high dose is it affects dopamine and can cause mood swings
also at the higher levels it can prolong the qt length on the ekg causing arrhythmias
at lower doses it doesn't seem to do either of those very often

this study was a phase 2 single center randomized double blind placebo controlled study for 12 months
in the treatment group or non placebo group they got 150 mg for 27 weeks then changed to 600 mg

they think nilotinib may work by going into the brain through the blood brain barrier to stimulate the garbage cells in the brain to remove the amyloid and amyloid plaques and the tau tangles

the question will be if you do that will the disease get slowed down
that remains to be seen and hopefully answered in a larger phase 3 study
however

what they found
the amyloid plaques were reduced on the pet scans for amyloid in the brain
the amyloid levels in the spinal fluid were changed
the tau levels in the spinal fluid were changed also
there were little side effects noted
ie
it did what they wanted it to do

it seems the lower dose of 150 mg may be the dose to use

whats next
a phase 3 study giving nilotinib to a much larger group
this study will answer if it helps
then
since its already fda approved then it could be easily used to treat early alzheimers

this drug has been used for awhile for cml and has been generally well tolerated

hopefully
the phase 3 study confirms its working in alzheimers disease

also
this drug is about $15,000 a year at discounted prices but is covered some by insurances usually
my drug is expected to be between $50,000+ a year if its approved

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, June 4, 2020

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #43-the talk

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #43-the talk: MY STORY REVISITED #43-THE TALK when i was in practice i usually didnt evaluate and treat my patients with alzheimers disease after seein...

my story revisited #43-the talk

MY STORY REVISITED #43-THE TALK
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when i was in practice i usually didnt evaluate and treat my patients with alzheimers disease
after seeing them in the office i would start the evaluation but usually referred them to a neurologist to complete the evaluation and they would begin treatment
sometimes after their treatment was stabilized i would assume their care if the patient or family requested i do that

comparing what i know now to what i knew then i am sure i would do a much better job now caring for those patients

when i stopped practicing i knew about a month before i quit that i would have to stop practicing
i slowed down my practice and tried to catch patients up on their care so they would have a window of time to find a new physician

i knew that probably when i saw the neurologist that would be the day i had to quit practicing
so i practiced up to that day then stopped

i was asked back the following year to give a talk to our family practice group telling my story
i put them off for a few months until i was ready emotionally to give the talk

yes
i cried twice during the talk
but i recovered ok

i answered a lot of questions that night
in fact
they had to eventually shut off all the questions
__________
11-04-2011
THE TALK
next week i will be giving a talk to a large group of family doctors
about my story and what happened to me and will use it as a 
vehicle to talk about alzheimers disease

i realize how little i knew about all this when i was practicing

i hope to talk about those things i should have known 1 year ago 
that would have made me a better doctor caring for the few
alzheimers patients that i had in my practice

if i can connect with just one of those doctors next week so 
that they become better at caring for their patients then i
will have been successful


11-18-2011
TALK INTRODUCTION
i recently gave a talk to a group of about 50 family doctors last week
on my story and about alzheimers disease
here is the introduction

i want to thank you for allowing me to come here tonight and tell my
story of what happened to me and to talk to you about alzheimers
disease

how many of you have a family member who had or has alzheimers
disease (2/3 raised their hands) and how many of you treat a patient
with alzheimers disease (1/3 raised their hands)

i am coming you tonight from those two perspectives
i am coming to you as a family member whose parents
had alzheimers disease and whose younger brother a year younger than
me has alzheimers disease
i also am coming to you as a family physician who has actually treated
patients with alzheimers disease although i did not do a very good
job

i am also though coming to you tonight from another perspective
i am coming to you tonight as a patient
my diagnosis is mild cognitive impairment amnestic type possibly due
to alzheimers disease

alzheimers disease is a devastating progressive neurological disease
which is fatal and for which there is no cure
alzheimers disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the united states
of the top 10 leading causes of death 
it is the only one for which there
is no cure and for which the numbers are rapidly increasing

1 in 4 of the females in this room if you live long enough will get
alzheimers disease
1in 10 of the males in this room if you live long enough will get
alzheimers disease

the congress committee is trying to trim 1.5 trillion dollars out of the
budget over the next 10 years
however
the new cases of alzheimers disease over the next 10 years will offset
that by costing medicare and medicaid 1.5 trillion dollars

there are going to be so many new cases that there will not be enough
neurologists, psychiatrists, memory clinics, and alzheimers research
centers to handle the numbers
so
you family physicians will have to be the ones to take care of  these
new patients
you need to learn to know how to evaluate and treat them
i only wish i could go back and practice again and i would take
care of more of these patients and do the evaluations and treatments
myself

my goal tonight is to tell my story of what has happened to me over the
last year and use that as a vehicle to tell you about alzheimers disease
how to evaluate a patient and what treatments are available
and what new things that i have had done to me that are going to be
available soon to your practices

remember
listen to your patients and their families
diagnose early and treat early
the goal of treatment is to change the angle of decline
dont forget the caretakers


11-07-2011
TALK
tonight i give a talk to the group of family physicians that i use
to work with before i retired
its the first time ive seen most of them since i left almost a
year ago
the talk will be telling my story about what happened to me and
using it as a vehicle to talk about alzheimers disease

those of you who know me well know that i hate to get in front
of a group to talk
but
when you know the subject well and feel like you know as much
or more than the people you talk to then talking to a group
doesnt bother me any more

my points tonight will be
that alzheimers will be a primary care disease soon as the numbers
of new cases will be too great for specialists to handle them all

that early diagnosis and early treatment is important to change the angle
of decline of this disease

how to evaluate a patient for alzheimers disease

what new biomarkers are/will available to use in these evaluations

what treatments are available and will be available in the future

what can be done to prevent or delay the onset of this terrible
disease

then to remind them to not forget the caretaker


11-08-2011
POST TALK
whew thats over with
i gave a talk on telling my story (much of what is in this blog)
and about what is happening in alzheimers
the 40+ family physicians seemed interested and attentive
much better than at most presentations

(if you are a teacher and youve been to presentations to a
teachers group then you know what i mean)

they asked a lot of good questions after the talk
remember everyone is worried about getting the big a
these docs are interested because as i told them the big a
will become a primary care disease in the future as the
numbers will be too large for specialists to care for

these were the points of the talk
put a face on the disease-me and others eg pat summitt my buddy
early diagnosis and treatment is important
dont forget the caretaker
it will be a primary care disease
how to work the patients symptoms up and what treatments
and preventative things are available now
whats happening in research now

hopefully the talk was helpful and hopefully it will end up
helping some patient to get an early diagnosis and
be able to get early treatment
___________

i hope that i reached at least one if not more family physicians that night so that they felt more comfortable in and treating their own alzheimers patients
if i did then i reached my goal that night almost 10 years ago

the organicgreen doctor

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

organicgreendoctor: an update on mr hudson

organicgreendoctor: an update on mr hudson: AN UPDATE ON MR HUDSON had the transplants not been shut down by the covid 19 out break mr hudson would be about 6 weeks out from having h...

an update on mr hudson

AN UPDATE ON MR HUDSON

had the transplants not been shut down by the covid 19 out break mr hudson would be about 6 weeks out from having his kidney transplant

as it is he is now 5 weeks out from getting his kidney transplant on july 7th

as of now the cota fund has raised enough money to fly his living donor from the east coast to los angeles so she can arrive without a lot of exposure to the coronavirus
i wish to thank those of you who donated to make that happen

there is now enough funds to help pay for some of the other noncovered expenses associated with his transplant

this last week we got the news
it seems its always something
that mr hudson has developed antibodies that can attack any kidney that he gets
he didnt have them before but now he does
why did he get them
he hasnt had any blood products or blood
they think he probably got the antibodies from some viral or bacterial infection he had

if he hadnt developed these antibodies then he wouldnt have to do the treatments i mention below
the hope was he was going to be able to escape these extra treatments pretransplant

it not unusual though for kidney transplants to have to do these extra treatments

he was not expected to have to do them
it would make his long term treatment easier on him

he now will have to take 3 pills every day long term instead of two

so
today he goes down to cedars sinai to be admitted
he gets a covid 19 nasal swab to make sure he doesnt have it
he then gets an iv started for a 12 hour infusion of two drugs

only one parent can stay with him
we cant visit him at all
only his mom will be with him for the 24 hour admission
his dad will be staying at a nearby hotel

one of the drugs is called rituximab
its commonly used to treat lymphoma and other diseases
it works by binding to the white cells to stop antibody production
in his case its the antibody against the donors kidney
this is the same drug a relative received recently for lymphoma

another drug is called ivig or intravenous immunoglobulin
it is basically pooled antibodies that will attack any foreign antigens in his body
its interesting that several years ago they were using this in an alzheimers disease treatment study
the antibodies were thought to bind to something that slowed down alzheimers
probably amyloid or tau protein
i wasnt accepted in the study since i wasnt far enough along in my disease

so
its the same one that hudson will be getting today

then
in two weeks he does this again then does it again every week until his transplant for a total of 4 times

it does lower his immune system so that now he is more susceptible to infection
so we have to be extra careful to prevent any exposures
wearing masks and washing hands and limiting any outside exposures

then after these are all done he does his transplant the following week

we are getting close

mr hudson loves trucks and loves the garden

you can access the childrens organ transplant association fund for hudsons transplant 
at this link

here is his facebook page a kidney for hudson

the organicgreen doctor