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, January 31, 2022

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-lets not forget the long haul covid patients

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-lets not forget the long haul covid patients: COVID 19-LETS NOT FORGET THE LONG HAUL COVID PATIENT in march 2020 almost 2 years ago when i got sick with what i and some of my doctors tho...

covid 19-lets not forget the long haul covid patients

COVID 19-LETS NOT FORGET
THE LONG HAUL COVID PATIENT

in march 2020 almost 2 years ago when i got sick with what i and some of my doctors thought was  covid but we couldnt prove it with the covid test at that time
the test at that time had a big variability in its accuracy
now its close to 100% accurate if its positive

i had 10 days of fever and chills that came in waves 
also there was waves of nausea diarrhea and cramping fatigue headache chest pain headache nasal congestion cough shortness of breath on exertion irregular heart rate and blood pressure that was too high or too low
some of these symptoms resolved some quickly some slowly
i pent about 6 months with no appetite irregular heart rate fatigue 
when i walked or worked in the garden i had to stop and rest frequently 
i lost over 50 lbs 
my low point was 5 months after i was ill

my wife she later told me i looked like i was dying from cancer

today i have some appetitive issues but the other symptoms have mostly resolved
i had a good cardiac workup that was ok except for the irregular heart rate that is now considered benign
its not atrial fibrillation
my energy level is back to normal maybe even better than before i was sick

all this above is some of the symptoms folks can have with covid
long haul covid

now i wont be able to prove what i had was covid
now a days you can accurately diagnose covid early on in the infection

there are several factors that show how you can get it found in a recent study linked here

autoantibodies that develop where the body attacks various organs in the body 
lupus is a disease where this happens 
the long haul covid folks may be activating low level autoantibodies that folks have before they got sick
these attack the various parts of the body

ebv or epstein barr virus or as most of us know it as mononucleosis
the ebv virus can go dormant in the body 
the covid seems to reactivate it maybe by development of autoantibodies
if you ever had a good case of mono that lasted for weeks or months
then thats what long haul covid can be like

a high viral load of covid especially after recovery makes a patient more likely to get long hauler covid

i read a repot of a child a female who kept having abdomen issues after her covid infection
when they did a scope of her stomach and upper small intestine the biopsy showed covid virus particles in the biopsy 
it was felt the covid was causing her symptoms

type 2 diabetes makes long haul covid to more likely occur in a covid patient
these patients are commonly obese and usually dont need insulin

another article listed asthma as a factor

then
there are folks who are permanently damaged by the covid infection such that they become pulmonary cripples or cardiac cripples or have kidney failure or have post stoke symptoms 

then
its been found that the some of the biomarkers we use in the alzheimers world become even more elevated than those seen in alzheimers disease
thus the brain fog and cognitive impairment and other neurological deficits some permanent are seen in folks who have had covid

almost all of those who get long haul covid are unvaxxed
just like most of the hospitalizations and deaths from covid are the unvaxxed

what a severe cost to humanity these infections are causing
mostly involving the unvaxxed

sadly we will all suffer from all of this


the numbers of cases do seem to be plateauing now
the hospitalizations are not yet
the deaths are continuing to climb at over 2200 a day
we should reach 1,000,000 deaths before this omicron peak is over with this spring

there is a subvariant of omicron that seems to be slowly overtaking omicron
its 1 and a half more transmittable than omicron
but
luckily it doesnt seem to be causing worse illness than omicron

a fourth booster will probably be recommended at least by this fall if not sooner
that will be based on how folks immunity is holding up to the omicron
also a omicron booster is in the works in case its needed
it seems the covid virus is here to stay like the flu 
a yearly covid vaxxine is probably gong to be recommended

i read where at least two patients one awaiting a kidney transplant and another awaiting a heart transplant has decided not to get the vaccine
one said he would die first
he is right he will die first
the criteria for organ transplant is strict
remember there are folks in a long long line waiting for that organ

if a transplant patient gets covid especially soon after transplant they probably wont make it since thats when they are the most vulnerable to infection
what a waste of a live saving transplant that would be

i agree with medicine making that requirement


so
we wear a mask a n95 mask or equivalent
we are triple vaxxed
we avoid those unvaxxed if we know about it
we are doing almost all of what we were doing before this started
we do look forward to going to a concert a sporting event a theater or travel
we do look forward to mr hudson gettting his four vaxxines
that may be for another month or two

remember vaxxxed moms transmit antibodies to the covid to their newborns to protect them

be sure and protect those vulnerable folks in your circle
they are at our mercy

remember the hospitalizations and deaths and long haul covid and these mutations are mostly caused from folks not getting vaxxed


the organicgreen doctor

Friday, January 28, 2022

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-asthma drug studied for alzheimers...

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-asthma drug studied for alzheimers...: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ASTHMA DRUG STUDIED FOR ALZHEIMERS TREATMENT alzheimers researchers are always looking at old medications that have been fda...

alzheimers news-asthma drug studied for alzheimers treatment

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ASTHMA DRUG STUDIED
FOR ALZHEIMERS TREATMENT

alzheimers researchers are always looking at old medications that have been fda approved to see if they can be used as an alzheimers disease treatment

some researchers even use small microscopic worms that have the early onset alzheimers gene inserted in o the worms dna
they add a drug to the medium the worms are in in the lab and watch to see if it has an effect
its sort of a screening test for these old drugs and chemicals

there is an old drug that is being looked at to repurpose itself for use in alzheimers disease

the drug is singulair or montelukast that is used to treat the inflammation that occurs in asthma and allergies

im sure some of you with asthma may have been on this drug
its given as a pill

in the alzheimers theory
amyloid accumulates first and forms plaques
these plaques kill brain cells 
then
tau proteins in the nerve cells in the brain become unwound to form tau tangles
these tangles lead to nerve cell or brain cell death
then
the body sends in its inflammatory team to attack the inflammation in the brain
this also kills more brain cells

my drug aduhelm removes the amyloid plaque from the brain
other drugs in research some of which are tau protein monoclonal antibodies remove the tau tangles
there are drugs being developed to attack the inflammatory reaction in the brain

this is where they think singular or montelukast may help attack this inflammation in the brain

its now being studied in a phase 2 study linked here
they are using a version of singulair or montelukast that dissolves in the mouth
this gets the drug right into the blood stream since its absorbed in the mouth
it bypasses the liver since its not swallowed and doesnt go to the stomach 
so the liver doesnt break down the medicine 

using this sublingual or under the tongue form also allows the drug to be moved across the blood brain barrier to get to the area of inflammation in the brain

this study is a reactivated study that was paused due to the pandemic

it will be an interesting study to watch
i would take it if it shows it may help

if you live in canada or know someone there who wants to be in an alzheimers treatment study then here is the link to the clinical trial

mmm
maybe ill get me a prescription for my allergies

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, January 27, 2022

organicgreendoctor: garden news-let them enjoy it

organicgreendoctor: garden news-let them enjoy it: GARDEN NEWS-LET THEM ENJOY IT this is the raised garden we put in at ms b and mr hudsons house its about 4 ft x 8 ft its two rows of stacked...

garden news-let them enjoy it

GARDEN NEWS-LET THEM ENJOY IT

this is the raised garden we put in at ms b and mr hudsons house
its about 4 ft x 8 ft
its two rows of stacked concrete blocks
the soil at the bottom is old lumber and pieces of logs and branches and leaves and cardboard and newspapers with the original soil from their other raised bed along with a lot of compost from their compost bin and from our community garden

we have planted in the holes in the concrete blocks
herbs like sage oregano thyme rosemary cilanntro
strawberries all along one side
onions 
carrots

in the bed are
vining sweet peas
lettuce
curly leaf kale
swiss chard

soon we will add cherry tomatoes like sungold and sweet 100

on the day in the picture above 
we started out mr hudson and i to plant some oregano and rosemary i had grown in the greenhouse

then
mr hudson wanted to dig in the garden
so
he got his garden trowel and started digging a hole in a spot that had no veggies

then
it all got organic after that
i got him a bucket of water which he dipped his watering can in 

then
he watered all the plants

then
he filled the hole he dug with water
lots of water

then
he got his portable digger or excavator and dug the hole dipper

then 
his sister ms b showed up
she dug another hole next to his 
the side of it broke and the water from mr hudsons hole flowed into mr bs hole
like a broken dam it would rush down a hill

then
things got dirtier
they began to dig in the what was two mud holes with their hands 
i closely watched to make sure no plants were damaged
they both got covered with mud
now its good organic mud though

then
mr hudson and ms b got their water cannons

then
i got the water hose

then
an all out water battle began
this on a mildly windy sunny but 50 degree weather day

we all got soaked
in the end
mr hudson won the fight 
he was the last man standing
cold
shivering 
with a big ole smile on his face
lets do it again he said

the end result was
a late morning warm soapy bath
with warm clothes put on after the bath

then
off to a park to ride bikes and play and other ventures unknown

if you asked them
do you like to garden with granddaddy 
they would both say yes

another version of organic gardening

the organicgreen doctor

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #121-the wrench revisited

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #121-the wrench revisited: MY STORY REVISITED #121-THE WRENCH REVISITED last week i reached into my right back pocket of my gardening blue jeans felt the metal tool  r...

my story revisited #121-the wrench revisited

MY STORY REVISITED #121-THE WRENCH REVISITED

last week i reached into my right back pocket of my gardening blue jeans
felt the metal tool 
removed it
before i used it
i paused
i was in the garden alone
it was quiet and peaceful
i thought of him
i could hear his laugh
and
could see his smile in my brain somewhere

this was one of the items my younger brothers wife gave me after he died
i told her i wanted something he used like a tool to remember him
its something i use frequently as i work in the community garden
usually working on an irrigation line or water line

its a tool he used as he managed a local water system
a side job he did besides being a fireman and later a deputy sheriff

he lost his battle just a few months before i wrote this blog below
his war was with alzheimers disease

it won the war like it always does

he was diagnosed in his early 50s and died at 63

his battle like most of the cases of alzheimers was not a pleasant one especially in the last half of his war

i think of him often
especially
when i use this blue wrench
________
01-17-2014  


THE WRENCH













those of you who read my blog regularly know that

my younger brother died last summer in the final stages
of alzheimers disease

a disease that i may have based on all the testing that
i have had done
time will tell on this

my younger brother was a fireman then later a
deputy sheriff who also had the drug dogs for
the department

he was also quite talented doing things
that many of us never learned to do
built his own house could take a car apart and fix it
clean a deer weld and fix most anything

he and i when we were younger always seemed to share
a motorcycle a bike a moped a car a truck
but he was always the one that fixed it

he also ran the local water system for the area where he lived

he never liked the idea of my collecting rainwater and drinking it
he was always worried about it being clean enough
since he was particular about the water system he worked with

after his death i told my sister in law
that i wanted one of his tools
a wrench a screwdriver a hammer a chisel whatever
that i could have and use
and
when i used it i would always think of him

so in the mail this last week came a package from
my sister in law
what the  heck was this
when i unwrapped it there was that wrench shown
in the picture above

she said in her letter
this is a wrench he always had in his pocket

so this last week i took this wrench
its worn some
and it should last me through the next several years while
i am still able to figure out how to use it

he must have used it a lot on his rounds checking and working
on the water meters

so this last  week here at the country n it was in my back pocket
all the time
i realized after a couple of days why he chose this one
i opened water valves with it
opened a can of pipe glue with it
took off and replaced a dripper for my chicken waterer with it
opened the top off a bottle of liquid fertilizer
used it to disconnect my battery in my old truck that had died
then used it to replace the battery

so now i know why he had that tool in his  pocket all the time

now i have my cellphone in my front pocket
my costanza billfold in my left back pocket

wonder if thats why my disk ruptured from all
that pressure on that side

my brothers wrench in my right back pocket
as i wander around my country n place

always thinking of him as i use that wrench
thanks bro
__________
i always pause when i use his wrench
commonly i am by myself

here is an update on my war
my mri of the brain is negative for microbleeds
i got my 15th infusion of aduhelm or aducanumab last friday at ucla
i will have another mri in 2 weeks and then again in april
my next infusion will be the first week of march so i can get back on my regular infusion schedule
so far
no headaches or other symptoms

the organicgreen doctor

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

organicgreendoctor: here comes robo umps

organicgreendoctor: here comes robo umps: HERE COMES ROBO UMPS deadspin.com when i read about robotic umpires or as they are called automated ball strike systems or abs in my mind i ...

here comes robo umps

HERE COMES ROBO UMPS

deadspin.com
when i read about robotic umpires or as they are called automated ball strike systems or abs
in my mind i envisioned #5 alive the robot from the short circuit movies standing behind the catcher calling balls and strikes
i can just hear him saying sssstttttrike in his robot accent
sort of like the picture above from the linked article on this

i was a baseball pitcher from age 10 to age 15
i was usually the best pitcher in the league
i always was the pitcher for the all star team

so i had some experience being at the mercy of the umpire

later in life i was a slow pitch softball pitcher
again you are at the mercy of the umpire
if the umpire got picky on their calls then it was going to be a long night for being the pitcher

ive thought about whether we should let a robo ump call balls and strikes
basically the way i understand it there are cameras taking different angles and the computer puts all that together and signals whether the pitch is a ball or strike to the home plate umpire

does the message sound like #5 alive saying strike or ball 
or
is it a single tone for a strike or a double tone for a ball
im not sure how the message gets relayed to the ump

it being a ump with a robo ump must be like a truckdriver who sits in a driverless truck

apparently the strike zone is different using the robo ump
the zone is over the plate and not the catcher mit
so
the strike corners are different
some say the strike zone gets shifted away some from the batter some
some curve balls are called balls not strikes

i watched some video of those type of pitches
sorry
if i was pitching i would say that was a ball but #5 alive would call it a strike
the curve balls would be a strike

they are using these robo umps now in the minor league

i would love to watch a game where its used to make my own judgement about them

the purist in me doesnt like the robo umps
having to pitch to the umpires strike zone which can be a bigger rectangle or a small rectangle
the batter and the pitcher have to adjust to how the umps vision is that day 

i learned one thing pitching those years
dont make the umpire mad at you

i guess you could talk back to a robo ump and they wont care

i dont know
i sort of like having a human with their inaccuracies making those home plate calls

sorry
#5 alive i like the old way better

the organicgreen doctor

Monday, January 24, 2022

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-are we or arent we getting better

organicgreendoctor: covid 19-are we or arent we getting better: COVID 19-ARE WE OR ARENT WE GETTING BETTER the answer to the question in the title of this blog  well  it depends it depends on where you li...

covid 19-are we or arent we getting better

COVID 19-ARE WE OR ARENT WE GETTING BETTER

the answer to the question in the title of this blog 
well 
it depends

it depends
on where you live
how safe you are
and
how safe those around you are

if you live in new york things are looking better
the infection rate is dropping there
what follows later is the hospitalization rates will be dropping
then 
later 
the death rate will start dropping

in other parts of the country like some southern states the number of infections are still climbing
then later the hospitalizations will continue to increase and later deaths will increase
these areas have several weeks of misery to go

here where we live the number of cases are climbing but they are starting to taper off
the hospitalizations and deaths are going up
hopefully soon as the cases drop those numbers will start going down

the problem in the hospitals here is that there is a staffing problem since there are burned out and sick employees

our vaxx rate here is 65.9% fully vaxxed

since we are triple vaxxxed and wear n95 masks when we are out and about we dont limit what we do that much
the individuals we interact with are all triple vaxxed
we realize that if we get exposed we are unlikely to get sick or if we do we wont have it bad
we just dont want to be the vector to pass it on to someone vulnerable to the infection

when you are triple vaxxed like we are then this triple vaxxing is 90% effective against hospitalizations

i have several infectious disease experts i listen to
the general consensus is
this will peak out soon and hopefully a precipitous drop in cases will occur
we may get down to a low level of infections like we saw last summer

If we are lucky that level of infection will stay there long term
there will probably be seasonal increases like the flu does and other respiratory infections do

there will be likely a annual covid 19 vaxxine that will be tweeked each year like they do with the flu vaccine
if enough people keep getting the annual covid vaxxine the endemic covid will be kept under control 

if not
or if another strong variant that evades the vaxxines or the immunity from getting infected goes away
we will get hit hard again
like we did with the h1n1 flu a few years ago

as you are deciding what to do
remember there are still over 2000 folks dying each day in the us from covid

our kids under 5 cant get vaxxed yet
hopefully we are 1-2  months away from getting them vaxxed

if you are unvaxxed or if you are vaxxed but are immunocompromised and you get symptomatic covid
you are the ones that are getting hospitalized and are dying

i would early on
seek medical care
as for the monoclonal antibody infusions if its available
get on the new antiviral pills as soon as possible thats asap
these two things will keep you from get sicker getting in the hospital and maybe dying
or
if you are unvaxxed you might consider getting vaxxed so those things wont happen

if not 
what can i say

we my wife she and i
wear our n95 masks unless we are outside away from folks
avoid inside locations for now
we will not travel or do events etc until the covid becomes endemic

once mr hudson gets vaxxxxed and has a good immune response we will liberalize what we do

heres hoping this goes endemic soon

the organicgreen doctor

Friday, January 21, 2022

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-explaining clinical trials

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-explaining clinical trials: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-EXPLAINING CLINCIAL TRIALS if you are on a medication or if you have a medical device in your body like an hip replacement o...

alzheimers news-explaining clinical trials

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-EXPLAINING CLINCIAL TRIALS


if you are on a medication or if you have a medical device in your body like an hip replacement or knee replacement or heart valve etc then these things have all gone through clinical trials

patients have volunteered to be in these studies which enable them to get care months to years before others can access it

i have been in two clinical trials
one was the adni 2 study where diagnostic testing was evaluated in the diagnosis of alzheimers
the tests were your usual blood tests genetic alzheimers tests ekg mri of the brain amyloid pet scans of the brain various memory tests and neuropsychological tests spinal fluid analysis for amyloid and tau neurological exams
these were done serially over 5 years
this study provided the information thats used now to evaluate folks for memory loss and for testing thats used in all alzheimers drug treatment trials
its the most important alzheimers study ever done

from this study i found out i had mci that was due to alzheimers and that i carry the apoe 4 gene

i am now in biogens embark aduhelm or aducanumab study
its an extension of the phase 3 study of aduhelm for early alzheimers
i have had 14 infusions of aduhelm and 18 infusions of placebo
it will be the study along with a new phase 4 study that will give final proof if aduhelm really works
one year of this drug removes most of the measurable amyloid plaques on amyloid pet scans
i have been able to access this drug months before others will be able to

if it works to slow down this disease then i will have gained time to be with my family and know i was with them

here is a good article on clinical trials that explains what they are and how it works

you can also find clinical trials on any disease or medication at
clinicaltrials.gov 

just type in the disease and or a drug and all the clinical trials for them will show up


most clinical trials are blinded
that means the researcher and the participant doesnt know who is on the real drug or placebo
commonly at the end of the study they let you know if you are on the placebo or not
at the end of my previous aduhelm study they let me know i was on the placebo originally then at 18 months was switched over to the real drug aduhelm or aducanumab

phase 1 is usually on a small number of folks
its looking for safety side effects and dosage

with aduhelm or aducanumab they studied around 100 folks 
at the end of the study they found that those on the higher doses had eliminated most if not all of the amyloid plaque on the amyloid pet scans
placebo patients had no change on scans
memory testing showed some slight improvement on higher dose patients and no change on placebo patients

phase 2 is done on more folks and is used to determine how effective it is

since the aduhelm or aducanumab phase 1 results were so good and alzheimers was such a terrible disease the fda allowed biogen to skip phase 2 studies
a step skip that should not happen
you usually cant rush science

phase 3 is done on an even larger group of folks looking closer at effectiveness and safety and dosage 

this is where the fda and biogen screwed up
the studies werent completed as originally planned
biogen probably tried to influence the fda and researchers and politicians and the alzheimers association to get its approval
it was approved without those 3 phases being doing like they should have been done

thats what has gotten us in this mess with aduhelm or aducanumab being approved before it was adequately studied
we were about 3-5 years away from that point being reached

you cant rush science
you canrt play politics with science
they biogen is paying the price as are also those of us and our families who have this diagnosis

as i said in my interviews something smells about all of this 

phase 4 is commonly required by the fda after a drug is approved to better assess the drugs long term safety and effectiveness

biogen is being required to do a long term phase 4 study on aduhelm or aducanumab that may be somewhere between 5-10 years
if it fails in this phase 4 study it will be removed permanently from the market

should it have been approved
yes with restrictions 
it the approval has opened the door for alzheimers drug treatments coming down the pike that will arrive much sooner now for approval

if it works those few months or years of early approval for those who took it will make it all worthwhile

in summary 
biogen didnt follow the rules the scientific rules 
and
they and us in the alzheimers world may pay the price

now for me im glad i have access to it 
it gives me hope
there is not another medicine available right now
granted there are others that look promising but they are following the rules and may be years away from approval

so for me and many others aduhelm or aducanumab is the only one available

my guess is that
aduhelm or aducanumab really does work
it definitely no doubt about it removes all the measurable amyloid plaque in the brain after a year of infusions
the question is 
will removing that plaque make a difference
has the train already left the station
the tau tangles and inflammation that occurs after amyloid plaques formed has already started up and is progressing
eg i have had a tau protein pet scan of the brain so researchers know how far down the track it has gone for me
sorry you dont get to see the results
is part of the deal

amyloid accumulates years before tau tangles and inflammation start and longer before memory issues start
if you stop the amyloid from accumulating how long before removing it that it really affects memory decline from getting worse
maybe its 2 years or maybe its 5 years or maybe its 10 years or longer

it may be years before i know what effect aduhelm or aducanumab infusions are having on the progression of this disease

its like damming up a river 
the water keeps on flowing downstream but eventually it slows a lot or stops altogether
thats what im hoping
that aduhelm or aducanumab is like a river dam 

today i go to ucla for my 15th aduhelm or aducanumab infusion 
it will be the second time i have gotten the  high dose of 10 mg/kg of the drug
so far i have had no headache in over two weeks
my last mri two weeks ago was negative for a microbleed or aria
i will have another one in two weeks

do consider a clinical trial for your disease
without folks doing these none of your drugs would be available to you

the organicgreen doctor

Thursday, January 20, 2022

organicgreendoctor: garden news-foodscaping

organicgreendoctor: garden news-foodscaping: GARDEN NEWS-FOODSCAPING when we first moved to the country n i started planting a lot of trees on our 10 acres i even ordered native trees f...

garden news-foodscaping

GARDEN NEWS-FOODSCAPING

when we first moved to the country n i started planting a lot of trees on our 10 acres
i even ordered native trees from the forest service
it was cedar and flame sumac that took the best


over time as my native hackberries died which they all do i replaced them with burr oak or mexican white oak or cedar elm or cypress which are mostly native to that part of the country
eventually i had planted enough of these native trees

i also planted a lot of native and xeric perennials like salvia greggi copper canyon daisy lantana jerusalem sage ladybanks rose xemenia etc

so
i decided that no longer would i plant anything like a tree or a shrub on the property unless we could eat it

that is what foodscaping is 
plant things in your landscape that you can eat

i planted peaches pecans blackberries apples plums grapes lots of herbs like oregano rosemary thyme sage
in fact the flower bed that extended along our large living room was all oregano
we always had oregano
the bees loved the flowers on them when they bloomed
the bees especially loved the rosemary flowrs

thats foodscaping

we added a fig tree near the entry to our back door
you could take a step out the door and pluck a fig for a snack
it also provided shade for our kitchen door

thats foodscaping

on our 50 ft arbor i planted the native grape since it was tough and disease free
mainly the birds ate the grapes but we could have made grape jelly out of it
we mainly let the birds enjoy them
we could have added a better grape but i was satisfied with the tougher native grapes

thats foodscaping


just beyond the arbor i added this keyhole garden using an old 8 ft in diameter water trough

it was kept planted with veggies all year
while we lived there we grew potatoes tomatoes squash onions garlic egg plant lettuce cabbage kale 
you name it we planted that vegetable in it

thats foodscaping


later we added citrus trees in pots 
where we lived you couldnt grow them in the ground since they would freeze
i moved my potted citrus plants into my small greenhouse for the winter
we planted the limes in the picture at the top of this blog
we also grew meyer lemons
these cara cara oranges were grown in our community garden
but 
if you lived in the right environment you could plant a citrus tree in your landscape
its always green
and
you get to eat its fruit

thats foodscaping
 
at the country n i didnt really put veggies out in landscape since i used the keyhole bed above
but
you could put in your landscape beds things like kale or the colorful swiss chard or a pepper plant or two or even a good ole tomato or celery or cilantro or onions or leeks or garlic or broccoli or cabbage or cauliflower
you just tuck them in somewhere 

thats foodscaping

you just want to make sure your landscape is organic and you arent adding poisons to your foodscaping veggies
especially things like weed and feed which wont let your veggies grow and will poison your kids and pets

heck if you dont have a yard you could even do foodscaping in pots on your patio or deck

look around 
i bet you can find a spot for them
enjoy how nice they look and how well they taste

heck you probably are already fertilizing and watering the areas anyway 

you should try foodscaping your yard

the organicgreen doctor

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #120-crs revisited

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #120-crs revisited: MY STORY REVISITED #120-DRS REVISITED one may ask what is crs its cant remember stuff a common complaint as one aging usually its just norma...

my story revisited #120-crs revisited

MY STORY REVISITED #120-DRS REVISITED

one may ask what is crs
its cant remember stuff
a common complaint as one aging
usually its just normal aging

the blog i wrote below in 2014 has the same recommendations that i would make to people today

the big problem is folks dont get evaluated soon enough if there is concern for memory issues by themselves or friends or relatives

this friday i go to ucla for my 15th infusion of aduhelm 
it would be interesting to be able to see  my next amyloid pet scan and my next tau pet scan to see how much has been removed from the brain
my mri of the brain showed no bleeds
i have another mri scheduled next month as part of the protocol of the study
i have no more headaches
_________
01-10-2014
CRS

thats what people frequently say to me
i cant remember stuff anymore
usually they are grey headed but sometimes they are younger

i tell them
if you occasionally forget an appointment then remember later
if you make occasional errors balancing a checkbook
if you occasionally need help with the settings on a microwave or
recording a television show
if you get confused occasionally about what day it is but figure
it out later
if your visual changes are due to cataracts
if you sometimes have trouble finding the right word
if you make a bad decision occasionally
if you misplace things from time to time then are able to eventually
retrace your steps to find them
if you sometimes feel weary of work family or social obligations
if you develop very specific ways of doing things and become irritable
when a routine is disrupted

then
you have normal aging behavior

if its more than this i refer them to this link
at the alzheimers association at www.alz.org
that has the 10 early signs of alzheimers

things like repeating questions over and over again
being unable to follow a simple recipe or taking care of monthly bills
driving to a familiar place
forgetting where you are
having trouble judging distance or color contrast
having trouble following a conversation
putting things in unusual places
making poor judgement with money
removing yourself from social activities
easily getting upset outside of your comfort zone

then you may have a problem
 
again go to the link and read more

then if you or your family think there is a problem take
one of the online quizzes 
the ad8 test at this link
or a family member can go to this link and answer
the 21 question test at this link

then if there seems to be a problem
you should get evaluated

remember there are a lot of treatable causes for memory loss
like b12 deficiency thyroid issues depression high blood pressure etc

when you go to a provider take the online quiz results
and your concerns
usually its good to take a spouse or loved one with you
the provider may want to interview them also

remember dont let the provider ignore your symptoms

get a good history
an exam
probably some labs
a good mental status evaluation like the mmse or mocha test that
is commonly used in the providers office

if indicated a full neuropsychological evaluation
if indicated an mri of the brain

remember the most important test is the history and exam

you are looking for an explanation for your memory loss

if the primary provider doesnt seem interested go to someone
who is interested in memory loss patients
a good source is an alzheimers research center like the one i go to
at ut southwestern medical center in dallas
every state has them
they wont ignore you and will do the workup thats needed

hopefully that answers that question
when someone asks me about crs
__________
in summary not all forgetting is the same
get evaluated if you are worried

the organicgreen doctor