it was willies day

IT WAS WILLIES DAY

variety.com

last friday was willies day
4/20
he is so closely linked to this day
that i think he should just make it his official
birthday

looking at him though
i dont think he has many 4/20s left in him

im sure this year as he celebrated the day
he felt different about this one

the fda is about to or may have already approved
a new cbd product for use in folks especially kids
who have hard to control seizures

now cbd stands for cannabidiol
the ingredient in marijuana that doesnt make you high
but it has effects that are becoming important in treating
neurological diseases
like
seizures
anxiety
maybe some use in things like alzheimers disease
parkinsonism als ms
there is a lot of research going on with these diseases
and cbd

now old willie
he is a walking lifetime experiment of how this stuff
controls anxiety
that boy he aint anxious or uptight at all
proof
the cbd works
they dont need a better experiment than this

the new cbd drug is called epidiolex   
its an extract from marijuana
thats purified
then patented
so they get all the money for selling it
it went through the research and fda approval process

it apparently works
in controlling those childhood seizures that nothing else
will control

if you dont like this being approved
please crawl back under your rock

its a life changer for parents who have to watch their
kids have those seizures

one problem is
a month of the stuff will cost them or the insurance company
or whoever pays for it
a lot of money

$2500-5000 a month for the drug

i see folks figuring out ways around this
like
in states like california and colorado
i see folks figuring out in the medicinal clinics
how to get the cbd at a cheaper price

this stuff will cost more than my aducanumab for alzheimers
durg if it makes it to the market

somehow
this doesnt seem right to me

another thing willie will be happy about is the fact that
california now has legal marijuana in the state
in fact
willie will be selling his own brand here soon

the local cities the local counties the states
are excited for the increase in revenues
now
the feds should be excited also
since folks who grow market transport sell the stuff are all going
to make more money
pay income taxes
even investing folks and banks are starting to handle the money
and
yes they will make money they will be paying taxes
a lot of them

this is all money that before the legalization was not being
paid in taxes
millions and millions of dollars

a $50 purchase of marijuana will cost $61.93
thats $11.93 of taxes
like
7.75% local state and local sales tax
15% state excise tax
$1.15 state cultivation tax

thats all money that goes to taxes that werent paid before
you paid your dealer the 50 bucks
he paid no taxes on it
he paid no income taxes
all lost revenue

plus
some dispensary owners make over a million a year
paying state income taxes at about 6%
paying federal income taxes at about 30%+-

someone is making a killing off this
it seems to be the government is doing quite well for itself

so
i know willie celebrated on friday last week
4/20
hes stoked for sure

i will add
i know a lot of folks who use this stuff for medical reasons
like
anxiety chronic pain chemo side effects sleep nausea
appetite improvement neurological diseases like
ms als alzheimers parkinsonism seizures
just to name a few

yep
its time we all get on willies team
there is good to be had in all this

the organicgreen doctor

its a triple conundrum

ITS A TRIPLE CONUNDRUM

thetwistgossip.com

today is 4/20
its thursday

today is the day i go to the utsouthwestern infusion center
to receive my 2nd infusion of the experimental
alzheimers treatment drug made by biogen called
aducanumab

now
after the last one
i was told i needed to schedule the next one
in 29 days
or
two days before that date or two days after that day

i told the researcher
i want to do it on 4/20

ok
she said
not blinking an eye
we will set it up for you

i said
you know what day that is dont you
she said
i think its a thursday

no i said
its 4/20
thats mj day
marijuana day
willies day
the day we celebrate marijuana
the drug that has ruined many a teenagers life
when they were busted with it
sending them into the armpits of our jail and legal system

but
also
this drug marijuana
it has the possibility of helping those who have neurological diseases
like
ms
als
alzheimers disease
severe migraines
diffucult to control seizures especially in kids
chronic pain
anxiety
chemo nausea
chemo appetite suppression
just to name a few

the problem is
there are so much restrictions on its research
researchers find it hard to get approval to get money for research
on mj
and
they are restricted to use only marijuana grown on some farm
in mississippi thats controlled by the feds

the salk institute
a well respected research institution wants to do research on the
cbd component of marijuana
the part that doesnt make you high
but seems to have a lot of benefit in neurological diseases
especially children with uncontrolled seizures

this institution makes its chd from methane gas
the farts of cows
since
they cant access the marijuana plants needed for research
without a lot of red tape and lots of time it takes to get approval

im sorry this just smells bad to me in more ways than one

so
i turned to the researcher
and said
thats why i want to do my infusion on 4/20
to
give my support to chd marijuana research

so
i am making my stand today
in that support
as i sit down
stick out my arm
they insert that needle
giving me later that infusion of that stuff that might
slow my disease down

all i can think is
what if there is something in that marijuana plant
that could be do the same thing
you just vap it or smoke it or take an edible
seems easier to me

yes
i am stoked day

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-1 down 47 to go

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-1 DOWN 47 TO GO

i did it yesterday
got my birthday present
as i wrote the best ever

as i drove the 3 hours trip i did a lot of contemplating
thinking about this 6 year long journey that i have been on
hoping it will last a long long time before its all over

i thought how lucky i am to be this far along
and not have worsening memory loss

during that time this last 6 years
i lost my brother from the final stages of this disease
had my older brother get diagnosed with it

i thought maybe just maybe i am the lucky one
getting an opportunity that they didnt get
to really really slow this down

i am honored to be in this trial
knowing that if its successful as it might be
that it could be a game changer for me
and all my relatives behind me
to have a chance to avoid this awful disease

thats how close we are to finding a treatment
its right now today not off tens of years from now
for me and my family it started yesterday

yesterday the day for the rest of our lives

lets getter on is what i muttered under my breath

i arrived yesterday early of course to the infusion center
its located in this building at the university of texas southwestern
medical center

i walked up to this desk where the busy infusion center is
there sits this guy called santa claus
he is the receptionist
everyone calls him that
since he looks like santa claus
and
plays one at christmas
nice as you would expect santa claus to be
nice first person to interact with

then there was some snafu
we may have to reschedule
some protocol has to followed exactly right
i was the first one starting this study there
some special approval had to done by some god in massachusetts
or somewhere back east at biogen

we may need to reschedule if you dont want to wait
nope i said
im staying until this gets settled
ive waited too long and this may mean to much to me and my family
i just want to get this thing done
getter done i mumbled under my breath

finally after awhile it all got cleared up

back i went
nice nurse
nice receptionist
nice neurologist
it helps to have nice medical personal taking care of you
when you are dealing with the unknown
dealing with a terminal illness

i remembered as i watched them start my infusion and draw my blood
their patients are the ones that dont usually fair well
its their diagnoses

below thats the brown bag stuff hanging on the pole
the stuff thats either fake stuff or the real deal
the real deal for me please

me
i thought as i watched them hook all this up
i want to be the exception for them
i want to be a success result

the only thing i noticed as i got my infusion was
that i tasted salt on my tongue and i got real thirsty
dont know if thats a good sign or not
when it comes to whether or not i am in the placebo group
or not

if i get headaches get confused have some dizziness
then theres a good chance i got the real deal stuff
however not everyone has side effects
i am at higher risk for side effects since i have the apoe 4/apoe 4 gene
this gene put me at an increased risk for getting alzheimers disease

prior to getting the infusion i had a memory test done
for some reason i noticed that i did better on it than usual
it may be because i have had it done so much
i can anticipate the answers before they ask the questions
however
they for this study do a variety of memory tests
most of which i havent done before
which make them more accurate

so
i finished my infusion without any effects
now
i return each month to do the same thing all over again
except
i dont have to wait around the extra hour or so like i did
this time
in and out in an hour or so each time

i decided i can deal with whatever problems pop up
for
in the end it may be all worth it

i scheduled my next infusion date on 4/20
i did that date on purpose
its in case you dont know is marijuana day

why pick that day
well
there is a lot of research that needs to be done on the ingredients
in marijuana
they appear to be useful in the treatment of neurological diseases
like alzheimers
however
the federal government severely limits the research that needs to
be done on these marijuana ingredients

in my contact with folks affected by these diseases
they are using marijuana
obtaining it from states where its legal
using strands that have the potential to help

its sad that good scientific research cant be done
to find things like this that may help

its my small way of protesting our governments restrictions
on this research

but
hopefully if this aducanumab stuff works for me
i wont have to get involved with using any 420 stuff

next
a month of waiting
then
round two

keep following me on this journey
i am hoping the end result will be a good one
if it is
there may be hope for a lot of people

the organcgreen doctor

four twenty

FOUR TWENTY
4/20 4/20 as i wrote the dates
now what does that sound so familiar
then
i saw why when i started reading news reports on online
yesterday

it willies day
the day the marijuana supporters celebrate every year
this year
the day was real big in colorado

since they legalized it they have raked in millions of tax revenue
that would have gone to i guess to the drug cartels
and
to the owners of all the jails there
or
some of it would have been spent on arresting those who
were using it

i noticed they arrested folks yesterday in denver
several for being out of staters smoking the weed
guess thats illegal
plus
you cant smoke it in public
but i noticed there was a big old cloud over the 4/20
celebration there
selective arrests must have occurred

my views on legalization has changed a lot in the last few years
anything you know can be abused

the most abused thing in the united states
which carries the greatest health effects that is seen in
medicine
and
cost us millions of dollars a year in healthcare cost is
food
so anything can be abused

now with marijuana chronic excessive users pot heads
as they are called
do have long term effects
as it seems they do actually get dumber

those who use it regularly but not abusively over years
have been found to have a lower incidence of alzheimers disease

its also been used in patients with alzheimers who have
difficulty sleeping at night
a common problem because of the disease as it destroys
the brain
and
a common side effect of aricept (donepezil) used in alzheimers
is sleep disturbances
which is a medicine im on for possible alzheimers
i have this side effect myself

so i recently was given some medicinal marijuana to try
to see if it would help
so i took the one sample i got
it made me restless all night long i woke up frequently all night
even though i was in bed for 8 hours
then when i awoke i did not feel rested
i felt tired and sleepy for about twenty four hours

so it didnt work for me and there are no plans to retry it

there is a drug that is available by prescription that is extracted
from marijuana of course it would be branded and expensive
that helps with the nausea of chemotherapy

many cancer patients just buy some weed and smoke it
or use the weed food like brownies to take

this is a very common use by these patients

all this is blocked by our federal and state laws that really
dont make sense

the potential for medicinal use is there if more research could
be done
instead most of the medicinal marijuana is anecdotal and has
not been subjective to good scientific research

it eg is commonly used by nfl footballers for chronic pain control
during the football season as injuries mount up as the season
goes on
some athletes say its better than ibuprofen naproxen or hydrocodone

there just needs to be good studies done

researchers if they do marijuana research can only use the stuff
grown at a facility at the university of mississippi
its expensive and tightly controlled

just do the studies and prove one way or another if this stuff
really does what is said that it does

so food
then alcohol
then tobacco
all are legal
and
are probably the three most abused in the united states
and
are the causes of many of the diseases we see in our
healthcare system
including alzheimers disease and dementia

so marijuana use is apolitical really from talking to patients
over the years when they were asked about its use
all political spectrums all religions seem to use it

lets research it lets legalize it lets make some of the tax
revenues off it

i do know that in 2020 in 6 years that there will
be a month long celebration during april that year

4/20

the organicgreen doctor

old willie, scans

OLD WILLIE

old willie will be 80 years old today 

according to him 

but according to states records its april 30

of course

i think he should change his birthday to 

4/20

if you dont understand why 4/20 and what it means

just ask you kids or your grandkids

my guess is they know what that means

willie played last night at the backyard in the austin area

im quite sure it was packed

and there probably was a strange odor in the air

and im sure austin kept the concert weird

i do admit when i see willie he looks 80 years old

all that rough living hes done

well he actually looks 100 years old

but

he still has that distinctive voice

and his old guitar

ive seen him play live twice

once in little rock at a concert at barton coliseum

a lot of drunk people

but it was interesting that the people in the crowd were

a mixture of all ages and sizes and looks

obvious red neck country people with dressed up city folks

with a lot of hippie looking people

all enjoying his music

thanks to my medical school friend for introducing us to

willie and his music

ive been hooked since

then

we took my motherinlaw to a fourth of july picnic in 

ft worth texas

it was hotter n hell

the place was packed all day as tons of other musicians played

then willie showed up when it was cooler in the evening

and everyone didnt seem to mind the wait

yes a lot were drunk and 4/20ed

my motherinlaw endured that hot sun and long day 

but it was worth it 

she sure loves willie

when willie finally leaves us one day which i hope is 

a long time away

there will never ever be another one 

happy birthday today or tomorrow willie

may you have many more

SCANS

friday i went to dallas and had 

a mri scan of the brain as part of the adni study that im in 

typical mri scan 

louder than hell 

be still for over an hour

stuck up in that cylinder 

keep your eyes open for the next 7 minutes

you ever tried that before without blinking

sorry i blinked couldnt help

why dont you try it and see if you can do it

not

looked at my old mri scan report

and oops there were some white matter hyperintensities (wmh)

areas on my scan

had forgot about those

since the scan more has been written about these

they are found commonly in elderly patients 

but im not elderly

if you have an increased number of these they can be associated with 

an increased risk for developing dementia alzheimers and stroke 

and 

are found in patients with high blood pressure obesity diabetics high cholesterol

this is why its important to keep these things under good tight control 

over a life time

i only have one or two which are not significant

hopefully all im doing to control things with my health 

living right eating right exercising controlling my cholesterol and blood pressure

and maintaining a normal weight will keep those wmh where they are now

then i had a glucose metabolism pet scan of the brain 

got an iv infusion of labelled glucose 

when i got home that night my wife she said you sure taste sweet 

when she kissed me

in alzheimers patients since they cant use the glucose in the damaged 

brain cells there is no uptake of the labelled glucose

and it will show up as blank areas on the scan 

my last glucose metabolism pet scan of brain was normal

thursday 

spinal tap for beta amyloid and tau protein

amyvid pet scan of the brain for beta amyloid

the organicgreen doctor

pat, wtea, 4/20, coop tour, earth day

PAT

pat summitt has left her job as head coach at the university
of tennessee
she was allowed to stay on this year as head coach after
coming forth with her diagnosis of alzheimers disease
if you watched any of the tennessee womens games you could
see that she was not the same
luckily she has been surrounded for years by great assistant
coaches who carried things this year

she will now be the emeritus coach of the womens team
and will no longer do the coaching of the team

i am on the same meds she is on and know just the side effects
of the medicine on sleep habits and on fatigue can interfere with
your day to day activities
it must have been tiring and stressful for her this year dealing with
everything

hats off to the university of tennessee administration for taking care
of her into the future so she can continue to be a productive person

many dont get that chance
they get fired or are asked to resign
they just stay to long

congratulations to pat summitt on her new job
stay now as long as you can
womens basketball is better having you around

WTEA

its walk to end alzheimers time again
this is the annual major fundraiser for the alzheimers association
so become involved with your local walk and donate or form or join
a team
go to the alzheimers association website to find the team in your area

my team the organicgreendoctor.com team will be in the central texas
chapters walk at georgetown texas on saturday september 29 2012
you may join our team or donate by going to this site

this year my 12 chickens has joined our team and will be laying eggs
to sell for donations to the team
thanks to the country n hens

4/20

i know its the date today
but it has other meanings
just ask willie
or ask your kids theyll know what it means
willie will be at a ceremony today to celebrate his new statue in
down town austin
yep its timed to be at 420 pm today
am sure the smell will not be from bluebonnets

COOP TOUR

if you went on the austins funky chicken tour try this first annual
hill country coop tour
go to the hill country coop tour website to look at the coops and
to get more information

EARTH DAY

we only have one of these
we all need to take care of it or we will all be in trouble
lets celebrate on sunday and make this a better place to live

the organicgreen doctor