alzheimers news-taking these increases your risk

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-TAKING THESE INCREASES YOUR RISK

that is according to this article from the british medical journal

acetylcholine is used in the brain nerve cell connection to transport signals
across from cell to cell

if acetylcholine levels drop in these connections
a persons memory will be affected

in alzheimers disease the destruction from beta amyloid and tau
accumulation leads to the brain nerve cells damage and destruction
which leads to a drop in acetycholine
which leads to the short term memory loss you see in alzheimers disease
early on

the drugs like aricept (donepezil) that i have been on for almost
8 years and exelon (rivastigmine) increases the acetylcholine in the
nerve cell connections in the brain so that the nerves fire or work better
leading to an improvement in the alzheimers patients memory

eventually as alzheimers progresses there is so much destruction
in the brain that these meds lose their effects

the earlier in the disease you start these meds the better their effects
eg
i was started much earlier that most folks and its possible that the
aricept (donepezil) may be why i havent deteriorated yet

a couple of years ago a study was published that anticholinergics
which includes allergy antihistamines
increased your risk for developing dementia
this new study showed that these antihistamines many of us take
for allergies may not have that effect

however
those of us who take aricept (donepezil) or exelon (rivastigmine) are told
not to take these allergy meds since they may interfere with
the aricept or exelon by blocking their effects

they do this by interfering with the uptake of the acetylcholine
in those nerve connections
less acetylcholine less nerve firing
means less memory

so i dont take allergy antihistamines for that reason

for those not on aricept or exelon
you non dementia folks
the drugs that affect these acetycholine levels
eg are used for
bladder control or urinary incontinence eg oxybutynin ditropan
parkinsonism eg procyclidine kemadrin
depression eg amitryptylline elavil

long term use of these can lead to a 30% increase in dementia
other things
eg smoking can increase the risk well over 50%
not controlling diabetes and blood pressure and or cholesterol
and or weight and or lack of exercising  and or proper diet
increase the risk dramatically

in fact
a population as shown in european studies who stop smoking
and do all those healthy things may decrease the risk
of developing dementia by 40%

so
like with all meds
you have to way their side effects vs their benefits

the secret
take real good care of your health

i was recently contacted by someone who has short term
memory issues who is about to undergo memory testing
at a large alzheimers research center
i explained what testing was going to be done and
how it would probably feel to do the testing

after listening to their story
the best thing they can do for their memory is not meds
its
controlling their weight diabetes blood pressure cholesterol
improve their diet stop smoking control their cholesterol
fix sleep issues control their depression

uh 20 years ago would have been nice for them to have
done all that
but its never to late to start

the organicgreen doctor

herbal medicine

HERBAL MEDICINE
i take aricept (donepezil) for possible alzheimers disease
and have been on it for almost 4 years
the thinking is that by starting it early in the disease process
it will have its greater effect
the later you start it the less effective it is
there is so much damage done upstairs that nothing helps much
as it progresses
and
sad to say never will either even when they get a cure or treatment

the aricept causes a decrease in an enzyme called acetycholinesterase
which causes a rise in the chemical acetylcholine
which sits in the nerve cell connections in the brain and
elsewhere
the aricept then causes an increase in acetylcholine
which makes the brain cells work better
even the damaged one work better

so aricept is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor

this causes the side effects we see with this medicine
sleep problems leg cramps vivid dreams dizziness blurred vision
hyperalertness after taking restless sleep stomach issues

now i would say the worst side effect i have is the sleep one
my wife says im restless when i sleep
i wimper some time
heck i even hit the bedside table once and bruised my hand
when i was fighting off an attacker one night
in my dreams that was

i lose about two hours sometimes three each night
because of this side effect
eg last night i went to bed at 900pm and was wide awake
at 230am
i get up have my two cups of coffee
then later in the morning around 600am i take my aricept
on a full stomach
the coffee and the aricept keeps me perky and alert
until about 100pm then i start getting real tired and sleepy

thank goodness i am retired and get lay down for a nap
usually a 2 hour one so i can gain back those two hours i lost
the night before

i have even stopped my aricept for a period of time and my
sleep pattern returns back to its normal 7 hours
i feel good and need a short nap in the afternoon

now i have been known for years and years for
falling asleep on people when they came to visit
so i cant blame that on the aricept

ive tried a lot of prescription meds
the ones i gave folks when i was in practice for sleep
that all seem to have the opposite effect on me
real restless and cant sleep like i drank a ton of coffee

ive not taken ambien and the newer ones since there
are concerns about its safety
i personally at my stage am not worried about drug addiction

i even tried some edible marijuana which made me feel
like the prescription sleeping aids

benadryl works well at a low dose although it leaves
me tired the next day
and
it counteracts the effects of the aricept so the two arent
supposed to be used together


so each day i get 10 articles on alzheimers disease to my email
there was one about an indian herbal root that was used in
alzheimers research that may help in alzheimers disease

in rat studies the amount of that bad stuff beta amyloid in
the brain goes down
and the rats did better on memory tests when they took the
herbal medicine
i always wondered how they tested their memory
i know they cant draw a clock or spell world backwards or
count from 100 by substracting 7

so i went to the national standard website and read about it
it is also used for anxiety and calming folks down
and
its used for sleep
and
it also acts just like aricept does
as a acetylcholinesterase inhibitor

could this be the answer
so i went to the herbal vitamin store
now im not going to give the name of the herb
since i as a doctor read up on it and was well aware of the
potential side effects
it causes the blood pressure to go down and im on meds for that
it could potentiate the effects of the aricept
i dont want folks going out and just buying this stuff and
using it

so the night before as i layed down to read my book
i got my glass of water and took my first pill
started to read my book
then the next i know its 7 hours later
i woke up feeling real groggy
so i made my coffee and after drinking my first cup
it was all gone and i felt great
all day i did

however
theres always a however
i had the most disturbing dream ive had since i have been
on aricept
then at nap time it was even more disturbing
so i skipped the pill the next night
but the dreams were still disturbing
then i didnt take any more pill and the disturbingness of the
dreams have gradually faded a lot

heck last night a lot of relatives came to visit us
we lived at my moms and dads house
they all flew in on a helicopter piloted by my younger brothers
son in law
yes my younger brother who died recently from alzheimers
disease and my mom who died also with it was in my dreams
my brother an avid outdoorsman was helping to negotiate
a small but flooded river in a motorboat
now that one wasnt disturbing
it was good to see him again with his smile
he seemed the same as before he was diagnosed
the same with my mom

so i guess the point im making
is just because something is a herb doesnt make it not
have potential side effects
and can and probably will interfere with your prescription
medications


nationalstandard.com

so discuss it with your doctor
they probably want know most of the side effects though
so go to the
national standard website 
https://naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com/databases/food,-herbs-supplements.aspx
and
look for what the herbs potential side effects are

me
im going back to my good ole vivid nondisturbing dreams
and
will continue to nap each afternoon to regain my
lost hours of sleep

the organicgreen doctor

what is alzheimers

WHAT IS ALZHEIMERS

or
click here for the link to the video

this is a question i get asked a lot
what is alzheimers disease

please watch
the video above as its is the best video ive seen on      what this disease is

words to know
beta amyloid-the proteins that stick together to cause alzheimers disease
tau protein-the protein that gets destroyed as the process proceeds
hippocampus-the undersurface of the brain where this all starts
acetylcholine-the level drops in alzheimers patients
           aricept (donnepezil) increases that level and helps the symptoms
                for awhile
alzheimers vaccines-under study now in several large studies
           antibodies will bind up beta amyloid in the brain and remove it
                and if we are all lucky it will work to slow down the disease or
                prevent it

if i do have alzheimers which i think i do based on
changes in short term memory on serial memory tests
strong strong family history-mother father brother grandmothers
multiple aunts and uncles
apoe4 gentoype double version that increases risk 10-20 times
positive or abnormal levels of the bad stuff beta amyloid and tau protein
in my spinal fluid
soon to be done beta amyloid pet scan of the brain called amyvid

then i hope to benefit from new treatment studies coming available
using the alzheimers vaccine and using nasal insulin
hoping not to get put in the placebo group

also if i have it i will already have those changes going on
in my hippocampus thats well described in this video
they just havent advanced far enough yet so that they can
be seen on regular mri but would on the amyvid pet scan

but
sorry to say even if i have those plaques forming there they cant
be undone
for you see
thats this cruelty of this disease
once the disease manifests itself early early it may be to far gone
to be treated
so
treatment when it becomes available will have to be started years and
years earlier
in those of you who read this blog who are in your 30s and 40s

lets find a cure please
do the walk to end alzheimers in your area to show your support
contact your congress persons-its election year and they do listen
support any caregiver that you know

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers symposium part 2

ALZHEIMERS SYMPOSIUM PART 2
i will present a talk on my story with possible alzheimers
at the alzheimers symposium at the mayborn center in temple texas
on tuesday april 30, 2013

here is the the link to register for the event

part 2
neurology visit

so i went to dallas to the neurology appointment with my wife
they asked that i get the following labs before i came to the appointment

labs to be done
cbc complete blood count
metabolic profile with electrolytes liver function tests kidney function tests
and glucose
vitamin b12 level
syphilis antibody test
hiv antibody test
tsh for thyroid function
urinalysis
mri scan of the brain
depression screen
neuropsychological testing or a good mental status exam
good history and physical

this is the list of lab tests and exams that you need to have done if you
are being evaluated for memory loss or dementia
anything less is not acceptable

a cbc complete blood count checks for anemia or a low white count

a metabolic or chemistry profile checks the electrolytes for a low or high
sodium or potassium which can cause memory loss
abnormal liver tests
abnormal kidney tests the bun and creatinine which is elevated
if you have kidney failure

a glucose which can detect diabetes

a vitamin b12 level
if you have a low b12 level you can have problems with memory

syphilis antibody test
you can have latent syphilis that shows up as later in life in the
central nervous system and cause dementia

hiv antibody test

tsh for thyroid function
thyroid stimulating hormone will detect hypothyroidism or low thryoid
which can cause depression and memory loss

urinalysis to check for blood or protein in the urine

a depression screen
depression can cause memory loss

a mri of the brain
this is looking for increased fluid in the brain shrinkage or atrophy of the brain
brain tumors or masses or cancer old scar tissue evidence of stroke
aneurysms or white matter hyperintensities which can be associated with
an increased incidence of dementia
they are looking for something treatable

a neruopsychological test the gold standard for evaluation or a
good mental status evaluation in the office as  a screening test
the mmse test misses me but a mocha a more involved test picks up
some subtle changes on me that would make a physician want to do more
testing with the gold standard neuropsychological test

then a good history and physical examination looking for something in the
exam that would explain the memory loss

so i saw the neurologist who looked at my neuropsychological test and
my lab tests and mri scan that were done and did a history and exam

she said
dr nash
you have early mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
(short term memory loss) that is earlier than what we usually see
and it may be due to alzheimers disease

here why
you had a normal mental status exam three years ago with your long term
care insurance and now using the same test you have an abnormal result
and other short term memory tests are abnormal

your labs and scans show a normal evaluation for other treatable causes of memory loss

you have a very strong family history of alzheimers disease
mother father brother cousin aunts and uncles grandparents

you put this all together and it says possible alzheimers disease
(later other tests done point towards this diagnosis also)

i think you should consider getting on the medication aricept (donepezil)
i had read enough about my diagnosis and knew thats what i wanted to do

aricept (donepezil)
is an acetycholineterase inhibitor
it raises the acetylcholine levels in the brain and makes the brain and nerve
cells work better

it does not treat slow down or prevent the disease
it only delays the symptoms

one neurologists told me that 1/3 get better on it
1/3 stay the same
1/3 dont get better

so 2/3 of those that start it stay the same for a while or improve
near 100% of those who dont take it dont get better

the earlier you start the aricept (donepezil) the longer it seems to work
it however will get to the point where it doesnt work any more
as the disease just marches on

the side effects of the medicine is related to the elevated acetylcholine
the first month you take as i found out is when the side effects are the worst
they get better however over time

i have had most of the side effects
i get insomnia that is worse if i take it before bedtime
my brother took his however at bedtime and never had any sleep problems
i take it in the morning after breakfast to counter the nausea that occurs
and to help with the insomnia
i also snack some in the morning to keep the nausea at bay

i have the most vivid dreams those aricept dreams
the kind when you wake up you want to go back to sleep so you
finish them
they are never bad ones just pleasant ones

i have restless sleep
i get restless during the morning not long after i take it
which gets better as the day progresses as does the nausea

i get severe leg cramps when i sleep
the kind that get you up out of bed
they are worse if i have done a lot of exercise

i get blurry vision about 2-3 hours after i take it but that goes away
fairly quickly
it was worse the first month but now is better

warning
if you or a family member is on this medicine dont abruptly stop it
without talking to their doctor
eg if i were to discontinue this medicine i might drop down to the level
i would have been without the medicine and if i restart it
i might not ever return back to the same cognitive level i was at

other drugs used in alzheimers are
exelon which works similar to aricept
it also comes in a patch form which helps with the nausea

namenda works differently that the other two
its usually used as an add on medicine when things start getting worse or if
there is problems taking the other two

recent studies have shown that using the aricept and namenda together at
the beginning of the diagnosis may be helpful
eg
pat summitt started on those two meds when she was first diagnosed

so she wrote that prescription for aircept and handed it two me
a surreal moment as i had just 24 hours before written the same prescription
handed it to a patient and his daughter and reviewed those same side effects

i was not accepted in the normal control group of the
alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative study
but was told after i was on the aricept (donepezil) for 3 months that i
could reenter the study in the early mild cognitive impairment group

i never returned to work
i went on short term disability then later on long term disability

once i was diagnosed i became uninsurable
no life insurance no disability insurance no health insurance no long term
care insurance no malpractice insurance

luckily i had those all in place before the diagnosis was made

so put a lot of thought into getting this evaluation
you need to be ready
soically psychologically and economically ready
if you are not ready it can be devastating

next friday april 19 i will blog on
alzheimers symposium part 3
the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative

the organicgreen doctor