questionnaire, questions and answers, symposium

QUESTIONNAIRE, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, SYMPOSIUM

here is the link to
the 21 question questionnaire
yesterday when i did an q and a on alzheimers disease
i recommended folks use this as a way to evaluate
their family member or friend to help decide if they
had a problem with their memory
and
if it is needed then
a medical evaluation

here is how to use this form
answer the questions
score it
if they score high
they need evaluated
take a copy of the completed form to their doctors
you go with them
the doctor will accept the form and will usually act
on what it shows
it also gets entered in the medical record so it wont
usually be ignored by their doctor
ie
now their memory is ok wont be an answer
if you have documented a problem

doctors and medical systems get audited and will
usually act when provided this document


for yourself if you are concerned about your memory
go to
this link for the best five self administered tests

if the results are abnormal
further evaluation is warranted
it doesnt necessarily mean there is a problem
remember these are screening tests
and again
copy the test and take it with you to the doctors visit



yesterday i did a question and answer session on alzheimers disease
at a facility near my home for caregivers and representatives
of different home health agencies and long term care facilities

i enjoy these as i let the questions determine which direction the
session goes
although i have talking points of questions i want to answer
like politicians do
i try to let the audience get the questions out and hopefully
answers to things they want to know
about medications
side effects
how to get a workup for dementia
how to get your doctor to listen a real problem im afraid to say

i suggest the 21 question test and take it in with them to the visit

what new tests are becoming available

what a person can do if they are diagnosed
or
what a person can do to keep from getting dementia
the answer to that is the same
healthy stuff like control weight blood pressure diabetes
cholesterol depression anxiety decrease stress sleep well
exercise be happy etc
and
for those younger folks its important to do that also

whats new in alzheimers research
they are looking at diagnosing folks earlier and earlier
as the push is to begin treatment before symptoms occur
a lot of research is ongoing now starting new treatments that
if it works will slow down or prevent alzheimers disease

a lot of questions got answered yesterday
hope it helped
the caregivers the ones who feel the brunt of this disease
the most asked most of the questions
good questions
hope i answered them to their satisfaction


on april 30 2014 for those of you in the central texas area
there will be the 2nd annual alzheimers symposium
at the mayborn center in temple texas

here is the link on the symposium

this is the one i spoke at last year
this year the symposium will be almost totally focused
on caregiving

i plan to attend and look forward to the sessions
as i too am doing some planning for the future
and
hope to learn some things that will be helpful

remember im luckier that most patients
i get to do planning
while most dont get to

the organicgreen doctor

ad8 test, duct tape, football

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 test 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 advance
than i am eg pat summitt would probably have problems with
this test and glenn 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 test and take the test online

it 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

DUCT TAPE
my wife she read my blog yesterday on duct tape being used
as a fly trap
she said oh no
because she knew what was going to happen today at our house
your right and shes right
duct tape hanging from the windows and doors to see if it would
work to catch those pesky flies

at least i used the christmas red colored duct tape so it sort of
looks like christmas decorations

no flies caught yet but will monitor the situation closely and will
report here if successful

FOOTBALL
its going to be a great football weekend here
it starts tonight with two good high school teams meeting in the regional
finals of 4a playoffs
they played once this season and cedar park lost by just a few points
lake travis is a machine
where do they get all those good players
should be a good game

lsu vs georgia
what if georgia wins wont they make things interesting
then who gets to play in the bcs championship game
if osu beats okla could they be there if lsu loses

texas plays baylor
rg3 tore texas up last year
he is going to be fun to watch at the next level
bet this is his last year
if texas wins they could end up with a decent season to build
on for next year

we just need a play off system like d3 schools have
wouldnt that be fun to watch

cowboys need to keep winning
can tebow continue his magic
can the texans win without a quarterback

it will be cold here and wet
the firestove will be going and the tv games will all be watched

have a good weekend

gardeners get you row cover out to cover your plants this next
week as we may see some 20s here in the austin area

the organicgreen doctor

more dreams, another test, basketball fever

DREAMS
my oh my those dreams
this is legal tripping
man cant dvr them
got to figure out how to do that
maybe hypnosis

last night i was an emergency room doctor again
worked emergency rooms moonlighting as a resident and
when in full practice worked them  until 15 years ago
also did emergency room work full time for 2 years

this is my second emergency room dream
the person that took over my shift in my dream was
my attorney that i use for all my legal matters
everyone one says that if you go to court you want
him on your side and not on the other side

i guess attorneys would make good doctors since they
sometimes control what we do in medicine
we all practice defensive medicine some of the time
probably if we did not do that we would save people and
the health care system a  lot of money

many doctors may not admit that
some of it is subconscious

if we just followed guidelines based on scientific evidence
then we should not have to worry about defensive medicine
but thats not how the system works

well guess i dont have to worry about that now

ANOTHER TEST
so theres another screening test ive came up with for cognitive
decliine
first this week was the sage test, then dr ozs test, and now the
togd password test

when i do this blog and go through various email accounts,
facebook accounts, news accounts, blog monitoring accounts,
bank accounts, etc i use 10-12 different passwords

think that if i start forgetting those passwords then its a sign
that i may have more cognitive decline

do think about it when i type in a password and it gets rejected
and do it again and it gets rejected, oh no got 1 more chance........
whew the caps button was on

now where did i write down those passwords

BASKETBALL FEVER
about to turn away from football now
the pro bowl is this week i think
they should play it after the super bowl when we are all in
football withdrawal
super bowl next week then thats it until august, but maybe
not for the pros

have decided now that im retired im going to splurge and
buy the march madness package and watch all the games
on tv unless the new programming on cbs, espn, tbs, and
tnt shows all the games

glad the wedding is not during that time

the organicgreen doctor

another alzheimers self test, w2ad10, good basketball

ANOTHER ALZHEIMERS SELF TEST
if you have not taken the sage test in yesterdays blog go do
it first before you take this one

i took the sage test yesterday and passed without problems

now go to dr ozs test at  www.doctoroz.com/quiz/memory-quiz

i took this test and did not do as well considering my age
and my amount of education (12 years post high school)
the results were the same as was on the more involved
neuropsychological test i took at ut southwestern
it is disturbing still whenever i take it

if you dont do well on either of these tests see your
doctor for further evaluation
eg depression can cause this or hypothyroidism or low b12

also if you have a friend or family member you are worried
about have them take the tests

W2AD10
week 2 of aricept (donepezil) 10 mgm
having less morning sickness which is helped by antinausea
medication and reglan and omperazole
still with dizziness/vertigo that the anitnausea medication helps
with some
still with some degree of insomnia but a good noon time nap
helps that a lot-was known for that though before i started the
medication
hopefully these side effects will resolve over time like it did when
the 5 mgm dose of the medication was started
just hope those dam dreams dont go away
wish i could dvr them though and rewatch them
still dont know if i made it back from the flight mission in the
fighter jet
next week i go back to the neurologist for a follow up visit and
to schedule more diagnostic tests which will or wont solidify
my diagnosis

GOOD BASKETBALL
always liked to watch games where a dominant team plays an
inferior team  and the inferior team decides to change the flow
of the game by stalling the ball

many fans dont like to watch those games but i do
the inferior team has to have good basketball skills in order to
pull off the win against the far superior team
it comes back to good basic ball handling skills and basic
basketball moves like back door moves, good passing skills,
proper spacing, good shot selection, team defense, good screens,
blocking out on rebounds, and ....

its like watching a chess match or a good checker game

last night in northern texas the #12 team in the nation was almost
beat by a much inferior team in triple overtime
the inferior team stalled the ball the whole game
there was no scoring in the first overtime
the inferior team had a chance at the end of regulation and the
first overtime to win on buzzer beaters but they missed both shots

the final score was 38-33

would have loved to have seen the game maybe can find it on
you tube or somewhere

my brotherinlaw he was called the white fox when he coached
he was at a real real small school and usually played much larger
schools
bet he did this a lot and probably was successful at it
know teams did not like to play his teams

have a good weekend

the organicgreen doctor

pedestrian textin n walkin, wedding journey, mulch not dirt, sage

PEDESTRIAN TEXTIN N WALKIN
from an ap story about texting and walking
can chew gum and walk without causing problems but
texting and walking can be a problem

some examples
two women texting and walking their babies in baby
strollers ran right into each other-head on collision
luckily no harm done

a women was texting the birthdate of someone to a friend
who had texted her    
she was in another city  and walked into a water fountain    
it was caught on video and is now on youtube    
got several million hits     shes suing    thats american

another lady was texting and walked in front of a oncoming
taxi  
luckily she did not get hit

the reporter observed that 1 in 10 pedestrians were walking
and texting

then there was a panhandler who was sitting and texting while
seeking donations    
now that aint right

now dont text and drive (always thought that was supid but will
admit have done it before) and now dont text and walk

WEDDING JOURNEY
my son he and his fiance she are on their way on their journey
(go to google to the right and type in wedding journey to
know more)
they are on schedule
they only have a few months to go
am told will have to wear tux
blue jeans boots and string tie wont do

MULCH NOT DIRT
a recent article about granger texas returning to normal after
making true grit scenes there    
the dirt streets seen in the movie are the streets in granger
but with mulch scattered over the streets to look like dirt

man sure could have used some of that in my compost pile
wonder if it was cedar

SAGE
if you think you could have alzheimers or mild cognitive impairment
you should go to this web site www.sagetest.osu.edu

this is a test developed by ohio state university department of
neurology  division of cognitive neurology

this is a self administered test that you can do on yourself or
friend or relative    
there are instructions on scoring the test

if you or they dont score well then you should see a physician
for further evaluation

my diagnosis is early mild cognitve impairment
i took the test this am and got everything correct
however when was given a 2 hour neuropsychological exam i
failed the part on short term memory (it was a more involved testing)

because i had a normal evaluation 15 months ago and then had
the abnormal one recently plus the fact ive noted subtle changes plus
my strong family history of alzheimers got me to where i am now-
retired and on aricept (donnepezil)

the organicgreen doctor