but can we afford it

BUT CAN WE AFFORD IT
thats what i thought when i read about these two treatments
one for stroke
the other for cholesterol which if controlled can help prevent
stroke heart disease and maybe alzheimers disease

now i have an elevated homocysteine level that some
neurologists believe is associated with an increased risk
of stroke heart disease and alzheimers disease


the treatment is easy
take folic acid 0.8 mgm a day
thats the amount in a prenatal vitamin

i take folic acid (folate) every day
and
buy it in a bottle of 120 for $9

a cheap treatment easily available without a prescription

a new study showed that those with high blood pressure that
took folic acid reduced their risk of stroke by a significant amount

so for $36 a year i could reduce my risk for stroke by a third
check that one off my list

the new alzheimers vaccine that is being studied extensively is
called solanezumab
if it works and comes to market
its expected to cost $20,000 a year

remember the ending of that drug ...umab

my ldl the bad cholesterol that increases ones risk for
stroke heart attack and alzheimers disease
is quite elevated off medication

the first time i had it done it was 240
thats heart attack stroke high

using diet and exercise that was lowered to 140
a reduction of about 42%
at a cost of $0 a year

adding generic lipitor for $5 a month at a cost of $60 a year
the ldl is lowered to 80
a reduction of 67% of my ldl
at a cost of $60 a year


now a drug company has developed at new drug
are you ready for this
called evolocumab
its an injection like the new alzheimers vaccine
that produces antibodies that grabs ldl cholesterol
and removes it from the circulation
at
a predictive cost of $10,000 a year
to get the ldl down to a 60% reduction

now i did that at a cost of $60 a year

i like my way better dont you

now
i can think of one patient i had who would have benefited
from taking this injectable medicine
sky high ldl like mine but she could not tolerate any medicines
of course there is no way she could afford this medicine

so thats the question we are going to have to answer about these
new treatments

can we afford them
and
are there better cheaper treatments

the organicgreen doctor

healthy heart healthy brain

HEALTHY HEART HEALTHY BRAIN
those things you do to make your heart healthy it appears
will make your brain much more healthy as you get older

of course
you have to start doing this when you are younger
pre grey hair it seems
to be most effective

oh she had hardening of the arteries when she got old is what
i heard

i heard that a lot when i was in practice
an explanation for dementia in a loved one
once pooh poohed by medical folks but now it may actually be
true

if you do anything to decrease the size of the blood supply to the
brain cells they will start to die
be it ruptured vessels cholesterol buildup blood clots
whatever causes the cells to not get blood and by not getting blood
they dont get nutrition
this can also induce the accumulation of beta amyloid then later
tau protein and the cascading events you see with alzheimers disease
sorry to say this accumulaton starts early in life

in a recent study from ucsf young folks were followed over 25 years
from their 20s into their 40s and 50s monitoring their blood pressure
cholesterol and diabetes

these 3 thing are shown to be the culprits in the development of
atherosclerosis a big word being cholesterol buildup in the arteries that
restricts blood flow
eg in regards to the heart you can get a heart attack and or a stroke

those young folks we now call millennials who had abnormal levels
of all 3 of these
and
we are talking about levels slightly higher than normal
did not do as well on cognitive tests (memory tests) when
they got to their 40s and 50s which are the tail end of the baby boomers

these 3 things blood pressure cholesterol diabetes are so easy to control
many times without medicine
but im sorry to say
its with diet a mediterranean diet veggies fruits olive oil fish lean meats
red wine nuts
with exercise get off the couch and walk some each day
with medications if they are needed

as those of us who keep up with alzheimers research know that
this process does all start when folks are young
yes maybe all their lives or in the 20s 30s
by the 40s its all sped up
by the 50s irreparable damage may be done already
it may be too late to stop the cascade of events at that age

so
stop if you are a millennial and get moving
so you will remember how to text how to use your iphone
how to use all your electronic gear when you get older

take a look at your kids your grandkids nephews nieces and
other loved ones
especially those who are worried they will get the dreaded a disease
alzheimers disease

get them moving
make them eat correctly
maintain a normal weight
check baseline cholesterol
check their blood pressure yes kids will get high blood pressure
and it needs treated

it may be the best gift you can give them
if you do maybe they will remember the gift and you when they get older

their future memory is in your hands

the organicgreen doctor

lets walk, these three may help

LETS WALK
 
the austin travis county walk to end alzheimers
is tomorrow with the registration starting at 730am
the prewalk ceremonies at 840am
the walk starts at 900am

if you live in central texas
come join us to walk in support of our fight against this disease

there are rains predicted during the night but they should be gone
by the time the walk events start
the skies should be cloudless and bright and sunny for the walk

i will post any changes here in the am and on my facebook page

you can join our team for this walk
austin regional clinic

remember you can walk without having to donate
just sign in the day of the walk

see you in the morning

THESE THREE MAY HELP

women who have been taking long term estrogen replacement therapy
are less likely to develop alzheimers disease
the rate is 2.5 times less likely
it has to be started before mental decline occurs
suggesting that for it to work well it has to be started years before
the damage has occurred

guess i had better not take this one huh
maybe the mr t one

the high dose most powerful statins used to treat cholesterol seems to
reduce the risk of developing dementia
in one study it was 3 times less likely to develop dementia if you took
one of the two most powerful statins atorvastatin (lipitor)
or rosuvastatin (crestor) at their higher doses

got this one covered as im on the moderate dose of atorvastatin

now a study shows that take certain blood pressure meds may
produce a protective effect in normal patients and those with
mild cognitive impairment-thats me
by reducing the incidence of alzheimers disease dementia

diuretics like hctz hydrocholorothiazide eg and arbs
-angiotensin II receptor blockers- like avapro cozaar-losartan- atacand
diovan benicar eg
 and ace inhibitors like lisinopril seem to reduce this risk
whereas beta blockers like inderal metaprolol and
calcium channnel blockers like verapamil norvasic procardia
cardizem did not have the same effect

got that one covered also as im on losartan

so it seems good control of your blood pressure especially with diuretics
or arbs and or ace inhibitors reduces your risk of getting the disease

also using the higher dose stronger statins also may help reduce the
incidence of this disease

then long term estrogen replacement therapy may help also
but other long term side effects on that one has to be considered
breast cancer increased risk of heart disease
of course i dont need to worry about this one

so
ill take my bp meds and my cholesterol meds knowing that my
heart and my brain are being protected

and take my prescribed fruits and vegetables
and
walk to end alzheimers

the organicgreen doctor

rain water brother, cholesterol

RAIN WATER BROTHER
when i can influence someone to collect rain water
each gallon they collect is one gallon that is not pulled
from the aquifer or the lakes or the city water system
any gallon of water that i can influence someone to conserve
is one gallon of water not pulled from the aquifer or the lakes
or the city water system

we especially need this now in this drought we are having
some cities may have to get even stricter on water conservation
if the drought continues on through next summer
real strict restrictions

this weekend the boy that was shown walking with me at
the walk to end alzheimers in austin put out several containers
to collect rain water off his roof during the recent rains
good job bg

yesterday i spent the day with my older brother who is putting
in a rain water system under the rules of his hoa and his whoa
(wifes hoa)
his tanks have to be pleasant in their appearance and can not
be taller than his six foot fence with none visible from the
street
that means none in the front yard at all
well none that anyone will see

i have helped several people put in these before and i put in
my rain water system that provides water for the house and
the garden (we have no well or city water)

figuring out how to hook everything up and understanding how
water flows with gravity can be tricky
since ive made most of the mistakes that can be made im a good
person to help someone else
so they wont suffer through the mistakes ive made
(its cost me lots of water loss in the past-hundreds of gallons)

when he is finished you will be able to walk into his back yard
and not notice he is collecting rain water
(but his wife hoa will)

he also has constructed a rain water sink by mulching his beds well
with compost and mulch so that when his tanks fill up and a
new rain is coming he dumps his water into this compost mulch
rain water sink which soaks up hundreds of gallons of water in
the mulch
his plants love this method

my front yard is heavily mulched especially around my oak trees
so that when it rains the mulch soaks up gallons of water and
retains it on the yard rather than have it run off the yard into
the pastures

think about this in your landscape
even a small berm will hold back water on your property

he is almost ready for the next big rain
little does he know that when you collect rain water its like
gambling you have to have more tanks so you wont loose
any water
be careful
am sure there is a rain water anonymous

CHOLESTEROL
in our family the males tend to die young from heart attacks or
strokes and if they get through all those they get alzheimers
so many of us have been aggressive about controlling our
blood pressure, our weight, and our cholesterol

our cholesterol we have is the bad stuff
we have what i call the trifecta
low hdl (good one), real high ldl (the bad one) and real
hight triglycerides (the ugly one)

yes we have the good bad and the ugly cholesterol problem

many of us take high dose statins-lipitor or crestor or simvastatin
or lovastatin (i take 40 mg lovastastin)
some of us also take niacin to increase our good cholesterol
(i take 1500 mgm of slo niacin)
some of us take omega 3 fish oil
most of us take aspirin 81 mg a day

interesting it appears now that controlling that trifecta cholesterol
may slow down and possibly prevent alzheimers
time and more studies will show if this is true

we also have high blood pressure and many of us are on
blood pressure medication

so my rain water brother was on a drug for his cholesterol, niacin
for his hdl cholesterol and a high dose blood pressure medication
these controlled everything well for him

however he like many of us was tired of taking all those meds
so
he went on a vegetarian diet with eggs and with fish
he has gotten his bmi to 21 (normal is less than 25)
he has gone off all his medications
his blood pressure runs 100/60 normal is less than 120/80)
his ldl cholesterol is in the 90s (normal is less than 100-130)
his triglycerides are 100 (normal is less than 150)
his hdl is in the 50s (nornal is greater than 40)
all with out any meds
his numbers are actually better than when he was on medications

so diet and exercise can make a huge difference in your cholesterol
levels and your blood pressure readings

you should try it
no copays
no brand drugs
feel better
live longer

the organicgreen doctor