alzheimers news-doc im having memory issues

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DOC IM HAVING MEMORY ISSUES

yesterday i was contacted by someone who felt like he was having
memory issues
he is a retired professional who works one day a week
he has noticed that he has problems doing some of the work that
he used to do that involves memory and numbers

this has happened to me a lot over the last 7+years since i was
diagnosed
folks wanting to know what to do

for those of us like him with it in our immediate family
we are always concerned
is it going to happen to us

i was
it did

heres my advice

if you think you have issues
you should have an evaluation done
i read this morning in an article that when folks have memory issues
and
dont recognize them
thats more concerning

losing you keys is not abnormal
not knowing what car keys are for is abnormal
but
as we are finding out
there is a gradation between losing your keys and not knowing
what they are for
where you are on that grade is what you want to know

the first thing i tell folks
make an appointment with your primary care doctor for
only one thing
memory issues
nothing else

dont go alone
take your spouse or significant other
many doctors will want to interview them

if you dont think your primary doctor will listen to you
or do a good job
go to a neurologist

eg i if i was in practice now i think i could do a good initial workup
for memory loss

they are looking for causes that you can treat or do something about

go in prepared

if this individual has alzheimers starting he is real early
some of the memory testing will be normal
like the test called the mini cog
the one a lot of doc use
or
the mmse
trumps test the moca test is more sensitive to early changes

please dont go online and read and take the moca test
it affects its accuracy when you do have to take it for a diagnosis

if you dont do well on the moca test you should have a
full neuropsychological exam

if you are further along some of the previsit paperwork becomes
more important

to be complete
i would have his wife fill out this 21 question alzheimers questionnaire by herself
without his help
here is the link
sometimes spouses notice more things than you do
take that with you even if its normal
it helps the doctor out

then go online and take the sage test
here is the link
fill it out copy and take with you
this also helps the doctor out

if you are early in the disease these will be normal also
i expect his will be
mine were
now my moca test was initially abnormal
his moca test may not be normal

make a list of all your medications and all the supplements
that you take

i now take a lot of supplements
i have cross referenced all of them against each other and
against all my prescription medications

webmd.com has a good one to use to cross reference supplements
some supplements and over the counter meds i cant take
because of these interactions
eg
i have to limit antihistamines use since they interfere with
my aricept (donepezil) that i take for my diagnosis

make a list of your health issues like high blood pressure
high cholesterol diabetes sleep issues anxiety depression etc

make your appointment only for memory loss
bring your online tests
bring your wife
bring you list of concerns of what you have noticed
yes write them down
hand your doctor a copy
it is entered into your medical records
it shouldnt now get ignored
you keep copies of the online tests and the other lists
for yourself

the doctor should take a good history and do an examination
thinking in terms of finding a treatable cause for his memory loss

these are the labs that he should have
a cbc
a metabolic profile like a chem 24 that is commonly done
a tsh for your thyroid levels
a vitamin b12 level

some like me would add
a vitamin d3 level
a homocysteine level which if elevated may be associated with
an increased risk of heart attack stroke and alzheimers disease

then some would had sex hormones like testosterone for males
estrogen progesterone for females

if the b12 or the vitamin d3 or the homocysteine level are abnormal
they are usually easily corrected with daily over the counter supplements
all thrre of these were abnormal on me

then after the history and exam and the lab testing is done
there should be a memory test done
a minicog is not a sufficient one for early disease
a better one is the moca test like trump took
it shows up early symptoms

if the moca test is abnormal he should if his labs and history and exam
are unremarkable have a
full neuropsychological exam
it will show if there is memory loss
these are usually done by a neuropsychologist

if the history and exam or lab shows things like sleep issues or depression
not well controlled or abnormal labs these need to be fixed
before more testing is done

if the neuropsycholigical test is not normal
a mri scan should be done
that will rule out things like old strokes tumors etc

at this point the cause of the memory issues should have been
discovered

for him
he might consider after this
if he wants to know more
to do genetic testing
spinal tap for beta amyloid and tau
an amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid
none of these are covered by insurance
and are expensive

for me
i wanted as much information as i could obtain

so i have
such that i feel like my diagnosis is as accurate as one
can have based on the testing thats available in 2018

also
as i told him
he is a good candidate for research

you can go to clinicaltrials.gov
type in alzheimers
click on the state you live in
a list of all the alzheimers studies available are there

i can tell you though sometimes they dont show up before
they are open
the alzheimers centers in your state will know whats coming
in the future that may not be listed

for him
since he could be early or even in that prealzheimers state
that state where the memory is normal but the scans are not
he would be a good candidate for
some of the new treatments that are being used on folks with
prealzheimers or those with mild cognitive impairment like me

also a new study that is the phase 3 of the adni2 i was in for 5 years
called the adni3 study is starting up in his state. it should be on the
clinical trials website

also you can sign up for the alzheimers associations trial match
on their webpage www.alz.org
they will let you know when a study comes available that you might
match up with

also
if he goes to his doctor and gets the run around
he should go see another doctor
he should make sure he has a complete work up

a history and exam
labs
memory testing
maybe mri
maybe further tests for alzheimers not covered by insurance

he also
after he has had a complete workup
not before
should consider the regimen in dr bredesens article on reversal of cognitive decline
this should never be done without discussing it with your doctor
i reviewed them with my doctor and my neurologist before i started them

does it help
i think it might
but
its hard to prove if this is why im not worse now
or
if its the aricept (donepezil)
or
if its just the course of the disease
waxing and waning for now

tomorrow i will be on an alzheimers panel at a conference
at the huntingtom memorial hospital in pasedena california
sponsored by the alzheimers greater la at www.alzgla.org
answering questions about my story and diagnosis
and
how i feel about being diagnosed
and
how it affects my family and my life
and
what recommendations
i have for other folks

the panel im on at 1030am will be all folks who have
an early diagnosis

its interesting when you are around folks who are early on in the disease
that for many you would have no idea they had memory problems

here is the link to the conference

so
if you have memory issues
get a good workup
some causes can be treated

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-the final answer is....

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THE FINAL ANSWER IS....

for those who dont know
my story
here is a brief summary

my mother and younger brother died from the disease
my father may have had it when he died
my older brother probably has early alzheimers disease

8 years ago i had a normal memory test when i was seeking my
long term insurance
6 years ago while seeking to be in the normal group for a large
research study called adni i was found to have short term memory loss
on memory testing

this is when i quit working and started the alzheimers drug
aricept or donepezil which slows down the symptoms
but doesnt stop the disease process
if started early it has better and longer effects in slowing these
symptoms

testing done that was positive were

i carry the apoe4 apoe4 gene that puts me at high risk
maybe 10-20 x increased risk of developing alzheimers disease

testing on my spinal fluid reveals i have low beta amyloid
and high tau levels
this was done 6 years ago
this is associated with alzheimers disease

my mri scans and glucose metabolism pet scans are all normal
early in the disease these can be negative but later
they become positive

i have low b12 levels low vitamin d3 levels
high homocysteine levels
homocysteine if elevated is associated with an increased risk
for heart disease stroke and alzheimers disease
maybe

these levels are corrected by taking replacement supplements
under the care of my primary care doctor
my levels are now all normal

i aggressively take care of my health
i follow dr bredesens protocol from his study
reversal of cognitive decline
again under the care of my physicians

so i have been stable now for 6 years
probably no one notices i have a problem
maybe not even my wife she
but i do

i know that i have alzheimers
deep inside my body tells me
that i do

so all of the things i am doing now
i realize they dont stop the disease
it just keeps marching on from one brain cell to the next
they only slow things down some
i know
that in the end this disease wins

unless
i can find something to stop this disease from marching on
so
for the last 6 years i have been keeping a close eye
on all the research thats going on
looking for the drug that might treat the disease
or at least
slow it down significantly

oh theres real promising stuff out there
but
it may be a decade or more away
too late for me

beta amyloid is a protein that accumulates in the brain of
a person with alzheimers disease
many feel like its the cause of the disease
remove it or prevent it from accumulating may
prevent or slow down the disease

so three years ago i spotted the aducanumab study
here is a good review of it from ucsf memory center

so for me
it seemed to be the one i was looking far
it seemed to work in a preliminary study called phase 1
folks with my diagnosis had all the bad beta amyloid
which is thought to be the cause of alzheimers
removed from their brains
ie
their amyvid pet scans for the beta amyloid which showed
beta amyloid throughout the brain
after a year of treatment it was all cleared out
then
these folks memory also improved
thats the true measure
does it make things better

so if this stuff works
it should stop the disease in its tracks
or
at least remarkably slow it now
so
that
a person with it may die from something else
like maybe old age

so
this was where i was at about a year ago
when i heard this study was coming
i knew i wanted to be in this one

i started the five step process last november
requiring multiple visits to work through the steps
some involving my wife she
i passed all the tests
meaning some of them were abnormal
then
last week i went up the fifth step
the amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid in the brain

if its positive
i have alzheimers disease for sure
im in the study

if its negative
i am not in the study
i just got a big time reprieve

are you nervous
anxious
scared
sad
waiting like this

no i said
this has been going on too long
i also have been open and written and freely talked about
all this
i think it has helped
plus
it has helped to get educational stuff out to folks
many who have now volunteered for research studies

now i did cry when i heard i was accepted just to be considered
to be in the study

so
yesterday
as i pulled up my email
there it was from the
alzheimers disease center at ut southwestern

i am sorry to say dr nash
but
your amyvid pet scan shows that you have amyloid deposits
throughout your brain
i knew this was going to be that way
so it means i have alzheimers disease
especially when you add up my history and other testing

thats the bad news
but
the good news is that qualifies you to be in the
aducanumab study

as soon as we get all the official confirmations
we will set you up for the infusions of
aducanumab monthly for 18 months then another 3.5 years if it seems
to work
i realize i also may get the placebo for those 18 months
my chances are 33% i will get the placebo
but
after that i will be able to get the real stuff
either way i am fine with
because eventually i will get the real drug

so in this slide above
on the right is what my scan looks like
all the red stuff is amyloid
then
if i get treatment
in a year my scan will look like that on the left

so am i sad
yes and no
its sort of sad to get this final answer
like being told you got a noncurable cancer
remember alzheimers is usually the true cause of death for those who get it

did i cry
yes i cried yesterday
like when my mom died and my brother died

am i happy
yes i am happy but sad at the same time
i know that i might be able to do something now to slow this down
be involved
with something that may change a lot of folks lives

as of right now
i feel some hope
i am ready to face this new stage in my our lives

i feel like i just won a million dollars
or maybe the lottery

the sad but happy
the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-gut feeling

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-GUT FEELING

when a person is born
they began to have bacteria introduced into their guts
the first being of course from their mother
over time
the composition changes of ones gut bacteria
things like
antibiotics wipes out a lot of them
diet like a fatty meaty diet alters its some
illnesses like stomach viruses and bacterial infetions
changes things up even more

so
what you are left with
is what bacteria survives all these attacks

i follow a 36 point plan from this reversal of cognitive decline article
from dr bredesen from ucla since it may have promise
in slowing down memory decline
in fact they are doing a much larger study at the cleveland clinic
on this regimen
no its nothing fancy
most of it is what we all should be doing anyway

one part of the plan is the diet we are on
how it affects our gut biology
if you get the wrong makeup in the gut you get inflammation
going on that seems to be transferred to the brain
inflammation is part of the alzheimers disease as it moves
through the brain

one of the things he recommends along with a diet
similar to the mind diet
is to take probiotics on a regular basis

so
thats what i have been doing now
besides changing my diet to the mind diet
i added probiotics to my regimen
which one i am always asked
im not sure since you can get lost in all those selections
i just right now
buy one and take it
figured its better than not taking one at all

i also have hardly ever take antibiotics unless i had
true pneumonia or some definitely identified infection

so now
after this study below
it makes it more likely that all the above is important
i bet in the future there will be a particular probiotic formulation
that is used to help to slow down the progression of alzheimers disease

so
in a recent study in mice
mice with no gut bacteria didnt develop alzheimers disease
but
when the gut bacteria from mice who did get alzheimers disease
were introduced to these gut sterile mice
they developed the amyloid plaques of alzheimers disease

if this transfers to humans
which it probably does
our gut bacteria makeup may be a determining factor
in whether we get alzheimers disease
or
how severe the disease is

my guess
is that this like the 36 point plan
will be part of the overall regimen one gets on to
slow down the disease process
or
if we are lucky
to prevent it from starting in the first place

so
could we be having gut bacteria transplants in the future
i definitely would go for one if it is shown to help
i wonder how they give it to you
i hope not in a milkshake



this weekend i will be giving a talk on
clinical studies
the clinical study i am in
what testing needs to be done to access ones memory
a review of my story over the last 6 years

it will be at the san gabriel presbyterian church
on williams drive in georgetown texas
sunday afternoon at 300 pm
it is open to the public

then
next tuesday is the big day
i get my amyvid pet scan of the brain
if its positive for beta amyloid i am in the big aducanumab alzheimers treatment study
if its negative for beta amyloid i am not in the study
but that means i probably dont have alzheimers disease
a good thing either way

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-yes i know about it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-YES I KNOW ABOUT IT

thats what i told them yesterday
when several people contacted me
about this story that was on nbcs today show
with dr bredesen from ucla

all the links about this protocol are on the above link

first
let me stop here
if you are a sibling of mine
i have encouraged all of you to get on this regimen
a cousin of mine
a nephew or niece of  mine
a great niece or great nephew of  mine
a son of mine
or
if you have someone in your family with alzheimers disease
stop
take the time to read the above article
click on the two videos
especially the first one
the second is on the study i am being considered for
then
jump on board
do all these healthy things i mention below
even if you dont take any of the supplements

your brain will be the better for it
then
go back and read and watch the videos again

remember those of us who have the diease
have nothing to lose by trying it

yes
i said to those who contacted me
i know all about it

you
see
i have been on the bredesen protocol for several months now
ever since it was published 2 years ago in the magazine
aging


he has a 36 point approach to slow down cognitive decline
his study was on only 10 people with different amounts
of memory loss
from barely noticeable to full blown moderate alzheimers disease
the protocol only worked on 9 out of 10 folks
the one with moderate alzheimers disease showed no change

this goes along with what we know about this disease
by the time you reach this stage
you may have reached the point of no return

two of the folks were professionals
one a lawyer
the other a physician
both were at the point where they were going to have to
discontinue their profession
however
after being on the protocol for awhile several months
their memories improved to the point where they
were able to continue their careers

i looked at the protocol carefully
all 36 things
i realized that i was already doing the majority of them
so was everyone else who was taking good care of themselves
physically mentally spiritually

it did encourage me to check my hormone levels which were ok
my b12 which was way too low
as was my vitamin d3 levels
my homocysteine level it was way too high
all easily corrected with over the counter medicines

there were two items i couldnt do
omega 3 fish oil and coconut oil since it worsened my indigestion

the others i tolerated ok

so along with this protocol
again most of it is healthy stuff i needed to do better on
and
adding the aricept (donepezil)
my memory returned to a normal level last year
and
i think based on how i felt i did on my memory test two weeks ago
has remained there

was it the protocol
yes i think so
which parts
i think a lot had to do with correcting my abnormal levels of vitamins
and
doing all the healthy things i should have been better at doing
like
controlling my blood pressure my cholesterol
maintaining a normal weight
exercising regularly i was habitating it doing lots of gardening
doing ranch work
improved my sleep back to normal levels
learned to relax i think the aricept does that somewhat
i have no palpable stress
i am happy
i do stop and look inside frequently even when working in the yard
i stay active mentally doing this blog interacting with folks a lot here
and in real life and read books and lots of news articles and
medical articles
i eat a mind diet and am as i say a 90% vegetarian
i drink a glass of red wine a day
i dont use tobacco

so all those things are on the protocol
along with several supplements many of you recognize
like turmeric acid resveratrol coq 10 balance b 100 etc

so add all this up
yes i guess i am on dr bredesens protocol
most i was already doing
i contnue to take aricept (donepezil) to slow down symptoms
i plan to continue all this
even
if i get on the new treatment study with the new experimetal alzheimers drug
aducanumab
which is discussed in the second video

dr bredesen plans to do a much larger study at cleveland clinic
on a much larger group of folks
to look closer as to whether this protocol really works
whether in the long run whether it stops the disease
or just delays things for a long period of time

he also is commercializing it some
which i have no problem with i guess

my opinion
like aricept (donepezil)
i think it just delays the symptoms for a period of time
hopefully a long time
but
this disease will end up winning in the end
but
gaining some more time sure is worth it all

ms b i might make it to your high school graduation afterall

the organicgreen doctor

talking and more on the study

TALKING AND MORE ON THE STUDY
i enjoy doing talks on alzheimers disease
especially doing q and a ones

this week i did a two hour talk to a small group
as part of a two day seminar for cmes for
memory care facilities

so many of the facilities now are using techniques to
handle the residents that have been proven to work so much
better than the old methods of
sitting them in a chair all day
over medicating them
not keeping them active mentally and physically
its really changed a lot in the last few years

the best ones ive visited have incorporated these techniques
in their facilities

i spoke of the common dementias
talking the most of course about alzheimers disease
since thats what i know best

besides alzheimers disease
there is
dementia of lewy bodies caused by the deposition of a protein
in the brain called lewy bodies
the comedian robin williams had this
its probably the worst to get
it strikes younger folks in their 50-70s
it hits fast goes fast
and is devastating to the families
its like what i call alzheimers on steroids

vascular dementia caused from strokes or minstrokes
commonly seen along with alzheimers disease
the symptoms are variable based on where the stroke is

parkinsons dementia that comes usually several years after
the movement disorder of parkinsons starts
its symptoms when it happens is like dementia of lewy body
it can be a difficult one for families also

frontotemporal dementia patients have shrinkage of the front
and side of the brain
symptoms are based on the damage done to these areas
behavior is an issue
they lose all inhibitions
another bad one

then i talked about alzheimers research
which i know more about
and
spent time talking about
dr bredesens article on reversal of cognitive decline

i found a good article from webmd about the study
here is the link
click here

until this 36 point plan is proven not to work i will
continue to be a believer in it
and will be following it myself

half of it is stuff we all should be doing


the good thing about dr bredesen is that he is a well respected
alzheimers researcher
he just received a multimillion dollar grant to further his other
research in his lab
so
hes not some off the wall researcher that is spouting some
weird recommendations

he just is thinking outside the box
sometimes those folks make the best researchers

he does say that there are a lot of pills to take
i have added now close to 20 a day to my regimen
it can be expensive
however its about half the cost of a  prescription of namenda
or exelon

he also says and i understand that myself that this is not a cure
for alzheimers disease
its not going to stop the disease
hopefully it slows things down for me
so
if i gain a few years its worth it to me

if you have a group like a club or church group that would
like to have me do a q and a or a talk for them on
alzheimers disease  i would be glad to do it

the organicgreen doctor

now where did i put that...

NOW WHERE DID I PUT THAT...
if this is a problem thats getting worse
then read my blog today
and
the accompanying article from cnn

now i do lose things
i lost my keys to my car once
never did find them
sold the car
then years later found them
where else
but in the garden under a layer of mulch
a little rusty but still recognizable as clicker keys

we all lose things
but there is a point where it becomes abnormal

so if you are having memory issues
or a loved one is
or if a loved one is in the beginning of their decline
read on

first if you or a loved one have memory issues
they you should be evaluated
looking for easily treatable causes
like low thyroid low b12 depression sleep issues etc etc

then
take the time to read this

in the ucla study 
of only 10 folks
by dr bredesen director of the alzheimers research center at ucla
no fly by night researcher

he found 36 points to look at each patient that they could
do to maybe help out

so i put myself in that list

i have low b12 low vit d too high homocysteine
have sleep issues
have high blood pressure high cholesterol
have the apoe4 double gene that increases my chance of
having alzheimers disease
have low beta amyloid and rising tau levels in my spinal fluid

so using these things
i set up a regimen

reminder these were discussed with my family doctor
and my neurologist first

so i take 16 supplements a day
for inflammation
omega 3 vit e

to help decrease beta amyloid in the brain
some of these are anecdotal uses based on animal studies
i take bacopa tumeric acid

for sleep the stuff he recommends for me i have side effects
to and cant take

for gi health i eat a mediterranean diet and take probiotics
but dont follow his strict diet
i dont do a lot of simple sugars
i do the 12 hour fast which i was doing anyway

for possibly building better nerve connections
and
for more alertness i take several of the recommended supplements

since i have apoe4/apoe4 i take resveratrol every day
it will soon be proven or not if it works in a study to be released
next year
if it doesnt work i will stop it

i am taking vit b12 to replace my low levels
vitaming d for my low levels
folic acid for my elevated homocysteine levels

i exercise regularly by working on our country n property
volunteering doing habitat for humanity builds
and walk and hike

i maintain a normal blood pressure and cholesterol and weight
i stay happy
i meditate here at the country n
i stay active mentally

so of the 36 points he writes about in the original article
i am doing most of them
well i was doing most of them anyway

so
like 9 of the 10 folks in this study
after almost 3 months on this regimen
i notice a difference
more alertness
less fatigue in the afternoon and evening
i have noticed i have very few leg cramps now

my dreams occasionally get disturbing since
i stared this regimen
like last night a group of folks from one of those
apocalyptic movies was attacking me with swords and
knives
but i tricked them i yelled real loud and woke up
and they all went away
woke my wife she up also

my memory does seem better
adjusted some for my age
i am looking forward to doing my next neuropsych test to
see if it continues to improve
i think so

my guess is this stuff helps more early on in the process
than it does as things get worse
my guess is it doesnt stop the disease completely
just sort of dams it up a little but it bursts through
eventually

maybe it can slow it down enough until treatments get
developed that may be real close
maybe in this decade

heres hoping

so read the ucla article
on reversal of cognitive decline
and
read the cnn article
on we may be able to reverse signs of early alzheimers disease
also
look at the beginning of the article at
7 ways to fight alzheimers disease
and
click through the 7 pictures and read the captions

to get an idea on what may be done to help you/them

my view is
this stuff does not seem harmful to me
there are some side effects
its not all proven to be effective
but
you cant deny that 9 out of 10 got better on the regimen
for me
the alternative is to do nothing
which
im not willing to do
neither should you

good luck

now where did i put my glasses

the organicgreen doctor

this may help

THIS MAY HELP

examiner.com

alzheimers disease is a progressive fatal disease for which
there is no treatment or cure

so when you look at treatments and side effects eg
the medicine aricept (donepezil) which doesnt treat the disease
it just treats the symptoms
just slows them down some
if it was used for angina or diabetes or high blood pressure
then doctors and patients would not use it since it has so
many side effects

but
since we are talking about a progressive fatal disease for which
the only real treatment right now is aricept (donepezil)
then we use it for the alzheimers diagnosis since its our only
choice

so thats the view i use when i look at treatments for alzheimers
experimental and other ones
there are no choices as of yet
if something looks promising then ill do it
as the choices otherwise are what
thats right there arent any

now before i proceed forward
vitamins and supplements are like medicines they have side effects
and they interact with each other and other medicines
eg vitamin e interfers with coumadin

if you read this and you have memory loss that has not been
completely evaluated
dont do any of the things recommended in
the article unless you have had a complete evaluation with
a doctors exam and good medicial history labs mental status testing
scans medicine reviews etc

remember some memory loss causes are treatable and reversible

now
last week in the press there were articles on using vitamins and supplements
to reverse memory loss from an ucla research study
here are two links to two of those articles
abc news
ucla news

the second link is a more in depth article

now here is the link to the research article that was published in Aging
the title is
reversal of cognitive decline a novel therapeutic program
by dr dale bredesen from the department of neurology ucla

this study may have the only recommendations that are available
right now in medicine for ways to slow down
or reverse memory loss

yes i wrote reverse memory loss

in this study he took 10 people who had memory loss and treated
and followed them for two years
there were patients with sci or subjective memory impairment which
means you think you have memory loss but it doesnt show up on
memory tests
studies have shown that these folks many of them develop eventual
dementia or impairment

there were patients with the diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive
impairment
that is what my diagnosis is
these patients have abnormalities on memory tests and some have
abnormal scans of the brain

then there were patients with early stage alzheimers disease

there was one patient with later stage alzheimers disease

this regimen on these 10 patients had 9 of the 10 improve
on their memory
many of them were able to return back to work

the only one who did not get better was the patient who
had the more advanced disease

now i know this was on a small number of patients
but the findings seem quite significant
there will be more studies done on a larger number of patients
who will be followed for several years
then we will definitely know

sorry but i dont have time to wait for that study
for me this seems like evidence enough to proceed

so i will use myself as an example as to how this study will be
used to treat me

first i have had a very thorough evaluation for memory loss over
the last 4 years
as good an evaluation as you can have
neuropsych tests labs mri scans spinal taps pet scans
so i feel like my diagnosis is accurate

i am also followed by my family doctor and by my neurologist
and by the alzheimers research center at ut southwestern
on a regular basis

i have sat  down with my family doctor and my neurologist and
have discussed my trying this new treatment regimen
i have their blessings

there are 36 points to the treatment regimen
many i was already doing

exercising

eating a mostly vegetarian diet
i only occasionally eat meat
i rarely eat simple carbohydrates and dont eat a lot of grains
i usually eat at 6pm and dont eat again until 6am so i have a fast
during that time and have 3 hours fasting before bedtime
this fasting or ketogenesis may be helpful in providing ketones
as a source of food for the brain cells

getting adequate sleep by taking an afternoon nap to compensate for
my two hours of sleep i lose at night

i try to meditate or stare i dont do yoga
i use my walking and my gardening as my meditation times

i stay active physically and mentally
eg for this blog today i have spent over 4 hours reading and writing it

i maximize my health as much as possible controlling my weight
my blood pressure my cholesterol
i stay happy and content and dont really feel stressed out

in the article there are references for each recommendation
these are based on research articles that are referenced
not much of this is anecdotal but is based on research

as baseline labs i did
vitamin b12   25-oh vit d3  
homocysteine level   crp c reactive protein  these two measure
inflammation in the body
my levels of these two were elevated in the past

thyroid level    testosterone level
my wife she said for me not to do that one but i did anyway

these are not back yet but i expect them to be normal except
for the homocysteine level and the crp
for that i will take folic acid to lower the homocysteine level
for the elevated crp i will use things that help inflammation
vit e  omega 3 fish oil curcumin or tumeric acid and will
be good about dental hygiene
and take vitamin b6

for sleep i tried the low dose melatonin but felt drugged all day
so i will utilize the nap system to get my 7-8 hrs sleep
dont plan things with me after lunch please

for mediation which lowers beta amyloid i will do the walking
and gardening version

for gi health i couldnt do the gluten free diet which i dont get much
of anyway
i will add probiotics to my regimen

for reduction of beta amyloid i will take curcumin and
will try the indian herb ashwaganda
when i tried it the first time i got 8 hrs very restful sleep
but i had the most god awful disturbing violent dreams ever
and have not taken it again
it also lowers blood pressure so i have to monitor  my blood
pressure closely
i plan to try half the dose again when i can get the courage to do it

for cognitive enhancement i will take bacopa monniera

to increase nerve growth factor i will take alcar or acetyl-l-carnitine

to provide synaptic structural components-thats where the nerve
endings meet-i will take citicoline and fish oil

to optimize antioxidants i will take omega 3 fish oil and eat antioxidant
foods in my diet and take alpha-lipoic acid

to optimize mitochondral function the batteries of the brain cells
i will take co q   alpha-lipoic acid   alcar   and drink a glass of red wine
ok maybe two glasses sometimes

to increase focus i will take pantothenic acid (vitamin b5)

to get median chain triglycerides i will be taking coconut oil twice a day
i chose not to take the prescription food axona even though i have some
as its expensive and is a hassle to mix up and take each day

so there it is
my treatment plan for reversal of cognitive decline

ive looked at patient number two in this study as he seems closer
to my history
his ten year decline seems to have been halted in its tracks
thats what im after

so
i take or will be taking 17 supplements each morning along with
my regular medicines
a handful for sure
i started yesterday and have noticed no side effects so far
i was worried about nausea but that didnt happen

i plan to add ashwaganda again at a lower dose but will stop it if
those dreams still occur
it was shown in studies to lower the bad stuff beta amyloid

if my labs are abnormal i will start replacements if they are needed
like vit b12 or vit d3 or thyroid or testosterone

since i have regular neuropsych tests done and moca tests and mmse tests done
at the research center i will know if im better
plus i will know myself

so in summary
make sure your memory loss has been thoroughly evaluated before
trying this
talk with your doctor before you start it
remember these things are like medicines they have side effects and
can interact with prescriptions
look up the supplements also on this link on webmd
its one of the best ive found

www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/

do not do this without doing all my recommendations

then
donate and or join us this weekend for the
travis county walk to end alzheimers at camp mabry at 1100am
on sunday october 12
our team is austin regional clinic

the organicgreen doctor