makes me sick

MAKES ME SICK
every time i read stories like im going to tell you
it makes me sick

there is something obscene
unamerican
immoral
heinous
repulsive
loathsome
about what is happening
and
we since we vote in the politicians
we let it happen to us


i saw on facebook this morning an entry about someone
who went to the pharmacy to pick up tamiflu for the flu
and
was told it would be say $150 with your insurance
then
without insurance it would be say $350

if that was me
since i know that tamiflu only shortens the flu by at best
two days if you take it early enough
and
with the side effects that some people have
so they cant take it
i would say
no thank you
ill keep my money and use ibuprofen instead
the results in many cases will be the same
you get better

but why does it cost so much money for tamiflu

then
this one really chaps me
well the next two do

there is a drug called namenda thats added to aricept
as alzheimers progresses
the company that makes it made a new drug
well its not a new drug
they just fixed it so you
could take it once a day instead of twice a day

why did they wait so long to do this

they waited until the patent goes away next year
then did the once a day one so they could keep it
on patent a lot longer

why
namenda cost $350 a month
the new namenda xr price will be about the same
the other alzheimers drug aricept costs $450 a month
but the generic version which i take
donepezil costs only $14 a month
so
its presumed that when the generic version comes along
for namenda that the price will plummet like aricept did

so
the company said last year
we aint gonna make namenda anymore so yall going to have
to take namenda xr

the idea is to get folks on the namenda xr which will be on
patent for several years
maintaining the profits for the drug company

well the us courts
thankful someone sued them
said sorry you have to keep making namenda

i have instructed my wife she
if generic namenda is not available when i need it
do not
i repeat
do not put me on namenda xr

now thats bad enough right
profiting off the backs of the elderly
like those corrupt folks who cheat them out of their money

now
heres another thing big pharma is doing
if you have noticed recently when you go to buy your
generic drugs
why have the prices gone up so much

well
one of the reasons well two of them
first the brand company makes a deal with the generic company
to sell the generic drug at the higher price for a while
even two years can mean billions of dollars of profits
off
yes
you and me etal
well not off me

second
now the brand companies are buying out the generic companies
jacking up the prices
making huge sickening disgusting unamerican repulsive
loathsome
profits off our backs

and
we let this happen

the organicgreen doctor

disgusting

DISGUSTING
this is disgusting
it makes me nauseated
it makes me want to puke
it really pi$$e$ me off

heres the story
if you get diagnosed with alzheimers disease
the doctors usually will put you on a medication called
aricept (donepezil) to hopefully slow down the progression
of the symptoms for awhile
it does not stop the disease progression though
the earlier you start this in the disease the better it may work

then as the disease progresses on into the mid stages and
into the later stages
when it seems theres this point when things make that
fateful turn downward
then
many doctors will add a drug called namenda
it works slightly different from aricept and may
slow things down some for awhile

my opinion is that using these two meds like this is worth
trying
as its really the only thing we have that may help some

remember there is not a cure or treatment or the disease
yet
but thank goodness its coming

now here comes the disgusting part
and
shows how bad our legal medical government system is
it sheds an awful light on big pharma
yes its those old drug companies again screwing us over

aricept is generic now and is called donepezil
several companies make it
i personally pay $60 a year for it using my medicare d
drug plan
thank you mr george w for doing this plan

if you paid cash for it you would pay
$10+- for 30 pills

then in a few years after i have progressed the doctor
will add namenda to my regimen

lets see namenda comes not generic yet
a months worth at costco cash price is $149.50
whoa i hope george ws medicare d covers that

whats that you say the drug company called actavis is discontinuing
making it
but its not even gone generic yet

so you have to buy the drug called namenda xr
lets see that will be $300+ a month for that

so why would they quit making the cheaper stuff
oh i see so doctors now have to use the namenda xr
no other company can make the cheaper namenda
and
the drug company makes another extra $200 a month
off your parents or grandparents or you uncle or aunt
or your unlucky early onset alzheimers brother

that is so disgusting that we and our government let this
$#!) happen

what is that you say

what it is going to get worse

so the patent for the old form namenda goes off patent in 2015
then many different companies can make it
the price would intially drop 10% then later it will drop 90%
so
some demented person that has advanced could be treated for
$20+- a month

so by stopping making the namenda pill actavis is forcing
all these patients to go on namenda xr
which doesnt work any better than namenda

so when the namenda generic comes next year if it does
now all the patients will nicely be on namenda xr
doctors and patients commonly dont want to change

well ok when does that patent go off
oh my goodness
2029

by doing this actavis makes it much harder for a generic company
to come in and make the new generic

wonder if they have trouble sleeping at night
they rank up there with all those folks that call the elderly
trying to scam them
wait its the same thing isnt it

then sometimes the brand company like actavis
will actually buy out the new generic company so the price will
stay up even longer

so lets see thats $240 a year vs $3600

i have to stop writing now
i am so disgusted
i just puked all over my laptop

i have instructed my wife she
no brand namenda xr for me please
just let me slide down that slope without it

reminder
the
williamson county walk to end alzheimers
is tomorrow at the beautiful san gabriel park
in georgetown texas
walk starts at 900am
registration desk opens at 800am
temperature at walk time is to be 72 degrees

you can still donate and or join our team
organicgreendoctor
at this link 

remember there is no charge to walk with us
just show up and sign the waiver form

see you tomorrow
if not send us good vibes in the am as we walk
to do our part to help end this awful disease
and
oh write you congresspersons governor and your attorney general
unless you live in texas since big pharma own these guys

the organicgreen doctor

whats the price

WHATS THE PRICE
in the next 2 years several alzheimers disease studies will be started with
different criteria for who gets in them
most of not all will be given a new biological infusion called
solanezumab

this will be given monthly for 3 years
it works by binding with antibodies to beta amyloid the sticky stuff
that accumulates in the brain
that  is thought to be the cause of alzheimers disease

the beta amyloid  is then removed from the brain
if it works it will slow down the disease
or
if we are all lucky cure the disease

there are several diseases now that use the same approach for
treating them
one eg is rheumatoid arthritis
patients may get an infusion of biologicals every 1-2 months
with names like infliximab or adalimubab
thats remacaide and humira

cost of getting infusions for a year are $10,000-$30,000+

note the similar sound to their generic names to the new drug
for alzhiemers disease that will be used in these studies

the drugs for alzheimers disease used now
remember they only treat the symptoms
not the disease

these prices below are for 30 days treatment
cash prices from costco pharmacy

donepezil generic aricept $11.41
aricept brand                  $417.67
aricept 23                       $388.90 this was designed after the aricept
went generic and the price plummeted for the generic
folks dont let doctors put your family on aricept 23
its the things big pharma does when their drugs go generic
it doesnt work any better
and it cost you hundreds more a year

rivistagmine generic exelon $52.64
exelon brand                       $226
exelon patch                       $352.25
its no better than donepezil
its used instead of donepezil when donepezil causes stomach issues

for me
my stomach issues improved after 30 days and i was able to tolerate
the donepezil

namenda for now its brand is only $328.08
later this year a new product will be introduced called
you got it namenda xr
sounds familiar
the patent on namenda is going out next year
then other companies can make it

it will not work any better than namenda or the new generic
namenda
you know the cost will probably be in the $300-$400 a  month price range

namenda is usually added to the donepezil when the donepezil
loses its effectiveness later on in the disease
or
some are taking it with donepezil as soon as the diagnosis of
alzheimers is made
i have opted not to do this combo yet
when it is needed i probably will not be capable of making that
decision

if you presume all patients with alzheimers disease in the united states
are on donepezil
5,000,000 people have this disease now
thats $57,000,000 a year for the generic drug
add namenda to them
thats $1,640,000,000 a year more

now
we know this new solanezumab that will be used in these new
alzheimers disease trials will be expensive
if it works all those newly early diagnosed patients will be getting it
and
those of you who are young and who are tested for alzheimers disease
will probably start this drug early in life
maybe in the 40s
and will take it for the rest of your life
if you want to slow the disease down

cost im presuming for a years treatment will be $20,000-$30,000+
a year
we are talking about 20 years of people who will be told you will get
alzhiemers disease
there will be millions of people wanting this drug

if you multiple the cost times 5,000,000 people an underestimate
thats $150,000,000,000 a year for this new drug

but can we afford as a society to spend that amount of money
each year to prevent or treat this disease

that 150 billion dollars just so happens to me the amount
that medicare and medicaid spends now each year on
alzheimers disease patients

interesting huh
and
that does not include what private health insurance pays what long term
care insurance pay and what we all pay out of our pocket

its a financially devastating as well as socially devastating disease
but
can we afford these new treatments

well
maybe we can

lets just hope that in the next 3-5 years that this new drug
works to slow down or stop this disease
so that we can answer this question

the organicgreen doctor

i think that..., rice it is

I THINK THAT...
if you think that there is a problem
well maybe there is a problem

its called subjective cognitive decline
it may be the first clinical indicator of
alzheimers disease
ie
its the first sign of alzheimers disease

its the self reported perception of memory or
cognitive problems

at the alzheimers association international conference
in boston this week this was one of the topics discussed
with special interest to clinicians

if you can find ways to identify people early real early
get aggressive with treatment early maybe you can make
a difference in whether the disease progresses at all or
maybe make it less severe

right now you have aricept (donepezil) and namenda that can
be used initially or later on in the case of namenda
then
get aggressive with treatment of the blood pressure cholesterol
diabetes obesity sleep disturbances depression anxiety
and improve exercise diet and mental activity

this early subjective cognitive decline combined with new
testing with blood test and amyvid pet scan allows for an
early diagnosis to be made
then
new treatments can be started early on these patients

also these patients can be used for some of the research studies
on new drugs that will probably work better if started early on
the disease

there are a lot of social and psychological factors to consider
of course in this early detection

the study im in the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative
has started a study of patients who have subjective cognitive
decline and are following them with the same tests that im having
done in the mild cognitive group

im glad to see this research on subjective cognitive decline
because if i didnt have some changes on my neuropsych exam
and spinal fluid protens i probably would be in that group

here is a link to a nbc story on alzheimers disease with
maria shriver and dr nancy snyderman
this video talks about why early detection to this patient is
important
click here to watch the video

RICE IT IS
im anxiously awaiting day break today
as yesterday at about 700 am i was in the hot tub
enjoying the morning coolness and a moment of quiet
and relaxation before my day took off

i had my iphone in its otter box protector setting on a ledge
in a window by the hot tub
that otter box has been a life saver for the iphone as i get
a lot of dust compost mulch grass clipping feathers fertilizer
and a lot of other foreign materials on it on a regular basis
it really seems to help a lot in protecting it
money well spent
i hope

as i was getting out of the tub i was talking to my wife
and i guess not paying attention
oops
there the phone went into the hot tub water

i quickly hopped out of the tub
remembering from kim komando to dunk it in rice
i quickly removed the otter box so far so good
some moisture was on the outside
i quickly wiped it off
as i removed the otter box i noticed the cover to the
charger hole was not closed
not good i thought

i tried to turn it off and it wouldnt turn off
not good i thought

but into the rice i plunged it
later in the morning i heard it ring
not good i thought

its been quiet since then

now my timer is on and has two hours left

i am anxiously awaiting the results of the rice immersion

if its dead its back to the pos phone i had before
the verizon stratisphere until november

i sure love my iphone

lesson learned

the organicgreen doctor

sum it all up

SUM IT ALL UP

for those of you who did not see the news report on
the alzheimers symposium and the interview with me
here is the link to the video
http://www.kwkt.com/news/alzheimers-symposium-offers-insight-mental-illness


i just finished the book by pat summitt
the university of tennessee hall of fame womens basketball coach
who wrote this book about her career
and her progression to her diagnosis of alzheimers disease

she was open about her life
and open about her diagnosis of alzheimers disease

she even coached her last year while on the alzheimers drugs
aricept and namenda

after reading the book i was able to piece together her process of
getting diagnosed and how she began to notice the early symptoms

comparing my journey to hers

mine
mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
stage 2
hers
early mild alzheimers disease
stage 3

mine
mildly abnormal short term memory tests on the neuropsych exam
hers
more abnormal short term memory tests on her neuropsych exam

mine
positive beta amyloid in spinal fluid and mild elevation of tau protein
hers
not sure of her results
my guess was they were abnormal

mine
normal mri scan of the brain
hers
abnormal mri scan showed some early changes on the initial scan

mine
normal pet scan for glucose metabolism of the brain
hers
abnormal pet scan for glucose metabolism of the brain which
showed some decreased uptake of glucose which means she
has areas of alzheimers disease that has developed

mine
amyvid pet scan of the brain
ive delayed this for awhile
hers
not sure if she has had one

source
her book sum it up

so her diagnosis is a more firm one
she has it and it has progressed some

mine is possible alzheimers disease that time and
more testing in followup will show a trend if it occurs
towards the positive diagnosis

so
pat summitt you are my buddy
wish you well

but man after reading that book
i dont think i could ever play for you as a coach
but
with your record of success you definitely seemed to know
what you were doing

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

prevent it?, pat summitt, eclipse

PREVENT IT?
people are always asking cant you prevent alzheimers
disease
before they were told no you cant
youre just screwed if you are going to get it

now it appears there are those things you can do to prevent
alzheimers disease or to slow the progress down or to delay
the onset
sometimes you are genetically programmed to just get it
like i may be with my positive apoe 4 genotype
but maybe it can be slowed down

how do you do it
its what youre doctors have been telling you for years
start now
start early
start young
for these to work well
even if you have alzheimers or mild cognitive impairment these things
can slow it down

exercise regularly
control your blood pressure over your lifetime
control your lipids-triglycerides, good hdl cholesterol, bad ldl cholesterol
maintain a normal weight
control your diabetes throughout your lifetime
eat a normal diet especially a mediterranean diet
get normal restful sleep
avoid excessive alcohol
dont smoke
stay active mentally throughout your life
listen to music or play a musical instrument
stay socialized with friends, churches, groups, family

these also will make you live longer and healthier

PAT SUMMITT




pat summitt my buddy was named sportswomen of the year
you can read some of the article from sports illustrated here

how frustrating this disease must be for her as she continues to work
while taking her meds and doing all of the above things to try to
slow this down

sometimes when i take my aricept in the am i get extreme nausea and
get blurry vision that resolves after awhile
she takes this and also takes namenda so am sure she has some of the
same side effects

ECLIPSE




tomorrow there will be a lunar eclipse visible at about 45% in
the dallas area at 717 am
read here to get more information on it for your area

this is one of those seize the moments that seem to be more important
every day
stop and take a few minutes to enjoy this tomorrow

the organicgreen doctor