december 22nd 2010

DECEMBER 22ND 2010

that day will always be important to me my family my friends my patients as it was the day that my life changed from where i was at that day to where i am now

not all folks can pick a day that deflected their life in another direction

its been 8 years since that day
a few weeks before as i volunteered to be in that normal control group of the alzheimers research study i was happy i was doing my part to advance alzheimers research even it meant being in the normal study group
then
the deflection came like a rock on an incline where a ball rolls down
hits the rock
careens off in another direction
so
it was that day

i sat there staring sweating almost woozy like as i couldnt answer their questions correctly
i knew it would be coming for me i just didnt think it would be this soon
my mom had just died with it a few months earlier
my younger brother was in the throes of it when i sat there in that chair
yes
as a doctor and a family member of those affected i knew what it meant when i couldnt answer those questions correctly
yep i knew

yes the next morning as i sat at my computer i cried
i can remember the tears dropping down onto the computer keyboard
i didnt wipe them off my face or the keyboard
i just let them dry in place

yes
i sat there and planned what i was to do
so
after receiving that phone call giving me my final report
i knew i had 3 weeks to plan what happened next
so
i slowed down my practice a lot
starting seeing folks early for med refills doing well child exams and physicals early
i said bye to a lot of folks they just didnt know it at the time

the last patient i saw in practice was an employees sons 2 year well child exam
i had called her a few days before and asked her to bring him in for his exam
i knew he would be the last patient i ever saw

that afternoon the clinic supervisor said
you arent coming back are you

i deflected like that rock did with my answer
i thought to myself as i drove home
thats it

i met the neurologist the next day
got my official diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment probably due to alzheimers disease
i got my prescription aricept (donepezil) which might slow down the disease maybe

i decided to not look back just forward
i never returned to work
i gave up my medical license
i entered a new world

as i look back over the last 8 years and look at where i thought i would be on december 22nd 2018 and now where i am on that date
i am pleasantly surprised and happy with my health and my life

since i had seen this disease up close and personal i thought i knew where i would be in those 8 years
i really expected a slow decline in my memory and physical symptoms over this time
so that i wouldnt be driving or writing or doing things independently today
but
here i am writing my blog for eight years
i just scheduled a 5 day vacation and trip to new orleans for my sons wedding
no my wife she lets me do all that
i just did our budget for the next year
i just reallocated our investments myself
i just did a preliminary assessment for our taxes next year
i think nothing of hopping in my car and driving to ucla for my infusions or scans by myself
granted my wife usually tags along
in the last few months i have done 3 alzheimers presentations to large groups and did an interview for the alzheimers grater los angeles to use in a day long seminar for doctors and nurses and health workers on what its like to be a patient and what they should do better
yes i spoke from the patient side and the doctor side
yes i like the doctor side much better

yes
my life my status is so much better than what i expected i it to be back in 2010

if i have one health issue i could fix it would be my sleep
the aricept (donepezil) interferes with my ability to get enough sleep each day
luckily i am retired and can grab a daily nap when i can
an event i enjoy each day

as i have improved over the last 8 years i know that part of that improvement may be due to the aricept (donepezil)
so
i am willing to accept the side effects of lack of sleep and the blurred vision the nausea the dizziness it sometimes causes
i am afraid to discontinue it
i know if i stopped it my sleep would return to normal and those other symptoms would go away
but
if it is helping its just delaying symptoms since i know it doesnt really stop the disease
i understand that
but
im afraid if i stop it i will go down into the abyss
a place i want to avoid as long as i can

why am i better
why are my memory scores better
answers
the aricept (donepezil)  i started it real early my mom and two brothers stared it much later
i take better care of my health than i did 8 years ago yes getting this diagnosis wakes you up some about your health another reason to get an early diagnosis
i discovered i had a low b12 level and a low vitamin d3 level and an abnormal homocysteine level
these are corrected with supplements
i take 12 supplements a day that may help slow down the disease  even though they havent been absolutely proven to help
i am willing to try them hoping that one or more might make a difference
i stay busy social mentally and physically
my real only issue i have is my sleep issue

so
when i look back
i am so thankful to be where i am today
being surrounded by my family
staying active
being able to receive the experimental drug aducanumab at ucla each month that might also be slowing down this disease

i really cant complain for where i am today
eight years later

i want to wish the readers of this blog my family my friends
a merry christmas
and or
a happy new year
and or
a happy holidays

i feel quite merry and happy today on my anniversary

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-a familys history

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A FAMILYS HISTORY

when my historian brother saw my family tree in this blog i wrote called
alzheimers news-my alzheimers family tree
he called me to do a little correction like he was grading a term paper
no in a friendly way
he still said he would give me an a though

he started telling me of a branch that i had left off
one of my moms brothers who had died with alzheimers had a daughter
that would be my first cousin who died in the last few years with alzheimers disease
she being diagnosed in her early 50s

this little family branch i wasnt that familiar with
i remember seeing my uncle and hearing him when i was young
he was a preacher that had this what i call a preachers voice
the kind you could listen to all day
real soothing voice
and
he was a handsome man also

he went to college during the depression with my dad
neither had any money but they made it through
he went to a seminary in kentucky i think a sort of masters degree thing they did
he and his wife and two daughters ended up in missouri for the rest of their lives
i only have memory of seeing him once and dont remember his kids or wife
my older siblings had more exposure to them

so my historian brother said you know her daughter wrote a book about our first cousins battle with alzheimers disease
my historian brother is a true historian when he does ancestry stuff
he obtains all he can find on a person
thats how he found the book about my first cousins journey with alzheimers disease
lets call her pw

as i heard pws story i realize it somewhat seemed to be close to the journey my younger brother took
he said you can order it from amazon
so i did
it arrived in 2 days and i started reading it
it only took me a few days to finish it

it was sad real sad but funny
as she said sometimes you have to laugh at these things you know
yes i know having laughed before with mom and my younger brother
i hope folks laugh with me when my time comes
making it easier for them to get through the journey

its interesting to read about pw
i saw a lot of family traits in her that many of us seem to have
ocd persistence latching onto something and not letting go of it
ask my wife she about that one

now pws journey was similar to my younger brothers
but it was longer and more drawn out
making her family have a more prolonged experience with this disease
none of it enjoyable

they both were diagnosed young and died young

i did say to my wife she as i read this book
please dont take any pictures of me when i get worse

the part that stuck with me the most when i read this book
the part that made me stop
sit here in my living room late one afternoon
just staring out the window
as the sun went down in the distance
the room gradually darkened until i couldnt see anything around me
i just sat there
with tears in my eyes
as i read about her ending
her long long prolonged goodbye
as hospice made her comfortable
she lay there with her eyes closed
then opened them and said her goodbye
that was it

the journey was over

i sat there after finishing reading this
yes i cried then yes i cried again
thinking of her and her family
thinking of him and his family
thinking of what my time will be like for myself and my family

i do feel lucky that i am able to read and write about this
to think this through for myself

she and he didnt get a chance to do that

i wish it alzheimers in our family could all end with her he and me and not go forward

hopefully a cure and treatment will be here soon

the organicgreen doctor

i said worm juice

I SAID WORM JUICE
they asked what were we going to do today
i said
worm juice

yew yew they got that look on their faces

they knew what worm juice is since i show it to them almost every week when i volunteer with these 27 kindergardeners in their garden
yes i spelled that right kindergardeners

thats what im trying to get them interested in
being veggie gardeners
so the play on words

here is the blue worm bin that has holes drilled all around it
including the bottom
added to the bin is lots of leaves lots of newspapers lots of food scraps
the kids save their veggie scraps to put in the bin
they have a small bowl they put them in so they can be transferred to the worm bin
oh
also lots of worms have been added

so today
we opened up the bin
looked at the big winter squashes we left there for the worms
the worms were happily eating away at them

then
i explained how we make worm juice
so i said you know the worms eat all that stuff you put in there
they poop it out
they always laugh when i say that
kids never change do they
we add water to the bin to keep it moist since worms love wet stuff to nibble on
this stuff that oozes down the bin through the holes in the bottom
drips slowly into a metal tray my wife she got for this reason from a thrift store

in the tray
is this dark dark liquid
full of all kinds of nutritions
nutrition stuff that plants absolutely love

so i explained that today
we would take this worm juice
put it in this jar
then
take watering cans

fill them with the rainwater from their rainwater tanks
add the worm juice to the rainwater till it got slightly discolored

what we have is sort of a worm compost tea

i asked the kids
you ever had a veggie smoothie
they all said yes
well
you just made a worm smoothie for your veggies
your carrots peas swiss chard lettuce several kales onions citrus lots of herbs

they
i said
the veggies
love worm juice mixed with water
the veggies call that
their worm smoothie

so
it seemed each kid understood what we were doing
feeding the veggies and herbs their smoothies

they happily walked around and watered all the veggies and herbs
in the garden

yes
they got some worm smoothie on their hands and clothes
but
you know
they seemed to not mind at all

yep
good kindergardeners

the organicgreen doctor