dear ms b-wit helps

DEAR MS B-WIT HELPS

ms b
your gma and i like to watch good tv
like pbs news
voice well thats my choice
better call saul
good sports events
just to name a few

so last night as i clicked on the tv to watch my
afternoon sports show
as the tv came on it was on hbo for some reason
there on the tv was this professor giving a lecture
so
for some reason i clicked on the info button
well i thought
its got 3 stars
its an older movie
but
its description looked interesting
stars emma thompson
based
on a pulitzer prize winning novel
called by the same name as the movie
wit

so just the name spurred my interest
i looked at gma
she looked at me
lets watch it she said

thinking man i like my afternoon sport show
my pre glass of wine show

but something spurred interest inside me
maybe ms b
it was fate

so we started watching it
hooked soon we were
yes ms b i shed tears right and left
even my collar on both sides was moist

you see ms b
she has terminal cancer this college professor
as
she heads down a lengthy painful uncomfortable path
to experimental treatment for her cancer
knowing what was going to happen eventually
whether she does this treatment or not

her journey
was painful
eye opening some
witty
thus the name of the movie

now as someone ms b who also may have a terminal illness
whose end result is unstoppable
i felt drawn into this movie
feeling her discomfort with the medical care and with the disease

for you see ms b
i am on the other side now
on her side
like her i am in research studies
soon hopefully if i am lucky
to be in one using experimental treatment
that may or may not help me
but it may be the answer or part of the answer for curing or slowing down
the disease that terminal one that may affect me one day
the one that took my mother and my younger brother
that also may be at work in my older brother
it seems so unfair at times

now ms b
it seems for some reason i have pushed mine down the road
a bit
hopefully further and further down the road

i watched
saw the things i see now on the other side
i think
that all medical students and residents and interns
heck even practicing doctors
should watch this movie
yes yall some of yall are just like this

all ancillary medical folks like xray techs lab folks nurses
receptionists even friends should watch this movie
yes this is what some of your patients are going through
could you throw on some personal touch to each patient maybe

the one person who shone through all this was a nurse
ms wits nurse
caring and understanding
the boulder between the patient and the medical system

yes nurses looked good in this movie

yes she died in the end
we knew it was going to happen
couldnt stop it
we couldnt unless we just turned it off

we watched her get that indignity of that end of life cpr that she didnt want

wonder if i had watched this when i was in practice
maybe before i became a doctor
when i was in training
if this would have made me more compassionate

so
i think this movie is going to hang in my brain
in my heart in my soul
for awhile

the organicgreen doctor

more hope for the future

MORE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

thats what i told my wife she this weekend when i got home
thank goodness i said
after watching all the junk that happened last week in politics
mostly embarrassing to lots of folks no matter their party affiliation

thank goodness i said
after working with this youth group at habitat for humanity
thank goodness i said
there is more hope for the future

i can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that this generation
will be our leaders in the future
if we can just make it to their time

now of all the groups i have worked with
the ones i like the best are the youth groups
ive worked with groups from ft worth dallas ut austin
texas state southwestern several local high schools and middle schools
lots of church based groups and other youth groups

i guess ive been lucky
because all do such a good job

this weekend i had the privilege to work with two groups
a local girl scout group and a group from the
habitat for humanity club at rouse high school in leander texas
at least one person a former patient was involved with
both groups
included were a teacher sponsor parents troop leader
of course seeing these folks make me understand the good
role models these kids have

another kid a former patient is a special needs person
it was refreshing to see how well the other kids worked
with that person helping  redirecting the kid if needed
i saw no taunting no hazing no abuse
just well like this generation seems to have more of
than some of the generations above us
that is
tolerance and understanding

i saw or heard no complaining no religious or race or political
talk
they just calmly went about doing their job that day
probably enjoying the outdoors and the comradeie of being
with their peers

i like to talk with each of them
find out what their future plans are what they are involved in
find out what colleges they plan to attend
much like i did when i was in practice

now some of these kids i have worked with many times over
the last two years
some more than once
i hope they like i did got something for working so hard that day
inside
getting something
in their hearts and souls that will help make them a better
human being

so this is what it all looked like at the beginning

this is what it looks like now

what a great job they did

so
all i can say is
move over donald and hilary and bernie and ted
here comes a much better more tolerant generation
please save something for them
they are
after all
our
hope for the future

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-ppi and dementia

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-PPI AND DEMENTIA

ppi is proton pump inhibitor
like the purple pill prilosec and nexium and prevacid and zegerid
all are now generic and over the counter thats otc

i take omeprazole which is prilosec
its otc but i get it as a prescription since its cheaper that way

now i have been on this for 20 years off and on
for the last several years mostly on
if i taper off it each day brings more and more burning in my stomach
i have acid reflux and gastroparesis
the omeprazole is one of the drugs used for these conditions

excessive eating excessive caffeine and excessive alcohol makes it
worse

so i have accepted the fact i have to take this stuff every day
in order to keep from getting symptoms
i try to skip doses some but like i said skipping two
my tummy lets me know

when i had all my oral surgery i went on a liquid diet
drinking soup for meals
decreasing my caffeine and my alcohol also
i noticed some improvement in my symptoms
despite missing a few days of the ppi

no i realized as i returned back to my normal diet
i have to have that omeprazole that ppi almost every day
to stay burn free in my belly
i accept this fate
it could be worse


so my eyebrow raised somewhat when i read that article
about the use of ppi and the increased risk of dementia
all i could think was
thats all i need is to make things worse
up there in my brain
since
i seem to be doing things to make my memory return back to
normal

an aside here
i noticed while i was recovering from my oral surgery
that i got away from a lot of what i was doing
including missing aricept thats donepezil and my supplements
as well as missing sleep not being active
that i personally noticed some subtle changes in my memory
a subtle reminder i am doing something right
and
that bad stuff is still up there

a subtle reminder that i had better not stop doing it

now that im back on my regimen i can tell a difference

it seems according to the research that the ppi leak some into the brain
and decrease the function of the garbage cleaners the  microglia
that cleans debris from the brain
if that debris accumulates it can cause dementia

so ppi by doing this might increase the changes of dementia

how significant in this
not real sure is what the general consensus is

so a well known researcher wrote a comment on the study
he said
even with this information he plans on staying on his ppi
so
this is what i have decided to do

keep taking my omeprazole every day but skipping it occasionally
but
keeping a close eye on future studies on this subject

the other thing ppi can cause by decreasing the acid secretion
in the stomach
thats what stops that burning
like someone is in there with sandpapper rubbing away
is that it decreases the absorption of vitamin b12
so people on long term ppi can develop a low b12

severe low levels of b12 can cause memory issues

now i was found a couple of years ago to have a low b12 level
so
i take b12 every day to keep my levels up
along with 12 other supplements

so i would say
if you are on one of these ppi
make sure you really need it
which is true of any medication or supplement or vitamin
they all have potential side effects

read about it
do like i did make an assessment and make an informed decision


here is a link to my upcoming presentation on clinical research on march 12th

'Learn about research into Alzheimer's disease treatments being done here in Texas at this year's GPS Caregiver Workshop on March 12 at Riverbend Church Austin! Our friend Dr. Dewayne Nash will give an informative talk on clinical trial opportunities and new frontiers in our understanding of dementia.'

Register today! https://web.charityengine.net/default.aspx?tsid=6048

schedule —

9:00 - 10:00 Dr. Dewayne Nash (Retired physician & research participant) - “Alzheimer’s Research - A Physician’s Personal Connection”

10:00 - 11:30 Jennifer Scott, Keynote (Director, Area Agency on Aging Capital Area) - “Practical Tips for Alzheimer’s/Dementia Caregivers”

11:30 - Noon LUNCH

12:00 - 1:00 Pastor Reg Larkin (Counselor and Minister) - “Faith, Celebration and Grief in Caregiving”

1:00 - 2:00 Mary Koffend (Owner, Accountable Aging) - “Three M's of Health Insurance- Medicare, Medicaid and Medigap”

the organicgreen doctor