alzheimers news-what would they say

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WHAT WOULD THEY SAY

recently i ran across this article on
what would an alzheimers patient say to you
if you were caring for them as we approach the new year

for some reason as i read it it resonated with me

recently for multiple reasons i went off my aricept (donepezil)
one was a severe case of nausea that lasted for several days
i just couldnt tolerate taking the donepezil
it just made it worse

i know i know
ive written and have said so in my talks
dont let your loved ones go off their aricept (donepezil)
why
if they stay off too long
the benefit you gain from taking it gets lost
restarting it again
they dont return to the level of memory they were at
ie
they are worse

that warning rang in my head for two weeks
until i restarted it

so what did i notice

i started noticing subtle things that got a little worse
after a couple of weeks
i definitely was noticing i was missing things
not recalling conversations
it was a little disconcerting to me

what i wonder would i be like right now if i wasnt
ever put on the aricept (donepezil) 6 years ago
would i be worse off
i think i would

then
i returned back on the aricept (donepezil)
there they were again
just like 6 years ago
all those side effects
the vertigo like feeling all day
the blurred vision with movements of the head
trouble focusing
nausea much worse than usual
leg cramps
fatigue
sleep disturbances worse than usual
more vivid dreams

then
all of this got better
it took about 2 more weeks for this to happen
now
i seem to be leveled off in regards to the side effects
back to where i was a month ago
my memory seems slightly better than it was a few weeks
ago
but
as documented on memory tests
its below where it should be for my age

so
for me this transition off the meds
then back on
well
it was a scary one sort of
i realize what may be under all the effects of this medicine
that it is making a difference
and
im not ever going to stop it again
no matter what

so i realize that for me
this study i am trying to get on
the aducanumab study
its almost imperative i get on it
since there is not a better option for me and others like me
out there
that we can access right now

now there are a lot of potential things in the works
but
i am afraid like others that our train has left the tracks
for getting benefit from those

our hope lies in this one

i should know soon whether i get to move forward
if accepted i should receive my first of 48 monthly infusions
within six weeks

now back to that article
here is the link

if you are caring for someone with memory loss
or
will be in the future
then
read this
and
remember what they want you to know
as you care for them

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-winter gardening

COUNTRY N NEWS-WINTER GARDENING

last may
the school i have helped some with their gardening
was getting its garden cleaned up for the summer
any plants left in the garden wouldnt get watered
or cared for
so if you wanted a plant you could dig it up
so
after the students parents and other teachers got what
they wanted
what was left was two peppers
one a jalapeno
the other a bell pepper

so
i dug em up
dumped em into a 5 gallon bucket with holes in the bottom
i then placed em on the patio with 5 other 5 gallon buckets
growing different plants like tomatoes swiss chard kale
peppers

now
this bell pepper liked it there
so all summer and fall
it grew bell peppers
but
well
these were different looking
at first i thought they had stayed on the vine too long
and
had rotted

nope
they were just chocolate bell peppers
no
they dont taste like chocolate
i just pretend they do
they are just dark brown in color

when the cold spell hit recently
i moved my peppers into my small greenhouse for the winter
it gets the south sun
and
has a heater in it set on 50 degrees

well
that chocolate bell pepper
loves that greenhouse
as does a juliet tomato

these will be adorning a salad soon
in the country n kitchen

thanks to the phe school for donating the plant

later as i was walking around our property
my wife she said
you know the jonquils are blooming

so i went over to see for myself
not in december i said to myself

yep she was right huh

egg update
the added light in the early morning
plus
adding 4 new laying chickens
seem to have stimulated the older chickens
to get going
i guess they didnt want those youngens to
outdo those old ladies
our egg production has increased dramatically this last week

the organicgreen doctor

it was painful to watch

IT WAS PAINFUL TO WATCH
later
someone asked me
what do you think

all i could say was
it was painful real painful to watch

my wife she and i only go to one movie theater
to watch movies
its called the alamo drafthouse

why
you can go there
sit in nice seats
eat a nice meal
have a glass of wine
and
not have anyone disturb you

since
if someone does
as they say right before the movie comes on
we will kick your ass out
they mean it

now as we watched the movie
well folks were noisy
sobbing
i was one of them
then
there was this occasionally nervous laughter
but
mostly sobbing

yes it was painful to watch


the movie
manchester by the sea

my wife she had seen it at a festival
got to listen to the director and writer talk after the movie
even shook his hand and hugged him
after seeing the movie
i would have hugged him too

it was painful to watch
oh i said that once already didnt i

well it was true

as i watched
the pain just oozed from the screen
it was hard to watch
mainly because of all those tears in my eyes
that made it hard to focus

all i could think was
you have to walk in ones shoes to understand them

also
painful some real painful memories came flooding
into my brain

the death of my mom and her painful to us final course
the death of my younger brother
his death seemed so unfair
the death of my first patient
the death of my first pediatric patient who i had got so
close to over a short period of time
the flood of the memory of seeing his story on tv one night
several years later
the death of my first infant that i had cared for her mom in
the pregnancy
the death of a young close friend

all these things came flooding back into my brain

i guess thats why this movie grabs folks so hard when
they see it

these are the movies that should be made
everyone should go see it
its sort of cathartic in a way
my experiences werent as bad as his i think

this is a movie you should go see

this is a movie you will not want to go and see twice

i dont think i could do it again

it was just so painful to watch

the organicgreen doctor