I found this article on Alzheimers to be excellent.

 What to expect with Alzheimers link

For me this was very true when I was diagnosed with AZ in Dec. 2017. This is why I have written a yearly account of how I have been doing over the last four years. 

                                         YEAR FOUR

Presently I am writting the YEAR 5 book to be titled: Trying to Avoid Falling Off Cliffs. 

One of my first concerns was what was my prognosis?

I read that Namzaric could keep me at a level cognition for 2 years. 

Then I learned it was usually a heart attack or stroke to cause a sudden severe drop in cognition.

I have had 2 falls with 2 cerebral bleeds. 

After the subarchnoid bleed my navigation skills became worse.

SAH  link

Falling off a Cliff link

Subdural hematoma link

I was surprised how sensitive I became.  Especially in having arguments with my wife.  Very stressful and I would be depressed the rest of the day.

I am also surprised how easily I am fatigued.  Long phone calls can cause it.  I say goodbye to friends and family because I get tired. 

I also lost interest in doing many things especially leaving the home to go on little trips.  I rather stay in the comfort of my TV and man cave.  I still like grocery shopping.  Last week my Aide drove me in her car to Sams and I bought $296 worth of groceries on my own.

I regret not doing balance exercises after I first noticed was having balance problems

Vitamin D Update

 Back in Idaho I purchased a DEXA scan.

The hospital in Burley didn't have one.

I took a course in Washington state to learn how to interpret them.

Pretty simple. 

I also learned how important giving enough vitamin D.  

I began checking my patients levels in Jan

To my surprise the advised dose of 1,000 IU was often not sufficient for even the low levels that were considered normal at that.  

Subsequently in my book The Tubby Traveler from Topeka, I told people to take 5,000 IU a day.

Amyloid effect on Brain

 

The study's findings were published in the peer-reviewed Chem Catalysis, a Cell Press journal. 

Amyloid plaques are the hallmark of Alzheimer's Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, however it is still not clear if and how such plaques contribute to the progression of these diseases. 

The study offers an explanation on how the plaques damage the brain by breaking up important neurotransmitters.

Research for the study was led by Prof. Raz Jelinek and PhD student Elad Arad, in collaboration with Prof. Hanna Rapaport and Avigail Baruch Leshem.

They discovered catalytic activity caused by the beta-amyloid fibrils. This is the first study to find this link.

"Our findings open intriguing new avenues of research into the molecular factors in neurodegenerative diseases that could bring us closer to therapeutic treatments," says Prof. Jelinek.

Visit with KUMC Neurologist Dr Swerdlow YEAR 5

 Dr Swerdlow tested me the usual way that he does.  

Because he does the test each time it improves the accuracy of the test. He said I did a little worse this year but considering I had a subarachnoid hemorrhage link, he said the difference from last year was not significant.  I know my naviagating skills in a new setting is very bad and Ginger believes I clearly have a cognitive decline since my March fall and SAH athough as she watched me do the test she was impressed how I remembered the different memory tests.  Especially, when I  a drew  a complicated picture of boxes and triangeles after a 15 minute delay.  She sees me not remembering so many short term memory things such as my appointments, whether I got the mail, conversations we had. I have had this type of short term memory since August 1, 2020 when I made this TOCA TEST LINK.

Dr Swerdlow wanted me to get an MRI because of urinary incontinence to rule out Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.   

My wife went away to Europe for a month. I did okay with the executive functions I still have.

 My recent memory is bad but I can still get by for a short period with my wife gone to Europe.

I have maintained the following skills:

1- Take my medicine in the morning.

2- Monitor my BM's so I don't get constipated. I recently started stool softener and prunes.

3- Deal with my 2 TV remote controls. 

4- Sign on the internet to write blogs and twitters

5- End my AM fast with a Salom sandwich Salmon sandwich link

6- Order TV discs on Amazon .

7- Call friends and family.

8- My many supplements link

9- I don't drive anymore and I am running out of my favorite foods;

        Can of soup which only takes 4 minutes in microwave.

oi        Premade packages of Chopped salad

       Fry hot dogs

I am satisfied with these meals.  I don't drink alcohol anymore.

8- Despite taking my Ozempic shot each week, I stll feel hungery so I have a snack every hour.

           Pear

          Plum

          Pistachios

         Yogurt

        Premium protein drink each day

I finally got my glucose under control by stopping ice cream

Stressful morning due to no TV

 Many failed attempts to get TV to work. 

I did all the usual things to fix it.

1- Is TV plugged in? 

2- Change batteries in remote control.

3- I called Cox to make certain I was connected.

The real problem was my wife is in Europe and I couldn't get her to check my work. 

I did change the batteries but I think I replaced with more bad batteries. I changed the batteries again and that solved the problem.

My 85 inch smart TV allows me to record all my political shows.  It also allows me to fast forward on the recorded shows.  

I rely heavily on my morning TV for news of the day.

Especially Morning Joe which I find very entertaining.  

All the energy I spent on trying to solve this problem makes me fatiqued. 

Anxiety not too bad, especially as I resolved the probem.

On my first visit to the memory center I was told not to spend too much time on TV and Computer.  

I don't know what I would do without them. 

Socialization is fine but people don't understand the rules of engagement with Alzheimers. 

 I have lost a couple of friends because they don't understand my problem.