An area of interest we always had was herbs and natural healing and this is where we got the best results. We had always used herbs but you become brain washed into believing that doctors know what they are doing and in truth they do a lot more guessing than you would suspect.
When I mention herbs to the family doctor I always get one of those are you kidding glares. Oh no here he goes again type looks. Needless to say I don't get the normal welcome at the doctors office. I am tolerated at best. I think they feel I will contaminate the others in the waiting room with my ideas. I have - Ha Ha HA!
After I was able to get my mother Edith off the prescription drugs she was on I could sense a coldness coming from the direction of the doctor. She is now prescription drug free and healthy except for Alzheimer's disease. What percentage of people over the age of 90 do you think there are not on prescription drugs. Not many. Down in the single digits for sure.
Every time the doctor diagnosed a condition and whipped out her prescription pad she would look at me and say "You can't cure that with herbs". Every time she did that we went home and looked up the prescription in the Physicians Desk Reference (a.k.a the PDR) to see the side effect and warnings. What we concluded was the drugs were too risky. Each time we found a natural alternative to use that worked faster, better and with no side effects.
I would like to bring to your attention that although an herb may be considered safe and harmless some individuals may have allergic reactions on occasion. When trying something for the first time I take it myself to test it. I start with a small dose and watch for an adverse reaction.
I have also taken the herbs I use in amounts that would have some people question my sanity. By doing this I have found that many herbs are used in amounts to small and that sometimes a small adjustment in the amount taken makes a big difference in the result I get.
Always be safe and start small until you know what you are doing. There are people that have severe reactions to peanuts and wheat and strawberries. Many of the medicinal herbs are used in cooking on a regular basis. You probably use medicinal herbs and spices when you cook.
When ever I use an herb I use whole herb. This gives me the best results. I stay away from the products that have been standardized because I want the original balance of compounds found in the plant. What they do is try to pick the one ingredient they think is responsible for the action and then they set it to a certain percentage. Most product lines have a plain whole herb product and one that is standardized.
For example on the label it may say extract standardized to 6 percent for a certain chemical or compound. Whenever possible use the unchanged organic whole herb. By whole I mean the way it grows without being altered or enhanced by changing the chemical composition.
It's fine to use it powdered, chopped and in it's natural form dried or fresh. Some herbs are so hard you would find it almost impossible to powder yourself. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to learn how to use herbs. No matter what your level of education you can learn to do this stuff.
The use of ginkgo biloba goes back thousands of years. The first time we can find it mentioned is in ancient Chinese materia medica Pen Tsao Ching. This was from 2800 B.C. and was attributed to Shen Nung the first emperor of China. If it didn't work do you think its use would have survived that long.
Ginkgo biloba does not cure Alzheimer's disease at the doses I've tried but I feel by what I have seen that it can be a valuable tool. It can be used alone or you can combine it with other herbs to create a formula. I use three other herbs along with it.
The key is not just the herb but getting high levels of plant based nutrients at the same time. With out the needed nutrition the body doesn't have the proper building blocks to rebuild and repair. If your body tries to replace a cell it uses what you give it. If you input low quality nutrition you end up with a cell that may not function the way it should. It may not be as flexible or do its job as well. The membrane wall might not let water, nutrients and waste pass in and
out of the cell the way it should.
What I do is get as much high nutrition in whenever I work on a condition. Another thing you might find useful is when you try to fix a condition your body might not agree with your choice. If there is something the body feels is more important to fix it may try to address that first.
You might be able to find Ginkgo trees growing near where you live. They have been added to landscapes almost everywhere. You may have one on your own property. Ask around and see if some one has access to one of these trees and you may find yourself a free source for the leaves and that's what you use, the leaves.
Try not to use one that is right next to the street. Especially a heavily traveled street. I try to find one at least 50 feet away from the road so the tree isn't loaded with stuff found in a cars exhaust. Pollution is worldwide but the trees that are away from heavy traffic or dump sites and land that may have been exposed to toxic chemicals are what you look for. The elementary school I went to had a Ginkgo tree.
I feel ginkgo biloba probably helps because of the antioxidants it contains working together with the flavonoids, glycosides, ginkgolides, bilobalide and terpene lactones. All these phyto chemicals require each other work and they work in a synergistic way. If you want great results use only whole herbs. Not only do whole herbs work they are cheaper than herbs that have had their compounds messed with.
You don't need to know all chemistry about it. All you need to know is it helps and will not harm you. Try to buy the best you can afford. If you can't afford the best still use the herb. It might not work as well or as fast but it will help. Ginkgo biloba is used to help other conditions besides Alzheimer's disease.
One of the things that I noticed in using ginkgo biloba was that my mothers overall mood improved and stayed there. It got rid of the up and down emotional mood swings. Any day you can elevate the mood of a person with Alzheimer's is a good day. It makes everything easier for the person taking care of them too.
The person with Alzheimer's is more willing to cooperate if they are happy, feel they are where they belong, feel they are wanted and loved, are asked to do something and not told to do it. If they decline to do something just stop asking for a few minutes and try again with a different approach. Don't be a control freak. It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Alzheimer's To drug or not to drug that is the question.
To drug - or not to drug - that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous doctors, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them.
To drug or not to drug that is the question. The answer isn't an easy one but is most important. Consider what your doctor tells you but know you should not use them for your only source of information. They don't have to live with the decision you do. The doctors answer isn't the only answer and it's not always the right answer. Be aware. Be in control. Be enlightened. Be informed. Watch your health care professionals like a hawk.
The doctor wanted to put Edith on a well known prescription that starts with the letter "A". We wanted to start her on the herb ginkgo biloba. The thing is that ginkgo biloba can take two to six months to show benefit. Some people get results after only a week or two. If you don't get fast results be patient it's worth it. The doctor only wanted to try the ginkgo biloba for two weeks. Well after a few more visits to the doctor she convinced us to try the "A" drug. This was a big mistake. It took a friendly, happy and loving person and changed her personality overnight. She became argumentative, belligerent, confrontational and I could come up with a negative term for every letter of the alphabet.
This was not from the progression of Alzheimer's but had I not known what I knew I would have believed the doctor. The family discussed this and we all agreed this was not the way we or she would want to handle her treatment. We stopped the drug known as "A" after one week of hell for her and for us. It took me a month to get her back to the pleasant caring person we all loved. Thank God the effects were reversible.
Edith was started on 5 mg of that drug and the doctor wanted to increase the dose to 10 mg doses by the end of the month. When we got to see the doctor she tried to shame us and told us it was probably to late now for the drug to work at all. As if we took her only hope for a slow progression into the depths of this disease that steals away everything you are. Doctors should stop making statements like that. It's nonsense to say that and doesn't make sense. If it isn't going to work now it wasn't going to work 3 weeks ago.
This was the start of an incredible journey and a great awakening in my own consciousness. My own spirituality became stronger and I found in myself another glimpse of our greater self. If you think you could not do what do or have done you are wrong. I have learned to take back control of our health and be responsible for it. This will empower you and make you stronger and smarter.
Question everything. You won't believe the things that come out of a doctors mouth that they can't prove. If they make an effort to offer proof. Question their proof. They might not like it but who cares what they like. Their ego isn't important your health is. The medical industry is out of control and it's time they know we don't like them doing what they are doing.
No one has more interest in their health condition than the one that is sick. That's why you hear so often of patients knowing more than the doctors that treat them. The ill person often seeks knowledge far beyond what doctors know because they live with their illness 24 hours a day. I learned to look beyond the knowledge that doctors deem credible and question the doctors sources of knowledge. When did they replace the Hippocratic oath with the Pharmaceutical oath and the Insurance Company oath.
Your doctor may not be telling you all of your medical treatment options. You might only be told of treatments your health insurance approves of or covers. You might not be told of the one or more treatments that would be better you. I don't like my choices filtered or censored. I'll decide what's right for me.
To drug or not to drug that is the question. The answer isn't an easy one but is most important. Consider what your doctor tells you but know you should not use them for your only source of information. They don't have to live with the decision you do. The doctors answer isn't the only answer and it's not always the right answer. Be aware. Be in control. Be enlightened. Be informed. Watch your health care professionals like a hawk.
The doctor wanted to put Edith on a well known prescription that starts with the letter "A". We wanted to start her on the herb ginkgo biloba. The thing is that ginkgo biloba can take two to six months to show benefit. Some people get results after only a week or two. If you don't get fast results be patient it's worth it. The doctor only wanted to try the ginkgo biloba for two weeks. Well after a few more visits to the doctor she convinced us to try the "A" drug. This was a big mistake. It took a friendly, happy and loving person and changed her personality overnight. She became argumentative, belligerent, confrontational and I could come up with a negative term for every letter of the alphabet.
This was not from the progression of Alzheimer's but had I not known what I knew I would have believed the doctor. The family discussed this and we all agreed this was not the way we or she would want to handle her treatment. We stopped the drug known as "A" after one week of hell for her and for us. It took me a month to get her back to the pleasant caring person we all loved. Thank God the effects were reversible.
Edith was started on 5 mg of that drug and the doctor wanted to increase the dose to 10 mg doses by the end of the month. When we got to see the doctor she tried to shame us and told us it was probably to late now for the drug to work at all. As if we took her only hope for a slow progression into the depths of this disease that steals away everything you are. Doctors should stop making statements like that. It's nonsense to say that and doesn't make sense. If it isn't going to work now it wasn't going to work 3 weeks ago.
This was the start of an incredible journey and a great awakening in my own consciousness. My own spirituality became stronger and I found in myself another glimpse of our greater self. If you think you could not do what do or have done you are wrong. I have learned to take back control of our health and be responsible for it. This will empower you and make you stronger and smarter.
Question everything. You won't believe the things that come out of a doctors mouth that they can't prove. If they make an effort to offer proof. Question their proof. They might not like it but who cares what they like. Their ego isn't important your health is. The medical industry is out of control and it's time they know we don't like them doing what they are doing.
No one has more interest in their health condition than the one that is sick. That's why you hear so often of patients knowing more than the doctors that treat them. The ill person often seeks knowledge far beyond what doctors know because they live with their illness 24 hours a day. I learned to look beyond the knowledge that doctors deem credible and question the doctors sources of knowledge. When did they replace the Hippocratic oath with the Pharmaceutical oath and the Insurance Company oath.
Your doctor may not be telling you all of your medical treatment options. You might only be told of treatments your health insurance approves of or covers. You might not be told of the one or more treatments that would be better you. I don't like my choices filtered or censored. I'll decide what's right for me.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Alzheimer's And so the journey begins.
I think most people get a feeling that a family member has Alzheimer's disease. Anything might trigger that feeling. A change in speech or comment that's out of character. They might do something they would never do. They might respond in an unusual way to something they see or hear. It might be anything different or unusual but strange enough to cause you to pay attention. If the person is up in age the thought of Alzheimer's will enter your mind. When the real concern starts and you know there is something wrong you will start to hope it's less serious than Alzheimer's disease.
Like normal forgetfulness attributed to age. Maybe it's mini strokes. They can treat that can't they? I know it's a vitamin B-12 deficiency. A 30 day regimen of injections and we can switch over to sublingual pills and they will be better. Maybe taking choline is what they need to do. You can drive yourself crazy.
So you go to the doctor and they take over deciding. What a relief it is to put the decision in the hands of a doctor. What's their game plan. You pay them a lot of money and they will tell you what you told them. The layman is not permitted to diagnose, treat or prescribe under penalty of fines and incarceration. So you need the expertise of a doctor to place the tag of a specific condition like Alzheimer's disease on a person.
I have found that you will know no more after the tests as you did before them. But as long as there is another test to do there is always a possibility they may find something else. Now they are coming out with more expensive tests to tell you the same thing.
People that can afford the new scans will get them. I don't blame them for wanting to eliminate all possibilities. With something as scary and final as Alzheimer's disease people will do anything to prove it's not true. There are many forms of senility and dementia that have similar symptoms. Of course the doctor will say they have confirmed their suspicions. You have Alzheimer's disease - Slap! Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones you never know. I pray you are.
What does this mean for the person with Alzheimer's or other similar diseases and their caregivers. They will more than likely be all classified and grouped into the same category and the tag they place on them will be Alzheimer's. What's in a name any way. It's the person that's important not the name of the disease. You are not the disease you are a person that just happens to have a condition that needs to be addressed.
It was about a year and a half before Edith's doctor was told we had a suspicion of Alzheimer's disease. This doctor is certified in Geriatrics and saw Edith on a regular basis but didn't have a clue until we brought it to her attention. My father and I were there during the checkups. We couldn't understand why the doctor wasn't picking up on what we thought was so evident during the visits. We finally decided to tell her. Maybe when I saw certified in Geriatrics framed on the wall I read it wrong and it really said she was a certified geriatric.
There had been more than a doctor patient relationship between my parents and this doctor or so it would seem. They knew a lot more about each others families and interests. There was exchanges of personal contact info beyond what was normal. Cell phone, beeper and home phone numbers and home addresses. The office visits were longer than you might expect because every body just kept talking. Edith would do things like go to the family blueberry patch and pick a few quarts of berries to take to the doctors office.
I'm not bringing this up to attack the doctor and make her sound bad. I want you to be aware that just because the person is going to see a doctor doesn't mean the doctor will be skilled or perceptive enough to see there is a problem without being told. Look at how much more than average the doctor knew my mother Edith and didn't see Alzheimer's.
I think that often when an older person has a feeling something isn't right they don't tell the doctor. They go in for their doctor appointment every 2 weeks or once a month. This will be depend on what drugs the doctor has them on or what condition they have. If they get through the examine without the doctor finding anything they don't mention it. This isn't just With Alzheimer's disease but with other problems as well. At least with Alzheimer's you have an excuse. You don't remember to tell the doctor.
Doctors only see you when you come to the office. If the doctor notices a problem or if another person is there and mentions that they have noticed a change in the persons ability to remember. The doctor may try seeing if they can remember a few words. They will do this by asking the patient to remember a short list of words. The doctor then engages the patient in a general conversation. After the conversation the doctor asks the patient to recall as many of the words as they can. This only shows if the patient can retain the words in their short term memory.
This will not determine if Alzheimer's disease is present. It is usually the first test to check for cognitive dysfunction in an otherwise normal person. They may also ask questions that a person with normal memory should know. Do you know what you ate for your last meal? Do you know what month it is or what day it is? Do you remember what the weather was like yesterday? You can see the choice of questions are endless and can be easily used in conversation without causing suspicion in the patient.
And so the journey begins. Multiple tests and many trips to the doctor. Don't forget your prescription. There may be more prescriptions in the future to mask the side effects of the first drug so don't put your wallet away yet. They will have to do blood tests to make sure the medications aren't causing liver or kidney failure. If a problem does show up it they will probably say it's not from the medicine it's from the progression of the disease. They will then proceed to take the person off the drug they suspect is causing the damage.
Like normal forgetfulness attributed to age. Maybe it's mini strokes. They can treat that can't they? I know it's a vitamin B-12 deficiency. A 30 day regimen of injections and we can switch over to sublingual pills and they will be better. Maybe taking choline is what they need to do. You can drive yourself crazy.
So you go to the doctor and they take over deciding. What a relief it is to put the decision in the hands of a doctor. What's their game plan. You pay them a lot of money and they will tell you what you told them. The layman is not permitted to diagnose, treat or prescribe under penalty of fines and incarceration. So you need the expertise of a doctor to place the tag of a specific condition like Alzheimer's disease on a person.
I have found that you will know no more after the tests as you did before them. But as long as there is another test to do there is always a possibility they may find something else. Now they are coming out with more expensive tests to tell you the same thing.
People that can afford the new scans will get them. I don't blame them for wanting to eliminate all possibilities. With something as scary and final as Alzheimer's disease people will do anything to prove it's not true. There are many forms of senility and dementia that have similar symptoms. Of course the doctor will say they have confirmed their suspicions. You have Alzheimer's disease - Slap! Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones you never know. I pray you are.
What does this mean for the person with Alzheimer's or other similar diseases and their caregivers. They will more than likely be all classified and grouped into the same category and the tag they place on them will be Alzheimer's. What's in a name any way. It's the person that's important not the name of the disease. You are not the disease you are a person that just happens to have a condition that needs to be addressed.
It was about a year and a half before Edith's doctor was told we had a suspicion of Alzheimer's disease. This doctor is certified in Geriatrics and saw Edith on a regular basis but didn't have a clue until we brought it to her attention. My father and I were there during the checkups. We couldn't understand why the doctor wasn't picking up on what we thought was so evident during the visits. We finally decided to tell her. Maybe when I saw certified in Geriatrics framed on the wall I read it wrong and it really said she was a certified geriatric.
There had been more than a doctor patient relationship between my parents and this doctor or so it would seem. They knew a lot more about each others families and interests. There was exchanges of personal contact info beyond what was normal. Cell phone, beeper and home phone numbers and home addresses. The office visits were longer than you might expect because every body just kept talking. Edith would do things like go to the family blueberry patch and pick a few quarts of berries to take to the doctors office.
I'm not bringing this up to attack the doctor and make her sound bad. I want you to be aware that just because the person is going to see a doctor doesn't mean the doctor will be skilled or perceptive enough to see there is a problem without being told. Look at how much more than average the doctor knew my mother Edith and didn't see Alzheimer's.
I think that often when an older person has a feeling something isn't right they don't tell the doctor. They go in for their doctor appointment every 2 weeks or once a month. This will be depend on what drugs the doctor has them on or what condition they have. If they get through the examine without the doctor finding anything they don't mention it. This isn't just With Alzheimer's disease but with other problems as well. At least with Alzheimer's you have an excuse. You don't remember to tell the doctor.
Doctors only see you when you come to the office. If the doctor notices a problem or if another person is there and mentions that they have noticed a change in the persons ability to remember. The doctor may try seeing if they can remember a few words. They will do this by asking the patient to remember a short list of words. The doctor then engages the patient in a general conversation. After the conversation the doctor asks the patient to recall as many of the words as they can. This only shows if the patient can retain the words in their short term memory.
This will not determine if Alzheimer's disease is present. It is usually the first test to check for cognitive dysfunction in an otherwise normal person. They may also ask questions that a person with normal memory should know. Do you know what you ate for your last meal? Do you know what month it is or what day it is? Do you remember what the weather was like yesterday? You can see the choice of questions are endless and can be easily used in conversation without causing suspicion in the patient.
And so the journey begins. Multiple tests and many trips to the doctor. Don't forget your prescription. There may be more prescriptions in the future to mask the side effects of the first drug so don't put your wallet away yet. They will have to do blood tests to make sure the medications aren't causing liver or kidney failure. If a problem does show up it they will probably say it's not from the medicine it's from the progression of the disease. They will then proceed to take the person off the drug they suspect is causing the damage.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Alzheimer's - What's getting into you?
What do you do when Alzheimer's disease or another critical health issue decides to visit? One thing I did do was collect all the aluminum cooking utensils and pans along with the pans that had non-stick coatings. Aluminum gets into your food very easily. The food does not have to be acidic for this to occur. You have more than likely heard of the possible connection of this metal and a few others with Alzheimer's Disease. There seems to be a higher level of aluminum in the brain of people with Alzheimer's. This may not be the cause though. It might just be it's higher because they have Alzheimer's disease.
The non-stick coatings put off unhealthy gases when you cook with them. This gets into the air and the food. These gases have killed many a pet bird. Remember the canary in the coal mine scenario? The miners would take canaries in a cage down into the mine and if they continued to sing and act normal if was safe. If the bird suddenly stopped singing or just dropped over dead the miners knew the conditions were unsafe or even deadly. Well if you cook with non-Stick pots and pans and your bird drops dead do you think its safe to use.
Also in food packaging they use a form of Teflon coating on the wrappers of snacks and candy bars to keep the packaging from soaking up moisture and oils. This may be used with other foods too. This substance gets into the food and you. It has recently been in the news that these chemicals are being detected far above the level considered safe. The more you eat the more you store in your body. My feeling is I don't want this stuff in my food and I don't feel any level is safe. They just keep finding ways to poison us. I don't want any of these compounds anywhere near me or my food at any level.
When was the last time you heard - buy our aluminum pans they are light weight and they leach the healthy mineral aluminum into your food? Have they said use our non stick cookware because it's easy to clean, the food has more eye appeal and the chemicals that get in your food and the gases that are released from our products will improve your health? Or maybe that we have applied a Teflon product to the packaging we put your food in and its so good for you we use extra. Your not going see that because it's not good for you.
Go through your house and check the labels on everything. Not just your food. The stuff you use to clean with. The drain cleaners and toilet bowl cleaners. What do you clean your floor or carpets with? What do you put in the washer when you do your clothes? Do you put anything in the clothes dryer for softening or static cling? There are healthier choices for all of the junk you are using now. It's amazing that we have been so brainwashed into believing that what they sell us today is better than what our grand parents used we don't even try what they used. Simple things like baking soda or vinegar or salt or citrus oils. The list is endless.
I've done this many times before I wised up. You buy a product that's supposed to be the best and it isn't as good as what you were using before. Then months later you see it says New - Improved on the label. So stupid me I fall for it again and I can't tell the difference. This isn't one product. You see it all the time. What I think they mean is they improved their manufacturing process or substituted some of the ingredients for cheaper ones or they improved their profits but not the actual product. On top of that if you check the label you will probably see chemicals you don't want or need.
Keep in mind that many of the things in your house put off gases that are not good for you. The paint on the walls. The curtains and carpet. The composite furniture that's mostly glue with a little wood fiber for strength. Even the stuff they build your house with. Synthetic materials in you clothing.
Plastic is a major player that's often overlooked. You think it's not releasing molecules into your food or beverage, think again. It's even attached to the dust particles you breath in. In fact there is a high chance there are plastic molecules in your blood right now. Why don't we hear about this? Follow the money. What is plastic made from?
I have heard that because of all the plastic that gets dumped out in the open or at sea these little bits of plastic are found in the blood of polar bears and found inside of the algae in the ocean. Not only are we breathing in but it's in the food chain. Both plants and animals are effected.
Let's face it even if they don't cause Alzheimer's they still aren't good for you and if you have any disease don't push your luck. Any time you are faced with a health issue it's time to stop fooling around and start cleaning up the body and the environment you live in. Every thing that you eat, breathe or comes in contact with your skin. Chemicals made in labs and chemical manufacturing plants are very hard for the liver to process and eliminate from the body. Try to remove as many as you can from your food list and your home. The immune system works to get these chemicals out of you because it recognizes these chemicals as not belonging and starts an immune response. If it's busy cleaning up the junk we expose ourselves to it's less likely to focus on what we need it to.
To many of you this might seem a little extreme. But once you have Alzheimer's disease or any other life threatening or terminal disease you will wish you had. It's easier to do it when your healthy than it is when the doctors exhaust your insurance and send you home to die. Stop buying the products that have compounds that poison. I don't expect you to do it in a day but get started. Read labels. Oh, most of this stuff must have labels but the labels don't need to be truthful. They might not say what's in the product but give you the number for Poison Control.
There are now more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease and the numbers are going up. Not just the elderly because there is a growing population of seniors. Early onset of this disease is increasing much more and at earlier ages. Every 72 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s. Add to that the number of people that have not realized they have a problem and aren't being counted yet. I believe the numbers are much higher. Are you scared yet? You should be. That's your intuition giving you a wake up call. Listen to your intuition now while you can still understand what it's saying.
The non-stick coatings put off unhealthy gases when you cook with them. This gets into the air and the food. These gases have killed many a pet bird. Remember the canary in the coal mine scenario? The miners would take canaries in a cage down into the mine and if they continued to sing and act normal if was safe. If the bird suddenly stopped singing or just dropped over dead the miners knew the conditions were unsafe or even deadly. Well if you cook with non-Stick pots and pans and your bird drops dead do you think its safe to use.
Also in food packaging they use a form of Teflon coating on the wrappers of snacks and candy bars to keep the packaging from soaking up moisture and oils. This may be used with other foods too. This substance gets into the food and you. It has recently been in the news that these chemicals are being detected far above the level considered safe. The more you eat the more you store in your body. My feeling is I don't want this stuff in my food and I don't feel any level is safe. They just keep finding ways to poison us. I don't want any of these compounds anywhere near me or my food at any level.
When was the last time you heard - buy our aluminum pans they are light weight and they leach the healthy mineral aluminum into your food? Have they said use our non stick cookware because it's easy to clean, the food has more eye appeal and the chemicals that get in your food and the gases that are released from our products will improve your health? Or maybe that we have applied a Teflon product to the packaging we put your food in and its so good for you we use extra. Your not going see that because it's not good for you.
Go through your house and check the labels on everything. Not just your food. The stuff you use to clean with. The drain cleaners and toilet bowl cleaners. What do you clean your floor or carpets with? What do you put in the washer when you do your clothes? Do you put anything in the clothes dryer for softening or static cling? There are healthier choices for all of the junk you are using now. It's amazing that we have been so brainwashed into believing that what they sell us today is better than what our grand parents used we don't even try what they used. Simple things like baking soda or vinegar or salt or citrus oils. The list is endless.
I've done this many times before I wised up. You buy a product that's supposed to be the best and it isn't as good as what you were using before. Then months later you see it says New - Improved on the label. So stupid me I fall for it again and I can't tell the difference. This isn't one product. You see it all the time. What I think they mean is they improved their manufacturing process or substituted some of the ingredients for cheaper ones or they improved their profits but not the actual product. On top of that if you check the label you will probably see chemicals you don't want or need.
Keep in mind that many of the things in your house put off gases that are not good for you. The paint on the walls. The curtains and carpet. The composite furniture that's mostly glue with a little wood fiber for strength. Even the stuff they build your house with. Synthetic materials in you clothing.
Plastic is a major player that's often overlooked. You think it's not releasing molecules into your food or beverage, think again. It's even attached to the dust particles you breath in. In fact there is a high chance there are plastic molecules in your blood right now. Why don't we hear about this? Follow the money. What is plastic made from?
I have heard that because of all the plastic that gets dumped out in the open or at sea these little bits of plastic are found in the blood of polar bears and found inside of the algae in the ocean. Not only are we breathing in but it's in the food chain. Both plants and animals are effected.
Let's face it even if they don't cause Alzheimer's they still aren't good for you and if you have any disease don't push your luck. Any time you are faced with a health issue it's time to stop fooling around and start cleaning up the body and the environment you live in. Every thing that you eat, breathe or comes in contact with your skin. Chemicals made in labs and chemical manufacturing plants are very hard for the liver to process and eliminate from the body. Try to remove as many as you can from your food list and your home. The immune system works to get these chemicals out of you because it recognizes these chemicals as not belonging and starts an immune response. If it's busy cleaning up the junk we expose ourselves to it's less likely to focus on what we need it to.
To many of you this might seem a little extreme. But once you have Alzheimer's disease or any other life threatening or terminal disease you will wish you had. It's easier to do it when your healthy than it is when the doctors exhaust your insurance and send you home to die. Stop buying the products that have compounds that poison. I don't expect you to do it in a day but get started. Read labels. Oh, most of this stuff must have labels but the labels don't need to be truthful. They might not say what's in the product but give you the number for Poison Control.
There are now more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease and the numbers are going up. Not just the elderly because there is a growing population of seniors. Early onset of this disease is increasing much more and at earlier ages. Every 72 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s. Add to that the number of people that have not realized they have a problem and aren't being counted yet. I believe the numbers are much higher. Are you scared yet? You should be. That's your intuition giving you a wake up call. Listen to your intuition now while you can still understand what it's saying.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Alzheimer's - As of some one gently rapping
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "‘Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door - Only this and nothing more."
If you have seen one person progress from a totally normal healthy person to one that can't take care of themselves you will have the ability to spot Alzheimer's without tests and doctors. That was what happened in my case. A friends father that I knew and was close to was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. After the diagnoses I was able to recall the changes in him in the previous months that led to the diagnoses of Alzheimer's Disease.
I saw this happen to my mother Edith. In the people I know she was the next one to become a victim of the terrible condition called Alzheimer's. The name comes from Alois Alzheimer a German neurologist. I found out recently that my aunt Ruth, Edith's sister, is experiencing memory problems and as is Ruth's husband Bud.
The first sign that caused concern for me was I noticed that she was using he and she wrong when talking about our cats. We had two cats. One male and the other was female. She would still get their names right but when she used the pronouns he and she it was often wrong and this was not something she would confuse normally.
When this happened it effected me so much I have that conversation and the visual picture of what we were looking at permanently etched in my memory. At that moment I knew in my gut what was happening to her. I was the only one that knew. Not one other family member had the slightest idea what was festering deep inside. One of the most important things you can do is learn to trust your intuition and if you get a gut feeling about something learn to work with it because this can be one of your most valuable tools to get you through life.
I kept thinking it can't be but I knew it was Alzheimer's disease. It must be something else causing this was my denial phase but there is no way to deny this when you have been close to it before. It's more like despair and desperation. I kept watching her decline and didn't tell any one not even my father. He hadn't noticed the subtle changes or clues and had enough worries during his life. I decided to spare others the feelings I had to bare. The time would come when it would be evident to all.
Something I did before any one knew was study the newest information that was coming out about Alzheimer's. I did a kind of behind the scenes investigation of our environment to reduce exposure to anything that may have a connection to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. I kept going over everything I could get my hands on and compared it to my mothers situation. My search continues to this very day.
Was it something that she was recently exposed to in the environment or maybe there was something lacking in her diet. But nothing had changed in the environment that I could find and I knew it wasn't diet. Nutrition was of high interest to all of us and almost a passion. We seldom ate anything but whole foods. We had a large garden and fruit trees and grew berries. We had a better selection of food than most.
We always read the latest info about vitamins, minerals and all the other supplements. Not just what was in the magazines but the latest research that scientists were working on. We tried all the protocols that showed promise with high expense and no positive results. However I still keep looking for that magic bullet and you should too.
I have found somethings that have helped and made a big difference. Enough difference that one doctor stopped saying hello or acknowledging me at her office when I took my mother for her checkup. One doctor asked how did I do it and then said maybe it would be better that he didn't know. I did talk to one doctor that wanted to know because his mother has Alzheimer's and was impressed by the improvement he saw in my mother. A second doctor asked if I would help some of his patients he could no longer help but didn't want to do it himself. I see a pattern here, do you.
In the media they are now recommending that if you stay active and exercise, if you exercise your mind, it will help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Edith was in excellent physical condition and could keep up with an active forty year old with out breaking a sweat. She read every day and she always did difficult crossword puzzles and other hard to solve brain challenging puzzles. If there wasn't a dictionary or thesaurus you could ask Edith. She had excellent memory. Short and long term. She never had any mental disorders. She never had depression or anxiety attacks.
I can tell you they really don't know much about Alzheimer's disease. We constantly hear they are making progress. The way research and treatment are done today is a shame. It's like taking your car to a mechanic because the check engine light is on and the mechanic unplugs the wire that goes to the check engine light. The light no longer warns but what caused the light to come on is still there. I don't feel that they want to find a cure. I am also very suspicious as to the cause of Alzheimer's disease.
What did I get out of all this. I learned that they know almost nothing. I learned what doesn't help. We are constantly given bad information by the medical community, the media, the associations and the organizations. Give us more false hope and keep telling us the cure for Alzheimer's is just around the corner. Anything to keep the money flowing.
Find a family and help them with a cash donation or emotional support or help around their house. My mother and I are in financial hardship and would appreciate your help. I am sure we are not the only ones. To the right is a donation button that utilizes PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account they will still accept bank and credit cards. You only need a email address. They require that so they can send you a receipt. I do not see your card number only a PayPal transaction number.
I'll stop expressing my personal opinion now and let you form your own. I need sleep and I need to search through the house tomorrow to see if I can find anything I can sell to raise some cash on eBay or in a yard sale or at one of the consignment stores that sell used stuff. I've done this a few times already so I'm running out of things people are willing to buy but who knows I might get lucky.
So now I know what sources I don't trust when it comes to Alzheimer's disease. When I saw salaries, like the one you will see at the link I have placed at the bottom of this post, I decided I wasn't going to help pay them. Please go there and see with your own eyes.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/14/CH0001.html
That's a 2004 salary figure. I don't know if it includes benefits, bonuses or what type of expense account this position pays. At this level the extras don't usually count as part of the salary.
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor; Shall be lifted - nevermore!
If you have seen one person progress from a totally normal healthy person to one that can't take care of themselves you will have the ability to spot Alzheimer's without tests and doctors. That was what happened in my case. A friends father that I knew and was close to was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. After the diagnoses I was able to recall the changes in him in the previous months that led to the diagnoses of Alzheimer's Disease.
I saw this happen to my mother Edith. In the people I know she was the next one to become a victim of the terrible condition called Alzheimer's. The name comes from Alois Alzheimer a German neurologist. I found out recently that my aunt Ruth, Edith's sister, is experiencing memory problems and as is Ruth's husband Bud.
The first sign that caused concern for me was I noticed that she was using he and she wrong when talking about our cats. We had two cats. One male and the other was female. She would still get their names right but when she used the pronouns he and she it was often wrong and this was not something she would confuse normally.
When this happened it effected me so much I have that conversation and the visual picture of what we were looking at permanently etched in my memory. At that moment I knew in my gut what was happening to her. I was the only one that knew. Not one other family member had the slightest idea what was festering deep inside. One of the most important things you can do is learn to trust your intuition and if you get a gut feeling about something learn to work with it because this can be one of your most valuable tools to get you through life.
I kept thinking it can't be but I knew it was Alzheimer's disease. It must be something else causing this was my denial phase but there is no way to deny this when you have been close to it before. It's more like despair and desperation. I kept watching her decline and didn't tell any one not even my father. He hadn't noticed the subtle changes or clues and had enough worries during his life. I decided to spare others the feelings I had to bare. The time would come when it would be evident to all.
Something I did before any one knew was study the newest information that was coming out about Alzheimer's. I did a kind of behind the scenes investigation of our environment to reduce exposure to anything that may have a connection to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. I kept going over everything I could get my hands on and compared it to my mothers situation. My search continues to this very day.
Was it something that she was recently exposed to in the environment or maybe there was something lacking in her diet. But nothing had changed in the environment that I could find and I knew it wasn't diet. Nutrition was of high interest to all of us and almost a passion. We seldom ate anything but whole foods. We had a large garden and fruit trees and grew berries. We had a better selection of food than most.
We always read the latest info about vitamins, minerals and all the other supplements. Not just what was in the magazines but the latest research that scientists were working on. We tried all the protocols that showed promise with high expense and no positive results. However I still keep looking for that magic bullet and you should too.
I have found somethings that have helped and made a big difference. Enough difference that one doctor stopped saying hello or acknowledging me at her office when I took my mother for her checkup. One doctor asked how did I do it and then said maybe it would be better that he didn't know. I did talk to one doctor that wanted to know because his mother has Alzheimer's and was impressed by the improvement he saw in my mother. A second doctor asked if I would help some of his patients he could no longer help but didn't want to do it himself. I see a pattern here, do you.
In the media they are now recommending that if you stay active and exercise, if you exercise your mind, it will help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Edith was in excellent physical condition and could keep up with an active forty year old with out breaking a sweat. She read every day and she always did difficult crossword puzzles and other hard to solve brain challenging puzzles. If there wasn't a dictionary or thesaurus you could ask Edith. She had excellent memory. Short and long term. She never had any mental disorders. She never had depression or anxiety attacks.
I can tell you they really don't know much about Alzheimer's disease. We constantly hear they are making progress. The way research and treatment are done today is a shame. It's like taking your car to a mechanic because the check engine light is on and the mechanic unplugs the wire that goes to the check engine light. The light no longer warns but what caused the light to come on is still there. I don't feel that they want to find a cure. I am also very suspicious as to the cause of Alzheimer's disease.
What did I get out of all this. I learned that they know almost nothing. I learned what doesn't help. We are constantly given bad information by the medical community, the media, the associations and the organizations. Give us more false hope and keep telling us the cure for Alzheimer's is just around the corner. Anything to keep the money flowing.
Find a family and help them with a cash donation or emotional support or help around their house. My mother and I are in financial hardship and would appreciate your help. I am sure we are not the only ones. To the right is a donation button that utilizes PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account they will still accept bank and credit cards. You only need a email address. They require that so they can send you a receipt. I do not see your card number only a PayPal transaction number.
I'll stop expressing my personal opinion now and let you form your own. I need sleep and I need to search through the house tomorrow to see if I can find anything I can sell to raise some cash on eBay or in a yard sale or at one of the consignment stores that sell used stuff. I've done this a few times already so I'm running out of things people are willing to buy but who knows I might get lucky.
So now I know what sources I don't trust when it comes to Alzheimer's disease. When I saw salaries, like the one you will see at the link I have placed at the bottom of this post, I decided I wasn't going to help pay them. Please go there and see with your own eyes.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/14/CH0001.html
That's a 2004 salary figure. I don't know if it includes benefits, bonuses or what type of expense account this position pays. At this level the extras don't usually count as part of the salary.
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor; Shall be lifted - nevermore!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Welcome to those that seek a solution to Alzheimer's Disease
I decided to write this because after searching endlessly for information about Alzheimer's disease I did not find much that helped me understand it. I have had a long time to look for answers and all I found were more questions. I probably don't have the answers you're looking for. What I do have is experience taking care of my mother 24 hours a day, every day, since October 1998.
I plan to talk about all the different aspects of Alzheimer's and the challenges the caregiver must face. What it's like to live with this responsibility. How to get through the day without going crazy and avoid burn out, depression and guilt.
I will try to give you tips that have helped me keep my mother happy, feel loved and feel she is where she is supposed to be. When Alzheimer's strikes it takes its victim on an emotional roller coaster that may be completely out of character for them. What I do when I recognize an emotional crisis is starting and how I stop it.
You'll learn about the financial, health, safety and security issues that Alzheimer's dis-ease brings with it. The old saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", isn't just a saying it's good advice. What I did and what I should have done. You need to know this information to avoid experiencing what I went through. I'll give you a glimpse into the obstacles and hardships I'm still facing.
I am also going to post what is happening now so you can get a know what to expect. You are going to hear about the progression of Alzheimer's and any improvements that occur. I'll talk about what we hear in the media and advice I have been given by doctors. You won't want to miss that.
I would like to state that what I say here is my own opinion and I am not a doctor. What I say in this and future posts in not intended to diagnose, treat or prescribe. I just want you to open your mind and make your own informed choices. I am not the average person and I hope that all that read this will join me. Do what the average person does and get average results. Do extraordinary things and get extraordinary results.
I plan to talk about all the different aspects of Alzheimer's and the challenges the caregiver must face. What it's like to live with this responsibility. How to get through the day without going crazy and avoid burn out, depression and guilt.
I will try to give you tips that have helped me keep my mother happy, feel loved and feel she is where she is supposed to be. When Alzheimer's strikes it takes its victim on an emotional roller coaster that may be completely out of character for them. What I do when I recognize an emotional crisis is starting and how I stop it.
You'll learn about the financial, health, safety and security issues that Alzheimer's dis-ease brings with it. The old saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", isn't just a saying it's good advice. What I did and what I should have done. You need to know this information to avoid experiencing what I went through. I'll give you a glimpse into the obstacles and hardships I'm still facing.
I am also going to post what is happening now so you can get a know what to expect. You are going to hear about the progression of Alzheimer's and any improvements that occur. I'll talk about what we hear in the media and advice I have been given by doctors. You won't want to miss that.
I would like to state that what I say here is my own opinion and I am not a doctor. What I say in this and future posts in not intended to diagnose, treat or prescribe. I just want you to open your mind and make your own informed choices. I am not the average person and I hope that all that read this will join me. Do what the average person does and get average results. Do extraordinary things and get extraordinary results.
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