New With 2x The Risk of Alzheimers Disease

[TXplowgirl]

Man oh man, if it's not 1 thing it's another. Hi everyone. I found this site due to some results from Promethease and 23&me results.

According to my results I carry one APOE-ε3 allele and one APOE-ε4 allele and they say that makes me 2 times more likely for Alzheimers disease. Lovely, just lovely. They referred me here and so here I am.

I had a great grandmother on my mother's side with Alzheimers. That is the only known case in my family that we know of.

I am not good with this DNA stuff, I started out getting DNA tests to see who and where I came from and the last few years due to health issues and finding peculiur causes of death on relatives death certificates going into the health end of it.

I've always been sickly as a child growing up then the problems would go a way and then come back and now they seem to be here to stay. I am now 54 but sometimes feel like i'm a rough 90.

Cancer and heart disease run on both my parents side bad. I've had my own bout with cancer and I have heart disease as well

On top of that in the last 10 years I have been diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Lupus Nephritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue syndrome, IBS-D, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Peripheral Vascular Disease, High Blood pressure, Scoliosis and I also test positive for the Colon Cancer gene and the list just keeps going but i'll stop there.

So, i'm kind of curious to know if those of you on here with the 3 and 4 alleles have any of these other diseases like I do? Plus, back 10 years ago I had gone on a whole foods, gluten free diet and lost a lot of weight and felt a lot better but then started getting sick and had to go into the hopsital for a blood transfusion and the CTD and Lupus attacking my kidneys. That's when I found out I had the CTD and Lupus went into a deep depression after the dr telling me I had to give up my dream job of driving truck and go on disability.

I absolutely loved driving truck. I had dreamt of driving truck since I was 6 years old. Started driving at the age of 38 when my 21 year marriage went down the tubes and my son graduated high school and went into the Army. I decided then that if I didn't try I would always wonder what if. . Best thing that I ever did.

So, I went into a deep depression and went back to eating everything in site. Gained back almost everything I had lost and back to feeling like crap. Then 2 years ago I had to have an 11 lb cancerous ovarian tumor removed. Luckily it was all confined to the tumor and all of the biopsies were negative so I didn't need chemo or radiation.

That's when I really began getting into the DNA stuff for more than just finding where my family came from. I had genetic testing done and I came back positive on the Colon cancer gene which didn't surprise me any at all as I lost my dad, 3 of his brothers and a couple of cousins to colon cancer and I lost my maternal grandfather and 2 of those uncles to colon cancer. That dosen't include the other cancers that I have have lost family members to. In a total of about 72 family members all with cancer, On my mom and dad's side, this is my dad, 5 uncles, first cousins, 2nd, and 3rd, 2 great grandfathers as well as great uncles and 1 great aunt, etc. I am the only female family member in about 72 people to get ovarian cancer, the other female members were breast, thyroid, lung, mandible, leukemia, you name it at least 1 person probably had it.

I have another uncle, last surviving member of my dad's brothers and sisters going through his 3rd bout of cancer now. My dad was 1 of 11 kids. This uncle is the baby of those 11. He'll turn 80 next month. His only son, my first cousin passed away at the age of 31 from brain stem cancer.

Sorry I've written a long story, it's just that this seems to be the right kind of place for this. My mother is 77 and she doesn't need anymore stress in her life than what she has now.

So, does cancer go hand in hand with all of this or is this separate for another discussion down the road? What should I be looking for, doing, etc to head this off for as long as I can? No family members have had it that we know of but with the way my mind is now I wouldn't be surprised if i'm in the beginning stages of it. But then it could be just the Lupus and CTD attacking my central nervous system. My dr's just tell me it's not and not to worry about it. Well, if you had a family history like mine I think you'd worry about it.

I have seen some good friends of mine mother pass away from Alzheimers and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Anyway, so here I am.

[Stavia]

hi TXplowgirl. Welcome.
You certainly have a lot to cope with.
As far as I am aware, your autoimmune conditions and cancer are not related to apoe4, which is the gene for LATE onset Alzheimers. That means usually well over 70.
There is no known genetic association between higher risk for cancer and ApoE4.

I have never seen a patient with a triple diagnosis of Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis as well as Mixed Connective Tissue Disease. Were some of these interim diagnoses over the years as the doctors were confirming the issues? Are your autoantibodies not specifically one type or the other? I certainly have seen this, we normally just diagnose it Mixed Connective Tissue Disease rather than specifically Lupus or RA.

We do have a few members with Ehlers Danlos, which is a completely different condition to your Lupus and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease.

If you want to know more about Apoe4 and our strategies aimed at prevention of Alzheimers, have a look at our Primer.
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1418
Unfortunately we are not geared for diseases other than directly linked to ApoE4, and we mainly focus on strategies for this, which we hope will mitigate the cardiovascular effects of our gene. I'm not sure that this is the right place for you to learn more about your autoimmune conditions, but if you need support absolutely you are very welcome. However our focus is on Apoe4.

Our group has worked with Dr Stephen Gundry in Alzheimers prevention, but his big focus if in fact cardiovascular and autoimmune disease. You might want to check out his work.

[TXplowgirl]

Thanks Stavia, I appreciate the quick response.

I was diagnosed with the Fibro and Chronic Fatigue syndrome first actually then about 2 years later was the diagnosis of the Connective Tissue Disease and Lupus together when I had to be hospitalized with the blood transfusion and them attacking my kidneys. The other diagnosis's came after that. 1 or 2 a year for a few years. It seemed like every time I went to the dr I would come away with a new diagnosis. Got to where I didn't want to go to the drs anymore for a checkup because of what might be next, LOL. I can laugh about it now but it wasn't funny then.

When I first started to type the question asking about the Alzheimers I got a random thought about cancer possibly being linked and as usual my brain overran itself, lol. I'm on a lot of autoimmune sites and have read a bunch on autoimmune issues so no problems there and I will keep questions down to the Alzheimers now that you have answered on different conditions. Like I said, when I get a thought it just comes out and I was curious.

Anyway, I will keep reading here for more information and will check out Dr. Stephen Gundry.

Thank you again.

[Cas]

Hi TXplowgirl,

Welcome to the site and were so pleased you’ve found us. It does really sound like you’ve had a lot going on health wise and a lot to think about. As Stavia has said the best place to start is to read through the primer, this focuses on information about ApoE4 status and lifestyle strategies associated with that. A lot of these changes are about being healthy generally so would be likely to support a variety of conditions but as Stacia has indicated we focus on ApoE4 here specifically.

Keep reading through the site and I’m sure a lot of the information will be very useful to you.
Take care
Cas

[TheresaB]

they say that makes me 2 times more likely for Alzheimers disease.

Remember, that just reflects statistics based on historical data. I plan to beat my odds. It’s AMAZING what people can do with lifestyle changes to impact how their genes are expressed. I like to say that the genes are just the hardware, lifestyle/diet is the software that impacts what the genes do.

So, does cancer go hand in hand with all of this

As far as I am aware, your autoimmune conditions and cancer are not related to apoe4,

Yes, but lifestyle/diet does correlate highly with autoimmune conditions and cancer.

Our group has worked with Dr Stephen Gundry in Alzheimers prevention, but his big focus if in fact cardiovascular and autoimmune disease. You might want to check out his work.

I’m one of Dr Gundry’s patients. In following his recommendations, my inflammation markers are beautifully low, my blood vessel flexibility markers are better than ever, my insulin sensitivity is high, my oxidized LDL keeps going down, my HDL to Triglyceride ratio is wonderful, on and on. My husband was showing signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis (an autoimmune issue) and has had congestion since a baby, after going on Dr Gundry’s diet, his RA went away and his congestion decreased dramatically. His latest book is The Plant Paradox, we also have a wiki on Dr Gundry https://www.apoe4.info/wiki/Dr_Gundry%27s_Protocol

As a result of close family member dealing with an aggressive form of cancer, another person I’ve become a fan of is Dr Nasha Winters. She is an integrative oncologist and co-author of the book The Metabolic Approach to Cancer. I personally think everyone, with or without family history of cancer should read her book, it's very good and insightful. I have adopted some of her suggestions (which overlap Dr Gundry’s in many ways). More information about her can be found http://optimalterrainconsulting.com/

I hope these suggestions help.

[Jan]

Wow, TXplowgirl, it certainly has been 'raining' down your way. But I hurry to reinforce, the future is not yet written. Genes, even strong family history, are only 'predictive.' You mentioned changing your diet in the past, and having very positive results by doing so.
Have you ever done an elimination diet? (Removing common reactive foods from the diet for a time, then reintroducing them one by one to note any symptoms.) Many find that a good way to personalize diet. Also, how is your relaxation?

Glad to have you on the site!

[NF52]

I had a great grandmother on my mother's side with Alzheimers. That is the only known case in my family that we know of. I am now 54 but sometimes feel like i'm a rough 90.
Cancer and heart disease run on both my parents side bad. I've had my own bout with cancer and I have heart disease as well...Plus, back 10 years ago I had gone on a whole foods, gluten free diet and lost a lot of weight and felt a lot better but ... went into a deep depression after the dr telling me I had to give up my dream job of driving truck and go on disability...I absolutely loved driving truck.. . Best thing that I ever did.

I lost my dad, 3 of his brothers and a couple of cousins to colon cancer and I lost my maternal grandfather and 2 of those uncles to colon cancer. Well, if you had a family history like mine I think you'd worry about it.
Anyway, so here I am.

A hug from Virginia, Texas Plow Girl!
I'm not a Dr. like Stavia, but I'd trust her advice to you any day. But I'm going to start from a different angle: what strength you have! I used to work in schools in an area of western NY that had a lot of people like you that "absolutely loved driving truck" : long haul moving trucks, short haul delivery, medium haul around the region. I even had a brother-in-law who once had to "rescue" an 18-wheeler that someone abandoned in NYC when he couldn't handle the traffic! So I'm going to pose a question: if you loved driving a truck, is there any chance you can get that CDL back and drive either a truck or school bus--just to give yourself a chance to feel like a good 54 and not a rough 90? If you're heart or other issues prevent it, you might want to see about even working for a school bus or truck dispatcher. Nothing like doing what you love to make you feel alive again.
Like you, I have a bunch of relatives on both sides that died of colon cancer--all before there were limits on how high the chemicals in smoked meats could be, and before colonoscopies could catch polyps before they turned cancerous. As someone who has made the acquaintance of a colorectal surgeon and lived through the embarrassment of getting rid of a silent, but suspiciously large polyp, they are my new favorite specialists! I hope you go regularly for colon check-ups!
Similar thought: lots of my relatives lived in areas where they might have been drinking unsafe well-water, including water polluted from farm run-off. That may have been true for yours too. If you're drinking safe water, you may have avoided a big pothole in your ride! If you have any questions about how safe it is, your county water authority should have info.
You write about how much better you felt when you gave up gluten and ate mostly whole foods. That's a recommendation that current, well-researched science would certainly support-especially the part about whole foods or minimally processed foods. If you can find a cheap source of locally grown organic foods, you may want to try that.
I hope when you were depressed, your doctor considered a trial of an anti-depressant and "talk therapy." Even a few sessions with someone at the county health department (which may offer free mental health support) may give you suggestions on how to look at yourself as a survivor. My father-in-law, who was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer at age 48 and given 2-6 months to live, did die of it--at the age of 90, after surgery and radiation stopped the first occurrence, and after having triple heart bypass and prostate cancer in his 80's. Like you Texans, he was a stubborn guy from Maine who didn't want doctors to tell him what they thought.

Finally, you sound like someone who would be a great friend. I hope you have a circle of support in your extended family, you neighbors, your church, or the folks you knew growing up. Everyone needs a community to get through long days and dark nights. You reached out to post here; make sure you reach out to folks close to home for that support. You've got a lifetime of experience in how to steer through bad weather. Share it with others and I'll bet you gain a sense of being in charge again.