First of all I just want to say thank you to the wonderful people who have spent so much time and care putting this site together. It's been EXTREMELY helpful, and to be honest I've been reading obsessively since I learned I'm an e3/e4. (yesterday)
Some background:
38yo male
I listened to a podcast with Dr. Richard Isaacson about AD prevention (https://peterattiamd.com/richardisaacson/), which reminded me I had sent saliva in for testing some months ago, and some of the descriptions of mild CI resonated - problems with names, remembering books/movies, words on the tip of my tongue, etc. So I decided to check my results, and found that I'm a 3/4.
Family history: paternal grandfather died at 38 of MS, father 70 is in good health. His mother was in good health, and developed mild dementia in her 80's. My mother 68 is in poorer health, with some evidence of CI, and a long history of depression/anxiety. Her mother was clinically depressed and developed mild dementia in her early 80's, and her father was sharp until he was 90.
Additional risk factors (the stuff that makes me most nervous):
I sustained moderate TBI at 17; fell 9' head first, multiple skull fractures, unconscious for 8-12 hours, hospitalized for a month. Family/friends noticed personality/mood changes, but to be honest the entire year following is a haze. I've had emotional regulation issues since.
I went off to college that fall, and discovered all sorts of things that aren't good for long term brain health. I began drinking fairly heavily, eating poorly, and started smoking. I worked out like a fiend so I looked good on the outside, but my labs were bad -- lipids and liver function.
I no longer drink or smoke, but I'd be surprised if I didn't do a fair bit of damage. I've been in psychotherapy for years, and have my symptoms under control with 1mg 2x/day clonazepam -- another BIG no-no from what I've just read. So first order of business I think will be tapering off the benzo and avoiding benzo's and z drugs in the future -- a daunting task I'm sure, but I've done it before. (They helped me quit drinking, and keep my panic attacks at bay--I went a year a year ago with no caffeine, nicotine, or clonazepam, and white knuckled my way through a lot -- was convinced I could meditate the anxiety away)
I recently picked up a nicotine habit again, which I satisfy with gum/snus. 2-3x a day. No smoking. I'm thinking I should probably cut that out.
Exercise: I started lifting weights 3x/week a month ago, and try walk at least 3 miles a day. I play tennis when I can. I know i need to kick up my aerobic intensity, and believe this test result will provide the motivation I need to ramp that up
I've always hated cardio, loved weights. Ti'm to shift my preferences. Diet: Seems like I've at least got PART of this right. I've been experimenting with IF for a couple of years, and after 18 months 6:1 (water fast from sunday dinner - mid afternoon Tuesday every week), I decided I wanted to work on my IS and have been doing 18:6 for ~ 6 months. My first meal (lunch
) is a big salad -- lots and lots of varied fruits and veggies, nuts, vinegar and EVOO, no animal proteins or cheese. (test says I'm likely lactose intolerant as well, so I guess I've got a head start ) My guilty salad pleasure are baked croutons -- which are out as of tomorrow. I've been following Michael Pollan's advice as best I can since reading his books -- the first food books I've read (and I've read a lot) that really made sense to me. (his most recent book is interesting too, but that's a different conversation!)Dinner is sensible; we eat as a family and it's basic lean protein, veggie, starch. I'll be cutting out the starch and replacing with veggies. 3-4x a week I've allowed myself dessert, but I think I need to stop that.
Through IF and not drinking, I've dropped from a peak of 226# to 168 currently, with a BMI of 25. I carry virtually all of my weight in my belly, so I'm very focused on eliminating that. I've been losing 1-1.5#/week consistently for the past 6 months with minimal exercise. We'll see what my weight does when I ramp up my weights and activity while still in a calorie deficit.
Sleep: This sucks. Always has. I hate bedtime. Clonazepam + melatonin helps me now, and a ton of meditation. This is something I'll just have to work on as I taper off the clonazepam.
Stress relief: I've been an anxious mess much of my life, thus all the mind numbing substances. I've been meditating daily now for 3 years, which has done a LOT to lower my baseline stress level, but I'm working with my psychiatrist to lower it further still. I'm looking forward to my next visit in a couple of weeks so we can talk about my test results and ways to taper.
Congitive activity: I work a demanding quantitatively focused job, so I'm using my brain constantly during the day. I suppose I should supplement here.
The only supplements I take are D3, Calcium and Fish Oil. I'm always Vit D deficient when I have a physical, and I have 'soft bones' according to the mineral metabolism people. I think I'll read more and work on my diet/exercise/anxiety before exploring additional supplementation.
Labs a year ago: total cholesterol 171, triglycerides 66, HDL 59, VLDL 13, LDL 99 (all mg/dL) Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy 25.7. ALT 12, AST 12. (Greatly reduced -- was diagnosed 10 years ago with fatty liver disease confirmed by ultrasound) I have no idea what these mean, but they're out of range: Serum Sodium 145 mmol/L, A/G ratio 2.6, Alkaline Phosphatase 32 IU/L.
I'm due for a physical in a couple of months, and will order all the other tests suggested in the primer here.
I guess that's about it. Thanks to all for being here, and I hope to be able to contribute to the forum over time.
Thank you for reading this far!
Chuck
