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Lot of info here to digest for us newbies

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 5:35 pm
by JudyH
57 year old female here, recently discovered I was e3/e4.

No family history of AD. Probably because they all died early of heart disease. Both my mother and grandmother died from heart attacks at age 42. Suspect there might have been some e4/e4's there.

Have been actively treating my CAD risks since I was 30. Medication for HBP since 30, Statins for Cholesterol since 40. Except for triglycerides, all lipids and BP well controlled with medications.

Only went through menopause within the last 18 months. Weight and belly fat has increased and first changes to elevated triglycerides , A1C just rising above normal range and blood glucose slightly elevated. All headed in the wrong direction.

So much material in this site so I am just beginning to digest it and try to understand it. I am very active and exercise regularly so I have that covered but know I need to set diet goals and work on eliminating sugar and trying to get my weight and associated numbers back to a better place.

HRT is my biggest question. I am not on it because I honestly I don't have enough symptoms that have made me seek it. Due to see my OB/GYN in January and although I have skimmed some of your material, it is pretty much greek to me and wonder if there are some simple recommendations about what types HRT I should discuss with her.

Never been afraid to die, I have known since age 14 that I inherited the family heart. Never thought I would reach age 50 so I have gratefully been on wonderful bonus time for more than a decade! Dementia and the toll that would take on my family is a concern for me.

Thank you in advance for your experience and suggestions.

Re: Lot of info here to digest for us newbies

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 8:06 pm
by floramaria
jhaggert60 wrote:57 year old female here, recently discovered I was e3/e4.

No family history of AD. Probably because they all died early of heart disease. Both my mother and grandmother died from heart attacks at age 42. Suspect there might have been some e4/e4's there.

Have been actively treating my CAD risks since I was 30. Medication for HBP since 30, Statins for Cholesterol since 40. Except for triglycerides, all lipids and BP well controlled with medications.

Only went through menopause within the last 18 months. Weight and belly fat has increased and first changes to elevated triglycerides , A1C just rising above normal range and blood glucose slightly elevated. All headed in the wrong direction.

So much material in this site so I am just beginning to digest it and try to understand it. I am very active and exercise regularly so I have that covered but know I need to set diet goals and work on eliminating sugar and trying to get my weight and associated numbers back to a better place.

HRT is my biggest question. I am not on it because I honestly I don't have enough symptoms that have made me seek it. Due to see my OB/GYN in January and although I have skimmed some of your material, it is pretty much greek to me and wonder if there are some simple recommendations about what types HRT I should discuss with her.

Never been afraid to die, I have known since age 14 that I inherited the family heart. Never thought I would reach age 50 so I have gratefully been on wonderful bonus time for more than a decade! Dementia and the toll that would take on my family is a concern for me.

Thank you in advance for your experience and suggestions.
Welcome to the community, jhaggert! You are so right about the vast amount of material here! I have been active on the website for a year and a half and am nowhere near digesting and understanding it all! There can be a tendency to become overwhelmed by too much info; one strategy that can be helpful is to pace yourself, going one step at a time, knowing that you could not possibly absorb everything here at once. You might start with general information, and then add searches for specific info.

If you have not found it yet, the Primer
is a thorough and very accessible overview of what is known about the ApoE4 allele, and includes steps to reduce potential negative health impacts. it is a great place to start. You'll find that it addresses the coronary aspects of our shared allele as well as cognitive. sorry that you have lost so many in family so young to CAD. Hopefully you can extend your "bonus time" while maintaining health in all areas. Congratulations for already being very active and exercising regularly, which is very important for preserving cognitive function. And you are aware of the need to bring biomarkers related to your diet and blood sugar within recommended ranges.

The Wiki is another great resource, which goes into greater depth on topics you might be interested in. there is also a section there in the WiKi on how to get the most our of using this site, and that will give you tips on how to respond to a post, and how to search a specific topic, using the search function which you can access using the magnifying glass to the left of your user name.

You asked about HRT. My uinderstanding is that most people on this site, IF the are doing HRT are using bioidentical hormones.
Here is one resource link: download/file.php?id=1504.
That should be a link to slides from a presentation by Ann Hathaway on bioidentical hormones.
(From how it is showing up on my screen, I am not sure you are getting the actual link; if not, you could use the search function and type in Ann Hathaway.) Also searching for HRT will bring up one of the longest threads on the entire website! HRT is a controversial area, and much discussed.

We are here to learn from each other, and share our experiences and support. Feel free to ask if you need help with something.
Again, sending you a warm welcome and very best wishes.
floramaria

Re: Lot of info here to digest for us newbies

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 9:50 pm
by Chameleon
Hi jhaggert60!
Welcome to the APOE4 community! Glad you have joined us. You are asking lots of great questions. I am sure others will chime in with their opinions,but here are some of mine. :D

Adjusting your food is a game changer in so many ways. Definitely getting rid of sugar is a good start, but increasing vegetables is also important. There are too many food changes to list here, but that is a good place to begin.

As far as HRT is concerned, many people use bioidentical hormones. Unfortunately, many Obgyns are not really familiar with them so you need to find a doctor who is knowledgeable.

And don't forget about the importance of sleep for cognition. Do you sleep well? Do you snore? All things to consider.

So much of what is needed is to test many different factors and see what needs to be improved. Finding a good doctor is critical for this.

I see the Primer and Wiki have already been suggested. I would also suggest the book The End of Alzheimers as that also has a guidelines and a program that you can follow.

I hope this site is helpful in attaining better help.

Re: Lot of info here to digest for us newbies

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 4:46 am
by slacker
jhaggert60 wrote: HRT is my biggest question. I am not on it because I honestly I don't have enough symptoms that have made me seek it. Due to see my OB/GYN in January and although I have skimmed some of your material, it is pretty much greek to me and wonder if there are some simple recommendations about what types HRT I should discuss with her.
The best place to look for the "bottom line" advice for HRT is the chapter in the primer. I think that everything else will be too complicated for you at this time, including Dr Hathaway's powerpoint presentation. The details may make more sense after you have understood the basics. Starting HRT can be a difficult decision.

Please ask if you have other questions. We are all on this journey together.

Re: Lot of info here to digest for us newbies

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:33 pm
by JudyH
Thank you all, the write up in the primer did help. I happen to have a gyn who even at the height of the "HRT is evil" time period said it was sometimes the correct choice and not as wrong as it was being made out to be. A lot of unknowns in this topic, it seems.

Not going to let this run my life so I am going to start small and simple and build from there -- keep up my exercise, cut out as much sugar as possible, increase the right veggies and other good foods and see if I can get my weight and blood sugar numbers back in line. I did like the next topic in the primer which was chocolate, I like chocolate!