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New Member

Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:09 pm
by hope4future
Hello!

I am a new member who just joined after reading about this group in Dr. Bredesen's book The End of Alzheimer's. I am 40 years old, live in NY and found out about a year ago that I am homozygous for APOE4 (4/4). There is a strong family history of AD in my family. My father has it now, his father died from it and 3-5 of my father's 9 siblings have/had AD or another form of dementia. My brother and one of my 2 sisters both tested heterozygous for APOE4 (4/3).

I see daily what AD is doing to my father, and I see my mother struggle to care for him. My father is scared, anxious, angry and confused. He is unable to string together simple sentences, doesn't remember what is happening from moment to moment and has great difficulty with simple executive functions. My mother is drained - physically, mentally, emotionally and financially. I wouldn't wish this disease or the burden of care for a loved one with this disease on anyone.

Having said that - I am not afraid for the future. I took the 23andMe test SPECIFICALLY to find out about my "Alzheimer's" gene. I was not surprised by the results. I believe that knowledge is power, and I would rather know and do everything in my power to change my potential future than to wait anxiously for an uncertain outcome. I have a wonderful husband and two amazing young children. I intend to do what I can to be around and be healthy for as long as possible!

Dr. Bredesen's book and the ReCODE program feels like a great place to start. As I am not yet showing any symptoms, I plan to use the program in a (hopefully) preventative manner. I am starting slowly with the things I feel I can control relatively easily, such as diet, exercise and sleep. It's slow going, but I don't want to overwhelm and frustrate myself right off the bat. I feel very grateful to have found this book and this group and I most certainly have hope for the future.

Re: New Member

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 2:56 pm
by Sara Mushel, MS
Having said that - I am not afraid for the future. I took the 23andMe test SPECIFICALLY to find out about my "Alzheimer's" gene. I was not surprised by the results. I believe that knowledge is power, and I would rather know and do everything in my power to change my potential future than to wait anxiously for an uncertain outcome. I have a wonderful husband and two amazing young children. I intend to do what I can to be around and be healthy for as long as possible!
Hi hope4future,

Welcome to the Apoe4.info community! Your positivity simply radiates from your post and your optimism is inspiring! Thank you for sharing your story with us.

You've found a great community of people just like you who are navigating the triumphs and challenges of this disease and how to adopt a preventative lifestyle. As you know, the science about prevention is encouraging because there is so much that we can do to keep ourselves healthy. Indeed, genetics are not destiny!

A great place to start on this forum are the Welcome, Primer, and Wiki pages. In addition, you can search for a specific thread topic by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner of the menu bar at the top of the page.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out! We look forward to hearing more from you.

Thanks,

Sara

Re: New Member

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 3:57 pm
by hope4future
Thank you Sara! I appreciate your encouragement and suggestions and will start by reading through the Welcome, Primer and Wiki pages. I look forward to being part of this community :)