Need some guidance

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
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LC-FL
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Need some guidance

Post by LC-FL »

Hi All,

I am the wife of a retired Police Officer, who lately, well really for some time has been experiencing short term memory issues, difficulty find the right words, has to say things quickly if not he’ll forget, if he gets interrupted in mid-sentence he loses his way thought process. Can’t remember sometimes if he bought something…

He’s completely freaking out, thinking he has ALZ, he found out he was e4 positive. He does have high triglycerides (182), low HDL (35), LDL (94), Comp Metabolic Panel (14) Glucose is at 120.

He had a Bilateral Carotid Ultrasound and a MRI with and without contrast, we tried to get an earlier appointment with his neurologist to go over the results, and he’s not available until mid-october. I’m hoping if someone can review these results and let me know if it’s something we could wait to see the doctor about or should I seek elsewhere?

Just worried and confused ☹
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Tincup
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Re: Need some guidance

Post by Tincup »

LC-FL wrote:Hi All,

I am the wife of a retired Police Officer, who lately, well really for some time has been experiencing short term memory issues, difficulty find the right words, has to say things quickly if not he’ll forget, if he gets interrupted in mid-sentence he loses his way thought process. Can’t remember sometimes if he bought something…

He’s completely freaking out, thinking he has ALZ, he found out he was e4 positive. He does have high triglycerides (182), low HDL (35), LDL (94), Comp Metabolic Panel (14) Glucose is at 120.
Hi LC-FL,

Welcome!

How old is your husband? Did he have TBI's during his career?

Is he a double E4 or single E4?

Comp Metabolic Panel (14) means the test with 14 variables, correct?

The high trigs, low HDL and 120 glucose (is this a morning fasting reading?) suggests metabolic syndrome. That would be the low hanging fruit. See lowering insulin resistance in thePrimer. also exercise. I specifically suggest exercise at a Zone 2 level of exertion, as it will help encourage fat burning and improving mitochondrial function. Two other approaches which get to about the same result, but in a simpler fashion (testing wise) are MAF training (basically work out at 180-age heart rate) or always breathing through the nose during exercise (and the rest of the time, too).
Tincup
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LC-FL
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Re: Need some guidance

Post by LC-FL »

Thanks Tincup, he's 59, he takes fenofibrate 145 mg, astorvastatin 10 mg, he does not eat veggies, he's pretty active in the yard, I believe he's a single E4, and yes, that's a morning fasting reading.
AKA
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Re: Need some guidance

Post by AKA »

LC-FL wrote:Hi All,

I am the wife of a retired Police Officer, who lately, well really for some time has been experiencing short term memory issues, difficulty find the right words, has to say things quickly if not he’ll forget, if he gets interrupted in mid-sentence he loses his way thought process. Can’t remember sometimes if he bought something…

He’s completely freaking out, thinking he has ALZ, he found out he was e4 positive. He does have high triglycerides (182), low HDL (35), LDL (94), Comp Metabolic Panel (14) Glucose is at 120.

He had a Bilateral Carotid Ultrasound and a MRI with and without contrast, we tried to get an earlier appointment with his neurologist to go over the results, and he’s not available until mid-october. I’m hoping if someone can review these results and let me know if it’s something we could wait to see the doctor about or should I seek elsewhere?

Just worried and confused ☹
Welcome, LC-FL!

We are glad you found us and hope you find the wealth of information and support of the community helpful. Tincup offered some great ideas and resources, I'd just like to add a few other links that will help you navigate the site.

How-To Get the most out of the ApoE4.info website was created to help new (and not so new) members navigate the site. This area explains how to use the quotes button so that the other member receives an email notification of your reply, how to search for topics, how to subscribe to topics of interest and more.

Just found out you're an E4 carrier? This section in the wiki pages provides links to the Welcome, a quick set of strategies (summary list) related to improving brain health and more.

Whether your husband waits for the neurology appointment or seeks help elsewhere, there are lifestyle strategies he can begin trying out today! Sleep, stress, exercise, and nutrition are all areas he can address. You can read about all of these in the wiki pages. Here is a link to the Wiki index. If you are Searching for a Healthcare Practitioner or would like to find ApoE4-Aware Healthcare Practitioners, you can check out these wiki links.

You are on the right track LC-FL!
Please let us know if you have further questions.
Warmly,
Andrea
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Fiver
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Re: Need some guidance

Post by Fiver »

Hi LC-FL,

A few things come to mind, which might be helpful. PS - I'm not a doctor.

Tincup is right about blood sugar control being something to look at, and it's something you can address now. If he recently retired maybe he is not as active and constantly training for work. Maye he can find something else active he enjoys and also think about dietary changes, with a doctor's advice perhaps. I bet he could get a faster appointment with a general practitioner to address this.

By the way, that's a mid-range statin dose but sometimes they can cause brain fog. If he started the statin recently maybe have him ask his doctor about a "statin holiday" to see if the symptoms clear up. Also, statins can boost blood sugar levels a bit. The blood work suggests that his physician will want to do something to manage his cholesterol etc. in the long term but there are various options for that. By the way there is also some evidence that statin use in mid life can lower the risk of dementia in late life, to a small degree (one particular study found that atorvostatin showed the clearest evidence, though still a small change). But overall the question of statins and AD is a bit fuzzy, as others have said.

It really does seem to take forever to see a neurologist, doesn't it? My experience has been that, if you have to wait, at least make sure it's the right neurologist, with the right training. Make sure they get all of the labs and scans. And go in with your questions ready. I learned to look them up and find out if they are well respected too, before waiting all that time.

I wonder why we aren't training more neurologists these days.....or if the wait time is more to do with insurance companies.
NF52
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Re: Need some guidance

Post by NF52 »

LC-FL wrote:Hi All,

I am the wife of a retired Police Officer, who lately, well really for some time has been experiencing short term memory issues, difficulty find the right words, has to say things quickly if not he’ll forget, if he gets interrupted in mid-sentence he loses his way thought process. Can’t remember sometimes if he bought something…
Just worried and confused ☹
A warm hug, LC-FL from another wife who has a husband who spent many years viewing vegetables with suspicion, having been raised in a "meat and potatoes" Irish-American family. The good news is that 59 is not too late to discover some new health and exercise habits that will actually make him feel better and you feel less worried! Every journey starts with steps close to home, so let this be a journey that starts with easy steps for both of you. Having avocado toast, for example, may seem too "millennial" until he realizes how good an avocado with olive oil on whole grain toast tastes. Or having yellow and green peppers grilled along with chicken can be something he can realize is much more fun than the canned veggies he may have grown up eating. I have a friend whose husband didn't like to take walks until they got a dog she nicknamed "Zoomey", who needs two hours of walks a day, which her husband loves to provide--and which gets him out talking to neighbors. Thinking about giving up favorite foods can be daunting; thinking about adding almonds and other nuts as an alternative to cookies and ice cream is easier.

Here's some more good news: It looks like the carotid scan is clear, which suggests that your husband doesn't have blockage of his neck arteries. If he has a family history of heart attacks or coronary artery disease, you could ask your primary care provider for a referral for a coronary artery scan. Insurance won't usually pay for it, but as someone whose dad died at 67 of cardiac arrest, I found the $150 cost well worth the relief when I found out I had no plaque in my coronary arteries.

As for that single copy of ApoE 4, even that is pretty good news: It raises the risk for a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's by the age of 85, but only to about 20-25%. That means it's likely that the symptoms NOW are due, as Tincup suggested, to his brain not getting enough of the right kinds of food and exercise. As a participant in a clinical trial for 2 years, and someone with 2 copies of ApoE 4 (and still healthy at age 68) my Study Site doctor recommended I take 500 mcg of methylcobalamin (B-12) per day to bring my tested level about 500, even though "normal" is anything above 200 or so. You can certainly ask his doctor to order a B-12 test, which insurance should pay for. (Note that methylcobalamin is not the same as cyanocobalamin, which is what's in lots of the versions sold in stores.)

I strongly endorse Tincup's recommendation of the Primer. It was one of the most helpful resources I've found! Written by a doctor who is almost exactly your husband's age, with two copies of ApoE 4/4, who loves pastry (!), she has studied deeply how to help ourselves--and works in a country where most people do not have quick access to neurologists. She also believes in taking small steps--and giving ourselves permission to backslide. We're tough as women and as wives and often the best thing we can do for our husbands is to show them they can still make changes--even in retirement.

Hugs from Virginia to Florida (I'm guessing.)
4/4 and still an optimist!
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