I just found out my apoe4 status.

[hairyfairy]

Yesterday I had the results of a dna test that I took with 23 &me, & I`m devastated to find that I have a copy of the apoe4 gene. I feel very distressed & also angry at my parents for handing this down to me. My mother died before she became old enough to get alzheimers, but she suffered with heart disease from an early age, which I`ve read is linked to the apoe4 gene. My father died at 77, but I don`t know what from because we were estranged for many years. I really don`t know what to do with this knowledge. It`s the worst news that Iv`e ever had, & I feel doomed.

[NF52]

Yesterday I had the results of a dna test that I took with 23 &me, & I`m devastated to find that I have a copy of the apoe4 gene. I feel very distressed & also angry at my parents for handing this down to me. I really don`t know what to do with this knowledge. It`s the worst news that Iv`e ever had, & I feel doomed.

Welcome hairyfairy,

I’m not going to say that you shouldn't feel "devastated", "distressed" and "angry" about this news, especially since I'm guessing you are in good health right now and in the prime years of your life (maybe 40's?) All of those emotions are common and normal after this unexpected and uncertain news. But I want to offer some scientifically-based (and also personal) reassurance that your feeling of being "doomed" should lift over the next few weeks or months.

Here's why: You say you have "a copy of Apoe 4"; I'm guessing that means that like my three adult children (and about 25% of people of European ancestry) you are ApoE 3/4. Here's what a 2017 meta-analysis of 4 very large, lengthy studies following people in the U.S. and Netherlands came up with for people my age (60-75) as a lifetime risk (up to the age of 85) of either Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia:

20%–25% for individuals with APOE-e3/e4 and -e2/e4 (with a note that risk might be lower for those with APOE-e2/e4); and 10%–15% for individuals with APOE-e3/e3, -e3/e2, and -e2/e2 (with a note that risk might be lower for those with APOE-e2/e3 and -e2/e2

https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/ ... 254#sec019

These are not personalized to any one individual, and are applicable only to people who are closer to your parents' ages when they died. But you'll notice that people with NO ApoE 4 gene still have a 10-15% chance of developing Alzheimer's. That's because the biggest risk is age--live to 85 and a few things don't work as well as they did at 40. That does not mean that my ApoE 3/3 husband, or my ApoE 3/4 kids, or you with ApoE 3/4 are "doomed". In fact, if you were 60 or older you would still have a 75%-80% chance of NOT getting either MCI or Alzheimer's. Your family history suggests that heart disease is a risk, so keeping your blood pressure to a good range (preferably with the higher number (systolic) at 120 or less based on a large recent study) and all the other hearth-healthy habits you are doing, since you mentioned doing a 12 hour fast in another post will help your heart and brain.

We know also that long-term stress isn't good for our brains or hearts. So please, my hairyfairy (a name I love, and may "borrow" for my long-haired grandchild) let me reassure you. I am 66, and ApoE 4/4 and thousands of people like me are in studies around the world looking for prevention tools for you. And guess what: we all have to test as cognitively normal to get in the studies. So you are not your parents, and they didn't give you these genes with any malice--at least one of them just happened to be born with ApoE 4--and probably lots of other wonderful traits along with it.

Hugs from someone who was also devastated and now feels empowered to take charge of what I can control, and accept that whatever life presents will be something others have faced before me.

[hairyfairy]

Thanks for the reassuring reply. As a matter of fact I`m 65 years old, which is another reason why I wanted to check my apoe status. I want to know how many more years I have left before I end up wandering the streets in my nightclothes drooling & incontinent. Apart from that, I read last night that commercial genetic testing firms have a history of giving false positives, so I`ve made an appointment with my doctor to discuss genetic counselling.

[dcox]

Yesterday I had the results of a dna test that I took with 23 &me, & I`m devastated to find that I have a copy of the apoe4 gene. I feel very distressed & also angry at my parents for handing this down to me. My mother died before she became old enough to get alzheimers, but she suffered with heart disease from an early age, which I`ve read is linked to the apoe4 gene. My father died at 77, but I don`t know what from because we were estranged for many years. I really don`t know what to do with this knowledge. It`s the worst news that Iv`e ever had, & I feel doomed.

Welcome hairyfairy!

I have read through your posts from the last couple of days, and see you have had some great responses to your questions that are encouraging, hopeful and supportive. I would like to add that your genes are not your destiny, knowing your genetic status can actually be empowering, especially when you couple the knowledge with a community of people who are on the same path to preventing and reversing AD and cognitive decline, you are definitely not alone here!! My hope for you is that as you spend time exploring ApoE4.info you will find hope and some peace about your ApoE4 status, as you begin to see the successes others are having.

Probably one of the best places to start, as slacker mentioned in her response to your post The purpose of the apoe4 gene, is the Primer, written by Stavia one of our most active members a Doctor, and E4/E4 herself, she truly put her heart into writing it. Here you will find answers to many of your questions and options for your path forward. The List of Basic Strategies might be a great place for you to begin. Also, using the spyglass icon in the upper right of each page you can search the site for specific topics as you have questions, this will hopefully make it easier for you to find answers to your questions.

Another great resource is the book The End of Alzheimer's written by Dr. Dale Bredesen, it is an uplifting and empowering book explaining the ApoE gene, it's variants and Dr. Bredesen's ReCODE protocol, which many on this site follow. It really opened up my eyes to the great hope that is out there for beating AD.

Please remember you are never alone on this site, we are all here to offer knowledge, ideas, what has worked and what has not worked as individuals, compassion, hope, support and encouragement. There's a lot of courage and determination wrapped into these pages also, we want you to feel welcome and able to find hope and peace as you begin to find answers.

We look forward to hearing more about your journey as you share and learn along with us.
Find your joy and hope in each new day and each new discovery along your path,
Deb

[hairyfairy]

Thank you, this is encouraging.