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leuqos
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Bredesen practioner

Post by leuqos »

Hi: I am having trouble finding a list of Bredesen practioners here in southern Arizona. Any ideas? Thanks. leuqos
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slacker
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Re: Bredesen practioner

Post by slacker »

leuqos wrote:Hi: I am having trouble finding a list of Bredesen practioners here in southern Arizona. Any ideas? Thanks. leuqos
On our website, you can search on "Arizona" to see if anything pops up (magnifying glass right upper corner of website). There is a Forum called "Practitioner Reviews" that lists member suggested providers. Our wiki also has a list of ApoE4 aware providers. I went ahead and did searches of all three of these resources and came up empty. I did not search for "AZ". You could try this!

Bear in mind that like most medical providers, Bredesen protocol trained practitioners are typically clustered in urban areas. Many of these providers do provide care via telemedicine, so you may be able to work with someone remotely.

Two other suggestions:
1) You can contact MPI Cognition, which is the organization associated with Dr Bredesen, to get a list of providers. There is a fee involved.
2) You can start a new post, perhaps in the "Our Stories" Forum, with a subject such as "Looking for Bredesen trained practitioner in southern Arizona." A new post with a topic focused subject will be seen by more members than a request embedded in a generic topic thread.

Good luck!
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Julianne Ream »

I wanted to introduce myself and I hope this is the appropriate way. My husband Rich, who is 75 , just received his APOE results from the Alzheimer's Organization and he is APOe4/4. Both his parents had dementia and his brother is very affected at 77. It was thought that his brother's level of Alcoholism was the causative factor. For the last five years Rich has been having a "smoothie" about 3 or 4 times a week before playing tennis with Coconut oil. I found this from Dr. Mary Newport at that time, and, while I had begun to see changes in Rich ,and the status of his brother, I thought we should start doing some things to help his cognizance . So I'm just trying to familiarize myself in changes we can make and health issues he has been in denial about. In a way it is a huge relief to me because I felt as if he felt I was just being critical of him when he didn't remember things or seemed kind of "out of it". I am a retired RN and pretty dogged when faced with health crisis. The wonderful news is we have been married for 52 years and live in a wonderful place (Sanibel Island,Florida) . I am reading Dr. Bredesen's book slowly and going back and forth to try to move through the supplements and what Rich already takes. Fortunately he plays tennis three days a week for about 2 hours each time and exercises in the morning each morning. We have added MCT oil and still the Coconut oil but now every day. If it helps anyone I can see he is responding to this increase. My nickname is Lani and thank you ahead of time as I learn from all that you know. lani
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Re: Welcome!!!

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Julianne Ream wrote:I wanted to introduce myself and I hope this is the appropriate way. My husband Rich, who is 75 , just received his APOE results from the Alzheimer's Organization and he is APOe4/4...I'm just trying to familiarize myself in changes we can make and health issues he has been in denial about. In a way it is a huge relief to me because I felt as if he felt I was just being critical of him when he didn't remember things or seemed kind of "out of it". I am a retired RN and pretty dogged when faced with health crisis. The wonderful news is we have been married for 52 years and live in a wonderful place... I am reading Dr. Bredesen's book slowly and going back and forth to try to move through the supplements and what Rich already takes. Fortunately he plays tennis three days a week for about 2 hours each time and exercises in the morning each morning. We have added MCT oil and still the Coconut oil but now every day. If it helps anyone I can see he is responding to this increase. My nickname is Lani and thank you ahead of time as I learn from all that you know. lani
A warm welcome, Lani!

You and Rich offer a wonderful example of how long marriages are good for many! (And playing tennis also, which is a skill I tried, with poor results.) If this news is recent, he and you are both entitled to some time to deal with it in very different ways. Sometimes we want to charge into battle, and our husbands just want to watch a good movie, or play tennis. I'd take this time to learn as much as you feel you need for now, and then gently see if he's willing to get some more information.

We've had young people on this site worry about having to rely the on the help of a spouse in fifty years. I always want to say "Oh sweetheart, you and your spouse will be relying on each other every step of the way. After decades of doing that, it's second nature." Having been married "only" 38 years myself, I know that my husband has learned to be patient with my similar "dogged" determination in the face of health issues--and probably secretly hoping it keeps us both healthy for a long time.

I think some of the health coaches on this site and those available through the Wiki here: ApoE4-Aware Health Coaches may be able to help you try out some ways to talk to Rich. That's much of what coaching is about: helping you to reach the goals you set. Contrary to what Rich may assume, lots of treatable issues can cause changes in attention, memory, coordination, language and behavior. He wouldn't stop playing tennis if his shoulder started acting up; he'd go to a physical therapist who could give him both treatment and home exercises to strengthen it. Checking out things like blood pressure and cholesterol are probably second nature to him, but maybe he's never thought about whether he's getting enough Vitamin B-12, or enough protein or any number of other possible tweaks to his "game".

It's also not just about him; it about how you and he talk about your goals for your time together. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande is a wonderful book that offers questions I think all of us need to face as we get older. Since I found out my 4/4 status four years ago, my husband and I have made sure our Health Care Proxies and Advance Directives are updated (we're both 66), take trips that we put off while the kids were in college and greatly enjoy time with the grandchildren and our adult children.

Hugs from a 4/4 wife.
4/4 and still an optimist!
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Sara »

Welcome Lani! We are very happy to have you join our site. Thank you for sharing your situation and congratulations on all of the small successes you have already realized along this journey! How excellent that your husband has already developed a rigorous exercise regime. Since you are new to the site I would like to suggest you take a few moments to become familiar with our Primer. My husband and I are snow birds and spend the winter on Sanibel Island which is indeed a wonderful blessing. Please don't hesitate to reach out if we can help you in any way!
Certified ReCODE 2.0 Brain Health Coach, MOCA Certified
MBA, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach
Brain Health Professional - Amen University
Surviving loved one who transitioned with AD
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Karengo »

Julianne Ream wrote:I wanted to introduce myself and I hope this is the appropriate way. My husband Rich, who is 75 , just received his APOE results from the Alzheimer's Organization and he is APOe4/4... So I'm just trying to familiarize myself in changes we can make and health issues he has been in denial about. In a way it is a huge relief to me because I felt as if he felt I was just being critical of him when he didn't remember things or seemed kind of "out of it". I am a retired RN and pretty dogged when faced with health crisis. The wonderful news is we have been married for 52 years and live in a wonderful place (Sanibel Island,Florida) . I am reading Dr. Bredesen's book slowly and going back and forth to try to move through the supplements and what Rich already takes. Fortunately he plays tennis three days a week for about 2 hours each time and exercises in the morning each morning. We have added MCT oil and still the Coconut oil but now every day. If it helps anyone I can see he is responding to this increase. My nickname is Lani and thank you ahead of time as I learn from all that you know. lani
Hello Lani: Wishing you a warm welcome to our community! We're glad you're here to join us. Thank you for being open and sharing some of you and your husband's story. I really appreciate your perspective and ability to express your gratitude for your long marriage (congratulations!) along with your willingness to learn what you can and share what you've discovered with everyone. For example, it's very encouraging to hear that you can see your husband is responding to the increase of coconut and MCT oil. I also hear that for you receiving the news - although I'm sure it's been tough to have it sink in and accept - has also been somewhat reassuring to you "a relief" as you say to have confirmation of what you were already noticing about your husband's behavior. And I admire your courage to jump in and find out what you can do about it to help support and take care of your husband as best you can. He's a lucky man :D

Sounds like you've already got your hands on Bredesen's book. Here's a link Wiki-Bredsen which you may find useful as it outlines the protocol for you. I see my one of our members has already directed you to the Primer and if you're looking to search on a particular topic you can use the spyglass on the top right hand corner of the webpage or you can use Wiki If you would like to tell us more or hear about other people's experiences, you can take a look here Our Stories. Also if you're curious to learn about how someone else approaches things, another member Julie put her protocol on paper to share Julie-Protocol

Again, welcome Lani! Please feel free to post any questions you may have and you can share your comments and insights whenever you wish. May you continue to learn all you can so you can support your husband as you journey together - and may you have many more happy years ahead! I trust you'll find strong support from this community along with a wealth of experience and information. We look forward to hearing more from you - I'll "see" you around the site!
Take care,
~Karengo
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"For whatever we lose like a you or a me, it's always ourselves we find in the sea"
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Julianne Ream »

What a reassuring response to get right away. The Protocol is daunting but many things my husband takes and does each day are already included. Things like being borderline Type 2 Diabetic for years and sleep apnea are areas we are getting more clarification on. There is a lot of denial as our age to just your think your Primary physician will stay alert to changes but , even here, he is often over whelmed or trying to balance emergency room work with his practice. He talked Rich out of getting a Homocysteine level because Medicare doesn't cover it and it is a "rare" factor. I'm waiting on some labs that were done in March to look at Vitamen B values with Thyroid level. Interesting that our PP is also APOE4/4 to so he kind of blew it off when Rich went in with the results. This adventure feels like we are on the front edge of discovery but many more people are going to discover their status with 23 and Me and Ancestry . Thank you again, lani
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Julianne Ream »

Does anyone know how to get Fuel for Thought in daily doses for trips or in place of a smoothie. I'm having trouble locating the website suggested by Dr. Mary Newport. Thanks for any help. lani
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by NF52 »

Julianne Ream wrote:Does anyone know how to get Fuel for Thought in daily doses for trips or in place of a smoothie. I'm having trouble locating the website suggested by Dr. Mary Newport. Thanks for any help. lani
Hi Lani,

I did a little sleuthing, since I had the same result you probably found, when I tried to go to the website listed on their Facebook page: "www.fuelforthought.co": a page that doesn't work. Turns out that the website domain name "Fuel for Thought" was already claimed in 2007 by someone else, and changing the name by dropping off the "m" on .com is a no-go. A court ruled in part that Dr. Newport's company
not only acknowledges that it obtained its trademark registration years after the disputed domain name was registered, but fails to make any argument that it might have secured common law rights...
Fuel for Thought drink maker is a reverse domain name hijacker

I assume that's why you have to buy the product through their Facebook page by calling or messaging: https://www.facebook.com/TryFuelForThought/

Good luck!
4/4 and still an optimist!
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Julianne Ream »

I messaged them but haven't heard back. Other searches don't result in any success. Do lots of you use MCT oil or products on a regular basis and, if so, what can you take along with you on a trip overseas to maintain your ketone status? Thank you so much for how fast all of you respond. lani
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