New to group

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
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Debra Dear
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New to group

Post by Debra Dear »

I have Apoe4 gene. Warning: Longish post! On 1/16/17, age 63, I had a heart attack, due to 90% blockage of my Left Artery Descending (LAD) & Right Coronary Artery (RCA.) Four days later, I had open heart surgery and CABG x 2. Six months after my surgery, I began eating the Ketogenic way. With my Cardiologist’s permission, but he offered no encouragement. I started out eating 20 grams of carb a day, eventually getting to 15 a day where I finally started losing weight. I have lost 25 lbs. (Yes, that’s way below average, but I’m post-menopausal!) On 5/16/18 I had heart attack symptoms and had an angiogram. I didn’t have a heart attack, but a spasm of one of my grafts. My cardiologist was amazed! All my arteries were completely free of plaque! In fact the mammary arteries used as the bypass grafts, are narrowing because the RCA and LDA are pumping blood. He said he has seldom seen such a reversal, especially in the RCA and he said he even showed them to my Heart Surgeon! He said I no longer have Cardiovascular Disease!! He attributed it to my Keto diet and my HBP meds keeping my blood pressure low. (I don't take statins, due to muscle pain.) I joined this group after watching a Youtube from nutritionist Amy Berger on Apoe4. I have plateaued on my weight loss, need to lose 10 more lbs. She said that Apoe4's might need to reduce fats and increase protein. I eat 15 gm. carbs a day and swim 1 to 2 times a week. I'm happily married 45 years and have two kids and three grandsons. My father was never diagnosed with AD, but he did have some dementia, it wasn't severe, he had lost touch with time and recognized me up to his death at 91.
I thank God for His endless mercies and look forward to reading the threads on this site.
Lucy5
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Re: New to group

Post by Lucy5 »

Welcome Debra!
Thank you for sharing your story with us. We appreciate posts of any length as we learn so much from the experiences of our members! It must be such a relief to hear from your cardiologist that you no longer have cardiovascular disease. Your commitment to finding a diet & exercise routine that delivers the results you're looking for is something you should be very proud of!

As you've just recently joined the group, we recommend browsing through our site Primer as you have time. It was written by Stavia, a member practicing physician, and is an excellent source of information about this ApoE4 gene of ours. It includes clearly stated, prioritized strategies focused on mitigating the potential negative impacts of this gene variant. For additional in-depth discussions on topics of interest to our members, check out our Wiki. As a community, we've learned that despite the fact that we share this gene, we are all unique and may respond to interventions in different ways. I've found that having the Primer and Wiki as resources to refer back to when needed can be so helpful and motivating. And lastly, I wanted to mention our Wiki includes a How-To-Guide offering some great tips to help members navigate our site more easily and effectively.

Looking forward to seeing you on the forums, Debra! And please don't hesitate to share/ask questions at any time. This is a supportive community with a shared commitment to helping one another along the way.
warmly, Lucy
Last edited by Lucy5 on Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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floramaria
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Re: New to group

Post by floramaria »

Debra Dear wrote:On 5/16/18 I had heart attack symptoms and had an angiogram. I didn’t have a heart attack, but a spasm of one of my grafts. My cardiologist was amazed! All my arteries were completely free of plaque! In fact the mammary arteries used as the bypass grafts, are narrowing because the RCA and LDA are pumping blood. He said he has seldom seen such a reversal, especially in the RCA and he said he even showed them to my Heart Surgeon! He said I no longer have Cardiovascular Disease!! He attributed it to my Keto diet and my HBP meds keeping my blood pressure low. (I don't take statins, due to muscle pain.)
Welcome, Debra Dear, and Congratulations!
Thank you so much for sharing the story of your successful reversal of Cardiovascular Disease. It is really inspiring. Lucy5 has already given you the information and links we provide to new members. Be sure to check those out.

Because you have had such a positive experience, I wonder if you'd be willing to share a few more details. Do you have one copy of the ApoE4 allele or two? Did you follow what I'd call a "Paleo -keto" plan that included a lot of saturated fats, or a mix of saturated and unsaturated fats, or were you avoiding saturated fats? Recognizing that each person is different and we respond in unique ways, I am still curious about your recipe for such success. As you'll find as you read through threads on the Forums, the question of saturated fats is a big one and it is one I struggle with myself. (To Bulletproof or not to Bulletproof :? ) Lots of conflicting ideas. Not expecting you to resolve this, but I am interested in adding your experience to the mix of what we know.

Thank you again for what you have already contributed. As a group I know we look forward to learning more from you and also to helping you with questions that might arise.
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dscoachRN
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Re: New to group

Post by dscoachRN »

Debra Dear,
Just want to add my welcome & thank you for sharing with our community!
Warmly,
dscoachRN
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Re: New to group

Post by donbob »

Thrilling report. I am very encouraged that cardiovascular disease improves. Thanks so much for taking the time to share.
DonBob
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Debra Dear
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Re: New to Group Floramaria questions

Post by Debra Dear »

Floramaria, here are some answers to your questions. I do what I think is strict Keto. When I hit my first weight stall, my son, who is also Keto, suggested I cut back on my carbs from 20 to 15. This was about 9 most into Keto. I also started IF, eating nothing from 8pm to 11:30am. However, I do have Bulletproof coffee (adding butter or coconut oil & HWC) around 8:30 in the am. I know there is some discussion on whether this breaks a fast, but it seems to work for me. I lost another 10 lbs over the next 6 months. I've lost a total of 25 lbs. I eat around 11:30 am and again around 5:30pm. I eat about 108 gr fat and 70 gr protein. I have allowed for 1250 calories, but don't always hit all those macros. I'm currently upping my protein as I've heard that Apoe4's should cut back on dairy and increase protein. I've been in a stall for several months, so I'll see if this tweaking will help. All I know about Keto, I have learned from reading or watching massive amounts of Youtube videos. As far as fats are concerned, I seldom eat fried foods. For cooking I use avocado oil, olive oil, bacon grease, ghee or butter. I use store-bought olive oil mayonnaise for my tuna salad, smoked trout salad and egg salad. I've got to make my own, just haven't done it yet. I fired my first cardiologist when he suggested doing Keto was really starving. I have a new Cardiologist, who was willing for me to continue on my diet, since I have such great success. But he pushed hard for me to start Statins, because I have a scar on my chest and high cholesterol. I politely declined. He was frustrated. He didn't seem to accept the fact that I'm eating a diet that changed my life. I don't understand Cardiologists, they have waiting rooms full of patients with clogged arteries and they won't even investigate the possibility that eating correctly will actually heal our bodies. I know everyone will not have achieve what I did, but everyone improves! Just for Diabetics alone, they should at least give it a try. Ok, getting off my soapbox now. :)
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floramaria
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Re: New to Group Floramaria questions

Post by floramaria »

Debra Dear wrote:Floramaria, here are some answers to your questions. I do what I think is strict Keto. When I hit my first weight stall, my son, who is also Keto, suggested I cut back on my carbs from 20 to 15. This was about 9 most into Keto. I also started IF, eating nothing from 8pm to 11:30am. However, I do have Bulletproof coffee (adding butter or coconut oil & HWC) around 8:30 in the am. I know there is some discussion on whether this breaks a fast, but it seems to work for me. I lost another 10 lbs over the next 6 months. I've lost a total of 25 lbs. I eat around 11:30 am and again around 5:30pm. I eat about 108 gr fat and 70 gr protein. I have allowed for 1250 calories, but don't always hit all those macros. I'm currently upping my protein as I've heard that Apoe4's should cut back on dairy and increase protein. I've been in a stall for several months, so I'll see if this tweaking will help. All I know about Keto, I have learned from reading or watching massive amounts of Youtube videos. As far as fats are concerned, I seldom eat fried foods. For cooking I use avocado oil, olive oil, bacon grease, ghee or butter. I use store-bought olive oil mayonnaise for my tuna salad, smoked trout salad and egg salad. I've got to make my own, just haven't done it yet. I fired my first cardiologist when he suggested doing Keto was really starving. I have a new Cardiologist, who was willing for me to continue on my diet, since I have such great success. But he pushed hard for me to start Statins, because I have a scar on my chest and high cholesterol. I politely declined. He was frustrated. He didn't seem to accept the fact that I'm eating a diet that changed my life. I don't understand Cardiologists, they have waiting rooms full of patients with clogged arteries and they won't even investigate the possibility that eating correctly will actually heal our bodies. I know everyone will not have achieve what I did, but everyone improves! Just for Diabetics alone, they should at least give it a try. Ok, getting off my soapbox now. :)
Hi Deborah Dear, thanks so much for providing this additional info. Very helpful. Interesting to read your account of your interactions with Cardiologists. Congratulations for sticking by what is working for you.

I see you tried to tag me in your reply. thank you!! I appreciate that. For future posts you might want to have a look at the section in the WiKi, How-to get the most out of this website . It is section 9.1 I think. It will tell you how to use the quotation marks in post you wish to reply to. When you quote a person, that individual is informed you have replied. Your adding my name was thoughtful, but I only found your reply by searching my own previous posts to see if you had sent a response.
(I’d give you a hyperlink but can’t, currently, from this iPad. )
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broiler_x
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Re: New to Group Floramaria questions

Post by broiler_x »

Debra Dear wrote: I use store-bought olive oil mayonnaise for my tuna salad, smoked trout salad and egg salad.
Watch out for that store bought olive oil mayonnaise. I was doing the same thing thinking I was being smart, but then I looked at the ingredients. The first ingredient was indeed olive oil, but the second ingredient was canola oil! I've switched to the avocado oil based mayo found at Costco.
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