greetings - E3/e4 and migraines

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
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SarahB
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greetings - E3/e4 and migraines

Post by SarahB »

Hi - I'm in Brisbane Australia. I was minding my own 55 year old business when my 80 year old mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. We all took gene tests and mom and I are both E3/e4. I also have migraines. My migraine medication (amytriptyline) turn s out to be anticholinergic and a risk for Alzheimer's. Great. So while I was searching around for an alternative therapy, I came across low carbs, both for Alzheimer's and migraine. Read the "EOA" and another book. My sister's in charge of mom and she's not interested in the low carb approach, even though they're in San Francisco. For mom, Kaiser recommends Mediterranean and has okayed a small bowl of ice cream per day. I'm keen to try low carb for migraine and am happy if it helps for Alzheimer's down the line.. The data is pretty good for migraine, with case reports and a trial. But low carb is proving a bad fit for my GI tract. I'm in Brisbane and.have made an appointment with a nutritionist. No diabetes, cholesterol low, no lipid issues or thyroid problems, average body weight, non drinker, non smoker, no sweet tooth unless it's gummy worms. Those are my stats. Any insights very appreciated. I'll see y'all over in the prevention section. Cheers - Sarah
mike
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Re: greetings - E3/e4 and migraines

Post by mike »

SarahB wrote:Hi - I'm in Brisbane Australia. I was minding my own 55 year old business when my 80 year old mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. We all took gene tests and mom and I are both E3/e4. I also have migraines. My migraine medication (amytriptyline) turn s out to be anticholinergic and a risk for Alzheimer's. Great. So while I was searching around for an alternative therapy, I came across low carbs, both for Alzheimer's and migraine. Read the "EOA" and another book. My sister's in charge of mom and she's not interested in the low carb approach, even though they're in San Francisco. For mom, Kaiser recommends Mediterranean and has okayed a small bowl of ice cream per day. I'm keen to try low carb for migraine and am happy if it helps for Alzheimer's down the line.. The data is pretty good for migraine, with case reports and a trial. But low carb is proving a bad fit for my GI tract. I'm in Brisbane and.have made an appointment with a nutritionist. No diabetes, cholesterol low, no lipid issues or thyroid problems, average body weight, non drinker, non smoker, no sweet tooth unless it's gummy worms. Those are my stats. Any insights very appreciated. I'll see y'all over in the prevention section. Cheers - Sarah
Can you be more specific when you said low carb was causing GI issues... What are you eating?
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dscoachRN
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Re: greetings - E3/e4 and migraines

Post by dscoachRN »

Hi Sarah!
I was with a number of lovely Aussies on a New Zealand bike/trekking adventure; yet haven't yet visited Australia. So, you've made an important, albeit challenging health discovery. With that, you found the best starter source in Dr. Bredesen's first book. Not to be dissuaded by your gut's outcry - it took 55 years for those 'bad gangs of bugs' to get to their present state of dysfunction so now you've set off to allow healing. If you think of yourself as N = 1 and your microbiome as the petri dish, one can learn a great deal by choosing an elimination food plan. This is best accomplished with a health coach for support and that pantry makeover. Becoming aware of the psychology, tradition and socialization which are tied in with why we eat the way we eat, can guide new habits. But know that change is HARD, thus the value of a good health coach.

Anyway, As you've just joined us, we highly recommend reading our site Primer written by a member practicing physician. In addition to being a great way to learn more about our community, it's truly a wonderful source of information about this ApoE4 gene of ours and offers clearly stated, prioritized lifestyle strategies focused on mitigating its effects. You'll find our site Wiki has more in-depth discussions on topics of interest to our members. For tips on how to get the most out of our website, check out our How-To-Guide. And to search our forums for topics of interest to you, just click on the magnifying glass along the upper right of this page.

Keep asking your good questions as they arise along the way & again, a warm welcome to the ApoE4 community!
dscoachRN
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Re: greetings - E3/e4 and migraines

Post by dscoachRN »

BTW, a good lower sugar coconut ice cream is Trader Joes brand :)
SarahB
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Re: greetings - E3/e4 and migraines

Post by SarahB »

Thanks so much for the greetings and encouragement. My microbiome is furious, but I'm stubborn. I'm armed with an app and a tolerant husband so I'll keep plowing forward. Cheers
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cdamaden
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Re: greetings - E3/e4 and migraines

Post by cdamaden »

SarahB wrote:My microbiome is furious, but I'm stubborn. I'm armed with an app and a tolerant husband so I'll keep plowing forward. Cheers
Hi Sarah, have you considered fasting as a way to reset your microbiome?
Chris
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SarahB
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Re: greetings - E3/e4 and migraines

Post by SarahB »

Hi Chris - Thanks for your suggestion. I've just started fasting one day a week for 16 hours, but wasn't aware it'd help my microbiome. Sarah
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