If Moral Fiber Existed in Our Society, Would It Still Be Keto Friendly?

Right now all I can say is "Cannibals Beware! If you fall in a vat of chocolate, you're going to find the tables are getting turned on you!"

I've read a lot about what research has suggested that we do when it comes to eating while dealing with any form of Dementia. It seems most experts are saying that along with exercise, eating less carbs (which convert into sugar and are totally useless for nutrition, just a quick burst of energy is the only good) and limiting your sugar intake will help the brain be able to function better.

Well, I'm from the South and we basically live on CARBS and SUGAR!!! Rice, potatoes, bread, not to mention every kind of pie, cake, cookie and any other imaginable dessert we can whip up and take to the latest church potluck. I'm sure you've heard of people who are a "Meat & Potatoes" kinda person. Au Gratin, Au Not Rotten; any way that I can fix a potato I'll dive into it like a madman on death row with 10 minutes left before "the walk." But, I digress.

I used to work for a company that had a Nutritionist with a PhD who would come and give us classes periodically. She preached the Keto way of eating. Notice I did not say "DIET" as that is a 4 Letter Word that has a really bad stigma attached to it. Diets get you nothing but heartache. To really obtain any type of change and not lose the benefits gained from it, you have to make a change in your lifestyle, and that includes your eating habits. After 58 years on this earth I can tell you that up until recently, my eating habits generally sucked. Period. I have a feeling that if I didn't exercise and ride my cycle as much as I did, my weight gain would have me on that A&E Show.

Anyway, she gave us a book called "Eat Fat, Get Thin" and we watched videos about the Keto way of eating. I had recently completed some bloodwork at my annual check up and my A1C was over 7 and my BMI was Severely Obese, not to mention the high blood pressure. I was already on pills for that and didn't want to add anything else so when she mentioned that these could be lowered my interest was piqued.

I followed the Keto plan for 3 months along with my wife. (It is almost impossible to do it alone in the family and succeed, the temptations will be too great.) Then came Thanksgiving and Christmas, a move to a new town, open a new storefront that we leased a month after closing on the house, and life spiraled too fast to stay vigilant.

Fast forward to this spring, my annual checkup and me finding out my A1C was 10. UGH. Plus the weight that I lost was back too. Tag that to the dementia and it was a recipe for disaster.

So about 2 months ago we started back on the Keto way of eating. All I can say is "Why Didn't I Do This Sooner?" I forgot how much better you feel on the plan. I go back next month to the doctor for my checkup and I can't wait to see the new blood test results. I REALLY hate meds. I know they are necessary, but I still don't like them, so I'm hoping to not only stave off any need to add more, but to eventually eliminate at least some of what I am on, except for the Aricept and Namenda, Keto does not eliminate the need for these.

As many of you know I am now serving on the Early Stage Advisory Group for the Alzheimer's Association and it is giving me a platform to speak about my journey with this disease. One thing I want to talk about in my speeches is the ability that we have to help ourselves daily in our actions. No doctor is needed to get us to eat healthy (or at least healthier) and to exercise. With the internet you really have no excuse. There are a multitude of websites that have video's and posts telling how to eat better, along with so many recipes. I'm finding dessert and bread recipes that are Keto friendly that are to die for! (those cannibals may wind up being safe after all.)

While I'm glad that we are pushing still for more and more funding for research, I do wish that we had a bigger platform for eating and exercise while dealing with any form of Dementia. Especially for those in the early stages, eating and exercise is easy and crucial. You might argue, "Well, this is eventually going to kill me anyway, so why should I try to do anything about it?" Well, the people who are surrounding you and loving up on you might want you to remain cognizant a little bit longer too! (unless you're stinkingly stingily rich and they only way they are going to get your money is for you to hurry up and croak! I sincerely hope there is no one reading this who is on either side of this coin.)

I want to be aware of my daily activities for as long as possible. I love my wife, I thoroughly enjoy our time together and I want to be able to remember our adventures for a very long time. That is why I believe we need to preach this new gospel to as many people as possible. As NBC says, "The More You Know" the better prepared you can be.

Yes, right now there is no cure. Right now there is only the outlook of a progressive disease that will eventually take my life. BUT!!!! Right now there is NOW! There is LIFE! There is ENJOYMENT!

And I plan to enjoy these things for a long time to come.

So if you or a loved one is battling this disease, please "Google" and find a healthy eating plan that you (and your household) can live with and get started today. Hate gyms? Do you have a sidewalk? Well, you know how to use that! Or find a mall or arena that hosts "walk" times/days if the weather is inclement.

Start now, make the decision to change now, and get off your butt and do it. Need some help or encouragement? Let me know. I'll be glad to direct you to any resources that I know about and share recipes (which I'm thinking about doing as a side to this blog).

Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to share this blog with your friends and/or leave me your thoughts in the comments section below.

And in the end, let's all make an effort to #EndAlz #AlzSux #HydroWarrior4Ever

Do No Harm?

I’m frustrated and mad the more I think about this.

My grandmother started doing strange things in 1992. She was in her 80’s and we thought it was just her getting old. We took her to the doctor that was her and my mom’s family physician. He said she was fine, just getting older.

Then she got to the point that we had to take the keys away from her so she couldn’t drive. She almost got herself and my mom killed by crossing lanes on a 4-lane highway with a large median and heading toward a tanker truck that was coming towards her. My mom had lost her vision due to diabetic retinopathy, so she depended on my grandmother for transportation.

Then a few years later we were eating at the table. My mom, her sister and family were gathered around. Nana (that is what we called her) had lost the capability to cook (she was the only one who did the cooking when I was growing up), the doc once again said it was just old age, “old timers” as he called it. We asked about dementia. Nope, she was just getting old.

My Nana was no fancy smancy lady, but she had manners. So the night when she went out on the porch (we lived on the “mill hill”) and squatted in front of God and all the neighbors and took a pee I called BS.

We took her back to the doc the next day and explained what had happened. Nope, there was no problem. This went on for 6 years. Now I have no medical degree and neither did anyone in our family, but we knew that something was up.

One day Nana fell and wound up in the hospital. Guess what??? The attending physician referred a neurologist to visit her in the hospital and the dementia diagnosis was given. Seems we were right, she had battled the disease when we first suspected it. I never could understand why the doctor couldn’t see it. But is was too late. 6 months later she was dead.

Granted, when we would take her she did act decent and as though she were in her right mind. She could answer the simple questions that he asked. But the doc should have figured out that we may know a little bit about what we were telling him. Had he pressed her more he most likely would have discovered there was more than meets the eye. Even having her do a battery of tests could have been warranted that would have tested her mental capacities.

Fast forward to today. I’m talking to a local Alzheimer’s advocate about why people aren’t getting diagnosed earlier in the stages of this disease. She told me, “most of the doctors simply do not want to acknowledge that the patient has something that can’t be cured. They are trained to fix things, and (as of the time I’m writing this), there isn’t a fix.” So the doctors choose not to tell. They may prescribe the medicines, but they will either forego explaining what the med does, or they will tell them it is for something completely different, even though they know it is a lie.

DAMN! Now, do you see why I’m mad?!?!?!?!?

Here is the Hypocratic Oath that was adopted in the 1960’s.

     I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

    I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

    I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism. (notice that they will apply their knowledge and ALL FREAKING MEASURES that are required and it is for the BENEFIT of the sick. If you don’t tell the patient, how can you expect them to benefit???) I’ll talk more on this point later.

    I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug. (IN OTHER WORDS, LISTEN TO THE PATIENT AND THEIR FAMILY!!!!)

    I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery. 1 WORD “REFERRAL”

    I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God. “enough said”

    I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. (When the family doesn’t know for sure, they can’t prepare adequately, therefore you are not keeping your oath doctors when you fail to talk candidly with the family and loved ones about the patient and what may lie ahead.)

    I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

    I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

    If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help. (Herein lies the problem. “may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.”) DOCTORS, you CANNOT skip over the other parts of this oath and cling to this one, writing off those you know where there is no cure!

Here is another way to look at it.

Scenario 1: A patient comes in and through testing you find that they have a cancer that is stage 1 (whatever). No patient has ever been cured, but there are drug therapies that have shown promise at greatly slowing the disease. You choose not to tell them what is wrong, you simply tell them that they are tired and hurting but you can prescribe something that will make them feel better. They go home and take the pill, but the disease progresses until stage 4 and too many of their loved ones are suspecting cancer because of the signs. You “run” some tests again and tell them that they have stage 4 cancer. No treatment will be effective at this stage, but if they’d like you can try it, or you’ll refer them to hospice where they can be comfortable until they pass. Many cancers feed on SUGAR and will EXACERBATE the condition, but this person won't know to at least change their diet BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T TELL THEM!

Scenario 2: A patient comes in complaining of symptoms that could be the flu or at least a pneumatic problem. Through your talk with them you discover that they have multiple partners and hate the thought of having to use any protection. A blood test will confirm your worst fear, HIV. Knowing the stigma that HIV brings, you tell them that they have some sort of infection affecting their breathing and give them a drug that has shown promise in HIV patients. You explain that it may take a while to feel better, hoping that the medicine will buy them time. BUT, you’ve now sent someone on their way who can continue to go our and unknowingly infect many others because of their lifestyle.

Scenario 3: A patient comes in complaining of tiredness, trouble going up hills or walking any distance at all. You run tests and discover that they have Congestive Heart Failure. There is no cure, but there are treatments with oral drugs that can be given. A diuretic will draw the fluid off and make them feel better. You admit them overnight in the hospital, run IV diuretics for a day, pull down 15-20 pounds of fluid. The patient feels great. You send them home with the pill, maybe combined with a blood pressure med (tell them they need this bp med as it is newer and better) and hope for the best. Meanwhile the person who needs to step up their activity and cardio strengthening goes back home to the couch where they have resided for the past few months. They continue to battle the buildup, but you never tell them until the heart attack happens and it is too late to do anything.

DOCTORS! Answer me this. Would you really do any of these situations? If so, which of the 3 do you think is OK? NONE YOU SAY?!?!? Well then, why are you doing the same thing to patients who have other incurable diseases, just because of the stigma that may be attached.

I’m not one who likes to think about government regulation. I think that the government needs to butt out of people’s business. But when it comes to deception, which is what this is, the powers that be need to hold someone accountable.

I would like to see a bill passed either at the state level for each state, or preferably at the national level that would prevent any of these scenario’s from ever happening again. I would call it the “Right To Know” Act. It would state that the moment a physician knows or suspects a diagnosis, they are required to tell the patient and/or the family about what they suspect or have found. This would put the burden on the family and patient. The physician would give them all the options and they could choose. If they don’t do anything about it, then the physician is relieved of any responsibility. But any physician that fails to do as such, would be subject to a license review and possible forfeiture.

BUT, let me say this. I’m not saying all doctors are bad. There are plenty of them that are upfront and tell the patient and the family what is going on. I’m lucky enough to have that kind of medical care. I understand no doctor wants to be faced with something that can’t be fixed. They don’t want to feel like they failed someone because they could not provide a cure.

But withholding information is failing someone. It is preventing someone from actively searching for the next steps and developing a plan and solution for their care going forward. Deception is rarely excusable unless the reveal could cause irreversible traumatic damage.

We have to move forward and get more doctors and families to be more proactive in the patient care to the utmost fullness that is humanly possible. How do we do that? Like I said, I hate adding more regulations, but unless we’re going to put this at the forefront of the healthcare sector of our nation, this is needed to stop the madness before more people have to suffer needlessly.

What are your thoughts on this? I welcome your thoughts and what you have witnessed through watching and experiencing these situations with your friends and loved ones. Together we can make a change for the better, but we need to start the conversation NOW!

As always, #AlzSux #HydroWarrior4Ever! #EndAlz

Quiet, I said!

Why Are Alz/Dementia Patients So Quiet?

People who have dealt with someone who has either Alzheimer’s or Dementia find one of the most frustrating aspects when dealing with them is the “silent” times. I think most often people believe that person is lost in their own world, not capable of responding in a coherent manner at the time with the other person talking to them. I will admit with my grandmother that is how I looked at her when these moments happened. I didn’t know what to say or do, so I just remained quiet too. Now that I am dealing with this disease, I do not know if that was the correct response or not.

My wife says I can talk to a brick wall and enjoy the banter back and forth. (Think on that one for a minute.) One thing that I always believed that was special in our relationship was the fact that we talked a lot about our lives and things going on. I would always make comments about things on the TV or reflect on something that had just taken place in our household.

Now I find myself just sitting there, watching the TV. Sheri used to kid me … “quit analyzing that, you’re not supposed to do that with that show/commercial.” Now I rarely make a comment when watching a show. Frankly, I don’t even enjoy watching most of them anymore. It’s just a distraction for the moment. I find myself spending more of my time thinking about what is happening, what I can do and what the possibilities are for the future when I am quiet. I cannot say for your friend/family member that they are doing the same, but I suspect so. I believe most people are aware of what is happening to them, except maybe in the very end stages, but even then I wonder.

It isn’t the fact that I can’t carry on a conversation anymore. I still have plenty of them in my head. But when I try to talk about things, I tend to use the wrong words and then I find myself getting frustrated when I can’t finish communicating the rest of my story with Sheri. Bless her heart, she on the other hand has to play Pictionary, Charade’s and god know what else just to figure out what I’m trying to tell her. Sometimes it provides a pretty good laugh, other times, I just give up. And when the Hydrocephalus kicks in and I lose the ability to talk, then life really gets interesting. Thank goodness for text messaging. It allowed me to be able to talk with her easier than drawings or sign language (as in fingers, hand motions and other mickey mouse’s to get my point across.)

The best thing I can think of is to turn the TV off. Engage them in memories, because those are what we hold dear. Let them talk about what they enjoyed or why it excited them. Go touch them. Hold their hand. Sit down beside them. Personal contact can cause people to want to communicate, and that may be something that will start the conversation up. I know when my wife holds my hand or comes to sit by me it makes me feel better. The depression lifts and I feel much better. I believe other people can benefit likewise also.

So, until the next time we meet, Remember … #EndAlz #AlzSux #HydroWarrior4Ever