So this morning my brother sent over two workmen to fix some leaky pipes and I was online, so my mom had to go out and deal with them. Not something that happens very often, because I always jump up and sort everything and anything out. Today I did not, but mom had a minor meltdown.
It was too much for her to cope with, so her brain started doing funny things. She feels it literally, but I am not surprized. There are a lot of misfiring neurons and all kinds of biochemical processes that are not working as they should.
Altogether too much activity and ultimately - too much stress. Today was not a good day, but other days she is all down my throat for being too concerned. Those days she starts yelling that she is not senile, does not need a baby sitter and so on.
So a while back I decided to give her some space, because I am always watching out for her falling and any number of other physical mishaps and my mom is really like a naughty toddler. When your back is turned she has climbed up on a rickety chair, or table, because she wants something done. NOW!
The other day it was weeding the rockery. She has two artificial knees, a dodgy lung and a first degree cardiac block, plus bad arthritis, so she can barely stand upright properly and does not do that much walking around. So now I let her do that for the ten minutes max, or whatever length of time she can manage before she can go and rest. Of course, I end up also being roped in, when I had decided I need to do X, Y and Z that day.
I am supposed to be making Alzheimer fidget products, but I get very little work time worked in. Pardon the pun!
Now I cannot be sure if my mom has Mild Cognitive Impairment, or is in the early stages of some, or other kind of dementia, which is usually Alzheimer's statistically. There is a pretty good reason, or two for that:-
* Her elderly GP was not interested in doing any tests;
* Her comprehensive medical aid plan specifically excludes "Alzheimer's";
* Mom is in denial, so refused to even go for free testing at a memory research place not too far from us;
She has lost the names of people, places, things and her short term memory, but she can still draw a clock face properly and the stats give me a little hope. Only 20% of folks with MCI go on to develop full blown dementia.
Something else that gives me hope is the recent research finding that brain cell, or neuronal death only happens in the final stages of Alzheimer's, which apparently took the researchers by surprize.
SO - REASONS TO HOPE
As the human body is constantly renewing its cells in every part of it, I believe it is possible to jump start NEUROGENESIS if the imbalances in the body are reversed.
If there are nutritional deficits in the body, then they can be reversed and the most important of these is CHOLESTEROL. Who knew that it has a protective function in the brain cells and nerve interactions.
If only it were that simple. The sodium-pump balance is also out of whack with folks with dementia. My mom's Calcium levels were up and her Sodium was down. One would think that supplementing with salt would sort that problem out, but you have to factor in Magnesium and Potassium.
Magnesium is decreased by the intake of saturated fats, so that is another reason to switch to healthy white plant based fats like coconut oil.
The great news is that the best way to increase your Magnesium levels is pretty simple. Transdermally via a simple EPSOM SALTS foot soaking. A cup or two in some nice warm water and a 15-20 minute period. I am setting mom and I up for a minimum of once a week, but I would recommend daily foot soaks be added to the coconut oil rubs until blood levels of Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium and Potassium are all normal.
You see I am still in the early days of my research, but one thing is very clear. It is a bit like a stacking game where stuff is knocked down, starting with the first piece. The trick is to find out where the biochemical processes start going out of whack and reversing them in that order.
So insulin balance, sodium pump, sufficient brain cholesterol levels of HDL and so on. Acetylcholine and Glutathione are crucial two anti-oxidants that are also deficient. The former ties in with Calcium (excess Calcium leads to a deficiency of Acetycholine) and the latter ties in with Magnesium (Glutathione is needs itfor synthesis).
Men with dementia are deficient in Testosterone and that ties in with a major Zinc deficiency and of course, Zinc is involved in maintaining Insulin balance.
EVERYTHING MEANS SOMETHING!
I am not Einstein, but researchers are not seeing the 'wood' for the trees. They are so focussed on finding chemical drugs to prevent, or cure dementia that they are missing the obvious. (126 drugs currently being trialled)
A homeopathic vet made this very clear to me when my little fur baby ended up with a rare liver disorder called "Hepatucaneous Syndrome" caused by Rimadryl, or Carprofen.
Why? The vet decided her rear leg lameness was due to arthritis, despite the fact that she had just had surgery on an anal abscess.
I will never forgive myself for ignoring my own better judgement.
He had to know more than I did! My common sense and intelligence I put to one side, because I did not know enough. I did not have the facts to compute.
NB: Just like we assume that the health, medical profession know what the hell they are talking about. (When it is their advice which has largely caused the Alzheimer epidemic in the first place, but more about that another time).
To cut a long story short. Although he put her on natural supplements that would help her liver, she declined until I feared she was going into kidney failure. She ended up being on an intravenous drip for 9 days and despite being fed horrendously expensive food, was still losing weight. When I pointed this out, he gave up and referred me to a homeopathic vet in a nearby town.
He meant well, but he was totally ignorant despite all his years of study!!!
As the homeopathic vet taught me: You have to:-
WEED
FEED
SEED
Her liver had not been detoxified, so no amount of supplements could help. So this smart lady has something pretty simple that did the trick. She also had probiotic supplements and all sorts that would help and did. She also had a raw food range with built in supplements I could feed her on after. She even gave me a Kombucha SCOBY so I could make my own.
Olive was starting to recover and actually put on weight. Her death was my fault. Overheating due to being too long in the car. I won't go into the seizures she suffered and the worst two days of my life until she died in my arms. I will never forgive myself, but I am pretty sure that I was burnt out. ( I had spent over a year and a half battling to keep my fur baby alive. Juicing, special foods and supplements, cleaning lesions, carrying her around and a hellava lot more, but it was a labour of love. I had never let her overheat until that day).
Unfortunately, she had to be mouth fed and given water and walked by me and my little Madam always wanted to go where ever I went, so I had the routine down pat, but I slipped up!
I will be sure to somehow get a break sorted from my mom soon, because care giver burn out is a serious problem.
The only breaks I have had in over ten years are three hospital stays. About 4 days in Cape Town in 2014 staying with my cousin after a neuro consult, while waiting for a bus back home and 9 days in a neurology ward in 2015. Plus a three-day stay for an umbilical hernia op in 2014.
Not even a weekend away for so long I cannot remember. Let's not discuss my non-existent sex life!!!
PS: I started my own business in August 2003, so for over ten years there were also no breaks, so basically I have been working away for 15 years non stop).
When you are caring for an elderly relative, staying away is hazardous to ones health. I stress when I go to town by myself and leave her at home, so end up phoning or texting to check all is well. I work fast and get home quick.
Most of the time, mom and I are together and she does not drive. She will tag along to the shops, but tires in 5 - 15 minutes and either needs to sit down, or cannot handle the noise and people and wants to head for the car. These days she is forgetting the rules of the road and quite frankly, her driving will give me a heart attack!
So, in a nutshell! We have eating the wrong fats all our lives on medical advice. Yellow oils and spread were not healthy, just the opposite!
We swallowed the low fat, low cholesterol myth, because we did not know any better, but neither did they!
We allowed doctor's to prescribe Statin drugs to lower our bad LDL cholesterol, but unfortunately they forgot to mention that they remove ALL the bodies cholesterol and taking co-enzyme Q10 and other recommended supplements is essential, but who reads the literature??
Don't forget our brain uses 20% of all our cholesterol intake and only 40% of that gets through the blood-brain barrier, so rubbing coconut oil on your LO's body as I previously recommended is not far fetched at all!
So we have to detoxify our bodies and brains, then rebalance them with the right supplements and way of eating (LCHF, Banting, Ketogenic and so on), plus regrow our healthy gut bacteria, or probiotic's.
Little by little, I am slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together and I am no scientist. I will have to learn biology, chemistry and study in-depth, but I am committed to finding out the answers, because I have a huge personal stake in a SOLUTION.
Bill Gates can donate hundreds of millions of Dollars to research, but I cannot, so I will do what, I can, where I am, with what I have.
Now to start a GO FUND ME, so that I can hire people to help at home, so that I can dedicate two hours a day to study the research. The information is all available for the most part. Now it is just a question of putting it together so that the WHOLE PICTURE emerges.
SALA HANTLE BATHO. Stay well people!
I will be keeping you posted on my progress. God bless!
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