Fear

I had boasted in my first post about the Alzheimer’s gene, ApoE4, that I was not at all afraid of it. In my third post on ApoE4, which I wrote after finding out I had inherited it, I still proudly said I wasn’t the least concerned. But now, I’m not sure I was being entirely honest. I think it’s safe to say I have totally turned my life around, health wise, and when I sit down and really think about it, I believe I’m following enough of Dr. Dale Bredesen’s ReCODE protocol to prevent Alzheimer’s, and, for the most part, I’m not worried about it. However, that little voice in the back of my head continues to say, “You have ‘the gene.’ Are you sure you’re doing enough?”

I recently started rereading Bredesen’s book, “The End of Alzheimer’s,” and was reminded of a few parts that I had nearly forgotten about, stories of his patients who had been diagnosed with early cognitive decline, if not full-blown Alzheimer’s, and who had come back from the brink by following ReCODE. Some of these people’s stories, one in particular, had hit just a little too close to home, convincing me I absolutely was in early cognitive decline before overhauling my health. Much of what I was experiencing is gone now, but not all of it and still the voice is there: “Are you doing enough to protect your brain for the long haul?”

Bredesen’s patient to whom I am referring is a woman he calls “Eleanor.” Eleanor began showing her earliest signs of cognitive decline at about the age of 40. She underwent genetic testing at 49, which showed she had inherited ApoE4. Neuropsychological testing proved she wasn’t just experiencing “senior moments,” Bredesen wrote. Her brain was beginning to atrophy and Alzheimer’s was taking hold. She followed Bredesen’s ReCODE and was able to restore full brain function. This is the story she shared with Bredesen:

“I want to articulate what it felt like to be in the “fog” of early cognitive decline – something I feel I have a special perspective of because I climbed out of it. I came up with the analogy of the feeling you get when you are wearing headphones and trying to talk to someone next to you. It sounds muffled and you feel more distant from others. Similarly, before I reversed, it felt like I had a filmlike gauze over my brain that kept me from really connecting with others and from being able to easily engage in normal conversational back-and-forths. It was sometimes an enormous effort to formulate my response, such as in work meetings, and then to convey it (without forgetting what I had wanted to say). It was as if that gauze were a barrier I had to punch through to get the thought out. Conversation, especially about more sophisticated topics, had become far from the effortless activity it had been when I was younger.”

Reading Eleanor’s story for the first time stunned me. She described almost to the letter what I was experiencing before following ReCODE myself. As I’ve written in my posts on my turning point and giving up gluten and added sugar, I had really struggled with this very same “fog,” almost to the point of not being able to do my job as a reporter. When I read her description of the brain being wrapped in a gauze that she needed to punch through, I said, “Yes! Exactly!” I had always tried to explain it as a sort of road block, barricading my brain, preventing thoughts from being expressed and new information from being introduced and processed. I know I’ve inherited the gene. Would similar testing also have diagnosed early cognitive decline in me at the time? I’m convinced of it. I thank God I have taken the steps I have to get my life back.

Eleanor described her recovery as a reawakening, saying within a few months “it was clear to me that a ‘fog’ had lifted and I could identify specific changes in my cognitive function.” All I can say is, Me too! What really amazed me, and Eleanor shared the same experience, is I didn’t know the extent of my decline – I really had no idea just how much I was struggling – until that fog lifted. Only hindsight showed the true extent of my issues.

The clouds have parted for me, and my cognitive function (including mood) has greatly improved. But I still have some issues with forgetfulness and maintaining focus. For example, I recently had an appointment with my eye doctor and ordered new contacts. Someone apparently had called me to let me know the contacts were in, but I have no memory of it. The office called again last week to remind me they were in and asked when I would be able to pick them up. I thought it strange that they would word it like that and wondered, had they called me once before? Turns out, yes they had. It wasn’t a case of the second call bringing back the memory of the first call, reminding me. No, I have no memory of them calling a first time. That scared me.

Bredesen urges those with the gene to follow ReCODE even more strictly and take some aspects of the protocol a few steps further, such as restricting saturated fat consumption and extending intermittent fasting from 12 hours to 14 or even 16 hours each day. Unfortunately, ReCODE is very extensive and following every aspect to the letter is nearly impossible for the average person. Though Bredesen says ReCODE doesn’t need to be followed to the letter to stave off Alzheimer’s, he still puts those with the gene on guard. Am I following it strictly enough to “turn off” that gene for good? Any regular reader of this blog – and anyone who really knows me – knows preventing Alzheimer’s has become and obsession. Every day of my life, every decision I make, I wonder if I am doing enough. Maybe it’s unhealthy to be so driven by the fear and obsession of Alzheimer’s, but I don’t think it is because I am equally driven by the hope that this terrible disease can be prevented and defeated.

So on I fight! One step at a time, I will fully tackle ReCODE and keep Alzheimer’s at bay for as long as I possibly can, hopefully forever. I’m reading “The End of Alzheimer’s” for the third time and this time will set up a more in-depth plan to follow. I will prove that having the gene isn’t a death sentence and that Alzheimer’s can be stopped in all of us.

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