I'm new here

[2copies@43]

Just saying hello. I am 43 years old and I am thankful for this site.
I Found out I'm E4/E4 a couple of months ago from 23 and me. At first, never even hearing of APOE, I blew it off. Then one dy I decided to look into it. I could not believe what I was reading. My husband I are now looking into long term care insurance for if and when that day comes. I hope we do no run in to a problem because of my DNA test. I found my birth mother 3 years ago, and she suffers from MS and is mentally ill. She is 57 and shows no signs of dementia that I have noticed with the little that I see her. I found my birth father through the 23 and me and he does repeat himself a lot. He is 61. So, I guess I will keep tabs a bit and watch as they grow older. Finding out the seriousness of my APOE4 status has changed my life. I am eating healthier, and trying to keep my brain active with other educational outlets, and trying to lower my anxiety. I suffer from bad anxiety which doesn't help matters.

[Lisa G]

Just saying hello...Finding out the seriousness of my APOE4 status has changed my life. I am eating healthier, and trying to keep my brain active with other educational outlets, and trying to lower my anxiety. I suffer from bad anxiety which doesn't help matters.

Hello and welcome to the ApoE4 forum! We're glad you are here and looking into what it means to have the ApoE4 gene and, more importantly, all the proactive steps you can take. From your post, it sounds like you have already begun to change some lifestyle behaviors that are sure to help. Great job! You don't mention your age but I assume you are "young-ish" if your birth parents are in their late 50s and early 60s. Taking charge of your life now bodes well for your future! It's never to late. Knowing the information you do and taking the appropriate brain healthy steps should be of assurance to you. While not a medical professional and not knowing the severity of your anxiety, I have read about and studied the connection between a leaky gut and anxiety. So something as basic as dietary changes to fix intestinal permeability can be a life-changer in many ways. And it appears that you are doing this.
I wanted to direct you to some resources that are helpful on the site in case you haven't delved in too deeply yet. The primer is a great place to start as it is written by a physician in laymen's terms. There is also a "How-To" Guide that makes your journey around the site much more efficient. You may be interested in checking out the "Our Stories" forum to share your own story and learn about fellow members! Finally, I've found the search function to be an awesome way to research questions you may have as most likely, someone has asked the question before and there are several threads of information regarding that topic.
Again, welcome to the community and please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or comments!

[NF52]

Just saying hello. I am thankful for this site.
I Found out I'm E4/E4 a couple of months ago from 23 and me.... My husband I are now looking into long term care insurance for if and when that day comes. I hope we do no run in to a problem because of my DNA test....
I am eating healthier, and trying to keep my brain active with other educational outlets, and trying to lower my anxiety. I suffer from bad anxiety which doesn't help matters.

Welcome from another E4/E4 who is 67 and still doing just fine on cognitive testing as part of a clinical trial. I know several active and cognitively healthy people my age and older with ApoE 4. We are determined to prove that our futures are not as dire as predicted!

A statement that you may have seen is "the average age of diagnosis of Alzheimer's is 68 for people with ApoE 4/4". That sounds scary until you realize it is as valid as saying "the average age of a DUI for a college student is 20." Might be true (I just made it up), but it doesn't say anything about "how many college students age 20 have NOT had a DUI?" People who experience memory problems in the 60's are likely to be brought to a memory clinic by their loved ones. My 86 year old mother was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's officially only two months before she died, and lived independently with family support until then.

So the first rule in reading about ApoE 4 is to ask yourself "What is the source and how old is the information?" The older the source and the more narrow the study, the less likely it has ANY real value for you living your life.

By the way, I have had several great conversations with my doctor about my ApoE 4/4 status, and he agreed to my request to keep that information out of my record. While medical insurance companies cannot discriminate on the basis of genetic information under the GINA law, the same is not true for long-term care providers. http://ginahelp.org/
My husband and I purchased long-term care policies about 10 years ago, before I knew my status, but since ApoE 4 is not a dominant gene for Alzheimer's or any other disease, you are under no obligation to disclose that if you apply for a policy.

Please trust that knowing your ApoE 4/4 status will get easier over time and always give yourself credit for recognizing that having anxiety is no more a stigma than having asthma. Both require some environmental and lifestyle management, and sometimes medication to prevent a flare-up or reduce levels. And unlike asthma, which can wreak havoc in some settings without medications, anxiety often responds well to cognitive behavioral therapy strategies, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, massages, etc.

We are not our genes; they are simply the instructions that came with the box. We can change the recipe throughout our lives by turning genes on or off, or dialing them up or down. Enjoy the chance to be the architect of your own life!

[2copies@43]

Than you so much for your quick responses and support. I do have Asthma as well as anxiety. I have noticed it more recently I guess since I found out my status stop the asthma is when the anxiety is at its highest. Will definitely be looking into yoga soon. I am happy to hear that the onsets is a bit later. And I am also certainly happy to hear that I do not have to disclose my status to long term insurance companies has it is not yet a part of my medical records. I had a genealogist by the name of Dr. Goldberg out of Columbia University and Manhattan New York call me back after I freaked out about my status I started calling around. She called me back and gave me an half an hour of her time and reassured me that I should just live the best life I can and to be hyper-vigilant about my status will do me no good now. She did actually direct me to this apoe4. Com. She also told me that being that I am 43 I should be focusing on my cardiovascular health. I did go to a Cardiologist recently and she set me up with a stress test coming up later this month. Guess I will see what it says. The fact that there are a few women's a a little older than me here and they are still functioning in Tip-Top shape is encouraging. Thank you for that information.

[Tincup]

reassured me that I should just live the best life I can and to be hyper-vigilant about my status will do me no good now. She did actually direct me to this apoe4. Com. She also told me that being that I am 43 I should be focusing on my cardiovascular health. I did go to a Cardiologist recently and she set me up with a stress test coming up later this month. Guess I will see what it says. The fact that there are a few women's a a little older than me here and they are still functioning in Tip-Top shape is encouraging.

Much of the advice in our Primer is to be as healthy as you can in many aspects. This makes sense no matter what your genetics. Look around and you'll see many with metabolic issues. These increase your risks for many diseases. Relax and try to pay attention to good health, as best you can. This will stand you in good stead all around.

There is an ApoE4 positive member of my family who was diagnosed with a glioblasoma brain cancer at age 30 (now 32 and statistical life expectancy is 12-18 months from diagnosis, they are now at 27 months). If they live long enough where AlzD (or heart disease) becomes a possibility it will be a miracle and a blessing. Point being, there are many things that can impact us. I personally try to live the healthiest life and try to take advantage of every day I have. This is my plan to maximize my time on the planet, whether it turns out to be short or long.

[Inga]

Hi there new friends. I discovered in June that I carry not one, but two copies of the ApoE4 Variant. One from Mom. One from Dad. I had been DNA tested about 6 years ago because I wanted to know. My mother and her father both had AD. I could not figure out how to analyze the data and it had become illegal for 23 and Me to interpret the results for folks. I thought I understood I had one copy and 35% higher risk. And was relieved--no big deal. Nope, not so. I have two copies of the Gene-- 50-90 % increased risk. So naturally I became very alarmed and began researching immediately. In the last near 6 months I've become well aquainted with the latest available--landing on this site yesterday. And increasingly aware how little is on firm ground--lots of ideas but at the end of the data speculation. ? They don't know. "They". Ha ha. It was a 60 min online lecture in a 45 min time slot ha ha (fasssst talking) from Amy Berger at a Keto conference that sent me literally fleeing to the MCT oil in the kitchen at 1 a.m. as the message hit home. She said: " IF YOU THINK YOU ARE........HIT KETO HARD. !!" And it is Amy Berger's site Tuit Nutrition that led me to you folks here. Great to meet you. ! I am 61. My late mother was showing signs at 60. Diagnosed at 70 and died at 80. A horror. A hope for myself however, is that unlike my mother. I have been committed to exercise and diet since my early 30's and this may have saved me as I now understand the gravity of lifestyle for this condition. As Berger puts it: The DNA is the gun and lifestyle is the trigger. Thanks for being here new friends. Wishing everyone a beautiful, and memorable day. ! Inga