Help

[Erika]

I'm terrified I discovered I'm Apoe4/4
I can't sleep well and I have difficult to remember and to talk as before. My mother has Alzheimer.
I'm 41

[SandyZ]

I'm terrified I discovered I'm Apoe4/4
I can't sleep well and I have difficult to remember and to talk as before. My mother has Alzheimer.
I'm 41

Hi Erika,

As a Support Team intern, I would like to welcome you to the ApoE4.info website.

It is, of course, normal to feel frightened and overwhelmed if you discover you have significant risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease. The good news is that our genes are not our destiny. Research in recent years has shown that making certain lifestyle changes can have a protective effect. It's best to start out with small changes and then build on those efforts. You will find others on this site and elsewhere who are carry the ApoE4 gene and are living healthy and active lives into their 70s and beyond.

This site has a lot of information about ApoE4. I can share several tools/resources to help you get the most out of your experience here.

First, if would like to learn more about ApoE4, the Primer is a detailed and informative resource written by a practicing M.D. with ApoE4/4. It includes information about the biochemistry of the ApoE4 gene and offers a variety of research-based prevention strategies.

In addition, the How to Guide offers tips on how to navigate forums, including how to quote members when you respond to posts so they get an email notification of your post (tip: use the quotation icon in the upper right of any post). The "How to Guide" also demonstrates how to use the Search function for topics and how to subscribe to topics of interest in the forums.

The Wiki also contains information about ApoE4 and steps that you can take.

Finally, if you would like to learn more about other community members' experiences, you can link to Our Stories. You are welcome to share your story in Our Stories as well, so that other members can respond to you.

I hope you find these tools useful as you navigate the site. Please reach out if you need any other assistance with the site.

In gratitude,

SandyZ

[Erika]

It is difficult to live with this thought. I cannot manage stress
Is there someone really improved? I'm sorry but Im so scared. Hot to sleep well without medicine with this thought

[SandyZ]

It is difficult to live with this thought. I cannot manage stress
Is there someone really improved? I'm sorry but Im so scared. Hot to sleep well without medicine with this thought

Hi Erika,

There are many on this forum who have improved by making changes such as; nutrition, exercise, stress management, removal of toxins, and improved sleep to name a few.

Dr. Dale Bredesen has published a book "The First Survivors of Alzheimer's". Patients tell their stories of how they recovered. Some of them have the ApoE4 allele. Theirs is a message of hope and what they did to reverse Alzheimer's.

He has published two other books, "The End of Alzheimer's" and "The End of Alzheimer's Program". These books contain information about the research, and steps to take to prevent and reverse Alzheimer's. The second book has an updated version of the ReCODE protocol that can be implemented to reverse cognitive decline.

I hope you find this information a comfort in knowing that there are things that you can do now to reverse or prevent cognitive decline.

Take care,

SandyZ

[NF52]

I'm terrified I discovered I'm Apoe4/4
I can't sleep well and I have difficult to remember and to talk as before. My mother has Alzheimer.
I'm 41

Welcome, Erika,

I too have ApoE 4/4 and am 70, probably close in age to your mother. I'm so sorry that you are having to worry about her, and still provide her love and support, while also dealing with finding out that you have ApoE 4/4. Please know that not being able to sleep and not being able to remember things or talk as well as before is perfectly normal--as a response to overwhelming stress--not a sign of early Alzheimer's. Your brain is trying to sort out too many things at once, which may involve lots of planning or details of care for your mother, at the same time it's trying to make sense of something that it sees as an immediate risk to your sense of who you are. When that happens, our fear centers basically take over and prevent our "higher order" thinking skills from working. I remember having a serious allergic reaction to penicillin at age 33 and when I went to the emergency room, I told them I was 28, and then said "Oh, no, I'm 33." The nurse looked at me like I was trying to lie and said "Well which is it?" I should have said "Listen, I think I may stop breathing soon so I can't exactly remember how old I am!"

So when you forget things, talk to yourself the way your best friend (or I) would and say "Erika, your brain is simply trying to handle too much right now. It's okay; you will get through this. Forgetting something is no big deal!"

At age 70, I don't have any signs of the heart disease that killed my dad at age 67, or the high blood pressure and min-strokes that contributed to my mother's Alzheimer's and vascular dementia by her late 70's and early 80's. I've been tested every which way for a clinical trial and score well into the normal range both physically and cognitively.

So don't look at the future as bleak; look at the present and see what you are already doing great on, from the Primer by Dr. Stavia:

Strategy 1. Lowering insulin resistance
Strategy 2. Exercise
Strategy 3. Sleep
Strategy 4. Stress management
Strategy 5. Eating a healthy diet with heaps of micronutrients.
Strategy 6. Cognitive enhancement
Strategy 7. Social enhancement
Strategy 8. Selected supplements
Strategy 9. Reducing inflammation in your body.
Strategy 10. Avoid Smoking
Strategy 11. Avoid having high blood pressure
Strategy 12. Avoid hitting your head hard enough to sustain a concussion

I bet you have Strategies 6, 10, 11 and 12 covered! And maybe several others too. Each of those increases your "cognitive resilience" against your genetic risk. For now, maybe don't focus on Sleep (# 2) and instead look at Stress Management (#4)--or what I like to think of as "I'm entitled to be optimistic!" Meditation, mindfulness, exercise (#2), being with friends (#7) and telling yourself "I am going to give myself permission not to worry for the next hour while I go have coffee and laugh with wonderful friends" are all ways that you can become an optimist about your future.

Sleep will come when your brain realizes that you are keeping it safe every day, Erika!

Nancy

[Erika]

I really greatfull for your support. Doctors are not supporting me and tell me that I shouldn't do this type of exam for discovering the gene because it is only stressful since there is no cure. I have read the first book of Bredesen for my mother. Even implementing something she did not improve, therefore my pessimistic thoughts. For the third books I don't understand why doctors say there are not prove and this influence me in a negative way.
However, I will try to follows your advise starting from manage stress (I think know I need a psychologist) doing exercise and eat well. I work and I hope to manage it in the best way. I will try to read more.
Thank you.
If anyone else have some stories and advices to share with me please don't esitate. They will be precious.

[JD2020]

Even implementing something she did not improve, therefore my pessimistic thoughts.

Hi Erika,

In the first book, Dr. Bredesen talks about the 36 holes in the roof. I think that figuring out which holes are leaking is really complicated and difficult to do on your own. Your mom might not have improved because of any number of reasons, such as an unidentified toxicity. For example, in my own testing, one surprise was that I had a big mold problem in my body. I've been tuned in to the integrative medical community for almost 20 years, and still, there is no way that I could heal and optimize my issues without my ReCODE doc.

But I am 59 and you are young. I think you could follow NF52's advice by being aware of the issues that she linked and just living your best life for now. Eventually, you might want to take the next step to work with a practitioner who is educated to these issues. It is expensive, and you don't need to do this right now.

As for sleep...as a life long insomniac who sleeps pretty well now, you might want to read "Why We Sleep." It is surprisingly interesting. The biggest take-away that I got was that my body is designed to sleep well. I honestly thought that I was wired to sleep poorly. So the next step was to get out of my own way.

The other thing you might want to take a look at is Insight Timer. It has all sorts of free meditations, and I am really enjoying exploring them. I am dealing with issues with my parents that are overwhelming me like a tsunami, and some of these meditations are such a lovely break, a rest for my mind. I'm using it twice a day, just because I want to. Check out Jason McGrice, Morning Ritual, for an amazing 10 minute start to your day. I do this before I get out of bed. I think this is how we start to rewire our tormented brains.

Good luck.

[Erika]

Thank you!
I will follow your advices.
Now I'm very stressed I think always about this and it is impossible to stay calm