Brand new to group - 1st post

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jkramer65
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

Post by jkramer65 »

Fiver wrote:Hello JKramer65. Sending warm wishes your way. You got a "surprise" from the side of the family where we might have counted on a E3 or E2. What you're feeling is very normal.

It might help to know that there are many other genes and environmental factors other than E4 that play a role. Given that most of your family members were diagnosed with AD so late in life I would suspect that you also have some protective genes mixed in there....ones we don't even know about yet. Plus, you have this knowledge, this site, and modern medicine on your side.

I can say that the shock and worry does get better over time. And if you can use some of it as motivation to learn what you can and make changes to reduce your risk (and improve your overall health) then something positive comes from it.

UPDATE! Got my mother's results from 23 and me. I thought she might be e2/e4 but she is e3/e4 so curious what is in her genes to have prevented AD. She turns 92 on January 18! I'll never know my dad's (if he had one or two e4s). unless i take some of his ashes to a lab i suppose! lol. I'd be interested in in he was e4/e4. On Monday I'll know my recently diagnosed sister's status. She is meeting with a genetic counselor for a DNA review. I'll be listening in via phone. Should be interesting.

Thought you would all want to know!
Jane
mike
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

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jkramer65 wrote:UPDATE! Got my mother's results from 23 and me. I thought she might be e2/e4 but she is e3/e4 so curious what is in her genes to have prevented AD. She turns 92 on January 18!
Jane
Jane, e3/e4s risk for Alzheimer's is nowhere near as high as for e4/e4s, and can often be overcome by lifestyle choices...
Sonoma Mike
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jkramer65
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

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mike wrote:
jkramer65 wrote:UPDATE! Got my mother's results from 23 and me. I thought she might be e2/e4 but she is e3/e4 so curious what is in her genes to have prevented AD. She turns 92 on January 18!
Jane
Jane, e3/e4s risk for Alzheimer's is nowhere near as high as for e4/e4s, and can often be overcome by lifestyle choices...
RIGHT. And she has lived a life that should have given her AD long ago. That is why there has to be something protecting her. After all she has NEVER exercised, smoked for 50 years, ate like shit, drank like a fish. I could go on. Oh yeah, she is morbidly obese.

My dad who had AD did everything right and got it.
mike
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

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jkramer65 wrote:After all she has NEVER exercised, smoked for 50 years, ate like shit, drank like a fish. I could go on. Oh yeah, she is morbidly obese.
Go figure. Well, if she does have a protecting gene, I hope they find it! Your dad may have been a 4/4. Since he died in 2011, much has been learned about Alzheimer's. I'm also 4/4, and I don't plan to die from it. I believe I'll be able to keep it at bay until better treatment comes. If not, it tends to hit my family in the 80s or 90s, so I should still have many good years left.
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jkramer65
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

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mike wrote:
jkramer65 wrote:After all she has NEVER exercised, smoked for 50 years, ate like shit, drank like a fish. I could go on. Oh yeah, she is morbidly obese.
Go figure. Well, if she does have a protecting gene, I hope they find it! Your dad may have been a 4/4. Since he died in 2011, much has been learned about Alzheimer's. I'm also 4/4, and I don't plan to die from it. I believe I'll be able to keep it at bay until better treatment comes. If not, it tends to hit my family in the 80s or 90s, so I should still have many good years left.
I'm with you brother! I'm a 4/4 who will march to a different beat as well! We will see what my sister is on Monday. My dad lived until he was 87 so that doesn't suck. Only the last couple of years were bad -- and not for him but for us as caretakers. I do know women tend to get it earlier than men but I'm going to buck that tradition as well! Good luck to us both. Cheers!
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

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jkramer65 wrote:I do know women tend to get it earlier than men but I'm going to buck that tradition as well! Good luck to us both. Cheers!
Men tend to get Cardio Vascular issues first and die from that rather than AD...I had a stroke 4 years ago, but "only" a minor one.
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jkramer65
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

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mike wrote:
jkramer65 wrote:I do know women tend to get it earlier than men but I'm going to buck that tradition as well! Good luck to us both. Cheers!
Men tend to get Cardio Vascular issues first and die from that rather than AD...I had a stroke 4 years ago, but "only" a minor one.
It is always something!
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

Post by Karina52 »

Hi jkramer65! welcome to the group...I only joined a few months ago myself and am still learning so much about this gene. I am also 4/4. My father died at 73 of a massive heart attack, my mother is about to turn 93 later this month and has some mild memory issues that are very acceptable for this age. I took a 23andme kit to her on my last visit to see her (she lives in Germany, I'm in the Atlanta area). It came back 3/4. There is no one else in my family in recent generations who had Alzheimers so the 4/4 was a complete and utter shock to me. I spend lots of time researching info online and like you, I am determined to dodge the bullet. I am taking all the supplements and recommendations in Dr. Bredesen's book, have taken up learning and playing the piano, am brushing up on my french (learned in high school), and since I was raised bi-lingual (German and English), it's said to provide a protective layer of delay when it comes to AD. Exercise, meditation which were done when time allowed, have become mandatory now. I understand the panic you must be feeling because it's exactly how I felt some months ago. It's true, we learn to accept the things we cannot change and find peace about it... and in this case, take all the steps necessary to win the war! hugs to you!
jkramer65
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Re: Brand new to group - 1st post

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Karina52 wrote:Hi jkramer65! welcome to the group...I only joined a few months ago myself and am still learning so much about this gene. I am also 4/4. My father died at 73 of a massive heart attack, my mother is about to turn 93 later this month and has some mild memory issues that are very acceptable for this age. I took a 23andme kit to her on my last visit to see her (she lives in Germany, I'm in the Atlanta area). It came back 3/4. There is no one else in my family in recent generations who had Alzheimers so the 4/4 was a complete and utter shock to me. I spend lots of time researching info online and like you, I am determined to dodge the bullet. I am taking all the supplements and recommendations in Dr. Bredesen's book, have taken up learning and playing the piano, am brushing up on my french (learned in high school), and since I was raised bi-lingual (German and English), it's said to provide a protective layer of delay when it comes to AD. Exercise, meditation which were done when time allowed, have become mandatory now. I understand the panic you must be feeling because it's exactly how I felt some months ago. It's true, we learn to accept the things we cannot change and find peace about it... and in this case, take all the steps necessary to win the war! hugs to you!
Thank you so much for your kind words! It is a crazy world isn't it?? The one thing I have not stared doing is meditate -- and I know I need it! I also just get Rosetta Stone and we will see if I can learn Chinese! Go big or go home they say. But I feel like I need to shake up my brain. Even my daily brain exercises become a ritual which, in my mind, can have less effect. You are very lucky not to have family history. Unfortunately I do. But I'm still determined to do as much as I can to prevent. I'm in a bad insurance situation right now so can't go full on lab tests yet but have done some and will do it in spurts. I also wish you the best and send hugs your way!
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Re: Also new to group - 1st post

Post by Jani »

My name is Jan and I'm looking for emotional support to handle the recent diagnosis my son received. He just spent a week in the hospital in China having 3 more stents put into his heart. At that time he found out that he was APOE 4/4. As you can imagine he was very frightened as am I as his mother. Adam has since done some research and discovered research done by Dr. Eddlestyn. He wrote the book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. When Adam discovered that this gene was linked to Alzheimers his worry was exacerbated. In this book Dr. Eddlestyn also discusses how his diet can help prevent or lessen the likelyhood of Alzheimers. I'm wondering if any of you are aware of this diet and your take on it. My son is grasping at anything that sounds reasonable. So am I. I bought the cookbook Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and much of the information sounds reasonable to me. So please let me know if you are aware of this diet and what you think about it. Again I'm looking for emotional support that I know can be helped by getting more information. Thank you for the help.
Jan
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