First post

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
Post Reply
Amykwill
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2021 7:15 pm

First post

Post by Amykwill »

Hi everyone
I’m almost 54, work FT , married and have 3 grown sons. My mom just died of ALZ at 80 so I decided to do 23 and me. Just found out I have 1 apo4 and am kinda terrified. I’ve done a lot of reading and research. Everything seems so overwhelming at this point. I have no other family members with dementia so I’m hoping that helps. My dad is 85 and still fairly sharp. I am looking at making the dietary changes but it will be a huge change for me and I’m worried I won’t stick to it… I will find a practitioner that can support me but I think I’d also like to be part of studies out there. Very grateful to have found the group!!
Amy W
apoe3/4
User avatar
CindyM
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2021 2:14 pm
Location: Denver area

Re: First post

Post by CindyM »

Amykwill wrote:Hi everyone
I’m almost 54, work FT , married and have 3 grown sons. My mom just died of ALZ at 80 so I decided to do 23 and me. Just found out I have 1 apo4 and am kinda terrified. I’ve done a lot of reading and research. Everything seems so overwhelming at this point. I have no other family members with dementia so I’m hoping that helps. My dad is 85 and still fairly sharp. I am looking at making the dietary changes but it will be a huge change for me and I’m worried I won’t stick to it… I will find a practitioner that can support me but I think I’d also like to be part of studies out there. Very grateful to have found the group!!
Hello Amykwill and welcome to the forum!

I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. I know you are frightened that you will share the same destiny, but I’d like to reassure you that there’s hope!

I am so glad you found us, because you don’t have to take this journey alone. Most people feel overwhelmed and frightened when they discover that they carry the APoE4 gene.

You may have read by now that genes are not your destiny. Not everybody with ApoE4 gets Alzheimer’s Disease. There is much you can do to lower your risk of developing Alzheimers.

One of the main purposes of this forum is to help each other make the best choices in lifestyle and diet so that our ApoE4 variant affects us less.

I know it’s overwhelming, but you don’t have to do everything at once- take your dietary and lifestyle changes in small steps, and your successes in these small steps will build momentum!

If you haven't seen it already, I encourage you to check out our primer .This is a fantastic resource which explores areas such as the science behind the ApoE4 gene and the lifestyle factors that impact its expression. Our how-to guide is another helpful resource on how to search for topics and how to subscribe to topics of interest and more. You can also check out threads that have been started by other members in their 50s in our stories, and if you are comfortable, share your own.

Luckily, there are many individuals on this site that will be able to help you out with your questions.

Again, welcome! We are here to assist you, so please feel free to reach out any time!

Best,

CindyM
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
User avatar
floramaria
Support Team
Support Team
Posts: 1423
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 11:22 am
Location: Northern New Mexico

Re: First post

Post by floramaria »

Amykwill wrote:Hi everyone
I’m almost 54, work FT , married and have 3 grown sons. My mom just died of ALZ at 80 so I decided to do 23 and me. Just found out I have 1 apo4 and am kinda terrified. I’ve done a lot of reading and research. Everything seems so overwhelming at this point. I have no other family members with dementia so I’m hoping that helps. My dad is 85 and still fairly sharp. I am looking at making the dietary changes but it will be a huge change for me and I’m worried I won’t stick to it… I will find a practitioner that can support me but I think I’d also like to be part of studies out there. Very grateful to have found the group!!
Hi Amykwill, Like you, I have one copy of the ApoE4 allele, and a mom who died of Alzheimer’s. Also, like you, I have a dad who has stayed sharp; my dad maintained good cognitive function into his late 90’s. We may have inherited some protective genes from our dads that may help balance out the genetic risk from our moms’ side. But regardless of genetics, I feel very confident that we are in a much better place in terms of understanding what drives Alzheimer’s disease. We can actively intervene to reduce our risks, an advantage our mothers did not have.
There are a lot of studies going on , so you may be able to get into one of those. Meanwhile, improving your diet, getting plenty of exercise and good quality sleep, staying socially engaged, reducing exposure to toxins and supporting your detox pathways all can be helpful. But you don’t have to do it all at once.

I understand that facing a lot of changes can be overwhelming at first. For many of us, it is a good policy to procede gradually, making one change at a time. That has been my approach. My suggestion is take one thing that you can manage, and just stay with that until it is easy for you before taking on another change. For people who are already experiencing cognitive decline, there is more pressure. But it sounds like both in your age and cognitive status, you have plenty of time to ease into this. Making one small change that you can stick with is far better than doing nothing, and your success with one step is something you can build on.
Sending best wishes to you!
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
IFM/ Bredesen Training in Reversing Cognitive Decline (March 2017)
ReCODE 2.0 Health Coach with Apollo Health
Post Reply