New member here

[Maijeli]

Hello all! A year and a half ago I took 23andme and myheritage gene tests for family studies and health overview. In the health tests main surprise was that I have got two Apo E4 alleles, E4/4. As I am homozygous, my both parents must have carried at least one ApoE4. I think we are not a special dementia family. Mother was relatively healthy until age 90, no memory problems. Then she had myocardial infarction that left her atrial fibrillation. Dementia evolved after that, and mother died at the age of 93. My father had coronary heart disease, no memory problems, and he died at age 72. I also know two cousins who developed dementia at above age 80.
I live in Finland, female and my age is 79 now. My education is medical, but I have been retired for a long time. I have got coronary heart disease and various other health problems, mostly associated with autoimmunity and allergy. My memory is good enough for everyday life of a retired person, but certainly it has gone down from my youth years. I also get tired easily.
It was really nice to find this site with so many experts and fate mates! The Bredesen protocol seems promising for me, and I am already making changes in my diet with those guidelines. The new supplements I am adding just gradually. Unfortunately I have not yet found a suitable memory expert in my home region.

[JulieMorris]

Hello all! A year and a half ago I took 23andme and myheritage gene tests for family studies and health overview. In the health tests main surprise was that I have got two Apo E4 alleles, E4/4. As I am homozygous, my both parents must have carried at least one ApoE4. I think we are not a special dementia family. Mother was relatively healthy until age 90, no memory problems. Then she had myocardial infarction that left her atrial fibrillation. Dementia evolved after that, and mother died at the age of 93. My father had coronary heart disease, no memory problems, and he died at age 72. I also know two cousins who developed dementia at above age 80.
I live in Finland, female and my age is 79 now. My education is medical, but I have been retired for a long time. I have got coronary heart disease and various other health problems, mostly associated with autoimmunity and allergy. My memory is good enough for everyday life of a retired person, but certainly it has gone down from my youth years. I also get tired easily.
It was really nice to find this site with so many experts and fate mates! The Bredesen protocol seems promising for me, and I am already making changes in my diet with those guidelines. The new supplements I am adding just gradually. Unfortunately I have not yet found a suitable memory expert in my home region.

Hi Maijeli-

Hello! I'm a support team intern, and I'd like to welcome you to this site! You have found a very supportive community here. Thank you for sharing part of your story with us. Your extensive educational background is a definite benefit to maintaining brain health, as more education means more cognitive reserve (kind of like insurance for the brain). Autoimmune issues stem from inflammation and gut issues, so working on decreasing inflammation and healing your gut would be good for both your autoimmune disease(s) and your brain health.

You mentioned wanting to find a provider who can guide you in brain/memory health. Here's a list of Apoe4-aware providers from our site: ApoE4-Aware Healthcare Practitioners. In addition, here's a list of Apoe4-aware Health Coaches: Health Coaches. Keep in mind that some providers and many health coaches will see you online. It sounds like you're already familiar with ReCODE, but you might find this summary of Dr. Bredesen's book "The End of Alzheimer's" interesting: Book Summary
. I can tell you that my mother, who is 81, started the ReCODE protocol at 79, and she is doing much better.

For ideas on lifestyle changes, it would be a great idea to first take a look at our Primer. It is an incredible resource of information about the biochemistry of ApoE4. It offers researched-based prevention strategies and was written by a practicing M.D. with ApoE4. Do not become overwhelmed with all the information. Sometimes it is best to slowly read through it, decide which section resonates with you, and focus on that area first. Remember that small changes can make a big difference in brain health.

The How-To Guide will help you learn how to navigate this site. It includes topics such as navigating the forum, private messaging, and searching.

You can find other members' experiences in Our Stories. Sometimes reading the stories of others helps us realize that we are not alone.

I'm so glad you have joined us on this site. Please feel free to reach out anytime with questions or if you just need support. You are not alone. We are here for you.

Take care,
Julie

[Maijeli]

Thank you!

[JulieMorris]

You are so welcome! Please continue to participate in our community.

[egluckst]

This conversation is so helpful. I carry APO-E4/E4. My Dad passed away from Alzheimers last year. My mom has Parkinson's. I am 36 and I used to worry about my health daily. My husband's family member had his wife do the Bredesen protocol so I've learned a lot about it from reading the book and from him sending me her paperwork. I am a wellness coach (not a recode coach) and I do my best to live a life that moves me away from neurological diseases. Today is my first day really diving into apoe.info. I'm really grateful for this community and the resources you offer. It makes me feel less alone. Thank you

[HelenOwens]

This conversation is so helpful. I carry APO-E4/E4. My Dad passed away from Alzheimers last year. My mom has Parkinson's. I am 36 and I used to worry about my health daily. My husband's family member had his wife do the Bredesen protocol so I've learned a lot about it from reading the book and from him sending me her paperwork. I am a wellness coach (not a recode coach) and I do my best to live a life that moves me away from neurological diseases. Today is my first day really diving into apoe.info. I'm really grateful for this community and the resources you offer. It makes me feel less alone. Thank you

Hello egluckst,

Welcome to the Forum. First, my sincere condolences for the recent loss of your father. That must've been especially hard to go through for both you and your mother as she navigates her own health challenges. You’ve experienced your share of hardships and heartache seeing loved ones go through really difficult things. But, it sounds like your resilience and your background as a wellness coach will serve you well in taking a proactive approach to positively influence the course of your health. I’m so glad you found us here because, you are right – you are not alone. I think you will find the resources here and reading about others' stories will empower and inspire you in your efforts to steer the path away from neurological disease.

Also, I see that you are interested in the virtual meetups. Such a great way to connect with others in person who are also navigating this journey. Julie L will see your post and respond to you by Private Message.

Being as today is your first day diving into apoe4.info, please allow me to share several tools & resources to help you get the most out of your experience here. 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.

Some helpful tips to navigate the site include the How-To Guide. It includes topics such as navigating the forum, private messaging, and searching. One great tip is using the quote (") button when replying to a post. Using the button will automatically alert the member of your response.

Wiki Main Page contains a wealth of information.

If you are interested in learning more about other members check out Our Stories.

Again, I am so glad you joined our forum. I hope you’ll find additional benefits in the connections you make through the virtual meetups.

Warmly,
Helen
Support Team Intern

[Maijeli]

Hello eluckst, welcome here! At your age I was happily ignorant what risks my future gene tests might reveal. Anyway, I was already trying to avoid hard saturated fats and trying to replace them with oils, to protect my blood vessels. Now afterwards I am glad I did at least that, because ApoE4 enhances the development of atherosclerosis and CVD overall.
I am curious to know how early the young symptomless carriers start the whole protocol. First after symptoms?

[floramaria]

Hello egluskst, welcome here! At your age I was happily ignorant what risks my future gene tests might reveal. Anyway, I was already trying to avoid hard saturated fats and trying to replace them with oils, to protect my blood vessels. Now afterwards I am glad I did at least that, because ApoE4 enhances the development of atherosclerosis and CVD overall.
I am curious to know how early the young symptomless carriers start the whole protocol. First after symptoms?

This conversation is so helpful. I carry APO-E4/E4. My Dad passed away from Alzheimers last year. My mom has Parkinson's. I am 36 and I used to worry about my health daily. My husband's family member had his wife do the Bredesen protocol so I've learned a lot about it from reading the book and from him sending me her paperwork. I am a wellness coach (not a recode coach) and I do my best to live a life that moves me away from neurological diseases. Today is my first day really diving into apoe.info. I'm really grateful for this community and the resources you offer. It makes me feel less alone. Thank you

Hello Maijeli and egluckst,
I am quoting you both here so that eluckst will see your post , Maijeli. If you are directing your post to a particular person, it is helpful if you use the quotation marks in the upper right hand corner of that person’s post. That way the person you are quoting and responding to will get an email message saying that they have been quoted.
Without doing that, you risk that the person you intend to ask a Question or send a reply may never see it.

In my experience, Maijeli, asymptomatic carriers of ApoE4 alleles begin following healthier lifestyles at all different ages. Since they are asymptomatic, they are interested in prevention. My sense of it is that unless they have known risk factors like mold toxicity or Lyme disease, or some other specific health challenge, they generally ease into the protocol by following the lifestyle recommendations, including dietary changes, increased exercise, stress management, and sleep optimization. They may not do the cognoscopy lab tests until later.

[egluckst]

Thank you validation! At 25 my Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer so my radar has been up since then. I have the same question about when to start the protocol. I think a lot of the steps are incredible for almost anyone to do to prevent illness so I try my best to do everything that feels within my reach. I believe I read somewhere to start testing at 45 whether you have symptoms or not. I feel like that could be the benefit of having a consultation with a ReCODE coach. I saw the list of supplements that Bredeson suggests and it's a big investment to be doing that's (let's just say) for 50 years. I already take 1/3 of them and am considering investing in 2 more. The whole thing makes me anxious for sure, but I am hopeful and grateful that there is so much money being poured into All research and that there are guidelines to follow.

[TCHC]

Hello all! A year and a half ago I took 23andme and myheritage gene tests for family studies and health overview. In the health tests main surprise was that I have got two Apo E4 alleles, E4/4. As I am homozygous, my both parents must have carried at least one ApoE4. I think we are not a special dementia family. Mother was relatively healthy until age 90, no memory problems. Then she had myocardial infarction that left her atrial fibrillation. Dementia evolved after that, and mother died at the age of 93. My father had coronary heart disease, no memory problems, and he died at age 72. I also know two cousins who developed dementia at above age 80.
I live in Finland, female and my age is 79 now. My education is medical, but I have been retired for a long time. I have got coronary heart disease and various other health problems, mostly associated with autoimmunity and allergy. My memory is good enough for everyday life of a retired person, but certainly it has gone down from my youth years. I also get tired easily.
It was really nice to find this site with so many experts and fate mates! The Bredesen protocol seems promising for me, and I am already making changes in my diet with those guidelines. The new supplements I am adding just gradually. Unfortunately I have not yet found a suitable memory expert in my home region.

Hi Maijeli

Well done on making some changes already.

I just did a quick search on the Apollo site, to see if I could find any practitioners or coaches in Finland, but sadly not. There was both a practitioner and a coach in Sweden: Stockholm and Trondheim. They probably do consultations over zoom. You may just have to widen your search outside of Finland.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Lindsey