I am really interested in how this is going so please keep us updated.

All the science in the world will is worthless if there's nothing anecdotal.

I know a lot of people react to these meds in negative ways but Namenda is the only thing with which I had seen any 'instant' improvement. The eggs were just the only thing I could think of that I had done in a consistent, long term manner, to explain the clock improvement. The version of Namenda that her doc prescribed is the slow release kind and our pharmacy doesn't routinely stock it so they have to order it every time. This leads to a two day lag time, too often, as I am not an organized person. During this lag time, I would see a serious increase in listlessness and vagueness. Once the scrip was refilled, she would be better in a day or so. Her heart is always good at her check ups and the hospital said she was very fit when she was in there for her hips.
I understand they are now going to only make Namenda in the extended release pill that she is already on, because that extends the patent time period for another six years, so there can't be generic competitors. Without insurance, it's prohibitively expensive, which is why Mother didn't take it for a couple of years after her last doc wanted her to have it. I just couldn't afford it.

Interesting new post on Dr. Perlmutter's website, Scientific validation of his program. Talk based on a study (which is linked within this post) on a multi-faceted or Systems approach to Alzheimer's treatments. The reduced carbs, foods, good fats are all familiar, plus many more.
http://www.drperlmutter.com/grain-b...fic-validation/

I decided to come here and give an update on Mother and the coconut oil and all. I took her to the doctor on Wednesday for her regular check-up. The doctor she goes to is the one who was assigned to her when she was in the hospital the last time she broke her hip. He's okay but is kind of oblivious to several things. I don't like the fact that if something were to go wrong in the night or on the weekend, there is no night number. They just expect you to go to the ER. I never had a doc like that but I'm told that's how it is, now.
Anyway, when we got up Wednesday morning, I was going over the plans for the day with her and I commented that I needed to be sure we had something for supper because it was my turn to cook for Steve's mom to come over. To that, she replied, "Oh, this is Wednesday?" I told her that was pretty good, that she remembered that and her response was that when something is an ongoing thing, she can remember it. Hmmph! That's what she thinks. On the way to the office, I suggested that she ask the doctor if she's well enough to live on her own. She's always telling people that there's nothing wrong with her and she could just go back to living with my dad. Well, no, she can't. He is 88 and can't provide more than what SS will cover, which is not enough. And besides, he's his own special brand of crazy and the apartment would not be safe for her. I guess this slight digression is part of the story. He is very stressful to live with and stress is part of her problem. He loves her and knows he wouldn't provide properly for her health and frankly, he can't bear to see her like this. She's too different from the woman he knew as his wife. He doesn't do well emotionally with the facts of aging and this is just too painful for him. We get together with him once a month or so and they talk on the phone sometimes. He does do legal writing and is working on helping a former partner represent himself in some kind of proceeding but I don't know whether they will get any kind of settlement or not. If he's successful, he'll make some other kind of arrangement such as a duplex with a caretaker for her, but we aren't holding our breaths. Anyway, she has always insisted that they could get back together but when I tried to finagle getting the doctor to be the bad guy, she answered with "Well, if there was any alternative place for me, I would, but I guess Earl probably won't be able to do that". You could have knocked me over with a feather. She actually remembered the truth of the situation and acknowledged it.
So, when we were in his office, he had gone over her blood work and took her off the iron supplement she had been taking. We talked about what meds seem to help her and such. He agreed that she is very healthy. I didn't tell him I don't give her sweets or starches - but her weight is staying perfectly stable. She eats almost exactly what I do but I'm losing and she's not. That's an odd circumstance to me. So, I told him about her improved clock test and at first he was only mildly interested but when I pointed out that that just isn't supposed to happen, he kind of perked up and seemed somewhat more so. So, I continued with the story and got to the point I was making, that it might have been the fact that she gets lots of choline because I give her at least two eggs almost every day of the last year or so. Would you believe he started to get concerned over that?! I reminded him that her bloodwork was always right and that I had read that once you get into your upper 80s your body might not make enough cholesterol, as long as you don't already have heart disease. He agreed that was true, but it really bothered me that he had to be reminded of that. I have been wanting to take her to a geriatric specialist but I just don't know how to find one with whom we can work on this. I would love to have a doc that would really guide me. I have taken steps to switch her to my doctor, but the first appointment is to be a consultation, to see if he would be a reasonable substitute. I'm hoping that she will have further improvement, to get his attention. The things that she surprised me with, about her living situation and about it being Wednesday because of the dinner thing are possibly good signs but she is still very much in a day by day pattern.

Hi Ann, I am new -- but read your post with interest.

My Aunt is on the last stages of Alzheimers and is only 58 years old. She was diagnosed over 10 years ago, and my uncle moved her into a facility finally about 12 months ago as she became too much to care for.

Anyways, I remembered the Coconut Oil information as I had sent that information to him awhile back and he felt that she was too far gone for that to be of use. Having not seen my Aunt in many years, I cannot say if that was true or not.

Anways, onto the relevant part of my post... I was having memory issues for a long while (up until a couple of years ago) ... you know when you walk into the pantry and you can't remember why you went in there? Or you can't remember that word on the tip of your tongue? Everyone has that, I know, but at the worst point it would happen to me (at least) several times a day. I have always had 'flakey' memory, kind of a little bit ditzy and ungrounded when I wasn't focused on something, but this was different.

Anyways, after doing the research on the Coconut oil for my uncle, I decided to try it for myself. I started taking it in my coffee like you are doing with your Mom and within a week I noticed a difference, and it only got better after that. Now, I am not an alzheimer's patient, but I DO blame my memory issues on artificial sweeteners and diet and I did (and still do) see a definite improvement from the Coconut oil alone. Obviously for someone who is as far along (and much older than me, too) as your Mother, one week is far too soon to notice a change, but I do believe that your link with eggs and with coconut oil is key to her doing so much better, including the events from earlier yesterday/today and the clock test.

What I do now (that I am trying the Kwasniewski optimal diet plan) is making Bulletproof coffee twice a day. This is basically high quality coffee (I make mine in a french press, since I believe that chemicals in paper filters also contribute to some issues -- plus french pressed tastes so much better) put in a blender -- when it's hot -- and blended to a frothy delicious texture (not oily at all) with coconut (or MCT) oil and grassfed, unsalted butter (Kerrygold).

The guy who invented the recipe has done a lot of research on brain stuff and he certainly seems to be onto something -- so I thought that this might be something you want to look into for your mom. The TEXTURE of the Bullet Proof coffee is smooth and silky, not greasy, and it looks like a latte -- even though there's no milk or cream in it. I easily consume 1.5 - 2tbsp coconut oil in a 10 oz cup of coffee. I think this might be a really great way to get your mom to drink it in an agreeable way - with or without the butter.

Also, on other forums, I see that people use this same basic principal to make 'Bulletproof Chai Tea' or green tea, or matcha or... whatever. I was playing around with the idea earlier of incorporating it into chicken broth, maybe with some leeks or mushrooms added in.

I personally have seen a very marked improvement in my memory and also in my ability to focus & multi-task.

I wish you lots of luck. Your dedication is amazing.

Here are some links about the coffee, lots of good information in the comments:
https://www.bulletproofexec.com/bul...-coffee-recipe/
https://www.bulletproofexec.com/how...ur-morning-too/
http://wellnessmama.com/5673/healthy-coffee/

Ann is such a good daughter isn't she? I hope that my daughters are like you when I get old. Plus I tell them that if they put me in a nursing home I'll come back to haunt them. LOLOLOL
Seriously I had planned to exactly what Ann is doing with my Mom but the hospital failed us. I grew up with a Grandmother in our home and it is a memory that I'll never forget so I told my mother that I would do the same for her.

Thanks, Meme. Of course, we love our moms and dads and don't want to see them sick, but I have to point out, in the name of modesty, that caring for a person in your home is so much harder in the later stages of a debilitating illness. The longer you can keep them more like themselves, the easier it is on you - both emotionally and physically. These early battles and victories with memory are certainly important but when you consider the nightmare of losing your muscle memory or simply brain function that results in not being able to swallow and losing control of bowel and bladder function puts that all to shame in the difficulty department. She may never get so that she remembers how many children her first grandson now has or be able to recognize my youngest brother's picture on the computer but if I can keep her 'healthy', I've made both our lives immensely easier.

I think carbs/sugar are the brain's biggest enemy that we know of. Many forms of dementia are probably due to the brain being unable to regulate glucose within it, it tangles with proteins and form those plaques.

There may be other things too, but I have a big suspicion that what we call Alz. is the Type 3 diabetes that we've seen posted here time and again.

Nice to meet you, Tandy (hmmm... my best friend in first and second grade was named Tandy and her last name started with an "M" too.)
Your results with CO are interesting. I hadn't been taking it much but your post and a blog I read last night has me planning on making some fat bombs and going back to my CO cocoa. I have been having that thing with the words not coming, off and on for a while now. I would say it's been about four years. I will be paying attention to see if it gets better. As for the absent mindedness, I have just always thought it was my way. It runs in my family, actually.

I think so, too. Nancy. I also recently realized that Mother doesn't seem to crave sugar as she did before. That's a blessing.

Ann, Are you doing anything for yourself to get some rest? I can't even imagine how it must be wearing you out.
Have you thought about an adult day care type of place that she can go to for a few hours to give you some time? If she has Medicare, it might pay for that. I went to Louisiana last year and they actually have adult day care places everywhere, unlike here. But I know that they must exist here in Texas, it's just finding one that you trust. Maybe it would be good for her if they have activities like crafts etc..
It sounds like you are doing everything you can for your mom but it must be very hard on you too.
Is your mom going on the cruise with you too?

Gee, I shouldn't disabuse all of you nice people of your rosy and admiring view of my efforts. It's no big deal. I cook for me and she eats what I eat. It's actually easier this way. I don't drink coffee, but the coffee she drinks is an instant that I used to sell as an MLM business, that has freeze dried reishi mushroom added to it. It's very healthy and low acid. I just add Co, D3 drops, cream and stevia. She is pretty sedentary. She dresses herself and looks after her own hygiene. It's ridiculously easy to care for her.
To top it off, my sister, Gail lives here as well, and is completely on board with everything I do for her. We don't even have to confer on what she can and can't have. It will be easier still, when Gail's house gets delivered in a couple of weeks. She'll be on the property but we won't be four adults in the house anymore. I figure a walkie talkie will be the final piece in the make-life-easy puzzle. My 23 y/o son came over this morning so could go for a massage today, even though Gail is in Austin for a week, helping her daughter-in-law while my nephew is out of town. She is probably about 8 weeks pregnant and suffers crippling fatigue and morning sickness so Gail is minding her two boys, who are 4 and 2.
Once a month, I take Mother to an activity day at the local Methodist church where the most lovely volunteers in the world engage them in light exercise, musical interactive entertainment and a craft project. Meanwhile, we family members gather for a meeting of the minds regarding how to deal with our loved ones with AD. The most I get out of these meetings is the knowledge that I am beyond lucky, by comparison. After the meeting, they serve a marvelous lunch, but I usually have a lunch I've made and brought for her. We share their salad or some vegetable dish and if there is dessert, there is almost always some modification that makes it suitable for her. They do often also serve sf pies and we eat the filling out of them. Then they finish off with musical bingo or a performance by a singing group or the like. It's free, but of course, we donate. On other days, she can go to a local city program for seniors if I have something to do and Gail is working or gone. It is only $25.00/year. We often limit it to Thursday because it tends to be kind of boring because she can't really join in on Bunko and the other activities. They serve a lunch for the rock bottom price of $1.00/day but it's not on plan so if she's there, I send something. On Thursday afternoons, they have karaoke and Mother still has a lovely singing voice.
I have to laugh at the idea that she would go with us on the cruise. I couldn't drag her on a ship that travels out of sight of land. Gail will be back here by then and she will just take over.

So, the only hardship, really, is the speed she moves with her walker when we go out together and the pain of her cognition and loss of memory. She makes life awkward in social situations because the only conversation she can really manage is to tell one of the several stories about her life that she can remember. The family and our church members are very nice about it but it gets really, really old. She's just your typical elderly lady who moves slowly and repeats herself. Really nothing to complain about and I hope I didn't sound like I was complaining. I didn't mean to.
Still thanks for all the kind words and interest from all of you. It's one thing I really love about this forum.

Ann you definitely don't seem to be complaining. I just know that it taxing taking care of someone who is elderly. I remember my mother taking care of her mother and later my father and it isn't that it is so demanding but that it is nonstop.
I see that you have a good support system and it sounds like you've got plenty of things going on for her.
I am happy for you going on your cruise and I know that it sounds funny that I asked if your mom was going but I didn't know. Heck, my grandmother went on trips with us when I was a kid and she was in her 80s and walked with a cane.

Yes, we do travel together to see family and such. But a cruise, no way. I just thought the idea was funny as it hadn't occurred to me.