I am kind of a big fan of Seth Rogen's and have laughed long and hard at many of his movies.
However I was struck by how seriously he takes this topic.
As do I as I myself am a prime candidate for Alzheimer's and worry about it with some regularity.
I had my IQ tested when I was a young man and the number was rather embarrassingly high, however my ability to utilize it to do classwork or problem solve is greatly undermined by my terrible memory. Even as a young man I often dropped names, forgot dates, and had trouble remembering the sequence of events. Of course that has only grown worse with the passage of time.
So someday I may well benefit from the research done today concerning Alzheimer's disease and applaud Seth Rogen's commitment to the cause.
The scary part......unaware of it.......my stepfather would remark when we came to visit him..."wonderful you could come down all this way and visit"......after we moved him back to Michigan from Florida......
ReplyDeleteLive well today, Gryphen. Tomorrow may not come for any of us and if it does, it may be wonderful or terrible. So, don't lose sleep over what may or may not happen...
ReplyDeleteit all comes as it must, whether we worry about it or not.
But you know that.
Have a great day! You are doing important work, no matter for how long or short a time you decide to do this.
I am a huge Seth fan....that laugh gets me every time. I too am very familiar with this disease. I was the primary caregiver to my mom for 3 years and the stress destroyed my health. I watched the country go down the shitter while I was changing diapers, that didn't help either. Words can never describe what it is like to watch a healthy, active, vital woman at 75 (with a younger boyfriend) slide into this world of nothing. Bill Nye says it better than anyone....this country has to start investing again in research of all kinds, esp medicine.
ReplyDeleteI know several elderly people, the parents of friends, who’ve been told they have early dementia. In one case that’s undoubtedly true, but I question the others. One couple stormed out of the Mayo clinic because the young doctor was so rude to the wife. I think there’s a tendency to slap that label on anyone, when in reality the young doctors just don’t want to be bothered with old folks. One doctor told an older friend that her hands were ugly; fortunately she had the wit to take him down.
ReplyDeleteSome older people abuse Medicare, my father-in-law certainly did, and I can see the young doctors being sick of us, but beware of accepting that label too early. You won’t be taken seriously afterward.
O/T
ReplyDeleteI'm no media critic and I'm late to this binge-watching thing, but I was turned on to House of Cards a couple of months ago, so I was seriously looking forward to Season 2, which was released a couple of weeks ago. I watched all 13 new episodes of Season 2 this past weekend. Pretty damn good. I'm hooked now.
Orange is the New Black
I'm on Episode 6 of 13 of Season 1. Great series, and I plan to get the book this weekend to read as soon I finish Gabe Sherman's Loudest Voice in the Room about our pal, Roger Ailes.
I got rid of all my premium channels a few years ago after HBO waffled over and then dropped Deadwood, which was one of the best TV series ever in that genre, IMO. Then three years ago, I pulled the plug on TV altogether, other than as a monitor for movies from time to time.
But with Netflix's library expanding, and my having totally ignored TV for the past 7 or 8 years in favor of online news and (limited) entertainment, this Netflix streaming service for only 8 bucks a month for two devices is a no-brainer.
Related articles in the past day or so:
http://m.redandblack.com/uganews/campus/orange-is-the-new-black-actress-shares-life-story-as/article_00870c50-9f4c-11e3-a24b-0017a43b2370.html?mode=jqm
http://www.nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/the-woman-who-lived-orange-is-the-new-black-warns-congress-about-solitary-confinement-20140225
Sidenote, but im really happy Bristol found happiness and a good man for her. And they make a super cute family, as in his collage on insta.
ReplyDeleteThis thread is about Alzheimer's, not about your mental health problems.
Deleteyawn
DeleteHow many guys is it now that Bristol has fornicated with so far that she trained Tripp to call them "daddy"? I lost count.
DeleteWe all know Bristol is saving herself for marriage. It must be really tough for a 32-year-old man to be in a sexless relationship. I'm guessing he masturbates an awful lot.
DeleteAnonymous8:13 AM
DeleteHey y'all...please ignore Sunny's stalker! Since the stalker got a visit from the po po about stalking Sunny's FB page she's now stalking Instagram!
Poor thing left all kinds of droppings on SPHASH's blog including this picture of Baldy wearing a weasel on her head posing with some silly girl (check out her saying she doesn't follow politics or VOTE)!
Link.....http://instagram.com/p/k0sN86iWBX/
Pardon me for the take on the Junker insta thang, lower on this thread. Alzheimer is something that is important to discuss and it effects us all one way or another. I agree about Rogen and deeply appreciate his dedication and activism.
DeleteI have one parent who passed away before we knew for certain if it was Alzheimer or another form of dementia. My other parent lived to be their nineties and remained sharp as a tack until a stroke at the end. They still had an amazing memory after that, but not the same. I also live with wondering about myself almost each day. Everyone is so reassuring it is just the normal things we all go through. I use many 'tricks' to remember things. It does help for now.
8:13am
DeleteAwww, hopefully this trial daddy is a keeper and Bristol can find the same happiness and contentment as Levi and Sunny have.
Good for Bristol! Yeah, she found a collage guy! When's the wedding and what state is "insta" in? (I was never good at geology)
DeleteI turned 45 this year and went in for my annual physical. I'm on medication for minor/moderate hypothyroidism, so I've dealt with a cloudy brain from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned to my doctor that I'm having recall problems every now and then. For example, when I absolutely, cannot remember someone's name or that last item on my grocery list. She told me the number one complaint for people my age was memory lapses.
It made me feel better and worse ("my age") at the same time.
Two words: pregnancy brain. To be followed up by post-partum brain. Evil, evil hormones...
DeleteThis is 8:21 again. I had pregnancy brain and post-partum brain twice with very little time in between to recover. Now, apparently, on top of hypothyroid brain and middle age brain, I also have perimenopausal brain.
DeleteThis discussion made me think about trying Lumosity.com. I went and selected my problem areas and they provided me with a free test, which was really fun and enlightening. Their base rate is only around $70/year and I'm seriously considering it. It was really fun and personalized . You guys should give it a try (not a paid advertisement, by the way, this post just made me realize that I wanted to try it)
DeleteI love those brain type websites. I do logic problems every morning to help in focusing and also there are many free brain-training websites out there that are fun too.
DeleteI used to be my school district's number one spelling bee contestant. In my 60's I'm not mispelling words! I don't think I have alz - I think a lot of it is due to simply NOT focusing & thinking of too many things at once. That's why you forgot where you put your car keys! Be Here Now. . .
Your brain absolutely can be trained & re-trained. It's like a tape recorder..... what ever tapes you decide to play ...that's where your mind is. Want to change it? Change the damn tape! It's hard to do at first so you have to keep reminding yourself...with practice it gets easier.
I'm 45 and in college, learning is not a problem for me, I just have bad memory. I will definitely try Luminosity, thanks for the tip!
DeleteSo many things effect the brain. After going through chemotherapy and radiation twice, I lost a lot of my long term memory, had/have problems with dates, times, etc. They called it Chemo brain. Some, the fog lifts, others are stuck with it.
DeleteBut it pales in comparison to Alzheimer's Disease. It's a slow/fast deterioration of brain tissue and once it's gone, it's gone. Hopefully they can slow down the effects or find a way to make it somehow manageable (like HBP or Diabetes). Or eradicate it altogether.
I loved Seth Rogen in 50/50. I think that's the only thing I've ever seen him in (he plays the best friend of a cancer patient). I applaud him for speaking out for this important cause and thank you for posting this video, Gryphen.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI am in the same boat as you are, Gryphen - high IQ with the same memory issues. Quite embarrassing when I don't remember names or dates, or what someone wore... :/
ReplyDeleteI guess, we will hold each others' hands once we are at that door of Alzheimers...
There are LOTS of tricks to help cement info into your memory banks. Do some research! I still remember a phrase from a party game over 30 years ago because I linked the words to a ridiculous image. It can be done!
DeleteMy memory, like yours, is odd. I have no trouble remembering things like the speed of light is 186, 282.4 miles per second, which is about 7 times around the Earth. A nanosecond is a billionth of a second - how small is a nanosecond? Well, light travels about a foot in 1 nanosecond.
ReplyDeleteI can remember everything a person says to me, verbatim, but I can't remember their faces or names.
I know the atomic clock is accurate to 1 second per 30 centuries and uses the vibrations of subatomic particles within the cesium atom to maintain perfect regularity. Every second it makes 9,192,631,770 oscillations. But I have trouble remembering my phone number and age.
I remember Valentine's Day because the birthday of the first girl I ever kissed was Feb. 13, one day before. But I often forget the current month, day of the week, and date
Maybe I was born with mild Alzheimer's?
Since we are all sharing anecdotes I will admit that for me the worse thing is having a word that I want to use, that I can't quite summon up, and being completely derailed by that, and unable to move forward until I figure it out.
ReplyDeleteWhile typing it is not SO bad because I can use Google or a thesaurus, but in an actual conversation it makes me sound like a babbling moron.
Perhaps the most humorous example happened way back when I was 18.
I was at a party talking to a girl I just met and when my very best friend walked up I completely blanked on his name. Completely.
I ended up introducing him as my mechanic.
hahaha I did something similar in high school. I was babysitting a teacher's son and we were in the park. A parent stood next to me as I was coaxing the boy down the slide because her daughter was next in line.
DeleteParent: "he's such a hoot. What's his name?"
Me: "aw thanks, I love him. He's one of my favorite kiddos to watch. His name is _______insert wickedly long pause_____"
NEVER felt so stupid.
When I was eighteen and in my own apartment, I suddenly realized I was in the bedroom holding the dish rack and a dish towel. I couldn’t remember getting there. So I made a mental note, to my future self, that I’ve always been this way and not to worry about it.
DeleteI have the same "can't find the word" problem, but mine is made more comical by the fact that at the same time, I can picture in my mind the exact image of whatever it is I want to describe.
DeleteMy finest moment (to my kids): "We can go rent videos in an hour. Right now I have to go do the thing where you stand there naked and water falls on your head."
If you guessed "shower", ding ding ding!
Had to laugh because I do the same thing too. I've had a problem with "spoonerisms" my entire life as well saying thins for example like "Let me sew you to your sheet" instead of "Let me show you to your seat". I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time until someone is laughing at me & they point it out. Must be the way my brain is wired?
DeleteI remember one incident with my uncle. I used to drop in at lunch, make sure he had something to eat, was clean, and didn't have Fox News on. Anyway, I left my keys on the table, and when I knocked on the door he yelled "Go Away! I don't open the door to Strangers!".
DeleteAfter what seemed like an eternity, something "clicked" and I remembered a spare key to his house under the porch deck.
I know it's easy to say, but try to keep positive! A good attitude goes a long way.
I recommend taking the following two supplements: Curcumin/turmeric and Grape Seed Extract. Both are anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. http://www.pkdiet.com/pages/herbs/food/grapeseedextract.htm
ReplyDeleteand also read the book, "The queen of Fats" by Susan Allport.
I can quote Shakespeare flawlessly, and remember definitions for obscure words, yet cannot remember if I closed the garage or not and can never find my car in a parking lot.
DeleteGryphen, as long as you remember what the car is FOR -- and what the garage is for -- you're OK!
DeleteHaving worked in an assisted living facility that also had a dedicated dementia unit, there is a huge, huge difference between the causes of normal elderly memory loss, dementia & Alzheimer's.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has "senior moments." My personal opinion is that these start in high school. These brain farts are usually due to lack of attention rather than true memory loss. You were either distracted or just didn't care when the initial data was being processed & stored. In fact, there is some recent evidence that suggests we forget things as we get older because our brains, in essence, gets full & we run out of storage space. All the more reason to exercise our brains to maximize capacity.
Dementia can be caused by a number of factors including hardening of the arteries and over-medication. One of the most common causes in the elderly is urinary tract infections. When one of our non-dementia residents started presenting sudden dementia or aggressive behaviours, the first thing checked was a urine sample. A few days worth of antibiotics usually returned the resident to their normal state.
Alzheimer's is caused by a build up of a type of protein plaques in the brain. One reason it's becoming more prevalent is because people are living longer, thus increasing the chances of being stricken. Howver, it is NOT a normal part of aging, and you don't have to be old to develop the disease.
In fact, early onset Alzheimer's can be the most devasting. While elderly patients can take years to manifest the end stage symptoms, early onset (under age 65) patients rarely live more than 5 years beyond diagnosis. This is especially tragic when the patient is in their 40s or 50s, and still actively engaged in work & family responsibilities.
Alzheimer's still can't be completely confirmed until the brain is autopsied, However, there are definitive stages that suggest Alzheimer's is the probable diagnosis.
Just remember that it's perfectly normal to forget WHERE your keys are; the problem is when you don't remember WHAT keys are for.
S..........
DeleteBest comment on this thread.
Thanks for your post as it made me feel better. I just don't want to end up like my grandma at 94 who disappeared from the house one day and we found her two blocks away in the neighbors yard with no pants on. Then before mom died last year she was always putting her Depends on the OUTSIDE of her clothes. I think I'd rather die suddenly!
DeleteActually, your brain really can't "get full". We only use a small portion of our brain and it has been proven through research that people who have had brain injuries often will utilize other parts of their brains to relearn things.
DeleteAs for Alzheimer's disease; yes, anti-oxidant loaded foods such as blueberries and leafy green veggies - organic please, will help reduce and repair brain issues. Also much study has been done in regards to learning a new language to help "exercise" the brain and has been shown to help prevent such mental health issues. And my final preventative thought is that you should stop using any deodorants that use aluminum chloride or any other such products, it has been directly linked with Alzheimer's. And play a lot of brain games like "Jeopardy" to keep your brain exercised.
"Michelle Reynolds Hey Bristol, you may not remember me, but you helped the doc with my son Trevor a few months back. You were so kind and gentle, I'm sure you are a great mother. Soon enough you will have your chance for more children."
ReplyDeleteMichelle, are you going to be a character witness at Tripp's custody trial and you are rehearsing here? Make a mental note you are on the wrong blog.
DeleteAlso, too 8:13. Junker's photos for the most part are just recycled stuff that Bristol has posted earlier. And a few more showing some of that tongue action that licks those selfies good. Bristol should be there for her injured sledder and she could lick Junker's injured leg and make it well.
Anonymous8:35 AM
Delete"Soon enough you will have your chance for more children."
THIS.....THIS right here tells us that Beefy is FINALLY ready to reveal ALL those chilliuns she's been hiding since 2006!
Thanks Michelle! LOL!!!
Thanks Michelle, we were all wondering if Bristol was knocked up again. I'm sure Bristol will thank you for letting the cat out of the bag :-)
DeleteSaw this in a link somewhere else.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/102454953@N05/12798522873/
Anonymous8:40 AM
DeleteThis is the same shit you posted YESTERDAY on SPHASH's blog!
You are still crazy and now it looks like you're getting crazier! Good luck with that! LOL!!!
Umm where is that child's car seat? Love how laws are for everyone except the Palin's!
DeleteWhy would anyone show anymore pictures or video of any Palin child being used, mistreated or abused again?
DeleteWhen Tripp is not with his father does that child ever have any normal and healthy attention paid to him? Bristol thinks that any playing, scaring, tricking a child is cute and funny. Sometimes it is just a cover up for not knowing how to relate well to a child. And who are these random men? There were times when Gino seemed to do well with Tripp. Other times I thought he should have been toss out. Poor little Tripp is an experiment for his mother to set up these scenes that are to look like he is having fun with some no ID available weirdo. That Joey character comes off as a psycho. I guess the poor kid is getting use to that and it will be what he knows. So far it does not look good or right. Are Palin stalkers doing that. If Bristol is smart she will make certain it stops ASAP. Bristol has more bad film available than anyone else. If there is anyway she can stop a stalker like that she needs to do it now. Her time is running out.
Thanks for the laugh, Anon 12:03 "If Bristol is smart" I laughed so hard I have tears in my eyes.
DeleteShe named her child after Dad's sTRIPPer.!! Mensa on line two for Bristol!
I went to a concert with some friends back in the 70's and when it came time to make introductions, I could not remember my date's name. Very akward for both of us and she practically jumped out of the car at the end of the night.
ReplyDeleteBut now, 40 years later... BETH
when it came time to make introductions, I could not remember my date's name
DeleteFrank Gilbreth, Jr. in his book I'm a Lucky Guy told about Ben, who lived in the same college rooming house, was popular with women, but had that same problem. Thanks to Google, I've found Gilbreth's exact words describing how Ben handled it: "I forget her name, but look at her. Isn't she cute, though?"
Gryphen:
ReplyDeleteI have to check the stove top, twice, to make sure it is turned off before I leave home. The oven, that SOB, is sneaky and must also be doubly-checked, lest your home be burned to the ground.
Shut the car door? By god you best check your pocket for the car key or risk locking yourself out! You must reach in your pocket, seize the key, and make sure it is in your pocket and not in the ignition.
And don't forget to read the label. Buy the whole wheat bread - not the enriched wheat shit.
Gryph, it may ease your mind somewhat if you got a DNA test done. I'm waiting on my results right now. My son got his done at 23andme.com and was able to share screenshots he took of some of his results. I can only look at his complete results on the website once my full profile DNA is analyzed. So far I can see he 9.1% British/Irish, 8.1% French/German, 44% non-specific Northern European etc. etc. etc. and includes 0.2% West African. Anyway it's all broken down. At 23andMe, they used to be able to give you the percentages from your DNA medical pre-dispositions but were legally stopped from doing so for the time being. The reasoning was something like if women see that they have ?% chance of breast cancer, they might go around and start having their breasts chopped off. However, son paid only five dollars and got medical results of his DNA from (I believe it was) Harvard which showed the percentage chances of prostate cancer, so on and so on.
ReplyDeleteThe other neat thing is that you can choose to share your DNA results with other users who have had theirs done (it's completely anonymous & as private as you choose) and another person contacted him because it was shown that they had close matching DNA and that it was a 2nd cousin. He called me & asked if I knew who this lady was - gave me her name- turns out sure enough she is my first cousin I've known since childhood.
The website is interactively on-going and extensive in regards to what all you can learn about yourself scientifically and son was so excited about it he bought me the DNA kit as a gift. They send you a pre-packed packet and it's as simple as spitting into a tube closing it, and once you close it ready to stick in the mailbox with no fuss.
These aren't some kind of cracker-jack results. The more you learn, the more son has found himself having to look up advanced scientific terms in regards to DNA.
The ancestry composition tells you what percent of DNA comes from each of 31 populations worldwide and analysis includes DNA you received from all your ancestors, on both sides of your family reflecting where you ancestors lived 500 years ago, before ocean-crossing ships and airplanes came on the scene.
Anyway, can't wait to get mine & then have it medically analyzed too!
I had the 23andme test done about a year ago (before the FDA thing), specifically because I was worried about Alzheimer's. None in my family, but it's just the worst thing I can imagine happening---even with cancer's horror, you're still basically yourself.
DeleteFortunately, my DNA showed less than half the average risk for Alzheimer's. Thank the universe, what a relief.
Speaking of A-word, how is Chuck Heath Sr?
ReplyDeleteOT but A-like
It looks like Junker has finally been given the go ahead by his snow business pimp and buddy, Todd Palin, to promote Junker's "little family" and announce they will be together in a few more weeks. Did Bristol's PR llc hire him for promotion work? It seems that the attorney for Tripp's custody matters finally got through to Bristol to return Tripp to Alaska.
She, of course, will say she is a skin school honor graduate and can return Tripp to Alaska now. Maybe they will pull out a marriage certificate to make the Disneyland shack up look better?
Bristol will go immediately to work. there is a beauty shop across the street from Grandma and it is alleged Willow washes hair. The dermatologist office is always glad to have her! She won't have much time to help Junker's foot heal but it will make for some great domestic photo ops.
http://web.stagram.com/p/664721760788152052_51089094
Joey Junker is into the same style of crappy posed photos. Nothing convincing they have much of a relationship beyond what was set up for them with sex benefits. He looks like another Palin prop or model for bad photography and brand PR.
http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/846/8157/original.jpg
Perhaps one day the Junker and the Barstool can be as happy as Levi and Sunny.
DeleteGryphen,
ReplyDeleteThought I had Alzheimer's............turned out it was my thyroid. Maybe you should get tested!
Old age - forgetting where you left your car keys.
ReplyDeleteAZ - forgetting what your car keys are for.
That's both funny and sad.
DeleteWhat a great man, good husband, son in law and comedian. His passion shows how genuinely he feels about this horrible disease. His charity is doing the work of educating people and getting the conversation started. The stigma should be removed and we need desperately to fund research and restore dignity to those effected and their loved ones.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I was and am for the ACA. We need to find a way to provide help for working families dealing with illnesses like this one.
Some of these anecdotes may indicate very mild learning disabilities.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother said occasionally I have a tendency to reverse numbers. I've caught it a few times when I'm writing checks (which I rarely do any more).
A lot more of the population have very mild learning disabilities than we know, simply because people tend to create their own work arounds and schools don't test for learning disabilities unless they are severe enough to interfere with learning.