Thought we might get a single area for things that help.

PIRACETAM

Vitamin D

Lemon Balm - anxiety

Hops - anxiety

Massage

sauna

yoga

meditation

animal connections

the TREE EFFECT

have to get going today but if you have used non allopathic or pill based therapies that helped your cognition or life quality please add them here.

This is just a starter post, will add links later

add your knowledge here!

love and courage

Aroma therapy: 

Bay Laurel  

Cinnamon Leaf  

Orange Sweet Organic  

Oregano, Turkish  

Peppermint Organic  

Rosemary  

Sage, Blue   

Thyme, Linalol  

Supplements: 

Glucosamine, Chondroitin & MSM              

Ginko Biloba Extract                                        

Resveratrol                                                         

AjiPure N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine                         

B-12                                                                    

Vitamin D3                                                         

E                                                                           

Salmon Oil                                                         

CoQ-10                                                               

C w/Rose Hips                                                    

Full Spectrum Wild Berry Complex                              

Fistin                                                          

Seniors Multi Vitamin  

Meditation 

Exercise 

Spending time with friends  

Advocating for a cure 

Peting my dog Joe Cocker 

PositScience 

Reading the boards to learn what to do.

Receiving support from fellow members. 

Avoiding stress.

Iris L. 

Someone recently told me about coconut (not exactly sure what form it's in).

Plenty of water

Yogurt

Choose friends wisely

Breaking down tasks or problems

Exercise - perhaps if we include MOVEMENT on any level. When I first thought of "exercise" I thought the health club down the street, but because of my spine I can not do weights.

So exercise as in:

swimming

dance

yard work

even

laundry - folding

bed making

car wash

sweeping

window wash

vacuum

dance

play with dog

walking in store

movement with PLEASURE has a better effect.

I got o SILVER SNEAKERS twice a week, an exercise class for those over 50 which is set to music and some of it I treat as dance.

also adding

INFRARED SAUNA

After my diagnosis in 2006, I started researching on how I could help myself.  I found lots of information on vitamins that were said to help with brain health. (post was edited by the ALZconnected Moderator).

I think the best supplement is Cerefolin NAC.  It is a brain food supplement.  I find it helps me a great deal along with vitamins, alz meds, good nutrition and exercise both mental and physical.

Being social helps too.  This is a little harder for me but I continue to try.

Went to a Beatles Tribute Concert here in New Orleans and had a ball. Great vibes!  Lots of Love!

Peace and Hope,

Lisa

What fun, Lisa! Did they sound like the real Beatles? 

On the Clinical Trial Board, I posted an article by researchers whom found taking Vitamin B had no effect on preventing, slowing down or stopping dementia:

"Taking B vitamins doesn't slow mental decline as we age, nor is it likely to prevent Alzheimer's disease, conclude researchers who have assembled all the best clinical trial data involving 22,000 people to offer a final answer on this debate. When looking at measures of global cognitive function -- or scores for specific mental processes such as memory, speed or executive function -- there was no difference between those on B vitamins and those receiving placebo to a high degree of accuracy."

I wonder how they factored out the effects of beri-beri, due to deficiency of thiamine, and the effects of pernicious anemia, due to deficiency of vitamin B12, in causing dementia and cognitive changes. When I was a medical student,  I personally observed an elderly woman with severe dementia improve remarkably overnight when given intramuscular vitamin B12.  

I take a Stress B-Complex every day which includes: 

vit C  500mg 

vit E    30 iu

thiamine 10mg

riboflavin 10mg

niacin 100mg

vitamin B6  5mg

folic acid 400mcg

vitamin B12  12mcg

biotin 45mcg

pantothenic acid 20mg

zinc  23.9mg

copper  3mg

Iris L.

Myriam,

The Beatles Tribute concert was at the House of Blues in New Orleans.  It was great!

Several local bands and musicians played Beatles' music and they sounded fantastic.

There are several large TV screens showing Beatles' footage throughout the years.  We all sang out loud and had a ball!!

Peace and Hope,

Lisa

Exercise, exercise, exercise.

Medical marijuana for agitation (as needed)

Does anyone use OTC human growth hormone (HGH)????

Note date if august 10 2014. I don't remember starting this topic!

Interesting supplements, the brain food and some others. I do take sublingual B12 complex once a week, it may be placebo but if it causes the effect of some type of energy balance which it does for me then no harm done?

JOE COCKER the dog! Brilliant. Wish I could see everyone's pets!

Massage helps me remember I am still in here.

How am I posting here now? I mean t to reply to another topic. At the same time I feel incredibly clear, as if I am really on top of things. Hmnnn. OH! The topic was from iris - being corrected about appearance or other...

wow.

love and courage!

Mary McK

Id really like to learn more about the vitamin research you have compiled posted on your website; unfortunately, the address of your web page takes me to a page that says "you have tried to view a page that doesn't exist" I'm just checking to see if I'm doing something wrong? I copied and paste the address into my web browser, no luck; then, I highlighted address, and right clicked on "go to http://.jim-mary.com/4636223 still get the page saying it doesn't exist.  Thank you in advance for any insight you can share...

This scammer post was not seen by admin; so when this happens and you have a suspicion, please report it.

I will call it in this morning.

Thank you.

Thanks for keeping our boards safe and scam free. I know I'm pretty vulnerable to things so it is good to know folks are watching our boards to keep us safe.

You all are our hero's!

God bless, Paul

Macy Rose on the Caregiver board posted about her dad's response to pomegranate juice after post anesthesia delirium.    Pomegranate juice is a strong anti-oxidant, and we need anti-oxidants.    

If you drink this juice, make sure you get 100% pure pomegranate juice and not a blend.  I used to drink pomegranate juice daily until I became a diabetic.  The endocrinologist told me to limit juices, along with desserts and sodas.   

from MacyRose' post (http://www.alzconnected.org/discussion.aspx?tid=2147507611&g=posts&page=-1&t=2147511164#ekbottomfooter):  

My father had post anesthesia delirium following colon cancer surgery.  He rebounded but is not mentally where he was prior to the surgery.   

.............. 

We did find that having dad drink pomegranate juice helped with the delirium - 3 times a day we had him drink this along with extra water.  You can find this in most grocery stores under the name "Pom"  Also, we had him drink a lot more water than normal to try to wash the drugs out of his system.   

 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/932401/  

So, we saw improvement and not a downward spiral.  Then he stabilized to his new normal and has remained at that baseline ever since - it's been a year. 

 Research Article  

Pomegranate Supplementation Protects against Memory Dysfunction after Heart Surgery: A Pilot Study

Hey from Georgia 

I have started using DAILY BIO BASICS from Life Plus. I can not tell if they are helping memory but they sure are attacking arthritis pain which does allow me to focus more.  

None of the 4 Dementia drugs were for me either due to price or side effects.  

I did try and held out hope for each drug.  

I even tried HUP A and my goodness I was awake 24 hours that is not good for a full time caregiver to a son with severe disabilities.  

what is HUP A ?

I looked up Cerefolin NAC - a prescription food supplement.

 HMN. I like lemon balm more and more. would like to be off the Ativan but still use it as a stabilizing agent.

 Can't recall - oh yes! PROBIOTICS. I reordered and they do help me a lot.

 Also remember nurse telling me if you take Aricept you need to really increase water intake to prevent some side effects! That info was over a year ago and it just came back.

 Why aren't we given oxytocin? Isn't that our bodies own love drug?

 Stimulate our own body's arsenal of perfect compounds to calm and heal by lots of affection. Exercise does help normalize moods and can stop crying.

HUP A is Huperzine A. It is an alkaloid extract from Chinese club moss called Huperzia serrata. It is known to be a memory enhancer.

Here's a research paper on it - Not posting it as it is too long.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3781107/

At some stage we thought of using it on my mom, but decided not to. Most side effects seen are nausea and vomiting.

 My first time on these boards. Very glad to see there is a board for alternative medicine and supplements.

The best hope I've seen is a UCLA study, Reversal of cognitive decline - A novel therapeutic program (100690). It's all about nutrition and metabolism.

See:

http://impactaging.com/papers/v6/n9/full/100690

 Welcome to the Alz Message Board!  

 THANK YOU for sharing the link.  We all need all the help we can get.    
  

The Therapeutic System 1.0 (table) in the study is superb. 

It shows exactly what supplements/therapies have been used for targetted goals/conditions.  

Great for further research if anyone is interested before trying.   

We have often wondered if we could use Bacopa Monnieri (BM) and Magnesium Threonate for cognitive enhancement. Eventually, we decided to add BM as it seems to have minimal side effects. The table showed the use of both which is interesting.  

Welcome to our online support group, Christy.  I haven't read the UCLA Reversal of Cognitive Decline paper.  Does it follow our Best Practices? 

Music is a valuable part of our therapy.  How have you found playing music to benefit you?  Can you share some tips for us?   

I never learned to play the piano.  Should I try to learn on an 88 key piano or on a smaller keyboard?  Actually, I would like to learn to play the electric organ. 

Iris L. 

If you go with electronic use an 88 key with balanced/pressure sensitive keys. However, a good-sized acoustic piano in decent condition is best (for aesthetic and sensory/kinesthetic reasons).

(But I'm very biased cuz I teach piano and receive great pleasure playing my acoustic grand; nothing like feeling and being surrounded by the genuine vibes.

When I have to down-size, I plan to go with a good quality electronic balanced-key instrument. You can also put headphones on and not disturb any neighbors.

Christy, please let us know how you do with the riding!  Riding has been therapeutic for people with other illnesses, why not dementia?  I used to ride, about 30 years ago.  I wish I could ride again.

Storycrafter, I like the idea of using headphones.  I'll look into the good quality electronic balanced-key instrument.  My 88 yo cousin moved her grand piano from her home to her retirement community, but that won't be me.  My question is, are the smaller keyboards okay?  I don't think I can manage 88 keys.

Iris L.