Sweet “16″ Rolls Around Again!

And they say Sweet 16 never comes around again! Well, someone is wrong. Today marks the beginning of a wonderful Happy New Year for me!

Just returned from Pittsburgh after seeing my neurologist for a regular checkup. He said, “You’re doing very well. It goes to show just how well the Aricept and Namenda works for people.” He was very pleased. And, surprise, surprise. I get to drive again but only with an “autopilot” on board. That’s fine with me. Just to feel 16, independent and to be able to get behind that wheel again. How do I describe it??!!

Other than sleeping difficulties, he sees a marked improvement since adding the Namenda to Aricept. I’ll continue the Klonopin for the REM sleep behavior disorder. For sleep he’s adding a small dose of trazodone. Thank gosh I don’t have to take Seroquel at this point. Will start the trazodone at 50-mg at bedtime and can increase it to 150-mg if necessary.

I’m not surprised with the trazodone. It’s a standard non-habit  agent for sleep. It is actually an antidepressant but the doses need to achieve an antidepressant effect are so high that the patient would be sleepy all the time. So, in essence, it is pretty much used now as an adjunct sleeper when trying to avoid drugs which produce tolerance. I feel comfortable with this since it’s something which I’ve prescribed over the years to hundreds of patients.

Oh, by the way. He truly thinks the Lewy Body Dementia Association is phenomenal!

Fact or Fiction?

In the 1960s, dung beetles were imported into Australia to reduce the number of cow dung pads.

Warmly………….David Thomas

(True. Their digging activity aerates the soil, sumultaneously releasing the nutrients in the dung to the soil).