My year

[trog]

There was a major upheaval for me this year, with a move from the UK back home to Australia, to look after my aging mother. She has dementia, and I knew it would be difficult. It's horrible to see; she constantly forgets simple things such as how to switch the TV on. It is quite wearing showing her 4 or 5 times a day. I also have to be a mind reader. She will ask "What do I want?" or "Where is the thing?" Lots of deep breaths and counting to 10 helps. Her mother lived to be 100; mother is 86. Her mother had dementia for the last years of her life. I missed most of it, but she was happy in her own little world, where as my mother complains about everything. Contrast this, with her mother's sister who is 101 and still bright as a button. Sadly she is in a home and they won't let her out to go to the shops. I'm not after sympathy in mentioning all this.

Being back home, I am very much enjoying the sun. Living in the UK, I often felt I suffered a lack of vitamin D. No chance of that here!

Of course, a new country meant a new gym. I'm used to training in dungeons, with simple machines and (largely) bare steel weights. I couldn't find one here, so I am in a gym which is very posh. It's huge. I reckon there are 500 machines in there, some of which I have no idea what they do. Luckily, it has lots of squat racks, so I can stick to my pull ups and dips. It also has a Pilates studio with video classes, lots of punch bags, a boxing ring and half a basketball court. Most gyms in Australia seem to be 24/7. This one is unusual in that it is staffed 24/7 too. I haven't been at 3:00am yet; maybe one day. They sell frozen meals too and provide microwaves to heat your food. Here is the website www.derrimut247.com.au/

I thought the upheaval of the move would badly affect my workouts. I didn't train for 6 weeks. When I started again, I wondered how long it would take to get my strength back. Pull ups are back, but I am struggling with overhead press. Still onwards and upwards.

My gauge of how everything is going is the number of pull ups for the year.  Year, number of pull ups, number of workouts

2023	5152	176
2022	4994	185
2021	4205	178
2020	6790	200

Looks like I am doing OK.

Happy New Year to one and all and may all your lifts be huge!

[moxohol]

Dec 30, 2023 2:36:42 GMT trog said:

There was a major upheaval for me this year, with a move from the UK back home to Australia, to look after my aging mother. She has dementia, and I knew it would be difficult. It's horrible to see; she constantly forgets simple things such as how to switch the TV on. It is quite wearing showing her 4 or 5 times a day. I also have to be a mind reader. She will ask "What do I want?" or "Where is the thing?" Lots of deep breaths and counting to 10 helps. Her mother lived to be 100; mother is 86. Her mother had dementia for the last years of her life. I missed most of it, but she was happy in her own little world, where as my mother complains about everything. Contrast this, with her mother's sister who is 101 and still bright as a button. Sadly she is in a home and they won't let her out to go to the shops. I'm not after sympathy in mentioning all this.....................................Year, number of pull ups, number of workouts

2023	5152	176
2022	4994	185
2021	4205	178
2020	6790	200

Looks like I am doing OK.

Happy New Year to one and all and may all your lifts be huge!

[Below substance also has high efficacy with Downs Syndrome. Google it]
Experimental drug can reverse age-related cognitive decline within THREE DAYS, new mouse study finds | Daily Mail Online
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9010223/Experimental-drug-reverse-age-related-cognitive-decline-THREE-DAYS-new-mouse-study-finds.html

Isrib Inhibitor – ISRIB treatment corrects spatial memory deficits and improves working memory in aged mice.
isribinhibitor.com/

Nootropics | Isrib shop
www.isrib.shop/
======================
Simpler interventions with reasonably met desired outcomes:

www.perplexity.ai/search/Does-Intermittent-hypoxiahyperoxi-cJvc1m1GReyw409wmWf6QA?s=c

[coconut oil has substantial MCT's & it's that that gives coconut oil it's properties. Google it]

[denis]

Dec 30, 2023 5:42:05 GMT moxohol said:

Dec 30, 2023 2:36:42 GMT trog said:

There was a major upheaval for me this year, with a move from the UK back home to Australia, to look after my aging mother. She has dementia, and I knew it would be difficult. It's horrible to see; she constantly forgets simple things such as how to switch the TV on. It is quite wearing showing her 4 or 5 times a day. I also have to be a mind reader. She will ask "What do I want?" or "Where is the thing?" Lots of deep breaths and counting to 10 helps. Her mother lived to be 100; mother is 86. Her mother had dementia for the last years of her life. I missed most of it, but she was happy in her own little world, where as my mother complains about everything. Contrast this, with her mother's sister who is 101 and still bright as a button. Sadly she is in a home and they won't let her out to go to the shops. I'm not after sympathy in mentioning all this.....................................Year, number of pull ups, number of workouts

2023	5152	176
2022	4994	185
2021	4205	178
2020	6790	200

Looks like I am doing OK.

Happy New Year to one and all and may all your lifts be huge!

[Below substance also has high efficacy with Downs Syndrome. Google it]
Experimental drug can reverse age-related cognitive decline within THREE DAYS, new mouse study finds | Daily Mail Online
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9010223/Experimental-drug-reverse-age-related-cognitive-decline-THREE-DAYS-new-mouse-study-finds.html

Isrib Inhibitor – ISRIB treatment corrects spatial memory deficits and improves working memory in aged mice.
isribinhibitor.com/

Nootropics | Isrib shop
www.isrib.shop/
======================
www.perplexity.ai/search/Does-Intermittent-hypoxiahyperoxi-cJvc1m1GReyw409wmWf6QA?s=c
==================

Some outside scientists remain skeptical. They warn that interfering with vital cellular mechanisms, as ISRIB seems to do, could lead to a host of dangerous side effects. They caution that it will be years, or possibly decades, before it’s ready for testing in humans.
www.statnews.com/2016/09/28/memory-isrib-peter-walter/

[denis]

Dec 30, 2023 6:30:20 GMT moxohol said:

Dec 30, 2023 6:16:13 GMT denis said:

Some outside scientists remain skeptical. They warn that interfering with vital cellular mechanisms, as ISRIB seems to do, could lead to a host of dangerous side effects. They caution that it will be years, or possibly decades, before it’s ready for testing in humans.
www.statnews.com/2016/09/28/memory-isrib-peter-walter/

Everyone has their level of comfort & acceptable risks they are willing to take. That's why I also included lesser & safer options such as MCT oil. What is the informed & assumed risk u are willing to take to affect an outcome? I know I did so after my car accident but I also exercised due diligence too as a responsible adult. I fully expect Trog to do the same. My word is not the last word on anything. I always tell ppl to "google it". The reason being is I have no knowledge of their medical history. Perhaps, there's something in their medical history that precludes the use of a given item.

BTW, I have Irlen Syndrome. So, I always, always, always have to re-edit my posts. Even when I write on my memo app & do a final proof reading check. There's always corrections I have to make but usually within 15 minutes or so after posting.

In Alzheimer’s models, ISRIB generated mixed results. It prevented Aβ-induced cell death (Hosoi et al., 2016) but did not improve cognition in either the APPswe or hAPP-J20 models of AD, and daily dosing led to significant mortality in the former (Briggs et al., 2017; Johnson and Kang, 2016 1). Other researchers reported that ISRIB prevented synaptic loss and memory deficits in an Aβ toxicity model, and restored synaptic function and memory in older APP/PS1 mice (Oliveira et al., 2021).
——-
The ITP is currently testing 2BAct, which has oral bioavailability and reaches the brain, and like ISRIB is an eIF2B activator, although it potentially has concerning effects on the heart.

The molecule was well-tolerated in the animal studies described here, and did not elicit any relevant effects in a rat cardiovascular (CV) safety study; however, significant anomalies were observed in a dog CV model. This CV safety liability makes this particular molecule unsuitable for human dosing. [ref]
Essentially what both 2BAct and ISRIB do is tone down the integrated stress response (ISR). The ISR responds to various cellular stressors to promote cell survival, but its excessive or prolonged activation promotes cell death.

For evidence that the ISR is over activated in aging, see Does aging affect the ISR?
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7612338/#S4title


What’s interesting is that various anti-aging strategies (rapamycin, acarbose, calorie restriction, methionine restriction) appear at first glance to increase ISR activation, due to their increasing ATF4 protein levels. However, these anti-aging strategies even more so increase CHOP protein levels, and as CHOP may function to fine-tune the ISR (see Adaptation to mitochondrial stress requires CHOP-directed tuning of ISR), these strategies may actually be preventing excessive ISR activation. The trend towards larger Δ[CHOP]/Δ[ATF4] for the strategies providing the largest lifespan increase further supports fine-tuning/preventing over-activation of the ISR as a potential longevity strategy.

[lardy]

Dec 30, 2023 2:36:42 GMT trog said:

There was a major upheaval for me this year, with a move from the UK back home to Australia, to look after my aging mother. She has dementia, and I knew it would be difficult. It's horrible to see; she constantly forgets simple things such as how to switch the TV on. It is quite wearing showing her 4 or 5 times a day. I also have to be a mind reader. She will ask "What do I want?" or "Where is the thing?" Lots of deep breaths and counting to 10 helps. Her mother lived to be 100; mother is 86. Her mother had dementia for the last years of her life. I missed most of it, but she was happy in her own little world, where as my mother complains about everything. Contrast this, with her mother's sister who is 101 and still bright as a button. Sadly she is in a home and they won't let her out to go to the shops. I'm not after sympathy in mentioning all this.

Being back home, I am very much enjoying the sun. Living in the UK, I often felt I suffered a lack of vitamin D. No chance of that here!

Of course, a new country meant a new gym. I'm used to training in dungeons, with simple machines and (largely) bare steel weights. I couldn't find one here, so I am in a gym which is very posh. It's huge. I reckon there are 500 machines in there, some of which I have no idea what they do. Luckily, it has lots of squat racks, so I can stick to my pull ups and dips. It also has a Pilates studio with video classes, lots of punch bags, a boxing ring and half a basketball court. Most gyms in Australia seem to be 24/7. This one is unusual in that it is staffed 24/7 too. I haven't been at 3:00am yet; maybe one day. They sell frozen meals too and provide microwaves to heat your food. Here is the website www.derrimut247.com.au/

I thought the upheaval of the move would badly affect my workouts. I didn't train for 6 weeks. When I started again, I wondered how long it would take to get my strength back. Pull ups are back, but I am struggling with overhead press. Still onwards and upwards.

My gauge of how everything is going is the number of pull ups for the year.  Year, number of pull ups, number of workouts

2023	5152	176
2022	4994	185
2021	4205	178
2020	6790	200

Looks like I am doing OK.

Happy New Year to one and all and may all your lifts be huge!

Hey Trog, having recently been through and experiencing looking after a relative with dementia (not alone) I just want to say fair play and keep going m8.
It's rough, frustrating and heartbreaking, an "emotional roller coaster".

Obviously I don't know your specific situation but I will say just grin and bear the repetitive behavior which can be so annoying although I knew they weren't the same person, I could see how much it meant to talk about being at school and stuff even at 84 he genuinely thought he was going to school.

We will miss you in the UK, Australian humor tends to carry over well here and it's always great to have a good laugh. I might be stereotyping a bit here but Australians seem to be born funny so deal with it xD (don't correct me guys who live there, let me have my stereotype )

I'm glad you have been able to keep up the exercise in a hard time, here's to years of getting stronger * raises glass *

Happy new year to you as well pal!

[Deuce Gunner]

All my thoughts and prayers for you and yours.

[whiffet]

My mum is also suffering from it Trog. What I have found though is we have many sweet moments still, and she still seems to be able to enjoy things such as her jigsaws. Her face lights up when I come around to visit.

[teacup]

Hi Trog,

Don’t know if this helps I attended a conference a few years ago where the manager of a care home told us they had a lady with dementia who kept asking what the weather was like. Staff patiently answered but had to look after other residents so could not always answer immediately. They bought an Alexa, so every time the lady asked what the weather was like the Alexa responded calmly.

A specific example I know, but there is a lot of kit out there that can help with reassurance: doorbell cameras, moisture sensors (put under the bath if people have a habit of leaving the taps running with the bath plug in), extremes of heat sensors (too hot if something is burning or too cold if the windows are left wide open at night).

These things may or may not help your specific situation and I don’t know what equipment is available in Australia but the technology exists. Another thing we were told was if someone with dementia keeps talking about the past as if it’s now, don’t “shock” them with reality, instead just ask them what they like so much about the time they are in. One old lady kept wanting her mum, she wept every time she was told her mum died 40 years ago as the pain was fresh each time. Instead they asked her what she loved about her mum and she was very happy.

Sorry to ramble on!

And good luck with the workouts, it looks like you’re doing brilliantly 👍

[brothersteve]

Thanks for sharing your story Trog. I fully understand and appreciate your situation having been in a similar one with my mom and what I'm seeing with my soon to be 90 year old dad.

Exercise and checking thins out related to exercise is my coping mechanism for the situation.

Keep moving onward and wishing you and the family the best for a happy and healthy New Year!

[gruntbrain]

3 cheers and 2 thumbs way up for all the caregivers

[fredhutch]

I went through similar with my Mom, after she had a stroke she could not speak or get out of bed, but she could still write, she would write a note that said "I thought I could go home with you today", at first I tried to explain to her how seriously afflicted she was, but it was not helping her any, I finally wised up and would just say "Maybe tomorrow Mom"...this went on for a year and a terrible year it was. I know what you're going through.

[BigBruvOfEnglandUK]

My mother-in-law is 93. She's in a care home as she has several health problems that are beyond our capabilities. She often doesn't remember my name now and Mrs BigBruvOfEnglandUK had to tell her it at least 3 times on the phone yesterday. I understand and don't mind.
She can be very negative about things people do for her but that's always been part of her nature anyway.

[Michael]

My Thoughts To Your Family and You Trog. My Aunt had dementia, it's sad to see.