Message Forum

Jim:

First all, I'm so grateful that over the years when I've posted a medical issue you've always pitched in with information to the extent that you felt comfortable.

Don't think I ever told you this but my grandfather was a doctor. He had an ofice on main street next to Holy Rosary Church - close enough that i ran over to ride on the merry go round on the school playground when I was a kid. He and my gma and my mom and her sister and brother, all gone now, lived in a two story old- school victorian era red brick home. Dr. Ernest Victor Reutinger's private office and examining room was attached to the front of the home. My mother would tell the story of the time when her father called her into that domain. I think she was pretty much in her high school years or maybe older at the time. He pointed to a figure on the examining table and said: I want you to look at this. This man is dead.

It may sound ghoulish, but my mother told it as an example of her father simply being matter of fact about it. He wanted her to see death and take it in stride, which she did. I suppose these days that would be regarded as an ethical breach, perhaps, or a too-blunt method of talking about the realities of our mortal existence, but my mother would disagree. It was an educational moment and she wanted to pass on, which was to face life - and death - in a spirit of... I want to say...practicality.

It sure has stuck with me.

But I digress. I'm going in for a check up and more detailed assessment with a specialist about the forgetfulness and wanted to check in with him and then with a specialist about it. Given that I am still writing and teaching I want to stay as sharp as I can while I can. So far the memory issue is the only area where I feel I've lost an edge.

Here's my question: I take 40 mg of simivistatin every day to deal with cholesteral -- along with losartin and finasteride. And I am noticing myself becoming quite forgetful. My fabulous girlfriend has noticed as much. When I see the doc I'm going to ask if I can wean myself from statins at ths point and just watch my diet to see if that makes any difference in terms of my forgetfullness. And no I'm not going to do anything without discussing it with my doc.

Again: Just read this for the hell of it and don't feel obliged to respond - I don't want to take advantage of you or put you in a bad position ethically, which I know you wouldn't do, but if you're comfortable saying anything along these lines I'd be interested in your pov. I'm going to guess there's been conversation about it over the years but this is the first time I can recall of hearing about a link between statins and forgetfullness -- and I did indeed see some stories and some data along those lines when i just now did some digging. I really do appreciate the fact that over the years, you've been really generous and forthright - there's a word I haven't used in a while -- when it comes to chatting about medical issues that we're all interested in given our age bracket.

And by the way - here's the kicker - I forgot that I had posted my issue with forgetfullness before.

02/21/24 10:12 PM

#13617

John Jackson

Mike, not to worry – the greatest thing about our age is we can just keep posting the same stuff over and over and it seems like it’s all new and hardly anyone notices (see my posts for the perfect example)!

At our age, ailments is the only topic you really need if you have dinner with friends.

02/21/24 10:33 PM

#13618

Mike,

I have so many thoughts on this topic - statins and dementia - and the medical literature is somewhat split also - so I'll get back to you on this one. For now, suffice it to say, I have been on a statin since 2010 after I had my TIA (transient ischemic attack or "mini-stroke").

Stay tuned for a longer post!

Jim

02/22/24 10:36 AM

#13619

ok Jim as long as you don't mind doing it - seriously, I will talk to my gp and I have an appointment with a specialist though it's not until May but I really don't want to take advantage of your friendship. I get the impression you enjoy these q and a's -- it's kind of natural, I guess, given our respective professions, that I'd be asking questions and you as a good source for a story would be answering them.

I still write and teach writing. Can't seem to kick the habit.

I don't know how I've remained in the dark over all these years about this business of statins possibly having some sort of influence on memory and mental health. I'm going to assume the research into that possibility is inconclusive, otherwise there'd be a lot more publicity out there given how popular statins are.

02/23/24 02:38 PM

#13620

Ok I know I have been a little verbose here lately but it's partly because, here at the end of my career, I've been going through old stories, trying to leave something to pass on. I'm terrible at saving and filing things - journalism being a disposable, here today gone tomorrow kind of profession.

But I did run across an old, old story I wanted to share, because given our generation we are the perfect target audience. This story hearkens back to one of the most magical musical through-lines of our generation. I'm not even sure what publication I wrote this story for -- the daily paper or the sunday magazine - but I am thinking it will bring a smile to your faces, as it did to mine - in part for the nostaligia aspect, but also, I'd hope as the teller of the tale, because the main character's humble, caring, been there-done that-over it personality comes through.

PETE BEST

By Michael McLeod of The Sentinel Staff

Orlando Sentinel

•

Feb 12, 1995 at 12:00 am

All morning long, I keep waiting to hear a primal scream out of him. If I were a doctor, I’d prescribe it.

But the man is patient to the marrow. Even with the pop-up Beatles book. Even with the bonehead lady. Even when a fan asks him a question that he’s surely heard a zillion times: “So . . . why did they get rid of you?”

A long, inward, world-weary sigh issues from Pete Best -- It’s no primal scream, but it’s got the ambiance -- before he answers: “I wish I knew.”

Then he caps the felt-tip pen, lines it up neatly alongside several others, and slides the black and white glossy of himself back across the table, having signed “Pete Best” just above the caption: former Beatles drummer.

The fan looks at the photo and then up at Best with a sympathetic smile. “I think it should say, ‘the original Beatles drummer,’” she says.

Another fan chimes in: “I always thought you got a raw deal.”

“Yeah, but you can’t keep thinkin about it,” says Best, his Liverpool accent erasing the “g” and "about" sounding like "a boot."

“There’s today and tomorrow,” he philosophized.

Ah, but this being Beatles Expo, what there is, most of all, is Yesterday.

In the ballroom of the Twin Towers hotel, Beatle maniacs of various generations are drifting past card tables filled with Beatles books, Beatles buttons, Beatles audios, Beatles videos. In the far corner, a vocalist who got married at Strawberry Fields and named his son McCartney is singing Love Me, Do. But the main attraction is Best, who has a professorial look to him at 53, with gray twining now through his curly brown hair and a philosophical cast to his pale blue eyes.

He was the drummer for the Beatles for exactly two years, from 1962 to 1964. Then he was kicked out of the band and replaced with Ringo Starr. The Fab Four became a phenomenon. Pete Best became a footnote.

By most accounts, he missed the magical mystery tour mainly because he was shy. He rarely clowned around and refused to abandon his ducks arse pompadour for a mop top. Though his fans were angry (George Harrison got a black eye in a fight over Bests dismissal) and his mum was acrimonious (she’d allowed the boys, ungrateful wretches, to perform in her basement), Best has never lashed out at the Beatles. I decide to give him a couple of chances, just the same.

What if Paul McCartney walked through that door right now? Wouldn’t there be an undercurrent of bitterness between you?

“No,” he says mildly. “It’d be a matter of, How’s the wife? How’s the kids?”

OK, then: Who’s the better drummer you, or Ringo?

“That,” he says diplomatically, “is for the fans to decide.”

We’re talking in between autographs, as the line in front of Bests table shuffles along, filled with people who want Best’s signature ($8 a pop) and a few moments of conversation.

Maybe autograph signings are tacky and fan clubs are for people with no life, but there’s a homey, easy-going atmosphere to this session, much of it thanks to Best’s place in the scheme of things.

There’s a natural empathy for a guy who caught a glimpse of the burning bush and didn’t get anything out of it except singed eyebrows. I notice people saying things to him that they probably wouldn’t say to a real Beatle. One fan shows him the Beatles charm bracelet she’s had since she was 12. Others want him to hold their children on his lap. They ask him: What were they really like? Did you like “Backbeat?” (They were good lads. He liked the soundtrack, but little else).

A man walks up with a pop-up book about the Beatles, opened to a two-page spread of the group playing in the Cavern their home-base Liverpool nightclub. A flip-down tab makes Best disappear and replaces him with Ringo.

Then a woman nudges through the line. “Excuse me, but who are you? My sons in a band called The Boneheads. Do you think he’d want your autograph?”

With the Boneheads, as with the pop-up book, he just sighs and signs.

A man with a hangdog look says he just had to come to see Best. “I got kicked out of a group two years ago,” he says. “I still can’t swallow when I think of it.” Best gives him advice: let it go, don’t dwell on it. Mostly he offers a sympathetic ear. I realize he’s got a quality I’d never think to associate with a Beatle, former or otherwise: He’s a good listener.

There are a lot of teens in the crowd now, and seeing them brings something back to me. I find myself telling Best that in a time when people and things become obsolete overnight, it’s nice to know we created something that won’t ever go out of date.

“We,” right? Like I was the Walrus. Like I was there on bass guitar in the Cavern, along with the rest of my generation -- which, in a way, we were.

A moment later, the woman with the Beatles charm bracelet motions wistfully to the photo Best is about to sign for her.

“Sign it as though it’s still 1962,” she asks him.

Maybe it sounds silly to you. But I knew exactly what she meant.

02/24/24 02:10 AM

#13621

John Maxwell

Dr. Hamilton,
Your diagnosis is close. Although I have not yet experienced peyote, but I have tried some fairly strong narcotics and a few hallucinates. I wouldn't reccommend them but not for the same reasons I did them. I must say the term "mind altering" is a bit of a misnomer. My mind never altered. At least the doses had no more an effect on me than Sr. James Marie's Biology class or Father Fortkamp's pep rally. I don't know but channeling a deceased Adolph Hitler in a comedic way seemed over the top as far as mind altering activities go. And probably did more damage! Seig Watterson!

02/24/24 02:27 PM

#13622

well that's one risk factor I don't have to worry about.

Who's at risk of developing statin side effects?

Not everyone who takes a statin will have side effects, but some people may be at a greater risk. Risk factors include:

Taking multiple medicines to lower your cholesterol.
Taking medicines that interact with statins.
Being female.

02/24/24 08:56 PM

#13623

Mike,

Should your list have included a 4th item?

Being old?

02/24/24 11:36 PM

#13624

For some reason, I found myself going through a week of Bee Gees memories. I always liked their slightly different sound - especially the high pitch falsetto and great harmony. But I had no idea what a huge impact they had on the popular music world. They sold 220 million records. (that's a lot, I think). They had a top ten record in 4 different decades. They once had 5 of hte top 10 records. The stats go on and on. I have watched dozens of video clips - till I am blue in the face.

I have learned how their careers evolved - reinventing themselves several times. Most of it I have liked, - except for the "disco" sound which was a huge hit despite my disinterest.

And I have followed some of the background story of their personal lives - times when they simply got tired and got away from one another - and times where Maurice had to confront serious alcohal addiction (and full reovery). And now both of the twins - Maurice and Robin - are gone.

Coincidentally, as I was about to go to bed, I stumbled onto a documentary of their careers and followed it to the conclusion. Great timing, and so very interesting! Hearing how highly rated many of the familiar hits were, I could not wonder about my own personal favorite - it's not in their top 10 all-time hits.

Years ago, I saw this on Johhny Carson and it left a huge impression on me that I will never forget.

What do you think?

02/25/24 12:33 AM

#13625

Mike McL. et al,

Statin Drugs

Since Mike brought up the topic I'll attempt to discuss statin drug therapy over my next few posts and get into the question of whether they can cause or contribute to dementia.

First, a disclaimer:

These comments are to give my thoughts, based on my experiences with patients and what is generally accepted by the main medical community. For individual patient use of these prescription medications, you should discuss that with your own personal physician who knows your case, your health problems, your current medications and the need for cholesterol lowering therapy.

I like to look at things in both a historical and present viewpoint. All medications, prescription or over-the counter (OTC), can cause adverse reactions (side effects), in certain individuals. We are all aware that allergic reactions can occur from almost any drug including common ones like aspirin and penicillin. Of course, not all reactions are of an allergic nature. Many are a direct toxic effect on certain tissues or organs that may vary from individual to individual. Others are a consequence of drug-drug interactions that can cause damage. It is imperative that a prescriber know what other medicines, incuding OTC, herbals and "supplements", that a patient is using and any allergies he/she has when choosing a specific therapy.

The average life expectancy of Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon people was about 30-40 years old. Granted, many of those archiological studies included childhood deaths and trauma cases. There were no "medications" as we know them in those eras. So, if you think about it, taking pills and other forms of chemical treatments is not something that is natural for humans to do. Natural Selection - survival of the fittest - allowed these early humanoids to survive and to evolve during those pre-historic epochs.That being said, humans did continue to advance and become what we are today. Yes, I am a firm believer in evolution as well as God's hand in that process.

As we developed and began to understand diseases from infection, genetics, metabolism, diet and so many other causes man searched for ways to treat them and, much later, prevent or at least moderate some of them. However, medications were not a normal part of the human anatomy or its dietary needs. Thus we began to see that treating one cause of a diseased body part may cause injury to another part.

It took many years before elevated cholesterol was considered as being able to cause diseases in the human body. Many carnavore animals have vastly high levels of cholesterol in their bodies but do not get atherosclerotic disorders. In fact, in the 1960's and early '70's we did not think much about cholesterol levels that were very high. As a med student at OSU in the early '70's we were "asked" to have our blood drawn to help researchers determine what the "normal" values should be. If I recall (and remember, my brain is also 75 years old!) levels around 300 or so were thought to be perhaps in the high normal range. I do remember one of our professors had several xanthomata (cholesterol deposits) in the skin surrounding both of his eyes. Something that is now known to be often associated with extremly high cholesterol and not uncommonly seen in familial (genetic) hypercholesterol syndromes.

So much for this post for now. My next post on this topic will go into what diseases certain types of cholesterol can cause in the body, why it is good to lower them, how they can be lowered and the medicines that do that, concentrating on the statin drugs, their benefits and possible side effects.

Jim

02/25/24 12:36 PM

#13626

ok I know this is a bombshell but here goes: has anybody noticed that girl scout cookies don't taste minty anymore?

Or am I wrong about that?

I got two boxes the other day, something I do every year, in part because it gives me a chance to tease the little girl scouts but mainly because the cookies rock. Or at least they used to. I swear the cookies aren't as good as they used to be. Aren't they supposed to taste minty? Because they don't. Am I disremembering this? Please respond. I am shaken to my core. If you can't count on girl scout cookies I don't know what you can count on anymore.

Oh and by the way mint or no mint they probably raise my cholesterol. Jim: Thank you once again for keeping us informed.

02/25/24 02:12 PM

#13627

John Maxwell

Haven't noticed any difference in the taste of any cookie Mike. I guess I eat them too fast. Speaking of nutrients. I found while thinking about the big sleep, I have boiled it down to all organic creatures cease to exist yet their remains provide sustainance to other life forms. In our case, depending on cause and geographic locale we could be a meal for a lot of God's creatures. Even if we are buried for centuries in a sealed vacuum, some archiologist will open your grave and introduce all kinds of micro organisms who will party till they drop. So like every living thing on this planet we will all eventually provide a course of one or more meals. Chew on that. Just food. Soulful food. Yum!

02/25/24 06:43 PM

#13628

Mike McL.,

Just a quick response to your Girl Scout Cookies question:

As we age our taste buds also do. They shrink, decrease in number and become less sensitive to certain tastes.

Yes, another consequence of getting older.

Jim

02/25/24 09:32 PM

#13629

Jim: That thought did pass through my mind, such as it is. But it was more fun to complain.

Jack: Hence my plan to be cremated. Try it. I promise it won't hurt.

02/25/24 10:45 PM

#13630

Jack,

You are correct in that the recycling of dead organic materials, including humans, will sustain other organisms in the future.

However, it will not take opening a casket to destroy the body.

Indeed, the body dies but our internal microbiota, particularly the anaerobic and microaerophilic ones (those that live in the absence or minimal amount of oxygen), will survive and thrive off the human remains until only bones, and perhaps some mummified skin, remain. This is a very dark topic, even for this Forum!

My wife and I have also opted for cremation and have our companion niche at St. Joseph cemetery back there in Columbus (actually Lockbourne), Ohio. Look us up the next time any of you are out there, our names and birth years are on the plaques in (I think it is called) The Lord's Prayer Columbarium right across from the cemetery office!

Perpetually there until the end,

Jim

02/26/24 08:23 AM

#13631

I have just one question about the statin material Jim. Actually two. Will there be a quiz? And will it count towards our final grade?

02/26/24 09:18 PM

#13632

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

What we take for granted?

Since my accident a few months ago, some recent events have me shaking my head.

Last week, my best friend was hit head-on by a guy in another pickup who got out and ran after the collision. My buddy looked like he'd been severely beaten by two guys with clubs! He was in bad shape for a week but is much better now.

Last week his son, had a buddy killed in another head-on colision.

Their Son-in-law (in Colorado) while on a camping trip, fell from 25 feet while climbing a tree and broke severaral ribs - almost landing directly on top of his 3 year old daughter.

But the following article about the couple missing on their yacht in Grenada this week is my friends financial advisor and good friend - sailing buddies for years. I think I may have met them at my frrind's home years ago.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/us/grenada-missing-yacht-couple-search-monday

02/27/24 08:05 AM

#13633

Joseph Gentilini

OMG, David M - you have had some real tragedies come your way recently! I am sorry about all of them. It makes me think of what I also take for granted. Good reminder. joe

02/27/24 03:19 PM

#13634

I heard this song last week just as Mike was posting his article about the Beatles' original drummer and then later Dave posted about the BeeGees. As soon as I heard the first few stanzas of this Stephen Sanchez song, I thought I was listening to a throwback slow dance song of the 60's. In fact, in researching him, I discovered his style was definitely influenced by the songs of the 50's/60's. You can hear the influence of Roy Orbison, Bobby Goldsboro and Elvis have had on him. I would love to see him in concert!

02/27/24 07:32 PM

#13635

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/these-countries-have-committed-the-most-aid-to-ukraine

My, how times change.

As I watch congress fidget and delay about the budget deadling and waffle about support for Ukraine, I am struck struck by the irony of how the winds blow in different ways in different times.

Remember when we were kids, "Republicans" were Conservatives, which meant above all, they were anti-Communists. We were ashamed when Eisenhower did nothing in response to the uprising in Budapest in 1956. And we sort of looked the other way (again, in embarrassment) during "Prague Spring" in 1968 - even though we were up to our eyeballs in Vietnam - to save them from Communism of course.

But where are those same Repubican Conservatives while Ukraine begs us for more help, in their courageous fight against a Russian mad man?

We have already given much, but stopping short in their fight at this point is soooo "Un-conserative". Why? Because "Republican Conservatives" have become such cowardly idiots, who don't seem to give a damn about the effects of this hesitaion. God help them!

Good thing they were not around for WW2. There were voices then (lIke Lindberg) arguing that landing troops on the coast of Normandy was too big of a price to pay to defeat the greatest menace to Western civilization since Napoleon.

And those same voices were heard arguing against the Atomic Bomb over Japan when a conventional landing would have cost upwards of 5 million Japanese lives and at least one million American lives.

After all this support to the gallant Ukrainians, giving up on them now, would be one of the dumbest and most cowardly things I can imagine.

Maybe we could get lucky and "Conservatives" Mike (dumb as a rock) Johnson and Margorie Traitor Green could slip on a bar of soap and miss some votes in the "House".

02/28/24 10:00 AM

#13636

John Jackson

Dave, I couldn’t agree more. The America First mindset is penny-wise and pound-foolish. We can’t stick our heads in the sand and ignore what is happening in the world. You either pay now or you pay MUCH more later. Unfortunately the Ukraine war is devastating a country that is willing to sacrifice everything to keep its independence, but it is also bleeding Russia badly (a good thing) and at a cost of zero American lives.

And, as has been pointed out many times, most of the Ukrainian aid money will stay right here at home to pay for manufacture of armaments. And Trump’s claim that the Europeans haven’t stepped up is one of his countless lies. According to U.S. News and World Report:

“The majority of committed support by country has come from the United States, whose total aid commitment is valued at about $75 billion. The U.S. is followed by Germany and the United Kingdom for highest commitments overall. The European Union as a whole has committed approximately $93 billion in aid to Ukraine.”

On Feb. 14 the Senate voted 70-29 to authorize aid for Ukraine, and the bill would also easily pass in the House, but Speaker Mike Johnson, who has given veto power to the right wing crazies in his caucus, refuses to bring the bill up for a vote. So move over Neville Chamberlain – Mike Johnson is envious of your place in history.

02/28/24 05:05 PM

#13637

Okay, now for something positive. I'm sure you've all seen this but it's so fun to watch over and over and over again.

02/29/24 07:32 PM

#13638