🎵 “The Perfect Drug” – What We Try, What We Hope, What’s Out There

(Nine Inch Nails)

When this starts…you go looking for answers.

And very quickly, that turns into:

👉 What can slow this down?

👉 What can help?

👉 Is there anything—anything at all—that works?

You start chasing what feels like…

“The Perfect Drug”

And I’m going to be honest with you:

👉 There isn’t one.(yet)

👉 But there are things you can do.

🧠 Our Story – What We Tried Before Diagnosis

Let me take you back.

In 2016—years before diagnosis—I made a simple change:

👉 I removed (most) sugar from my husband’s diet.

Not because of Alzheimer’s.

Not because of blood sugar.

He was and Is:

• Fit

• Healthy

• Great labs

• No diabetes

• Low Cholesterol (real low)

But…

At one point, he was putting away a full bag of sugar a month in his coffee alone.

When he realized it?

He quit.

Now:

• Black coffee

• Mushroom blend added

• No nightly sugar habits (ice cream, PB&J, etc.)

🥗 Did Diet Cause This?

No.

Let me be clear:

👉 I do not believe diet caused this disease.

He was always healthy, never took any prescription medicine, always worked out.

But I do believe:👉 Lifestyle may influence how things progress

For us, diet and exercise seem to have helped keep things more stable longer than expected.

🧬 The Genetic Side (what we learned)

There are known genes linked to early-onset Alzheimer’s:

• APP (Chromosome 21)

• PSEN1 (Chromosome 14)

• PSEN2 (Chromosome 1)

Rob does not have APOE4, and we didn’t go deeper into genetic testing—but research is evolving quickly here.

⏳ Diagnosis Timeline (how fast it can move)

Before diagnosis, I did what everyone does:

👉 Dr. Google

👉 Books

👉 Facebook support groups

When we finally got to neurology:

• Diagnosed with MCI due to EOA

• MOCA score: 19

Within 6 months:

• MOCA dropped to 14–17

• Solidly in EOA Stage 4

Looking back…

It had likely been happening for years—just not in the ways we expected.

⚖️ What’s Working for Us (Right Now)

Rob is in early Stage 5 (2025/2026).

Here’s what he can still do:

• Yard work with no directions, he just putzes around the yard. (For example just cut out a whole bunch of healthy plants that were dormat) so that's frustrating.

• Bike rides (in our neighborhood)

• Golf (not the same—but still goes)

• Work out (with guidance)

What’s changed:

• No cooking (gas stove = not safe)

• No driving (decision-making risk)

• Can read some but does not comprehend what he read—but not follow complex plots

• Cannot learn new things

• Cannot understand directions of simple things "like can you grab the box on the dryer"

• Locks us out constantly (switched to some coded doors)

• Cannot follow TV or Movie plots at all

  
  

🥑 Our Current Diet

We keep it simple and consistent:

Daily staples:

• Nuts & berries

• Greek yogurt High Protein, no to low sugar

• Eggs & bacon (breakfast)

• Hard Boiled Eggs always on hand

Meals:

• Chicken / fish / shrimp / scallops

• Brown rice / quinoa

• Salads

• Roasted vegetables

Minimal:

• Fast Foods

• Processed food

• Heavy carbs

• Sugar

💊 Prescriptions

• Donepezil (Aricept) – 10mg nightly

• Synthroid – 25mcg

• Lexapro – 25mg

• Metamine HCL 10mg twice a day (NEW 2026)

🌿 Supplements We Use

(Not medical advice—just what we’ve chosen)

• B12

• Omega (Fatty15)

• Vitamin D3

• Cognium (memory support)

• Lion’s Mane (in coffee blend)

Like most caregivers, I’ve learned:

👉 Everyone has their own “stack”

👉 What works for one may not work for another

🔬 What’s Out There (2025)

If you go searching, you’ll find a lot.

Start with:👉 “Alzheimer’s trials near me”

Here’s what we’ve seen:

💉 Infusion / Injection Therapies

• Designed to slow progression

• Risk: brain swelling or bleeding

We chose not to pursue.

Our doctor supported that decision.

From what I’ve seen:

• Not major improvement- just a few more months

• But potentially slowing decline

💡 Light Therapy

Still emerging. Some promising discussions, but not mainstream.

🩸 Plasmapheresis

• Extremely expensive (~$10K/month)

• Not well-proven for Alzheimer’s

Personal note: This treatment did save my mother’s life (Guillain-Barré Syndrome), so I know its power—but for Alzheimer’s, it’s still uncertain.

💊 Other Trials (yes… even this)

• There are trials involving medications like Viagra

That doesn’t mean they’re effective—it just shows how wide the search is.

⚠️ A Note on “What Caused It”

This is where I want to be careful—but also honest about my experience.

I don’t believe there is one single cause.

But in our case, I personally feel like a combination of major medical events may have played a role in accelerating things:

• Retinal tear + surgery (2016)

• Colonoscopy sedation issue

• Illness / immune stressors

• Vaccine

  👉 This is not proven

  👉 This is not medical advice

Just one caregiver trying to make sense of a very complex disease.

💡 What I’ve Learned

You will go down rabbit holes.

You will read everything.

You will try to find:

👉 The fix

👉 The answer

👉 The thing that stops this

👉THE CAUSE

And here’s where I landed:

There is no perfect drug

But there are ways to support quality of life

And sometimes… slowing things down is a win

🎵 The Reality

This journey turns you into:

• A researcher

• A nurse

• A protector

• A decision-maker

All at once.

And every choice feels heavy.

💬 Final Thought

If you’re here, you’re doing the same thing I did:

Trying to help someone you love.

There may not be a cure yet…

But there is care.

There is support.

And there are ways to make this path a little steadier. Keep reading the blog

I’m not a medical professional—just sharing what we’ve experienced and learned along the way. Please talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.

"The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails