Life with MCI

The following is a chronological record of my fight against MCI (mild cognitive impairment). It includes various experiments I have been doing to test devices, methods, supplements, etc. in an effort to fend off further deterioration of my memory and cognitive capacity.

• In the beginning
  One day I went to a meeting with an important manager of the company I was working for. I was all dressed up looking very respectable. Before the meeting started, one coworker whispered to me “Your fly is open.” That was way before I was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). You could say it is only a symptom of a normal aging, but when you start noticing this type of minor forgetfulness, you start wondering. So, about three and a half years ago, I went to see my family doctor. She gave me a short memory test in herContinue reading “In the beginning”
• MCT Oil (or not)
  About two months ago, I came across an article talking about a small study done on the effectiveness of MCT (Medium Chain Triglyceride). It reported that in a study, one group which was given two table spoon of MCT for two months showed significant improvement in cognitive capacity than the other which was given a placebo. So about a month and half ago, I started taking two table spoonful of MCT, one in a smoothy around noon and another one in a salad in the evening. It is a clear oil with no taste, so it blends into foods easily.Continue reading “MCT Oil (or not)”
• Covid-19 (Novel Corona Virus)
  We are in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. It apparently started in China, where the infection rates now seem to have been brought under some degree of control. On the other hand, things are getting completely out of control in countries such as Italy, Iran, Spain and the US. It looks most other countries will go through similar conditions. It’s just matter of time. Corona virus has proven itself to be very contagious, spreading not only person-to-person but also person-to-surface-to-person. Most countries have introduced social distancing as a primary means of controlling the spread. So we can always keepContinue reading “Covid-19 (Novel Corona Virus)”
• MCT Oil Followup
  In order to fight off mild cognitive impairment (MCI), we have to do all sorts of things. One of those things I tried was medium chain triglycerides (MCT) oil. I used it for approximately two months. I felt my counting skill stayed pretty good and my other memory issues seemed reasonable. While I was doing it, I was also trying to gain weight because some research found that heavier people have less tendency to develop dementia compared with skinny people like myself. http://www.alzheimersweekly.com/2015/04/fat-people-get-less-dementia.html But I didn’t want to gain weight by adding fat, so I was trying to do weightContinue reading “MCT Oil Followup”
• Frustrations and Hope
  Here are a few of my thoughts and experiences on the effects of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). An obvious effect of MCI is compromised short term memory. It may be that you cannot find a pair of glasses while they are sitting on top of your head, or you cannot remember what you did last week, yesterday or even 10 minutes ago. It may even be that you cannot remember the name of a person you know. (Read a funny story about this.) You may also find that a word that you know very well does not come to mindContinue reading “Frustrations and Hope”
• Eye Opening
  A few weeks ago I was woken up by an emergency alert on my cell phone two times. So, I had to check my phone to find out what it was all about. Fortunately it didn’t concern me, so I quickly went back to sleep. Unfortunately this set the tone for my sleep for the rest of the night and I ended up having very shallow sleep. Then I was awake at 5 am, which is way too early for me to get up. I stayed in bed trying to sleep more, but at 6 am I gave up andContinue reading “Eye Opening”
• False Alarm
  I started using 40 Hz light and sound therapy a little more than a month ago to see if it would help my mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It has been suggested that it can eliminate amyloid plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. (I will give more information about this type of treatment in a coming post.) I wasn’t sure if it would work for me, but I certainly never expected that it could make me worse! At about the same time, I started taking the memory test I mentioned in the Coping Strategy section.  My score has been going up andContinue reading “False Alarm”
• We Have a Choice
  This is not the kind of blog I usually do in this website. However, I feel that it is important to highlight the fact that we have a choice in dealing with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), rather than just drifting along, hoping that the problems will go away. What prompted this article is my aunt who was living in Missouri, USA and just passed away at the age of 92. She was a feisty woman who lived her life fully. She kept up some degree of physical exercise throughout her later years. She ate healthy food and kept a healthyContinue reading “We Have a Choice”
• Blood Oxygen
  I am quite healthy physically but due to the wear and tear from my past living, I seem to have insufficient breathing capacity. Sometimes while talking, I have to use the last cubic inches of my breath to finish my sentences. I started wondering could it be that my breathing is affecting the amount of fresh air brought into the lung? If there isn’t enough air brought in, the amount of oxygen delivered to the blood may be somewhat limited. Then, the amount of oxygen reaching my brain might be somewhat low, which could not only affect my brain functionsContinue reading “Blood Oxygen”
• Smell Test
  It is spring, turning into summer very quickly. Trees full of twigs only a short time ago have transformed themselves into masses of full foliage. All sorts of flowers are blossoming, changing the landscape of the garden. Among those varieties of flowers, we have a few bushes of lilac in our backyard. Lilacs are particularly fragrant, sending out a bouquet of smells in all directions. Sometimes when my partner opens the door to the backyard, she smells lilac even without going outside. On the other hand, when I go to the backyard, I don’t actually smell anything! I have toContinue reading “Smell Test”
• Cataract Surgery for MCI?
  This article is a follow up to the earlier posting “Eye Opening“. Well what a surprise! I can see now. I didn’t realize I was half blind. Actually it wasn’t that bad before, because I was still able to drive quite safely (though my partner disagrees with me). That being said, the difference the surgeries have made is just astounding. The first thing I noticed only a day after the first surgery was the vividness of colors. Everything I saw was so vivid and bright that it was like living in a different world. Last year, I bought a 4KContinue reading “Cataract Surgery for MCI?”
• 4 Year MCI Anniversary
  First, I have to apologize for not posting for a long time. The reason I have not been able to is because I started a new major project involving the development of a new product. I am not able to say what the product is, but if everything goes well, it will help alleviate some of the problems created by COVID-19. The project is consuming almost all of my time which prevented me from spending any time on this blog. However, I just found a lull, so I decided to post this article. I have an important event I wouldContinue reading “4 Year MCI Anniversary”
• Covid-19
  Again, I have to first apologize for not writing any posts for a long time.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am working on a project which is taking up all my time.  It’s still going but I decided to write this article while this subject is still relevant. While I still cannot say what my project is, it involves designing a device to address an aspect of Covid-19.  While I am working on this project, I learned a lot about the pandemic.  So, I thought I share it with readers because it particularly applies to people withContinue reading “Covid-19”
• Updates To My Journey (Nov. 2021)
  Anybody who is following this blog must be getting tired of me apologizing for not keeping up with this website because of the other project I am working on. Well, I have to do it again because the project is still continuing and I have to put in all of my time to move it forward. However, we were able to bring in another partner organization to help us do a lot of work, and I am at a stage where I can leave it with them until they finish their part. So, I decided to write updates on myContinue reading “Updates To My Journey (Nov. 2021)”