top of page
A Toxic Brain
​

Table of Contents

 

Introduction

 

Section I:  Our Personal Journey

​

Chapter 1:    

The Way We Were                                     

Before the Cascade of Symptoms

Dancing in a Dream Life    

                                                

Chapter 2:     

Awakening to a New Reality

The Search for Answers Begins​

  • Mounting Concerns   

  • Daycare Respite

  • A Scary Ride into Uncertainty

  • A Summer of Despair

  • A Temporary “Awakening”

  • A Milestone Birthday

  • A New Year of Continuing Concerns

  • Whispers of Desperation

  • The Lifesaving Gift of Synchronicity

  • Prescription for Disappointment

  • Respite Rx                             

​

Chapter 3:     

A Toxic Illness Diagnosis

The Challenges of Obtaining an Accurate Diagnosis to an Obscure Condition

  • A Neurotoxic Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol

  • His Prognosis Please!

  • Transformational Turning Points

  • Relapses and Remissions

  • An Additional Stressor

 

Chapter 4:   

The Unraveling of a Beloved Man

  • Homecoming

  • On the Loose . . . without a Safety Net

  • Blackouts with a License to Drive

  • With Dogged Determination

  • Brain-Mapping Confirms Deficits

  • A Dizzying Array of Continuing Symptoms

  • Increasing Concerns for the Future

  • Stripped of All Legal Rights

  • A Relentless Reign of Worry and Fear

  • A Frightening Health Care Crisis . . . . HIPAAed Out!

  • Heartache on Heartache

  • Our Heartbreaking Reunion

 

Chapter 5:     

A Space to Breathe and a Time to Grieve

Cleaning Up the Chaos

  • Getting Legal Guardianship

  • Dismissed, Discredited and Discouraged

  • It’s a Different Dementia!

  • Questions Without Answers

 

Chapter 6:   

The Roller Coaster Ride of Cognition and Care

Lockdown in Memory Care

  • Heart Reflections

  • Making a Comeback!

  • Face-to-Face with Another Inflammatory Reaction

  • A Walk Down the Aisle and a Daddy-Daughter Dance

  • Carolina Calling

  • Care Closer to Home

  • Changing Care Challenges

  • A Welcome Rebound

  • The Last Move

 

Chapter 7:    

Making Peace from our Journey

Looking Back and Within

  • Posthumous Postscript: A Groundbreaking Revelation

  • A Legacy Offering More than Hope

 

Section II: The Twenty-First Century—Living in Inflammatory Times   

 

Chapter 8:   

Bodies on Fire

  • The Roots of Chronic Inflammation

  • The Rise of Mysterious Maladies

  • Today’s Ticking Time Bombs

 

Chapter 9:   

Root Cause Realities

  • Unprecedented Toxic Exposures

  • Chemicals

  • Heavy Metals

  • Biotoxins

  • Water Pollution

  • Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)

  • Other Root Cause Realities

- Stress

- Changes in Our Food, Changes in Our Health

- Hormone Imbalances

- Sedentary Lifestyles

- Sleep

- Chronic Infections

 

Chapter 10:   

Gut Issues—Ground Zero for Inflammation

The Vital Connection of the Gut-Brain Axis

  • The Mighty Microbiome

​​

Chapter 11:   

The Rise of Autoimmune Issues

  • Our Genetic Roulette Wheel

  • Leaky Guts and Leaky Brains

  • Food Sensitivities

​

Chapter 12:   

Neurotoxicity—Toxic Assault of the Brain                                                  

  • Revealing Chemical Connections

  • Chelation Treatments for Removing Heavy Metals

  • Defining Differences in Toxic Metals Testing

  • A Mouthful of Mercury and More

 

Section III: An Evolving Health Paradigm: Functional Medicine and the Biology-Based Approach to Health

 

Chapter 13:   

Conventional Medicine/Allopathic Model vs. Functional, Holistic Model

  • Conventional or Allopathic Model

  • The Functional, Holistic Model

  • Precision Testing and Therapies that Get Results Important Markers as Tools for Evaluation

  • The Miracle of Food and Nutrition

  • Methylation and Sulfation Cycles

  • The Detox Troublemaker—MTHFR, the Mutant Gene

  • Detoxification

  • On the Brink of a Paradigm Shift in Healthcare

 

Section IV: Taking Action in Inflammatory Times

​

Chapter 14:   

Smart Choices in Today’s Toxic Times          

Toxin-Taming Tactics

  • Nurture Your Microbiome

  • More Microbiome-Loving Strategies to Incorporate into your Anti-inflammatory Diet

  • Beyond Minding your Microbiome

 

Chapter 15:     

A Wake Up Call for Us All

​

Section V:  Strategies for Managing Life’s Uncertainties

​

Chapter 16:     

Managing the Collateral Chaos from Chronic Illness

​

Chapter 17:     

Caregiving and Care Issues

​

Chapter 18:     

Navigating with Heart

​

Appendix A: Recognizing Neurotoxicity

Appendix B: Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)

Appendix C: The Ticking Time Bomb of Lyme

Appendix D: The Forbidden Foods on an Amylose-Free Diet

Appendix E: Regarding QEEQ Results

Appendix F: Correspondence to Psychiatric Team Regarding Neurotoxic-Related Illnesses

Appendix G: Common Symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia

Appendix H: Functional Evaluation for Type 3 (Toxic) Alzheimer’s Disease

​

Endnotes

References

Resources (pending)

bottom of page