Ginkgo Biloba ..... beneficial??

[ElaineMaul]

Hi,
I know the answer to my query is to speak to my Dad's doctor, but I remember reading a long time ago that this herbal remedy can improve blood flow to the brain ..... and just a quick look on the Internet found lots of sites giving information.
One in particular is:

http://www.herbal-supplements-guide.com/ginkgo-biloba-herbal-remedy.html

..... amongst many others.

This site mentions it as being beneficial to the early stages of Altzheimers ..... but that anyone with heart problems or taking blood thinning drugs might need to take care.

There's also favourable info on the Alzheimers site itself:

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/After_diagnosis/Treatments/info_complementary.htm

....... although it makes the point that the research isnt exhaustive.

So ..... just wondered if anyone here has tried any complementary medicine approaches and how they got on with it?
Thanks
Elaine

 

[angela.robinson]

Hi Ginko Biloba Was One Of The First Things I Tried For Jim ,i Dont Know If It Did Any Good For Ad Though His Illness Did Progress Quite Slowly Which I Allso Put Down To The Aricept ,one Thing I Feel Sure Of Was That It Helped His Cerculation ,he Always Had Icy Feet ,one More Than The Other ,the Doctor Once Said He Could Hardly Feel A Pulse In His Foot ,this Started To Improve After Using Ginco And He Had No Problems Over The 5 Years He Used It And Not Much Since Stopping ,my Sister At This Stage Tried It But She Used A Very High Dose And Was Very Dissoriorated,but I Think That May Have Been Due To Another Condition We Now Know She Has ,but This Stopped Jim From Using It ,as He Had A Few Dizzy Spells ,i Dont Think It Was Conected Myself ,as He Had Used It For 5 Years With No Problems ,the Dizzy Spells Soon Cleared Up With Some Medication ,but His Ad Did Get A Lot Worse After That Period ,i Wish He Had Continued To Use The Ginco. Angela

 

[ElaineMaul]

Hi Angela,
That's interesting because Dad also has circulation problems ....... he gets very cold hands. It was diagnosed as Reynard's syndrome a long time ago.

Before my father-in-law started getting demetia-like symptoms, he was also told he had circulation problems, in particular, problems with a major artery going up his neck.

However, Dad is on such a cocktail of different medicines that it would have to be under a doctor's direction.

But thanks for your information.

Elaine

 

[angela.robinson]

elain ,i think it wise for anyone ,with your dads problems,to discuss ginko with the doc ,i told jims consultant he was using it and she said it was not going to do harm ,but a few years later i mentioned it to the GP who said something about not forcing anything through narrow arterys ,cant remember exactly what he said ,but it also thins the blood ,so should not be used with other blood thining drugs ANGELA

 

[ElaineMaul]

Thanks Angela,
I have no doubt Dad's doctor would say it's not a good idea. I know he's on aspirin amongst other things.
Because of all the various medications he's on (for his heart and colesterol mainly) ..... wouldn't suggest anything unless it was with his doctor's say-so.

....... it was just me trying to follow up what I can ...... it helps to combat the feeling of helplessness ...... a small way of helping my Mum out

Elaine

 

[Norman]

Elaine
I tried Ginko in the early days I could not find much evidence of benifits.
Peg went onto Aricept and we then ceased the Ginko.
Elaine you are helping your mum out by being there for her,when you feel down and frustrated come and have a moan and a chat with us ,we are here for you.
Best Wishesn
Norman

 

[barraf]

Ginko Biloba

Dear Elaine
I started Margaret on Ginko as soon as she was diagnosed as having AD.

When we eventually got Aricept which was about 12months on, I asked the CPN about using Ginko and she said it wouldn't affect the Aricept so I kept on using the Ginko.

We are now a further 5 years on and we are still using both Aricept and Ginko. she takes two tablets of Ginko each day, each tablet 6000mg.

This is twice the recommended daily dose, because in the early days I read an ariticle about Ginko and it said that better results had been obtained with larger doses.

Margaret is still deteriorating slowly, but I like to think that she would have gone downhill faster without the Ginko.

She has no medical problems apart from the AD, in fact she is physically fitter than I am.

As there is no cure for AD I worked on the basis that if the Ginko didn't help it wouldn't do any harm. The any port in a storm syndrome.

That is our experience, make of it what you will.

Cheers Barraf

 

[ElaineMaul]

Thank-you both to Norman and Barraf,

...... thank-you Norman for offering a place to say whatever I want! In truth, at the moment, I guess it's my Mum that needs that more than me! Not being there 24/7 ...... and not being able to either ....... I feel my main support is finding things out for my Mum ........ it just doesn't feel like I'm doing very much!

I've mentioned about Ginkgo to my Mum and she's going to ask the doctor to see what they think. As you say, Barraf, provided it doesn't interfere with the other things he's on, can't really do any harm.

Elaine