End of the Insulin Study -- Good News, Bad News

On Tuesday, we went to the VA hospital in Seattle to finish the insulin study.  This required one last round of cognitive tests and a physical.  I was anxious, because I didn't sleep well Monday night.  (I slept well before my April tests, but I bombed the February tests when I didn't get a good nights sleep before those tests.)  But during Tuesday's tests, I could sense that I was doing well.  Afterwards, the study coordinator did a qualitative "eyeball" look at the results in comparison to April, and he said it looked to him like I had done a little better this time than before.  This is consistent with my general sense that I've at least been holding steady for a long time.  This is, of course, consistent with the stability shown in my last MRI.  Did the insulin contribute to how well I did on Tuesday?  Who knows.  But these results were consistent with the trend that was in place before I started on the actual insulin.

The physical didn't go so well.  The PA who conducted the physical called in the senior Doctor and told her I had a heart murmur.  She said it was louder than a Grade 3.  The doctor listened and agreed, indicating that it was not quite grade 4, but loud nonetheless.  They said that I should get in to see a cardiologist promptly -- this week, and I should let them know if I had trouble.

After reviewing events in my life from the past couple of months, they said the murmur was likely due to a heart valve infected following a teeth cleaning.  Since then, I'd awakened at night a couple of times out of breath.  This was likely due to a defective valve causing inefficient pumping of blood.  I also had a sudden, transient event in which my eyes couldn't coordinate.  They said this was likely a TIA related to problems with the heart valve.  The best solution will be antibiotics.  Failing that, I'll need a valve replacement. 

Turned out to be hard to get into see a cardiologist.  Soonest I could get was September 24.  But I was able to get my primary care provider to order an echocardiogram for next Tuesday.  This is good.  I'm sure that my primary care provider can move my situation along as warranted by the test results without the cardiologist.

The researchers were very happy with my performance on the insulin study.  They only had three participants at their site (there were many sites across the country), and the other two had dropped out well before finishing.

When will we know the results of the study?  The team in Seattle doesn't know, but they said they'd tell me when the results are available.  I've learned that if the results aren't very promising, you hear quickly.  If they are promising, they like to wait for a big meeting where they can make a splash with the news.  It's evident to me that they are mostly interested in the results from the first year when the study was placebo-controlled.

They are very interested in engaging me in another, promising study.  I'll wait until after this heart valve business is cleared up before I look into the other one.

What I'm really worried about is the period in here where they don't want me going to the gym.  If they need to replace the valve, I'll be without exercise for a longer time.  Also, anesthesia aggravates Alzheimer's disease, so I don't want that if we can help it.  This could be a double-whammy.