“Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph. Preserve your memories… they’re all that’s left you.” — Simon & Garfunkel, “Old Friends.”
“…with ingredients found… in jellyfish!” — A televised commercial for Prevagen
Contrary to popular belief, we aging male Baby Boomers are not entirely preoccupied with products such as Viagara, Cialis and Levitra (“Get in the game.” — Mike Ditka). Some of us, particularly myself, also are considering healing possibilities of the televised medication Prevagen, which at first was marketed as jellyfish ingredients for the brain, but now is being sold as testimonials from old folks who need to be sharp and focused.
Of course, my reaction to this supposed wonder memory drug is serious questions about whether or not it works. I hate to admit it, but I’ve been fooled by slick marketers before in my sordid past — by the My Pillow Guy, the RCA Victor Record Club, misleading come-ons for cheap gas along expressways and assorted other snake oil sales pitches.
I fancy myself as being immune to used car salesmen hawking “Wide wheel spoke fenders, sponge-coated mud guards and factory air conditioning from our air conditioned factory.” But I’m not.
The impetus for being in the market for something like Prevagen is fallout from what Mick Jagger sang, “What a drag it is getting old (and forgetful).” Yes, I’m worried about becoming “an absent-minded old frog” and terrified of prospects for dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Most folks who have known me have complimented me for my memory, a blessing that has helped me as a lifelong student of history and an aid in trying to be community journalist. My mantra has been, “Pay attention and connect the dots.”
However, I have become truly frightened by recent occasional memory lapses causing “Tip of the Tongue” phenomena.
It wasn’t that long ago when I temporarily could not remember the name of Grace Slick as the singer of “White Rabbit.” A recurring lapse was my inability to remember the name of Detroit Tigers’ bench coach Gene Lamont. Only last month I beat myself up over my lack of ability to remember the name of Ellen Bacca as a WOOD-TV meteorologist.
These episodes, however brief, are frightening to an aging Baby Boomer who has flaunted his memory by identifying popular songs and when they were popular, from 1955 to 1986 and those by naming those horrible dates in history that so many have said, “Who cares?”
I’ve flaunted this asset so often that I’ve developed my explanation as, “And that and 73 cents will get me a senior’s cup of coffee at McDonald’s.”
It really struck me even harder about a week ago when my old fishing buddy, Jim Wasserman, stopped in for a back yard campfire and reverie, just before which he could not remember my wife’s first name.
So he and I are “quietly sharing the same fears.”
I’ve been researching Prevagen on the Internet and have read a lot of material that’s not very encouraging in discussions about its efficacy.
I’ve seen and heard a lot of horror stories about Alzheimer’s and about dementia, in which formerly sharp-minded people eventually don’t know what time it is and who they’re with. I was truly frightened and saddened when I learned of the death of Jim Bouton, author of “Ball Four,” who died of dementia at age 80.
As for products on the market to serve as brain food, I’ve come to understand that Truth in Advertising laws have been relaxed ever since Ronald Reagan in 1987 watered them down, insisting on government getting out of the way of free enterprise.
According to the Catholic University Law Review: “For many years, the Federal Trade Commission was perceived as the federal government’s champion against all forms of advertising abuses. However, in recent years, the FTC has diminished its role in the regulation of advertising. The low profile of the FTC in this area may be due in part to the deregulation philosophy of the Reagan administration. In addition, extensive regulation of comparative advertising by the Commission would be contrary to its policy of fostering such practices.”
Yes, I fear I may spend my twilight years living out George Santayana’s most important quote of my lifetime: “Those who don’t remember history are condemned to repeat it.”
Keep a smile on your face and don’t let things you can’t control, control you. Talk with your doctor if you are concerned.
The folks who told us to not do drugs (alcohol, tobacco included) in our youth may have been correct. Perhaps it is time those of us who made the mistake of drug use in our youth educate the young. Studies have proven a link between marijuana and memory loss as we age and even when young, perhaps it is time to rethink supporting and glorifying the use of cannabis?
I prefer to say I am having a senior moment when I can”t remember something, or that I have some-timers, sometimes I can’t remember. Odds are you are fine, just getting older, but a trip to the doctor can’t hurt.
As Churchill said, youth is a marvelous thing. What a pity it is wasted on the young.
My great uncle Eldon lived to be 99. Once, in his 90s, he was a guest in our home. There was lots of talking at the table when we sat down to eat. Uncle Eldon, at one point, reached for a bottle of ketchup, and looked to preparing to put it on his salad. We all looked at him wide eyed, as he caught his error. “If I was thirty, you would think I was making a mistake. But at my age, you think it’s a sign that I’m losing my faculties.” He set down the ketchup, picked up a bottle of dressing. I’ve seen severely demented folks in their 50s, and sharp folks in their 90s. Try not to overthink it. Bob’s right: don’t let things you can’t control control you.