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MEDICAL IDENTITY CARD
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NAME …………………………
their condition results in having poor balance, co-
I HAVE ……………………….
ordination, speech and visual issues etc. Opposite is a card which you can cut out and carry with you to help explain the specifics of your condition.
Issue 1, 2019
THIS MEANS I HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH:
…………………………………….…………… ID#........................GP NAME...........................
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Editors Message
Send letters to: letters@healthisyourwealth.co.uk
Please note some of these articles are written by patients who are still in recovery. These articles are deliberately Happy New Year !
unchanged and may contain spelling,
Our conclusion from last year is
punctuation and grammar mistakes.
that on responding to the “How are
you?”
question
A copy of our medical disclaimer plus
people
interpret your answer as either
terms and conditions is on our website.
complaining,
We respond to each letter!
exaggerating
or
making it up ! Therefore our Errors and omissions are exempt from
aim this year is not to carry any “emotional baggage” over from
this
publication.
2018 and answer the question
conditions please see:
For
terms
and
in a more positive manner by
www.HealthisYourWealth.co.uk
turning the question around and replying “OK, How are you?”
PLEASE NOTE THAT
David & Sharon
THE ADVERTISING AND ARTICLE SUBMISSION FOR THE APRIL 2019 ISSUE IS MARCH 20th 2019 1
MENTAL HEALTH
MANAGE YOUR CONDITION
IMPROVE COGNITION
IMPROVING AWARENESS
THERAPY
RELATIONSHIPS
Contents
1
THERAPY
Editors message
2
Multi-modal Treatment for TBI
41
IMPROVING AWARENESS
MANAGE YOUR CONDITION Getting a Good Night Sleep
5
When medical centres and the public meet 47
Poor Co-ordination / Clumsy
8
RELATIONSHIPS
Loss / Increase of Appetite
11
Exercises To Improve Balance
14
Flat Affect and Brain Injury REVIEWS & SUBSCRIPTIONS
Controll seizures with Ketogenic Diet 18
Book Review: TBI - Our Never Ending Journey 55
IMPROVE COGNITION Brain Training
21
Application Reviews
26
MENTAL HEALTH Mood Swings
52
31
Movie Review: Jungle Book
56
Subscriptions
58
Key Contacts
59
Your Business Could Advertise in this magazine! Find out more by
How To Keep Motivated
sending an email
As I drowned, I found Minimal Support Existed 35
Sand@HealthisYourWealth.co.uk 2
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3
Manage YOUR Condition
YOU Are In CONTROL
activates the central nervous system,
Getting a Good Night
and this can contribute to insomnia. When your body is recharging and
Sleep
healing and doing all the work that you need, you are in a deeper stage of sleep
SLEEP IS VITAL FOR RECOVERY
and drinking alcohol can stop you entering this sleep stage
Sleep is important for good health and
stressful after having a restful night and Having a bedtime routine can really
quite the opposite after a restless night.
help you wind down and prepare for that Lack of sleep Impacts your health and
good night’s sleep. It is also a good idea
suppresses the immune system, and can
to remove any electronics from the
result in personality changes, weight
bedroom such as TV or mobile phones
gain, depression and triggers sugar
etc. This can be stimulating for your
cravings
brain and prevent sleep taking place.
Here are some top tips for getting a good
Keep Active
night sleep Aim to have at least 30m minutes
Cut out alcohol and caffeine
exercise each day (a brisk walk counts) if possible, it will help improve your
Try to avoid drinks that contain caffeine
sleep, however it is a good point to
between 3 and 8 hours before you go to
mention don’t do this too close to
bed. Caffeine is a stimulant that 5
bedtime as your adrenaline level will be
Managing Your Condition
A Bedtime Routine
everything just seems better and less
Last year we deliberately tried to see
“Importance of
what would happen if you didn't adhere
A Routine�
to a stringent routine. We systematically one by one relaxed the specifics of each
Poor Co-ordination / Clumsy
area and saw that the results were catastrophic.
As I am writing this (13th January 2019) so far this year I haven't dropped /
Medication
broken or chipped anything. However last year even by being super careful I
We spent thee months removing each
managed to break three toilet seats, one
medication. Determining which one we
set of crockery, a fly screen doors, two
needed and seeing what the effect was if
kitchen door handles, a vase, 2 x
it wasn't taken on time. Long story short
ornaments 4 x drink glasses and a soap
don't do this, sometimes you need the
dish.
medicine and doing without can have a serious impact in as little as 30 minutes.
Removing tasks from me such as
Sleeping
emptying the dishwasher, setting the table etc. doesn't seem to be a method of
We used to have a strict regime of going
preventative and only serves to erode
to sleep and awaking at the same time
my self esteem.
each day as well as taking powernaps
What does make a difference to
during the day. What we have found is
balance and co-ordination is a
that adherence to this schedule can be slightly modified (up to an hour going to
lack of routine
bed or an hour waking up) but more 6
“Loss of Appetite”
Loss / Increase of
Appetite
We have setup reminders on peoples phones to say:
Unintentionally Loose or Gain A Eat Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Lot of weight quickly
Loss / Increase of appetite is more
Additionally we have placed healthy snacks in certain rooms of their house; such as bowls of dried fruit
there is special medical term for this
and nuts or a small basket of fresh
symptom and a variety of reasons they
fruit.
can occur.
We have met many head injured people
Additionally we have enabled them to create a new habit of meeting
who are struggling with these symptoms
people for coffee and having a
and have helped them better manage
granola bar etc.
these.
There seems to be either a loss of the
Weigh yourself every two weeks in the morning to ensure you are
sensation that gives you that:
maintaining a healthy weight for
“I’m hungry feeling” or the opposite
your height / build
“I’m full feeling” both can be managed
as follows:
Keep portion sizes sensible - eat everything on your plate
7
Managing Your Condition
common than you think. We are sure
EXERCISE & NUTRITION
performed
“Importance of
alongside
a
stationary
object which you can use as a balance aid.
Exercise”
Back Leg Raises Balance exercise
simplest strength training exercises.
improve your balance
Apart from improving your balance, it
Partaking in a program may
Back leg raises are the best and
moderate
will help in building your strength and
and coordination.
endurance while still supporting your There is no “Silver Bullet” to correct
lower back.
this scenario rather a blend of regular Start by standing behind a seat. The
tasks which yield improvements.
next step entails lifting your right leg However before attempting anything
straight backwards. When doing this,
consult you general practitioner or
try your best not to bend the knees.
physiotherapist and ensure that they
Remain in this position for a couple of
are suitable and safe for you before
seconds before returning your leg back
you proceed.
down. Do the same for the other leg.
Fall Prevention
The recommended frequency for this physical activity is fifteen times for
The consequence of a single slip or trip
each leg.
goes far beyond the initial pain. The very last thing you need is a secondary injury which is why these exercises are 9
However there is a particular diet
“Importance of
which maybe of interest to you if you are suffering from epilepsy or seizures
Nutrition�
and medication is giving you the results you want.
Ketogenic Diet
A Ketogenic Diet is said to have Over the last few decades there has
seizure control for a significant % of
been more emphasis on different diet plans
focusing
on
tackling
population.
one
particular part of the body. Some are
Although many hypotheses have been
simple
put
to
maintain
others
are
forward
to
explain
how
the
extremely complex and then added to
ketogenic diet works, it remains a
this are specific requirements which
mystery.
are gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, or requiring religious specific preparation
Possible
- Halal, Kosher etc and this all has to
ketogenic diet have been studied for
be balanced with a fasting regime.
various addition
There are
numerous reasons that
therapeutic
uses
neurological to
for
disorders
epilepsy:
the
in
Alzheimer's
disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
people wish to diet and a variety of
autism,
reasons not to follow any plan at all
neurotra uma,
and just eat a well balanced diet and
disease, and sleep disorders.
you (for most people who do not have allergies) not encounter a minefield of potential side effects.
10
brain
cancer, pai n,
headache,
Parkinson's
Epilepsy
The ketogenic diet is a mainstream dietary therapy that was developed to
Epilepsy is one of the most common
reproduce the success and remove the
neurological disorders after stroke
limitations of the non-mainstream use
and affects around 50 million people
of fasting to treat epilepsy.
worldwide. Conklin's fasting therapy was adopted Many
traumatic
Brain
Injury
by
neurologi st s
in
mai nst re am
practice. In 1916, a Dr McMurray
and endure
wrote to the New York Medical Journal
recurrent,
unprovoked
seizures.
claiming to have successfully treated epilepsy patients with a fast, followed
This might affect, for example, the
by a starch- and sugar-free diet, since
muscles, the senses, consciousness, or
1912.
a combination. A seizure can be focal (confined to one part of the brain) or
Although there were adverse effects by
generalised (spread widely throughout
and large the diet proved to be very
the brain and leading to a loss of
successful
consciousness).
reported in 1925 that 95% of 37 young
in
children:
Peterman
patients had improved seizure control When two or three Epileptic drugs
on the diet and 60% became seizure-
have failed to control it, around 30%
free.
do not achieve control with medication. By 1930, the diet had also been studied When drugs fail, other options include e pi l e p sy
s ur g e r y ,
v a g ue
in 100 teenagers and adults. Clifford
ne r v e
Joseph Barborka, Sr., also from the
stimulation, and the ketogenic diet.
Mayo Clinic, reported that 56% of 11
Managing Your Condition
survivors are diagnosed with epilepsy
IMPROVE COGNITION
ANSWERS TO THE DECEMBER (ISSUE 6,2018) BRAIN TRAINING
CRIS CROS QUESTIONS
CRIS CROS ANSWERS
Across
POSITIVE OPPOSITE TO NEGATIVE
1. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY 3. ELATED
4. JOVIAL
OPTIMISTIC OPPOSITE TO PESSIMISTIC
6. EXPECTANT 7. LUCKY
CONFIDENT VERY CERTAIN
8. OPPOSITE TO NEGATIVE
HOPEFUL LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
Down
BUOYANT FLOATING
2. CHEERFUL
ENCOURAGED EXPECTANT
4. LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
UPBEAT CHEERFUL
CAREFREE HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
HAPPY JOVIAL
JOYFUL ELATED
FORTUNATE LUCKY
1. VERY CERTAIN
5. FLOATING 9. OPPOSITE TO PESSIMISTIC
13
“Exercises to Strengthen your Brain!” The rules of brain training: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Try and do a minimum and maximum of thirty minutes each day. Try and commit to doing for ten weeks. This duration requires that you set time to one side to complete this. It has to be challenging to work. If it’s to easy there are no benefits. To keep motivated set yourself rewards. If you complete an exercise give yourself a reward, something to look forward to! As well as doing exercises on your own work with others to increase your social skills.
Improve Cognition
Word Search
New Year Beginning January Zero Start Launch Create Initiate Pioneer 14
This maze starts on the left hand side and have to reach the exit in the middle. However there are multiple dead ends and only one solution!
Perhaps time yourself to see how long it takes you, take a note of the time and try it again a few weeks later. Have fun!
START
15
Criss-Cross Across
Down
2. At the start
Down
5. Where everyone begins
1. Brand XXX
7. A type of code
3. To commence action
9. To do something from nothing
4. The first in their field
10. 365 Days
6. Before number one 8. The first month
Improve Cognition
16
APPLICATION REVIEWS
quickly as possible to enable you to keep
Fire Up
moving forward. This game requires you to multi-task, selecting the block to fir upon, moving your tank to the right position and then firing all with a specified amount of time. What phone/system is it compatible
Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible Fire out balls and break as many blocks
with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
as you can! Cost? What will it do?
FREE, however has in app.
purchases
A simple game which rapidly gets more
We give this a ★★★★
difficult. The aim is ‘Blow Up’ blocks which form a barrier to prevent you
NOTE: There is an age rating for this
moving forwards. Each block is colour
game of 12 years old as some of the
coded (Green requires only one shot
advertisements may contain material
where as orange/red need 2/3 shots.
which is inappropriate for minors
Should you collide with a block you loose a life. The aim is to clear your path as 18
Improve Cognition
with?
MENTAL HEALTH
the injury is vital. Try not to take it personally if the person does not show
Mood Swings
an appropriate response. Emotions like frustration and anger are quicker to boil to the surface compared to love or
Controlling Emotions
happiness. A head injury is one of the most Encourage the person to recognize your
survivor can undergo. With being
smile at a humorous situation (or tears
bombarded with lots of new information,
if you are sad), and to take note of the
a new routine and decisions having to be
proper response.
made; feeling a little emotional is
The emotions are still there, they
perfectly normal. In fact if you weren't
just take long to materialise.
feeling anything there would more of a cause for concern.
Emotional Rollercoaster Lack of Emotion In some cases, neurological damage After a head injury, a person may lack
after a head injury may cause emotional
emotional responses such as smiling,
volatility (intense mood swings or
laughing, crying, anger, or enthusiasm,
extreme
or their responses may be inappropriate.
situations). Such overreactions could be
This may be especially present during
sudden tears, angry outbursts, or
the earlier stages of recovery and your
laughter. It is important to understand
ability to recognize that this is part of
that the person has lost some degree of 20
reactions
to
everyday
Mental Health
dramatic changes that a family and a
MOTIVATION
I was lucky. I initially felt healing would
“How to KEEP
be quick. I was wrong, though I was also right. Welcome to Brain Injury’s reality,
Motivated?”
where some people can do so much but many outsiders want to box you as an
As I drowned, I found Minimal
incapable
Support Existed
disabled
person
without
support or completely fine like nothing occurred. That is where I found myself.
In 2014 I fell 15 metres or 3.5 floors off a building. I suffered numerous physical
Hospital therapy assisted improvements
injuries healing through surgeries and
but your main obstacle might
nature’s work. One irrelevant obstacle,
recruitment assistance post hospital
viewed from government support, was
recovery. Little is known about Brain
Brain Injury sustained upon my fall.
Injury and therapy works best beyond doctors’ opinions. Nothing tells doctors
Brain Injury was an issue taught to me
exact assessment for an individual’s
through the recovery process. From day
unique situation.
one I felt things were 100% OK, did my neuropsychological
test
well
be
with
A challenge I found was the opinion to
clearance to work and then tiny issues
focus
anyone experience in normal workplaces
rehabilitation
emerged – my challenge was NOT Brain
recruitment, avoiding understanding of
Injury itself but society’s desire for task
my simple needs. Again, this is a
perfection and the general demeanour of
delicate undertaking dependent on the
anxiety outsiders used to achieve my
patient. It’s a bigger story about how
exclusion.
22
heavily
on
recommending
services
without
information
Mental Health help and SUPPORT Services
services.
With
support
and
understanding, Mind enables people to make informed
choices.
The
Info
line
gives
information on types of mental distress, where to get help, drug treatments, alternative
health
therapies and advocacy. Mind also has a
problems or need urgent support, there are lots
network of nearly 200 local Mind associations
of places you can go to for help.
providing local services.
Samaritans
Saneline
Telephone: 116 123 (24 hours a day, free to
Telephone: 0845 767 8000 (6pm-11pm)
call)
Website:
If
you
are
experiencing
mental
www.sane.org.uk/what_we_do/
support/helpline Email: jo@samaritans.org Saneline is a national mental health helpline Website: www.samaritans.org Provides
confidential,
providing information and support to people with mental health problems and those who
non-judgmental
support them.
emotional support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those
ChildLine
that could lead to suicide. You can phone, Telephone: 0800 1111
email, write a letter or in most cases talk to someone face to face.
Email:
Pages/Email.aspx
Mind Info line Telephone:
0300
http://www.childline.org.uk/Talk/
123
3393
Website: www.childline.org.uk
(9am-5pm
Monday to Friday)
ChildLine is a private and confidential service for children and young people up to the age of
Email: info@mind.org.uk
nineteen. You can contact a ChildLine Web site: www.mind.org.uk/help/advice_lines
counsellor for free about anything - no problem is too big or small.
Mind provides confidential mental health 23
THERAPY
BE AS GOOD AS YOU CAN BE
The first and most effective step in
The Benefits of
treating TBI is having the strength and humility to reach out for help, starting
Multi-modal
with one’s primary care provider (PCP).
Treatment for TBI
One’s PCP can recommend or refer the patient to other resources specializing in
A common question among people who
the
experience Traumatic Brain Injury
as
At this point, both physical and mental
instances are the same - some are the
health
result of repetitive impact (such as in
are
being
addressed
by
professionals; an important step in
sports) while others are the result of that
such
or neurologists and neuropsychologists.
their condition. Of course, not all TBI
explosions
condition,
psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors,
(TBI) is what the best treatment is for
violent
patient’s
treatment and recovery.
produce
hypersonic blast waves and in the latter
So far, so good, right?
case, TBI may be accompanied by posttraumatic
stress
disorder
anxiety,
depression,
or
(PTSD),
In taking a step back from the initial
other
“go to” solutions, one may find several other
psychological conditions.
treatment
options
that
are
available to them outside the normal Especially in the latter case, a single
physical and mental health paradigm.
form of treatment is likely to be Incorporating these wellness options
insufficient to address TBI.
into an overall plan for TBI will generally improve the effectiveness of 25
26
27
IMPROVING AWARENESS
29
medical centres could, or would, tell me.
When medical centres
Anecdotal evidence indicates that being left in ignorance, is not
and the public meet !
confined to sight loss. Looking back it is now obvious that the
I started to lose my sight about five
medical focus was extremely narrow.
years ago and have been stone blind for
They concentrated on my eyes and
a year. Writing about it has been hugely in
co mi ng
to
an
was no attempt to enable me to prepare
understanding of vision loss in general
to cope with the consequences of
and blindness in particular.
growing sight loss which culminated in
When I went to Blind Veterans at
blindness. There was even a degree of
Sheffield, I wrote that for the first time I
incredulity that I should inquire about
was in an environment which was
registration.
entirely dedicated to sight loss and
There was no warning me of the initial
blindness. I carried on writing and then
lack of balance.
was brought up short by a sense of surprise, almost shock. After all I had
Perhaps it was assumed that I would
spent the previous three years attending
find out when I kept falling over!
eye clinics almost on a monthly basis enduring a number of procedures. It is
Likewise there was no mention of loss of
clear, in hindsight, how much I had to
confidence in the proprioceptive sense or
find out for myself and how little the
30
the crushing tiredness brought on by the
Improving Awareness
i ns t r ume nt a l
ignored my impending sight loss. There
RELATIONSHIPS
ability to identify and label emotions. A careful
RELATIONSHIPS
assessment
by
a
neuro-
psychologist is often necessary to extract just what the level of the person’s emotional experience is.
“Flat Affect and Brain Injury“ Flat affect can be a factor of both the “Flat affect” is a common symptom after
depression (also a common symptom
a traumatic brain injury. It refers to our
after TBI) and the brain injury itself. As
emotional expressiveness — the degree
the depression is treated, through
to which our facial expression and
therapy and/or medication, you may see
demeanour reflect what we are feeling.
some lifting of the flatness as you become more emotionally responsive.
People with flat affect may not show the normal signs of emotion, they may
This symptom can be devastating for
appear apathetic, may speak in a
survivors family and friends as the
monotone, and may not change the
incorrect
expression of their emotions in response
concluded. The result is an assumption
to varying situations as we expect them
that you just “No Longer Care” can
to. People may consider them ‘more
be damaging to your relationships
serious’ than before their trauma.
across the entire family plus social
interpretation
is
easily
circle. Flat affect may or may not occur in conjunction with deficits in their ability
Recovery is still occurring at six months
to actually feel different emotions and/or
post injury, so you may see more 32
improvement over time. For some
expressiveness is; and how others may
people, however, flat affect can be
read it.
permanent. Practicing
varying
emotional
One of our readers has suggested that
expressions to show how you are feeling
its not that there are no emotions at all
and how you want others to interpret
your just not quick enough to react and
your reaction.
express them. Often when you do want to show an emotion frequently the
If you sense that you keep “Missing
moment has passed.
the moment” you can us none verbal
You can feel as like you have “missed
an opportunity”. This has occurred so regularly that he now chooses to express his feelings at
Send a text / FaceBook message
Write a letter or leave a note
Send or buy flowers
Write a greeting card
Create a “Appreciation” scrap book
Compile a music CD
random times.
“Sometimes I just go and give my siblings a hug and tell them I love and appreciate them” Depending on your level of awareness,
The purpose is to ensue that the
intervention may involve teaching to
recipient is aware that you care and
recognize what your level of emotional
wish to excerpt effort to prevent further 33
damage.
Relationships
ways such as:
Book Review TBI - Our Never Ending Journey this story will keep you laughing and full of cheer and maybe you too will be able to relate to some of the scenarios experienced.
the An
author easy
has
reading
comedy for all age groups that may of had a hospital stay, that shows you the bright side of life in hospital. So good you just can't put it down.
An excellent distraction for anyone staying in hospital, hilarious and funny, this story will put a smile on
★★★★★ rating on Amazon
your face. A better gift than a box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers,
buy here !
34
Movie Review The Jungle Book Therefore this film is a perfect mix of comedy,
fantasy
adventure
and
computer animation with stunning visual effects. The film appeals to all ages and is fun entertainment for the whole family. You will benefit from a High Definition television and a Dolby 5.1 surround system as the special effects coupled with the sound is a real treat. Normally we tend to avoid some films as we understand that depending on your
It was hard to imagine how Walt Disney
recovery complicated plots or moving
was going remake a classic and improve
back and forth between past, present
on the original without ruining the
and future maybe difficult to follow.
storyline however they have managed to pull it off and a new classic has been
Additionally sudden noise (jumpy parts)
produced.
or films with subtitles can quickly make a
brain
injury
survivor
We give this film a ★★★★★ rating
loose
concentration and get lost quickly.
35
Want To Read More?
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The benefits of reading on MAGZTER are:
The magazine articles are available in audio (This is a massive one as a large part of the audience have visual issues)
A search engine that links the most popular articles with the magazine. As concentration levels in brain injured people are not high the ability to focus on just one article rather than an entire magazine is very attractive.
An allowance of up to 10 free articles per user,
Already available on Google / Apple / Windows but also now available on Amazon Kindle
We are excited about this facility and believe it will enable the magazine to be more accessible.
Key Contacts
Article Submission / Information info@HealthisYourWealth.co.uk
Sales/ Advertising sales@healthisyourwealth.co.uk www.facebook.com/HealthisYourWealthMag
National Accounts & Global Sales NGS@HealthIsYourWealth.co.uk Feedback / Comments / Testimonials feedback@HealthisYourWealth.co.uk
HiYWMag Letters / Articles letters@HealthisYourWealth.co.uk
@HIYWMag
Editor: Editor@HealthisYourWealth.co.uk
Our website www.HealthisYourWealth.co.uk
is now Pointing to our FaceBook Page
39
Disclaimer for Health is Your Wealth Magazine This magazine does not provide medical advice. It is therefore in no way a substitute for your doctor or medical team. The contents of this magazine
are
intended
to
be
informative only. Do not consider using
the
contents
as
a
replacement for medical advice. You
should
physician
or
always
consult
qualified
a
medical
advisor on any aspect of your health. Please note that you agree to read this literature of your own accord and that the authors and publishers do not assume any liability.
The
use
or
reliance
of
this
magazine contents and images are solely at your own discretion and risk. Any tests, medical procedures, medication, exercises, diet and any other products or processes are not intended diagnosis
to or
be
used
for
treatment.
self This
publication does not provide any medical
services
or
care.
For
medical advice or an emergency please contact your physician or nearest rapid response team.
The latest Version of T&C / Disclaimer are on: www.HealthisYourWealth.co.uk
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