MEDICAL ID CARD
MEDICAL IDENTITY CARD
Many of our readers have difficulty explaining that
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 5 - 2018
THIS MEANS I HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH:
…………………………………….…………… ID#........................GP NAME...........................
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Editors Message
Readers Letters … 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 unchanged and may contain spelling,
I guess we have all had
punctuation and grammar mistakes.
those frustrating TBI “You have got to be kidding
A copy of our medical disclaimer plus
me” moment, when simple things seem so difficult.
terms and conditions is on our website.
TBI is relentless in its
We respond to each letter!
pursuit of finding tasks that you find hard do or
Errors and omissions are exempt from
seem to need ‘Super Power’
this
abilities to achieve. We
conditions please see:
publication.
For
terms
and
have been limited so many
www.HealthisYourWealth.co.uk
times by TBI we have just had enough now. TBI is not going rule our life
PLEASE NOTE THAT
‘NOT THIS TIME’.
THE ADVERTISING AND
David & Sharon
ARTICLE SUBMISSION FOR THE DECEMBER ISSUE IS NOVEMBER 20th 1
MENTAL HEALTH
MANAGE YOUR CONDITION
IMPROVE COGNITION
IMPROVING AWARENESS
THERAPY
RELATIONSHIPS
Contents
1
THERAPY
Editors message
2
Computer Based Brain Training IMPROVING AWARENESS
MANAGE YOUR CONDITION Moving On
41
5
Personal Health Budgets
12
Importance of a Routine (Fatigue)
15
Vestibular Rehabilitation
20
Healthy Breakfast Cereals
22
HEADWAY Derby - News
47
Can you be born with brain Injury?
52
Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS)
60
RELATIONSHIPS Aphasia - Sounding Angry / Cross
64
REVIEWS & SUBSCRIPTIONS
IMPROVE COGNITION
Book Review: A Three Dog Life
68
Brain Training
25
Movie Review: The Heat
69
Application Reviews
30
Subscriptions
70
Key Contacts
71
MENTAL HEALTH Stigma of Schizophrenia
33
Your Business Could Advertise in this magazine! Find out more by
How To Keep Motivated
sending an email Don’t Give Up
37
Sand@HealthisYourWealth.co.uk 2
TYPSCOPE / LETTERBOX Prevent the reader taking in unnecessary visual stimulus and help them keep their place in the paragraph by limiting the amount of text readers can see at any one time. This simple ‘cut out’ tool is sized to work on 10” tablets and also the printed version of the magazine. It will present the reader with only 3 lines of text and ensue they wont get lost.
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3
Manage YOUR Condition
YOU Are In CONTROL
finish the job. This usually results in a
“Importance of
downward spiral of deterioration.
A Routine�
Families and rehabilitation staff need to act as monitors of the head injured
HOW FAMILY / CARERS CAN
person's energy use, to make sure he
MANAGE FATIGUE
stays within the limits where he is able to
spent in the lighter stages of sleep,
rehabilitation staff will organize the
which are less refreshing. as a result of
treatment times so that periods of time
this the quality of dreaming may
which
change, sometimes with nightmares,
alternated with periods of rest, when his
and sometimes with very little dreaming
batteries can get recharged.
at all.
function
effectively.
"energy
are
draining"
The
are
Families will monitor the home and
If your head injured friend tells you he
leisure to make sure he is not overdoing
is too tired to go out with you, he
things. To do this, families must
probably is. It is often very difficult for a
appreciate that the signs that he is
person who has had a head injury to
overtired are not necessarily that he will
understand the needs of his situation.
want to lie down and sit in a chair.
We are brought up to believe that we
Indeed, often the opposite is true. He
can do better if we try harder and the
can
reaction to fatigue is often dogged
distractible, more disorganized, or more
perseverance and determination to
talkative.
become
more
His
restless,
mood
may
more
seem
exaggerate, he may be quicker to laugh 5
Managing Your Condition
After a head injury more time may be
or to argue and less easy to reason with,
priority is to protect him from well
or he may withdraw and refuse to
meaning associates who do not know
discuss anything: yet he may deny that
that he does not have the energy to
he is tired, even though this is very
watch
obvious to you. It maybe difficult to
concentrating
on
persuade him to do the sensible thing,
r em em b er ing
t he
a
video
(which a
involves screen,
p lot ,
t he
characters, what they said and so
‘Take some rest’
on).
This is why it is important to care givers
You can dissuade his associates from
to monitor the amount of activity, and
pressuring him to join them. The third
are able to direct the head injured
priority of fatigue management is that of
person to rest before he gets to the over-
communication. You need to keep
tired stage.
rehabilitation team informed of any
Often there are very clear signals that
unusually tiring activity that your
the relative or friend has exceeded his
relative or friend has taken up, or
energy levels and his getting to this
anything different that he has done
overload. You need to watch out for
which has made him more tired then
these signals. If you recognize the early
normal, or importantly, has affected his
signs of fatigue in your relative or
ability to cope with rehabilitation.
friend, you can help him by directing it
Unfortunately, even when the early
to stop of change what he is doing, and
obvious fatigue effects are past the head
to husband his energies.
injured person will still need to manage
This should be the first priority in
his energy level carefully.
managing the problem. The second 6
He will need to plan to have extra rest
periods if he has any unusual or
Ensure Frequent Rest Periods. Especially after tiring activities.
domineering activity coming up. He will also need to be aware it may take two or three days to recover with the activity.
Protect from well meaning friends
Communicate with well meaning therapy staff
SIGNS OF FATIGUE
Some of the most frequent signs are:
Prevent him getting involved in stressful activities
Unusual pallor
Drawn and tense look
Rather glazed expression in his eyes
Balance deteriorates
Ensure that excessive stimuli is not encountered to prevent sensory overload
Limit the number of people he engages with at any one time
Speech deteriorates
He may get a headache
Unable to concentrate
Easily distracted
Fatigue does not have a pattern, triggers are different of individuals but the impact is high. Therefore it is best that you recognise the signs early so that action can be taken.
What you can do to help
Often a twenty minute power nap is able to ‘recharge’ his batteries!
To help manage fatigue
Monitor activities 7
Managing Your Condition
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