Health is Your Wealth Magazine ISSUE 1, 2019

Life is a balancing act; juggling head injury symptoms that only survivors truly understand !

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 1, 2019

THIS MEANS I HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH:

…………………………………….……………

ID#........................GP NAME...........................

www.HealthisYourWealth.co.uk

Readers Letters …

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

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.

IF YOU FIND THIS MAGAZINE VALUABLE PLEASE RATE US ON www.HealthIsYourWealth.co.uk

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?

36

IF YOU LIKE THIS MAGAZINE RATE US ON

WWW.HealthIsYourWealth.co.uk

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

This Magazine Helps Increase Awareness For These Organizations: