Holistic Therapies.

There are so many Holistic Therapies out there, sometimes it is difficult to know where to start, what to believe, and if they may help at all.

Conventional medicine is obviously something that has to be used, but alongside this, I have always worked on the theory of 'well, why not?' There is nothing lost in trying.

Thus far, I have used Reiki and Reflexology with my husband, and am now looking into Acupuncture for him. 


What is Reiki?

http://www.reiki.org/faq/whatisreiki.html

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.


What is Reflexology?

http://www.aor.org.uk/home/what-is-reflexology

Reflexology is a non-intrusive complementary health therapy, based on the theory that different points on the feet, lower leg, hands, face or ears correspond with different areas of the body. Reflexologists work holistically with their clients and aim to work alongside allopathic healthcare to promote better health for their clients. 

What is Acupuncture?

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156488.php

Traditional Chinese medicine explains that health is the result of a harmonious balance of the complementary extremes of yin and yan of the life force known as gi or chi. Qi is said to flow through meridians (pathways) in the human body. Through 350 acupuncture points in the body, these meridians and energy flows may be accessed. Illness is said to be the consequence of an imbalance of the forces. If needles are inserted into these points with appropriate combinations it is said that the energy flow can be brought back into proper balance. 

In Western societies and several other parts of the world, acupuncture is explained including concepts of neuroscience. Acupuncture points are seen by Western practitioners as places where nerves, muscles and connective tissue can be stimulated. Acupuncture practitioners say that the stimulation increases bloodflow while at the same time triggering the activity of our own body's natural painkillers.

I also found this short video encouraging.

http://www.brainlinemilitary.org/content/multimedia.php?id=9091


Ultimately, Holistic Therapies can do no harm in exploring, if researched correctly and advice heeded. As I see it, I want to give Alex's body every shot at strengthening and progressing, so will try anything.

Update on Making Waves for You Progress.

MAKING WAVES FOR YOU

I have been doing a great deal towards the project 'Making Waves for You', and thought I would like to put up a brief update:

I have someone on board who may be able to help me with fundraising ideas, who also has a contact who could help us set this up as a Charity.

So that makes Making Waves for You, two, not one!

This is a good start, although as it grows I will need more people on board.

I am mainly focussing on the moment on the content of the Website, collating other's stories of hope is one of my main focusses.

It will be no overnight challenge, rather something that takes its time and evolves, hopefully with the right people to help me for it to pick up speed and make it a real resource website/charity to help those in my or similar positions.

Speaking to some of the professionals involved with Alex, they tell me that Brain injury support and help is so scarce in North Devon, so maybe we have come here for a reason! They are keen to use my blog, the eventual website as a recommended resource for those who may find themselves in a similar situation.

It's frustrating, I am a 'make it all happen now!' person, I do not like to wait, and once I have the bit in my teeth I am away! But I know I have to exercise patience with this, so it is another learning experience for me.

I have started talks about how to set this up as a Charity too, which will take some time, but it IS possible.

It is all moving in an extremely good direction and I am enjoying having something positive and longterm to focus on.

Get the Goodness in! A Question of Medication.

Alex has been on many medications since his injury. From Coma to waking, from epileptic medications to tranquillisers, laxatives, sleeping pills. You name it, he has probably been given it!

I started to investigate quite extensively the repercussions of taking medications in the short/long term. My discoveries were shocking, and I decided to try and get Alex as 'drug free' as was possible given the situation.

My thoughts (as many professional have confirmed) are that the injured brain is an environment far more susceptible to differing balances, whether induced by medication or otherwise. It seems that this is the case. Each medication Alex was taking, I did as much reading on as I possibly could.

I also came across a book 'The Side Effects Bible' which I found invaluable.

As, thankfully, Alex is now able to be fed almost normally, just thickened fluids remaining, but can masticate normally and swallow normal food OK, I am in the position to be able to top up his nutritional levels through drinking highly nutritional vegetable and fruit juices which I juice myself with a Matestone juicer. This does not change the enzyme process in the juicing, therefore allowing maximum nutritional value to the body.

I have also supplemented, for a long while, his diet with high potency Omega 3 with EPA and DHA. This I will discuss further in another post, but for for the purposes of this article, I use Ideal Omega taste lemon flavour, as it is a liquid and can be added to anything very easily.

It may be a good idea to sit down with the Neurologist or Dr and discuss through the drug chart, to familiarise yourself with the medications your loved one is being prescribed. I do this regularly, just to keep on top of the medications which may be added or doses that are sometimes adjusted.

I have certainly found, through personal experience, the complete removal of any Benzodiazipines (which again, I will do a more detailed article on) in Alex's recovery has helped his mood stabilise and his confusion be far less prominent.

It may take a very long while to resolve medication issues, and there are medical reasons why the patient has to be on them. So be patient with this. However, the less necessary ones i.e. the laxatives, I discovered Senna to be the best, most natural.

There are many others; the one used in Alex's circumstance: Movicol, I discovered, although very effective, in the longer term use relaxes the bowel and colon, therefore lessening the patient's ability to 'feel' the necessity to go to the toilet. So I have also removed this, and increasing the Senna seems to work.

As I say, this has been a hugely lengthy process, and we have just started the reduction of the Epileptic medication he is on Keppra. So I will report on this as I watch how this effects or does not, Alex's behaviour and mood.

This website here is the one I refer to time and time again for practical nutritional and juicing advice.

http://www.rebootwithjoe.com

Here are a couple of articles I read in my research to do with side effects of medication sin TBI patients.

http://towncenterwellness.com/services/drug-nutrient-interaction-analysis/

http://www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/nutrientdepl.html

There is No Such Thing as 'Plateau' in Rehabilitation.

This article was one I read fairly early on after my husband, Alex, had his accident. It is very informative and, although lengthy, is worth reading. I do have to warn you I did find some parts frustrating and rather patronising.

"When individuals first began to survive head injuries, "spontaneous recovery" was thought to occur for 6-18 months. With the clock ticking, family members frantically attempted to pack rehabilitation into that small "window of recovery." Once the time expired (if not before) intensive structured efforts to regain skills ceased and it was assumed that the injured individual would make no further progress. It soon became painfully clear, however, that the major long-term problems faced by head injured individuals and their families were in the area of cognition and behavior. Physical problems, while important, were managed more readily than the decreased memory, impulsivity, poor judgment, and social inappropriateness which frequently accompanied head injury. In fact, many family members discovered that if the injured individual remained in a wheelchair, he/she was much easier to supervise and control than when fully ambulatory. The wheelchair itself served as a reminder that the injury had occurred and that some behaviors were no longer possible.

Fortunately, it has also become increasingly clear that even individuals who sustain severe head injuries continue to recover old skills and learn new skills throughout their lives when appropriate learning strategies and environments are provided. This does not mean that the individual is unchanged by the injury or will ever be exactly the same as before the injury: a wheelchair may be required for mobility, writing may be done with the non-dominant hand, or adaptive equipment used to perform some activities. The critical point is that individuals who have sustained head injuries, like the rest of us, have the ability to learn, to modify their behavior, and to lead satisfying and productive lives.
The following points may help family members understand head injury and the ways in which recovery can be maximised:

Head injuries make the injured individual different but not necessarily worse. The first task of a rehabilitation program is the identification of the injured individual's strengths and weaknesses. Within a medical model, this assessment may focus on CT scans, neurologic examinations, nursing and other therapy evaluations and, in some cases, brief neuropsychological screening. Such procedures, conducted in a medical setting, overlook critical data about how the individual functions in the home setting and how the individual's family deals with behavioral and cognitive problems. Furthermore, these assessments tend to focus on deficits to be remediated to the exclusion of assets which could be developed and strengthened.
Even when the evaluations of health care professionals suggest that the injured individual will not recover, family members need to maintain hope. That hope should, however, be supported by detailed information obtained from health care professionals and supplemented by your own observations of the individual's behavior in a variety of circumstances. Pay particular attention to how the individual behaves in familiar environments with familiar people. Ask friends and neighbors for their observations. The more information which is used to make decisions, the better the decisions will be.

Successful rehabilitation treats the whole person in his/her normal environment. Since head injured individuals tend to have difficulty generalizing from one situation to another, rehabilitation efforts must consider the complete person at all times. Little progress will be made if speech therapy is conducted 2-5 times per week and never practiced outside the therapy setting. Similarly, if speech is only practiced in a seated position, the client may be unable to utilize new skills when standing or walking. The more new and emerging skills are practiced, the better they become. Repeated practice in a variety of settings facilitates making the new behaviors habitual.

Behavior control must precede cognitive and physical rehabilitation. The individual who survives a head injury may be confused, frustrated, angry, embarrassed, depressed or any of the other emotions we all experience. When simple everyday tasks become insurmountable challenges, the injured individual may lash out with words or fists, become extremely demanding, refuse to follow through on activities which would lead to independence, or engage in a variety of other behaviors which, while understandable, are inappropriate and destructive. Family members may understand the reasons for such behaviors, but if they are tolerated they will continue and probably worsen. It is critical that the injured individual be required to behave as appropriately as possible at all times.
If the injured individual's behavior is out of control, it is unreasonable to expect new learning to occur. Therefore, it is critical to develop effective behavior control by changing the environment, the caregiver, or the injured individual before directly addressing cognitive problems. Until the individual can attend and concentrate, learning will not occur. Inappropriate behavior may preclude admission to a rehabilitation program and severely increases the stress on family and the head injured individual. Many behavior problems of the head injured individual have little to do with the injury.

There is no such thing as a "plateau" in rehabilitation. Many rehabilitation professionals expect head injured individuals to "plateau", i.e., cease making progress, at some point in their treatment program. This belief usually terminates the formal rehabilitation program and ignores what we know about human development: growth ceases only with death. It is much more useful to view periods of apparent lack of progress as times of "consolidation", where the individual is gaining sufficient practice with new skills to make them become habits. When learning skills are impaired, it is unreasonable to expect the individual to learn new information and behaviors every day. Allow the individual a chance to glory in success before presenting new challenges.

Head injured individuals require tight structure in their daily lives to survive, grow and improve. Most of us lead highly structured lives: we awaken at the same time, follow the same pattern in morning hygiene, eat meals at the same time, and work the same hours each day. Grocery shopping, laundry, etc. are done on a schedule. This kind of structure allows us to put most of our lives on automatic pilot and reserve creativity, memory, and novelty for more important areas. Far too often, head injured individuals have no structure in their daily lives and therefore accomplish very little each day: they nap throughout the day and then can't sleep at night; they eat meals at varying times and therefore can't recall if they have eaten at all; they leave things wherever they please and then can't find them. Tight structure reduces the need to continually make decisions, vastly increases the capabilities of the injured individual, and significantly reduces the demands placed upon the caregiver.

The most effective rehabilitation following head injury occurs in familiar settings. Since head injured individuals frequently have difficulty generalizing new skills from one environment to another and learning new information, the most effective rehabilitation programs occur in the home setting/community where old learning is maximized. When injured individuals are transported to another city or state, much of what they learn cannot be applied when they return home: the familiar cues which facilitated recall in the treatment setting disappear and the new behavior cannot be elicited. Therefore, whenever possible, rehabilitation should occur in the individual's home and community.

Unconditional positive regard is unfair to the head injured individual. Head injured individuals have enough problems without increasing their burden by accepting any and all behavior. If family members tolerate behavior which drives others away, the injured individual becomes increasingly isolated from human contact and the burden on the caregiver becomes immense. The real world never offers unconditional positive regard and an individual who expects it will be sorely disappointed. One of the most constructive things you can do for head injured individuals is to provide accurate and realistic feedback on their behavior and its consequences.

Brain tissue may not re-grow, but we have only begun to explore the ability of the brain and body to find creative ways to accomplish tasks. Clinical practice and research are just beginning to explore the plasticity of the human brain and the results are overturning long-cherished beliefs about human potential. In my practice, for example, I have used hypnotherapeutic relaxation strategies to decrease severe ataxia and a variety of cognitive strategies to increase function in paretic extremities. In a more traditional vein, I have found that computers can be extremely powerful tools in rehabilitation. Unfortunately, the computer is a highly sophisticated tool which can do more damage than good. It is critical that programs be selected to meet the needs of the particular individual and that the material is presented at the appropriate level. It is frustrating to discover a head injured person who hates computers because they were presented at an inappropriate time or used inappropriate material.

One head injury is enough! Individuals who sustain a head injury are 3 to 8 times more likely to sustain additional head injuries. Some of these added insults occur because of the cognitive and behavioral deficits following the original injury: the impulsive person who has poor judgment may repeatedly place him/herself in dangerous situations and then be unable to cope. Adequate supervision reduces the risk but does not eliminate the possibility of additional injury. What can be prevented, however, is the additional risk presented by:

1. Exposure to toxic materials. Anyone who has sustained a head injury should avoid environments which have high concentrations of fumes or toxic substances. This includes paint and solvent fumes, chemicals, non-prescription drugs and alcohol.
2. Exposure to megavitamin therapy. Many vitamins and minerals are toxic in dosages above MDR and may interact in unknown ways with prescription medications or be metabolized differently by a damaged brain. A balanced diet may be one of the few pleasures left to a head injured individual and should meet nutritional needs without supplementation.
3. Failure to use seatbelts and protective headgear
4. Failure to take medications, particularly those required for seizure control, as prescribed.

Conclusion:

There is no question that maximizing recovery from head injury is expensive, time consuming, and emotionally draining. Like the rest of us, individuals who sustain head injuries rarely reach their full potential. At some point, the individual may "burnout" and decide that further efforts toward remediating deficits or acquiring additional skills is not worth the effort involved. The decision to temporarily suspend or terminate formal rehabilitation does not necessarily mean that recovery will stop or that skill levels will deteriorate. Even outside formal rehabilitation settings, individuals who have sustained head injuries will continue to grow, to develop new skills, to make new friends, and to earn their halos."

Just the beginning of a very big thing… MAKING WAVES FOR YOU

What is Making Waves for You?

I decided to set up this site for many reasons.

...

After my husband Alex WOOD suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) during rugby training on the 4th October 2011, I realised I had to cope not only with the grief, but the outside world, and making sure I was still doing all I had to be doing, and some!

Most predominantly because when the stress levels hit like sky rockets, and you do not how you are ever going to get through everything that is being thrown at you, I found myself eternally ‘googling’ medical terms, help for head injury, Severe TBI, the list goes on, trying to find a website such as this. I spent months trying to get my head around a myriad websites, and have collated all I have found the most helpful. The best websites to give advice where advice is desperately needed.

Hopefully through my very personal experience of my husband’s tragic brain injury and the repercussions of it, this site will be of use to anyone else out there who has just found themselves in the nightmare of their loved one suddenly being whisked away, life being no more anything as we knew it, and left to deal with the outside world, and everything that that entails. Being a one stop place information website where I could have just come across a website like this, hopefully with all the information you will need to be armed with in this situation, does not exist.

Head on Help is here to be a resources website for any information you may need, and guide you in the right direction. The most helpful sites, books I found and a bit of structure as to expectations, where no one can give you any.

I hope you find all you need, if not you can leave me a comment and I will do my best to get back to you and help wherever I can…

This is currently a work in progress and will be being updated regularly, the titles at the top of the page give you clear sections and the pages I am in the process of updating. All the information I have gathered, and am adding on.... So please watch this space...

Thanks,

Tamsyn