August 30, 2004

Being active on a few TBI lists I began thinking of a few things that I should have added to my updates and never did.  Heh, it's a BI thing, you know?

Very few people will actually "ask" about therapy although most want to know what you've done and are looking for a "quick fix", and although I hate to admit it, that isn't possible with a BI, at least in my lifetime anyway.  Or at least on the limited budgets that most of us have.

I have gone through a few different therapies, and I have to admit that some of the best I'm finding are those that don't require a high dollar doctor at all, in fact, they require your own time and a little bit of patience!

Now before you go off half cocked, let me explain myself a bit more.  I've had N.O.T. therapy (Neural Organizational Technique) which cost me a small fortune which I really didn't have and although I personally can tell you that many things changed for the better during that therapy (many things got "fixed" too), the average BI'er can't afford it.

When you're searching for answers, you must "think outside the box" because you will find that most of the traditional therapy although good isn't as effective as some of this "off the wall" stuff we've not heard of from our primary care doctors, neurologists or psychologists.

For instance, "Syntonics" which is a colored light.  I got from my vision specialist who let me stare at a specific colored light for no more than 20 minutes for 10 sessions.  I can almost see the look on your face while you're saying to yourself, "is she nuts?"  Well, that just might be more true than you know, but staring at this light caused my field of vision to open up fairly large compared to what it had been previously and it didn't "hurt", I didn't have to have any "shots" or "tests" that hurt either.  All I did was watch a light and set my alarm to go off after 20 minutes.  

I will have more information about this light therapy too and will show you the difference between my first test and my last test after only 10 sessions.  The good thing about Syntonics, is once it has helped the brain, it STAYS that way and doesn't reverse.  (cost for this unit about $150)  I borrowed the eye doc's lamp and it didn't cost a dime!

This first picture is of my 'Right' eye which is the one that was causing the most problems and had the worst field of vision.  Your visual cortex crosses (like an X) and apparently the damage from the impact caused this problem with my right eye beause of the area it was damaged in.  

The 'Circle' is the field of vision range I had...and it was very small (and so was my pupil too).  If things were 'normal' that circle would be about as big as the page (look at my left eye test result).  The amazing part of it all is the brain has a way of 'fooling' the body to let you think that you can see everything when in fact you can't!

This second picture is of my left eye and even though the field of vision is still smaller than it should be, you can see that it's a LOT bigger than the right eye.  

Somewhere in my files I have the updated test pictures, I just don't know where they are right now.  :-(  But you can at least see the difference between the two eyes.  When I was done with looking at this green light (a blue and yellow lense put together in the lamp), my right eye field of vision opened up like the left eye, and the left eye opened up even more!  Amazing, 'eh?  No drugs or needles either (I LOVED that part)!

Phase Two. I happened on a depression study (my NP gave me the info to fill out) which by the way is where almost 100% of BI'ers are at one time or another (look at the statistics if you don't believe me) so this is very beneficial information.  

I began a study using a LISS machine made by Dr Norman Shealy from Springfield, Missouri (A retired Neuro Surgeon), and a few other things like reading his book which I haven't been able to do because of my vision problems, and all this to help my BRAIN.  

Yes, it sounds totally crazy, but using this machine for 6 weeks brought my stress levels down to normal (or one point from normal).  No drugs, no pills, no creams, just hooking up a machine to my temples once a day in the morning for an hour!  My stress level was at a "60" (which I'm told is "moderate"), and six weeks later it was at "26", which I found out is one point above normal (normal being 25).  The cost of this machine is about $800 and that's a one time cost.  Because I participated in the study and stayed until the end, I got the machine for free as payment.

I'm continuing to use the machine every day and I can really tell when I've not had time or have forgotten to use it for a day or two.  Because of my brain injury, they have asked me to continue using the machine which I gladly am doing and I'll keep you updated on my progress as the study continues.

UPDATE:  I had my update the 14th of January, 2005 and remained at a 28 on the point scale (considering my husband had a major MVA a week and a half before and I had been caring for him at home).  I'm technically done with the study, and will of course get a copy of my testing for my own records which I think will be GREAT!  I continue to use my LISS machine and look forward to more changes as the brain begins to help itself heal!    

The thing that makes it all worth while is knowing that I can control my own stress levels by using this machine for one hour each day.  What a miracle Dr. Shealy has been!  You can find Dr. Shealy's web site HERE.

Now, why don't the doctors use this on their patients?  Why are they willing to put us through so many tests and costs when we could be spending a much smaller fee for something that will actually HELP us?  Why do they have to prescribe paxil, zoloft and a host of other drugs to numb us?  Is it that they truly don't know what to do with these patients who come in with problems they can't control?  Of course!  It's easier to give a patient a PILL than actually work with him/her to HELP them overcome the root of the problem.  Well, I have no more faith in doctors and will trust my own gut more because of the ignorance of many of the medical profession around here.

What I'm trying to say is there are many therapies out here, but because of our "limited" mentality, we don't even try to look for other answers and we believe someone who really couldn't take the time out of their busy day to help us unless we have money to pay them.  Whatever happened to a real doctor?  Well, if you figure that one out, please let me know, ok?

I do my own research.  I trust my own gut.  I listen and read and learn what to do with my own body.  And yes there may be things I've taken through the years that really haven't helped as much as I would have liked, but that's no difference than a doctor prescribing a pill that he's not sure will work either.  Instead I'm getting something that my body will recognize and it's not "synthetic" so it's absorbed more readily by my body and knows what to do with it.  This allows me to take a lower dosage most of the time and not have to worry about having "strange" things in my blood stream that shouldn't be there.

I have taken lots of static from those who swear by drugs, and I really don't care anymore because I'm finding that drugs aren't always the answer.  Maybe herbs aren't the answer either, but at least I'm still searching for answers and I haven't given in to drugs that only "dull" the pain or make me so "zombied out" that I don't care.  I'm willing to try something that's non invasive and won't hurt me, and when I find that things are changing for the better, what more would you want to ask?

These therapies are GREAT, and they're far less expensive than the traditional therapies that I'm not sure really help, and they actually can "change" the brains chemical makeup!  This is something that we all need to hear!  I'm willing to be the one who tells the story!  No Problem!

~ barbara jean ~

EXERCISE & BI?  I also have noticed that many BI'ers begin to gain weight when they are given many meds or if they're just stuck at home.  All I can tell you is I bought a Whirlwind stationary bike at Sears ($200) and have it sitting in my living room (so I have no excuses not to use it).  Shortly after I began using it for 20 minutes a day (in 5 minute increments), I began losing weight, and have lost 20 pounds (in 3 months).  If you are gaining weight with meds, try riding a bike, and if you're like me and you don't have much for balance, try the stationary bike.  Mine has large upright handles that use the arms too and I switch off and on with them using both the legs and the arms or just the legs or arms, but it has given my mostly "stay at home" body some much needed exercise!

I've found that my 5 minutes each have turned into 10 minutes each now and I've even begun adding an additional 5 minutes (a third time) for a total of 25 minutes each day!  I also try to use it shortly after I eat which helps my meals settle better too.  I've also found that I feel better also, and it gives me an excuse to stop whatever I'm doing and take a break on the bike while I watch something!  Ok, so I don't need an excuse to watch TV, but it does make it a lot more FUN!  I've decided to make this a permanent change in my life, and that's half the battle, right?!  Right!

January 2006