Category Archives: Health

Living with Alzheimers – Waving from the Road by Chris Suich

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Waving from the Road

After a restless night I knew what I had to do. I had to see Bob come what may!

I stood in the side road next to the care home and the care worker brought Bob to the  window on the first floor. He looked down at me and I waved madly but he didn’t seem to know me at first. As I waved my hanky at him the emotion overwhelmed me and the tears spilled down my cheeks as I tried to smile at him and do a ‘thumbs up.’  The lady opened the window and shouted down, ‘He says he loves you’ .

‘I love you too, darling, I love you too and I miss you madly. ‘ I shouted unaware of who else might be in the street watching this lunatic woman.

My lovely Bob is now in a care home as I simply couldn’t cope anymore. The lack of sleep due to the terrible nightmares and terrors that occurred at 4am most nights and the physical demands of it all had finally got to me. I knew the time had come. It had been 5 years and 3 months since we were told there was a memory problem. It had got much worse in the last 2 years and since the hospital admittance October 2018 for severe anxiety.

How was I to know that the next day the home would be in lock down and 2 weeks and 3 days later I still had not held his hand in mine or been able to kiss or hug him.

It was a different kind of torture.

I have transferred one nightmare for another! So I am taking in to the reception area of the home photographs of us and the boys in happy times, little letters to be read to him, pictures that we had at home and cards with little newsy updates on. His soft comfy blanket for the bed, he must have that!

I am trying to keep the memory of us alive. I hope he will remember me a little longer but I know in his heart I am there and he will always be in my heart and soul! I am lucky to have been so loved by him, my husband, loyal and supportive.

This CV19 is a terrible virus and we are all having to make sacrifices but for me it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Don’t Let Lockdown Stop You Getting Quality Meals

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I have had to use my initiative to get food during the COVID-19 pandemic. March saw shelf stripping and even now online food delivery is (for me at least) impossible.

So the people at Love Yourself sent us some food to try. They make gourmet food which is delivered to you daily. They have different diets so you will find the right one for you. We tried the Keto diet.

The food arrives in trays and has the calorie count and nutritional value on it. You can heat things up in the microwave or some things can be eaten cold. So far so easy, but how does it taste?

Amazing. My husband is notoriously hard to please and even he said he had never eaten so well. I have reviewed hundreds of restaurants and this food is restaurant-quality. It is expensive with a starting price of £21 but I would recommend it if you have the money.

The sight of bare shelves in your local supermarkets is something we are all becoming familiar with, we want to avoid these busy shops and overcrowded public transport at all costs. So while your continuing to find your feet with home-work life and new ways to get some exercise into your day it can be a challenge to think of nutritional balanced meals daily. Take the weight off your shoulder and allow your meals to come right to your door with Love Yourself. Dedicated to the health, happiness and well-being of their customers all the hard work is done for you. No cooking is required simply place in the microwave to heat up following the instructions provided then your free to reap the rewards of these delicious yet nutritious meals. To help strengthen those motivation levels and achieve those daily goals rather than giving in to the temptation to sit on the sofa and binge watch a box set.

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As restrictions mean we are spending much more time at home, with such uncertainty it is so important to maintain the attitude ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ that way you can face the day well-nourished with a sense of positivity and motivation whatever comes our way. LoveYourself provide the most immune boosting meals safely, straight to your door.  Calorie controlled premium diets freshly prepared, using an exciting array of seasonal ingredients containing no processed meats, additives or preservatives.

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While day to day live may become monotonous for the creators at Love Yourself it continues to be of paramount importance to keep things exciting in the kitchen, changing diet menus on a weekly basis so you’ll never get bored, which encourages weight loss and an improvement to your overall health.

 

 

No time to go to the shops?  Shops run out of stock? Love Yourself has you covered catering to your dietary requirements whether that be vegetarian, gluten free, keto or pescatarian. All food is prepared in a clean, sanitized facility with strict hygiene procedures in place. All food is packaged in sterile, food-grade containers, with an airtight seal to ensure its freshness and uncompromised hygiene until it is opened and enjoyed in your own home.

 

 

Looking for recommendations to help boost your immune system, read in full at; https://www.loveyourself.co.uk/blogs/news/immune-boosting-foods-that-ll-help-fight-off-the-coronavirus-and-more

 

The Love Yourself Meal Box, is available to buy online from £21.00 (daily) at LoveYourself.

Ways to recover after partying all night

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sweet potato, salad, health, diet, weight loss,The morning after the night before can sometimes be a bit of a painful one depending on how hard you push it. Like so many other party animals, you can get a bit carried away, then you’ll be pleased to know there are certain things you can do to speed up the recovery process. 

While the obvious advice is to take it easy in the first place, that might not be right for you mainly if there’s a big celebration afoot. Take a look at some cheats for life when you hit 20 and few suggestions below, and hopefully, you’ll be able to conduct damage limitation and feel human again sooner rather than later!

  1. H2Oh-yes

Yes, it is that simple. One of the main issues with a hangover is dehydration so this time when you are drinking, make sure it’s water-based rather than vodka-based! Some sugar can give you an energy boost too so you could choose one non-carbonated sugary drink too and get that down you. You might also want to try some rehydration sachets. They are a rapid way to replenish lost salts that will make you feel lousy.

  1. Eat up

Alcohol depletes our inner resources, so your instinct is to crave high fat, high salt, high badness foods. These can make us feel better in the very short-term, but the likelihood is you will feel worse afterwards. Try to choose foods that will help including 

  • Complex carbs – such as wholemeal bread to give you some energy
  • Eggs – these contain cysteine, which is an amino acid that helps breakdown acetaldehyde, the root cause of hangovers 
  • Bananas. These are full of potassium and magnesium, which you lose when you are boozing. Potassium will combat nausea plaguing you as well as that awful feeling of fatigue
  1. Pop the pills

While a headache may well be caused by dehydration, it can also be compounded by tiredness, tension and maybe a bit too much load music. And that’s why painkillers were invented! If the feelings of sickness are chaining you to your bathroom floor too then consider trying some anti-sickness tablets. Moreover, if you become somewhat more frivolous with your attitude towards contraception, then you might also want to treat yourself to a morning after pill to be on the safe side. The symptoms of unprotected sex last much longer than those of a hangover if you aren’t careful! 

  1. Love yourself

You may have been loving someone special last night or even everyone on the dancefloor but do not forget to save a bit for yourself for the next day. A hangover is always exacerbated by the beer fear and feelings of guilt and shame that frankly, torture yourself with isn’t needed. Most of us have been there, so try not to be too tough on yourself.

In the moment, the next day can feel torturous but remember – it only lasts a day. The memories you recreate from having a great time with friends and family will last forever, long after the hangover has passed. Follow our tips to feel better and enjoy yourself. Just ensure that you are safe while you are doing it!

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Living with Alzheimers – A Parallel Universe by Chris Suich

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 I sometimes think I’m in a parallel universe!
Is there a link between autism and Alzheimer’s? I sometimes think so? As a special educational needs co-ordinator I often come across parents who talk about obsessions in their children’s behaviours. This has been a similar thread throughout this journey. It began with jam and cornflakes!
I remember going to see our consultant when Bob was in denial about his diagnosis.
‘Tell the Dr about the cornflakes,’ I cajoled.
‘What about the cornflakes?’ Bob snapped.
‘You know the fact we’ve got 18 packets of Special K with red fruit on the larder shelf!’
‘Yes well that’s because they are on offer at Co-op and I’m saving money.’
‘But what about the jams?’ I continued as Bob kicked me under the table to shut up.
‘Well, they are all different flavours’, he explained to the doctor (All 20 jars of them). This was the thing with Bob he was so clever he always had an answer which sounded quite reasonable.
Then there was the obsession with buying the same type of things. The shirts, the mugs, records, and strangely hoodie.! Most bizarre for someone that had never wore a hoodie in his life!
Then there was the collecting of things like leaves, – full carrier bags brimmed to the top with leaves picked during Autumn walks. A neighbour told me about the litter picking too and the going through the neighbours bins checking they had put the correct things in the correct bins!
Then re- distributing anything he found into the correct bin!
Our neighbours were always tolerant and kind. Even the shop keepers were lovely letting me take back items he bought for a full refund.
But how strange. Just another stage of the dementia which I managed as best I could.

 

Things I am Doing During The Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic

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coronavirus, COVID-19, staying sane, healthy, self isolation, social distancing, 2020 has brought the super scary coronavirus, official name COVID-19, to our lives. We live in uncertain times and I think we are all feeling anxious. Social distancing is essential at the moment but has an impact on our mental health. Ditto for self isolation. Well, as I saw on Facebook, our grandparents were asked to go to war. All we have to do it read and watch Netflix.

I have young children so hunkering down and binging on Netflix is sadly not an option for me. But I am doing the following things for myself.

Learning a language everyday. I do Duolingo which is amazing and free as well as Babble.

Reading. I am lucky to get sent a lot of books. I even got sent one from one of my favourite authors, Adele Parks, today. I read when my children let me or when they have gone to bed.

Staying active. We are lucky to have a garden but there is also a lot of stairs in our house. Cleaning and tidying are good but it is important to do actual exercise. The NHS recommends 150 minutes a week.

Keeping in touch with my friends and family via WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and FaceTime. I am lucky as a self-employed freelancer that I am used to not having a lot of people around me. I do miss it though!

Switching off. Sometimes I just put my phone away and turn the TV off. The constantly rising numbers and scare stories can be too much.

Eating as healthily as possible. Food is medicine. There are few greater truths in life.

I also watch TV or try to watch a film. It is good to keep my mind of things.

After my surgery last year and then getting a life-threatening illness (pneumonia and pleurisy. In both lungs because I like to go all out, clearly) I appreciate the small things in life. Sometimes I am in the garden or even just having a shower and I realise how much of a miracle life is. There is beauty everywhere.

For my children.

I am making sure I take them out into the garden. We play football usually but my daughter also loves bubbles. I read them a lot of books and they do a lot of writing too. I am trying to work on their development as much as possible with various toys and games. I have two under four so they are still at a crucial stage in their development.

My daughter is too young to know what is happening and my son is not worried. I am thankful for this. I shower them with kisses and cuddles every day.

Has your holiday been cancelled?

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If your plans for a holiday have fallen foul of the recent travel warnings or flight disruptions, it is a perfect opportunity to put into action all those projects you have been putting off.

You could write a book, compose a song or learn something new. So don’t despair there are plenty of enjoyable ways to occupy yourself without interacting with strangers or flying off to a different country.

Stay at home and learn

If you have always had a burning ambition to learn a different language, play the guitar, or write a book, now is your chance. With a broadband connection or a CD player, you can do all of these and more.

There is a multitude of online resources to help you fill your time in isolation, and some of them are free. With music available for lead, bass or even Ukulele, you can emulate Peggy Lee Radiohead or Oasis. All you need is patience and some equipment.

If you want to learn a language in preparation for when life returns to normal, then the world is your oyster, and it won’t cost a penny. From beginner, intermediate or conversational level, you can learn a little or a lot depending on your mood. It might not make you proficient, but it will give you an excellent start.

Duolingo is a free resource which is easy to use and good fun. OpenCulture can help you learn the most popular languages French, Spanish, Italian, and the harder ones like Mandarin and Russian. Even obscure ones like Icelandic and Gaelic.

You Don’t Have to Love Your Body, Just Don’t Hate it.

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pregnant, woman, pregnant woman, Catherine Balavage

Me when I was pregnant with my son.

It is fair to say that at some point most of us have had a complicated relationship with our body. Women in particular get a rough ride. The media constantly tells us we are not tall enough, thin enough or tanned enough. Yes, the body positive movement has happened, but it is being sold to us by the same people who made us feel crap about our bodies for decades, and do not get me started on how their tagline is usually about ‘real’ women. It is so condescending. There are no fake women. Airbrushing women within an inch of their lives, while those women were already over five foot ten and a size eight, does not make these women an ideal that ‘real’ women no longer have to aspire to because you are woke now.

The beauty industry is still trying to sell us cellulite creams. In 2019 I was still seeing articles on how to get rid of cellulite. It is truly shocking. Babies have cellulite, children have cellulite, even men have cellulite, but for some reason only women are told that it is somehow not normal and we have to spend our time and energy getting rid of it. God forbid we work on our brains instead of our thighs.

P.S: dimples are cute.

Yes, I rant a bit but I have my reasons. As a teenager I thought my body looked awful. All I saw was flaws. Now I am in my thirties and I think it truly is amazing. There are parts I am not keen on, the bits of fat that accumulate around my C section scar and are hard to shift, for example, but I refuse to hate it. My body has made two beautiful children and been through two very different births: one emergency C section and one VBAC. It has been pregnant four times but only has two children and it has endured two traumatic surgeries.

The last few years I have been the fittest I have ever been in between my pregnancies. I am at my lowest weight in ten years and I am proud when I manage to make healthy choices, and gentle on myself when I do not. It makes me sad when I think about how long it took me to love my body on my good days, and not hate it on my bad ones. When I was a teenager I was ill with glandular fever. I was bedridden for years and it took a lot of time to get healthy again. My education was affected and it is only now I am managing to find the time to rectify that. You would think it that was an important lesson but I spent my twenties working fourteen hour days, going to parties and over-exercising. Turns out you can not exist on canapés and champagne alone. My main food groups were pasta and cereal. It is embarrassing to think about now that I try to make sure I have at least five-a-day and that I do not exert my body to much.

What I am trying to say is that your body is amazing. YOU are amazing, and while you do not have to love every part of your body, do not hate it. It is a miracle.

Will you be covered by your travel insurance?

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We are in worrying times and faced with the ultimate decision would you choose health over money. Is it worth the risk?
Insurance is a necessary evil and an added expense designed to safeguard travellers. It could be a saviour if you are caught in a difficult situation once you are on your holiday. But will it cover you if you want to cancel your holiday and stay at home?  

Insurance rules for epidemics and pandemics

Unfortunately, everything comes down to the stuff we hardly ever read – the small print. Previous outbreaks of world-threatening viruses like SARS, Ebola and Zika, have influenced insurers to be cautious and include only the necessary coverage for such events. And epidemics and pandemics have become excluded from most insurance coverage. Leaving holidaymaker covered for what will happen to them, but not what might happen to them. The World Health Organization has declared the latest virus outbreak as an international health emergency. However, although the insurance companies agree, they aren’t surprised by the newest virus to reach epidemic proportions, and to them, it is an expected risk they have already factored into their policies

Despite the lockdown happening in Italy at the moment, Europe is not on code red yet. There has been no official warning from the FCO not to travel in Europe. Special care should be taken in areas of South Korea (Daegu & Cheongdo) and China is still a no go zone. An FCO warning is the deciding factor for the airlines, travel agents, holiday and insurance companies, to motivate them to cancel flights or holiday packages and issue refunds.

Should I take my family on holiday?

The general insurance small print on the matter of epidemics or pandemics states that most claims will be assessed based on individual cases. But this doesn’t give much assurance to an average family about to embark on an international flight. And it doesn’t provide enough information for anyone debating whether to put health & safety first and stay at home instead. At the moment The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)  and the government are asking travellers to reconsider their need to travel rather than giving a direct warning. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean much to the insurance companies and asking the public to contemplate whether it is wise to travel will not entitle them to a refund for their holiday. Deciding to travel without heeding the advice of the FCO may forfeit your right to claim back any of your medical expenses or costs of repatriation. However, if your destination was not on the ‘no go’ list when you travelled but has subsequently been upgraded, you will fall into an insurance grey area, and any settlement will be based on discretion when you make a claim. In some areas, the risk may be low, but that doesn’t mean that in the worst-case scenario, it won’t escalate or in the best-case, diminish to nothing. Cancelling a holiday you have promised your kids for months. Or have saved your pennies to make happen, is a tough choice. But there may be other factors to consider when making a final decision. Do you need to go? Is your health good? Is anyone you will be travelling with vulnerable (young, elderly, or has a suppressed immune system? The decision will be a real tug of war between your head and your heart.

Best and worst-case scenarios

If you’ve planned your trip a long way in advance. Hopefully, you booked your insurance before the latest epidemic scare started too. If so, it is likely you will be refunded if the FCO advises against travel to your destination, and your journey is cancelled, rescheduled or shortened by the providers. Unfortunately, if the FCO haven’t declared your destination a ‘no go’ zone, it is unlikely that you will be able to recoup any of your initial your costs unless you can change or defer your holiday. Hotels are usually more forgiving in these cases. And some airlines are more forgiving when changing flights than others. However, the budget airlines tend to be strict unless you have taken precautions in advance and booked a trip with extra adaptability. If you decide to take the risk and travel to a destination not banned by the FCO, you should be medically covered if something happens, as long as your insurance policy was booked in advance. However, the level of cover differs between companies and policies. And make sure you take appropriate precautions to reduce the risk of infection. Otherwise, it is unlikely you will receive any compensation at all.