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Showing posts with label ▷ 2013 Oct 12. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ▷ 2013 Oct 12. Show all posts
Saturday, October 12, 2013
MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging
SSTattler: This is a long but useful article. Look at the article "How MRI works explained simply using diagrams" then you have a little more knowledge about the MRI.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), or magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize internal structures of the body in detail. MRI makes use of the property of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to image nuclei of atoms inside the body. MRI can create more detailed images of the human body than are possible with X-rays.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Video
Brain MRI
Published on Jun 13, 2012Meet Scott, a technologist for Michigan Residence Imaging. In this video Scott will take you through the procedure of recieving an MRI for your brain. Real video representation plays alongside narration to help give a better understanding of this thirty minute operation and ease any concerns you may have about your own appointment.
Standard YouTube License @ MRI Michigan
Saturday Comics
| For Better and For Worse Lynn Johnston - 2008-08-19  "He's been fine for so long..." | Dilbert Scott Adams - 2013-10-11  "You claim to be an introvert and yet..." |
Garfield Jim Davis - 2013-10-11  "Liz, I lied about my past." | Betty Delainey & Rasmussen - 2013-10-11  "There's not many people on Facebook who say..." |
*For Better and For Worse" is a serious topic of stroke but with a very nice cartoons. It is all about Grandpa Jim had a stroke and 88 further cartoon "strips" that happened to Grandpa Jim. See as well the cartoonist Lynn Johnston.
** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com and Dilbert.com.
*** Changed from "Pickles" to "Betty" -- "Betty" is a excellent cartoon and Gary Delainey & Gerry Rasmussen are authors/artists/cartoon-strips and they live in Edmonton.
Eclectic Stuff
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Definition: Eclectic(noun) a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
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Kate and Joyce - Two New Bloggers in SSTattler!
SSTattler:
Both are authors!, so, read the biography below and the books are available on Amazon. Kate lives in the UK so she is the first UK blogger for SSTattler. Welcome Kate & Joyce!
Guest Blogger - Kate Allatt
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| Kate Allatt A Rocky Stroke Recovery |
- Kate Allatt is ‘Extraordinary Woman of Year 2011’ who survived a devastating brainstem stroke with locked in syndrome at the age of 39.
- She founded Fighting Strokes site and has written two books to date – Running Free & Gonna Fly Now! (Amazon).
- Kate is an inspirational speaker, national advocate for anyone affected by stroke.
- Her charity has just become a member of the prestigious UK Stroke Forum.
- She is currently involved in various research projects to improve the improvement progress for all stroke survivors.
- Her own stroke highs & lows blog – A Rocky Stroke Recovery – has over worldwide 30,000 hits in just 18 months.
Guest Blogger - Joyce Hoffman
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| Joyce Hoffman The Tales of a Stroke Patient |
- Formerly, Joyce Hoffman was a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News and a consumer News writer for Channel 3, KYW-TV.
- She was an English professor at many universities including Temple and LaSalle.
- Author of Here's to Your Health: The Sobering Thoughts About Social Drinking.
- Joyce was a Corporate and Technical Trainer/Writer, most recently for Cozen O'Connor, an international law firm in Philadelphia.
- Currently she is a public speaker about strokes, and an author of "The Tales of a Stroke Patient" available from Amazon. .
- See Joyce Hoffman blog The Tales of a Stroke Patient.
fMRI
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| Amy Shissler My Cerebellar Stroke Recovery |
Everyone has heard of an MRI. Maybe you don’t know exactly what it is – well this is what it is. In simple terms, an MRI takes a picture of the soft tissues of the body. An x-ray takes a picture of bones. So if you break a bone, you get an x-ray. If you tear your ACL or have a stroke (like me!!!) you get an MRI. Well hopefully you get an MRI if you have a stroke, I almost didn’t. Anyway, an x-ray takes pictures of bones and an MRI takes a picture of pretty much everything else. So ever hear of a functional MRI(fMRI)? This is an MRI that scans your brain while you are performing a task. They can look at what part of the brain/how much of the brain is being used to perform that motion. The EXCITE trial kind of kicked off the excitement(no pun intended) about neuroplasticity (rewiring of the brain). This study showed that when a stroke patient is thought to have no more recovery in the brain, a whole lot of recovery can take place. Keep at it, the brain changes for the rest of your life.
Related articles:
- FMRI Brain Scanner Reads Thoughts Letter By Letter (medicalnewstoday.com)
See the original article + 4 comments:
The Mother of All Machines, aka The Mystifying MRI Experience
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| Joyce Hoffman The Tales of a Stroke Patient |
SSTtattler: An excerpt from Joyce's book The Tales of a Stroke Patient.
Since I had my stroke, my life has been bombarded with rules and regulations, right ways and wrong ways. And it's not getting any better.
"Don't sleep on your side. You'll fall off the bed." "You have to take the Coumadin [a pill] the same time everyday." "You shouldn't eat any of the foods on the new list." "You have to eat food before you take this medication." "You should walk around the house after an hour of sitting down." "You have to take a nap every day for one hour."
So many things in my life of do's and don'ts. <Sigh>. But without any doubt in my partially-altered mind, the most rules come with the mother of all machines--the MRI.
Thump. Rat-a-tat. Ping. Thawk. In case you're thinking of comic books and graphic novels, and the virtual sounds associated with these noises, <buzzer sound>, you're wrong. Those sounds are coming from the huge, medical machine, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which I had the mispleasure of using a bunch of times.
Taking on the World’s Media, For Those Who Can’t Speak For Themselves!
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| Kate Allatt A Rocky Stroke Recovery |
My recent radio interview at the British Science Festival 2012 in Aberdeen with ABC Radio Australia can be found here. Be inspired!
Transcript
Robyn Williams: One of the most startling figures at the British Science Festival was Kate Allatt, startling because only two years ago she was ‘locked-in’, seemingly in a vegetative state. Now she is running free, as she puts it. The problem started with a headache.
Kate Allatt: I had a headache for two weeks, busy mum. Well, I ignored the headache, but when I finally went to hospital complaining of a headache I was sent home with a ‘stress-induced migraine’ and some Co-Codamol. Six hours later I collapsed.
Robyn Williams: Then what happened?
Time is Important - So Some Good News....
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| Jeff Porter Stroke of Faith |
MRI images may pinpoint time of stroke:
Researchers found that MRI data could accurately determine if patients had experienced stroke symptoms within a three-hour period or less, which would allow the use of a clot-busting drug that works best if administered within that window of time. Tissue plasminogen activator, known as tPA, can dramatically reverse stroke symptoms in those whose strokes are caused by blood clots and blockages, which account for an estimated 85 percent of all strokes.
Strokes strike about 795,000 Americans each year, killing 137,000, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.
"A tool that can estimate the age of stroke would be of great value in cases of unknown stroke onset time," said lead researcher Dr. Catherine Oppenheim, professor of radiology at Universite Paris Descartes in France. "This concerns as many as a quarter of all stroke patients who cannot be given tPA because they wake up with stroke symptoms or are unable to say when their stroke began."
See the original article:
New Internist
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| Andrea A Year of Living In My Head |
My neurologist has been working on me a while to get an internist. I have so far tried out two - neither which clicked with me.
Trust. The first, when I told her my blood pressure ran high during menses she cocked her head sideways and said "Well, that can't be, why don't you come in and have the nurse take your blood pressure at that time and we will see". Like a) her nurse will get a more accurate read than my home cuff or the drug store and b)it is all in my head and she needed an official nurse reading. Also, her office was a ferry ride and 30 minute drive away.
Trust. The second charged me $310 a visit because I needed the "highest level care". She was never with me more than 10 minutes, frequently did not remember things she was going to do, and never crossed from her side of the room over to mine. Not sure that is $310 a visit care.
Size Matters...
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| Barb Polan Barb's Recovery |
When I was in Spaulding Rehab, it made me envious that other stroke survivors could do more than I could: my roommate could use a walker with wheels, holding on with both hands, PLUS she got to get out of bed and go into the bathroom by herself; the 22-year-old across the hall had an "I" written on her whiteboard, indicating that she was independent, while my whiteboard was filled with a list of everything I needed help with - exactly everything, except eating, which I have always been exceptional at; I played a game with a woman who had a stroke the week after I did - I could bat the ballon toward her using just my right hand, while she could use either, depending on where the balloon was. My solution was to whack the balloon at her just as hard as I could. Not a very good sport, was I?
How to Change Your Own Mind, Literally
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| Joyce Hoffman The Tales of a Stroke Patient |
"You can't be too skinny or too rich," said my old college buddy back in the 60s. But now you know the truth. Skinniness sometimes is related to anorexia or bulimia. And you've heard stories about the deaths of lottery winners who blew their money on drugs or died from being poisoned. My friend got it wrong. She should have said, "You can't be too brainy."
The brain controls everything, like our emotional outbursts to pain, our nervous eating, our ability to pee regularly, our resistance to confront people, our neurotic tastes. But what was thought prior to the 1970s--that the brain was fixed and couldn't be changed after early childhood--was wrong. The brain can process new experiences, like having a stroke, by creating neural pathways to accommodate them. Welcome to neuroplasticity, the game changer.
There are four key truths about neuroplasticity:
- Neuroplasticity is ongoing throughout life and involves brain cells and neurons.
- Neuroplasticity can happen for two distinct reasons--as a result of learning, experience, and memory or as a result of brain damage.
- Neuroplasticity can vary by age, and while plasticity occurs throughout life, certain types of changes are more predominant.
- Neuroplasticity and environment, both together, play an essential role in the process.
Pity Party
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| Pamela Hsieh Rehab Revolution |
As always, I encourage you to leave feedback in the comments section below, or e-mail me if you'd like to give input to what I've said.
I'd like to encourage anyone who's feeling a little hopeless right now to start taking action.
I know I talk about this all the time, but in the journey toward healing, you really need a balance of repetition, gentle encouragement, and tough love to keep you going. So on days I don't have a specific discovery to share or a particular therapy technique I feel like getting into, I try to put a new spin on the most basic principle to rehabilitation there is: doing something about your situation. After all, this site is about a rehab revolution, and it's all about attacking your setbacks as best you can to raise yourself above your injury/ies. And you can't do it without it coming first from your mentality, so although it seems simplistic to say "It's all mental," I can't stress more how true that is and will always do my best to keep you going.
RIP Beating Locked in Syndrome & What Makes Kate Allatt, Kate Allatt.
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| Kate Allatt A Rocky Stroke Recovery |
Setting the record straight.. (& a congratulations to a new birth!)
- Is Fighting Strokes charity Kate Allatt or is Kate Allatt Fighting Strokes? …
- Was my open’ Beating Locked In syndrome’ Facebook page, always about Kate Allatt?
Of course it was! It was my diary, warts and all, since May 2010 from when I was in hospital! (In retrospect, being an ‘open’ page was a big mistake, though I never fully appreciated that until this year!) Did it expose my ‘car-crash’ life at times, for sure. I’m fragile and vulnerable.
Did I pat-myself-on-the-back sometimes? Annoyingly perhaps, (and certainly not a very British thing).
Well, I did work alone after all, and the majority of time, I had no one to bounce off or share your inspirational successes with, especially since most of my own loved-ones seemed to me, to get ’stroke fatigue’ with me, a year and a half ago. (Don’t blame them, but when I realised this,I soon shut up completely about Fighting Strokes in ALL non-internet, social situations!
Stroke Survivors Everywhere
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| Richard (Dick) L. Burns Live or Die: A Stroke of Good Luck |
You made it.
You're a stroke survivor or you wouldn't be reading this blog.
You're unique, you're different. You have physical and mental problems...trust me, you'll continue to get better, not just well, but better! It works!
Sure, it's going to be hard work but it's going to be successful work. And, remember that you'll become a better person with each step you take to heal yourself. You ask, why me...can't answer that 'cause I don't know you - may be lifestyle, may be diet, may be heredity, may be illness.
But I do know something, because I've been there, done that. I'm a stroke survivor, too.
Pain, depression, speech, walking, movement, coordination, eating, just washing your hands and face or putting on make-up or shaving to keep your life up, make yourself feel better. Each step, each job is a taxing chore that at first takes unlimited time. It's all part of the healing process and it's worth it. And, it works! With today's medicine and therapy and assistance it'll probably take you 33 months, not the 33 years it took me.
There's more to come, 'cause I've a lot to say. To help you. The stages, the steps, the frustrations, the victory and celebration. That's why my book, a book written to help you.
Dick Burns
Book: www.liveordieburns.com
See the original article:
Sunday Stroke Survival ~ Failure is NOT an Option
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| Jo Murphey The Murphey Saga |
A few weeks ago Barb Polan talked on her blog about failures as a stroke survivor. I say failure is not an option I will not accept it in recovery ever. How about you?
- Do you look at your rehab efforts and recovery as failure?
- Do you look at you rehab efforts and recovery as humbling?
- Do you look at your rehab efforts and recovery as setting yourself up for failure?
Stop that! ( Dean that's for you grinning)
You are not empowering yourself, but demoralizing yourself and setting yourself up for failure. It is a self fulfilling prophecy. Ever heard of it? The thing about stroke recovery is that it's all about the brain...damaged brain, healing brain, thinking brain, and the visual brain. The human mind is powerful and is constantly learning until the day you die. The neurons are constantly firing to remember, to store, produce movements, and has redundant system operating systems just waiting for re-education and activation.Speech Therapy for Dysarthria or Aphasia Can be Stimulating!
October 3, 2013I use to hate doing traditional speech therapy for aphasia in adults, and so did most patients. It is often boring for everyone involved and may lack creativity and spontaneity. I can not tell you how many times patients have told me that speech therapy for them seemed boring and stupid. I am writing this blog today in order to make a point to everyone involved in the process. Speech therapy can be enlightening, exciting and educational for not only the person with the speaking difficulty but also for caregiver and therapist.
Speech Therapy does not have to be boring or stupid!
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| Speech Therapy does not have to be boring or stupid! |
Why I Can't Be My Own Therapist
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| Rebecca Dutton Home After a Stroke |
My post on finger exercises is a perfect example of why I can't be my own therapist. When I'm struggling with an object I don't have one brain cell left free to analyze what my body is doing. One advantage of being an OT is that I instantly understand what my OT is telling me. I thought the muscle that bends the joint closest to my thumbnail was the bad boy. My OT helped me understand that my real problem was weak muscles at the base of my thumb (see arrow). As an OT I know that a muscle imbalance gets worse when I use it so Cathy had my attention.
A 2nd advantage of being an OT is that I see the connection between exercise and function. I've done the exercise in the photo on the left all year round for SIX YEARS. WHY? I do this because the tip pinch I use to take bills out of envelopes and fold laundry isn't forceful enough to manage a zipper. I'm not independent in driving if I can't zip my coat when the weather turns cold. Brrrr!Frequent Orgasms May Protect Against Heart Attacks
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| Dean Reinke Deans' Stroke Musing |
All the news about your brain health all the time, no censoring. Ok, it doesn't directly mention stroke but close enough. Enjoy.
I'm sure that the faked orgasm that Sally had in When Harry Met Sally does not count. You do expect your doctor to know all about this and prescribe appropriate measures right after your stroke?
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And another reason to have sex:
Sex 4 Days Per Week Will Raise Your Salary Up To 5%.
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An orgasm a day keeps the doctor away!
There is also evidence that frequent orgasms may protect against heart attacks and keep our brains healthy. “Functional MRI images show that women’s brains utilize much more oxygen during orgasm than usual, similar to the effects of exercise,” says Barry Komisaruk, PhD, coauthor of The Science of Orgasm.
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Why Bad Sex Is Shortening Your Life
There is also evidence that frequent orgasms may protect against heart attacks and keep our brains healthy.
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Health benefits of the 'Big O'
According to sex and health experts, it is quite beneficial to both a man and woman's overall health if they have an orgasm three to five times per week - be it through sexual intercourse or masturbation. In fact, due to circumstances beyond your control, you may not always find a willing partner to achieve that 'Big O' that frequently, so, according to the experts, there is nothing wrong with 'self-service', and, as a matter of fact, you may be healthier for it in the end.
See the original article:
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