I have a brain injury. That means, through some incomprehensible bureaucratic logic, I receive social work, occupational therapy (OT), physiotherapy, etc. through my local CCAC or Community Care Access Centre, and case management through COTA Health, which stands for something to do with occupational therapy. And they only talk to each other if CCAC makes [...]

I read an article in The Toronto Star recently titled “A Blow to the Head is a Big Deal” by Megan Ogilvie (8 April 2011), and I knew I had to read it. It wasn’t long before I was grumbling and had to comment on it. So here are some excerpts with my thoughts. ““The [...]

A reader asked me recently about where I’m at with the GI Diet, if I’m still on it, and if it’s working for me. Back in 2009, my GP had recommended I go on it when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I had written a couple of followups, but my last one was over a [...]

I mentioned earlier that I had a Holter monitor test because I had drop-kicked atenolol out of my life. Well, today I got the results. I have had five Holters done total in the last twenty years and have been given copies of three of them, two of them from the cardiologist at a leading [...]

I’ve always had a heart that behaves a bit oddly. I had a couple of Holter monitors to see why. But nada. They offered but did not recommend an invasive and yucky test; the results would get me nowhere as the test was still in the research realm. So we left things as they were. [...]

Reader’s Digest. Canadian edition. Capt. Trevor Greene. Axe in head. Remarkable recovery. Against all odds. Miracle. Not. I really shouldn’t read these kinds of stories; they just put me in a bad mood, and I have to admit I tossed the Digest down after it asked the question of how Greene did it — why [...]

Note: Do not do what I describe in this post. I wrote this purely to share what happened to  me and as a warning about side effects — not to advocate doing what I did. Talk to your doctor about any concerns you may have about your medications before doing anything. “Take this,” the doctor [...]

Time for a second hypothalamus fix followup. My goal with devising my hypothalamus fix was to reduce body temperature and water retention; improve sleep and skin health; and get rid of the atenolol. Initial unexpected results included eliminating brain injury anger, reducing irritation significantly, stabilizing mood, and improving exercise tolerance. I began using my therapy [...]

It’s been about three months since I began what I’ve dubbed a hypothalamus fix. Basically, since no medical professional understood the problem, I decided to figure it out myself and “fix” the brain-injury induced problems of high body temperature, edema (water retention), diabetes, fast heart rate, varying blood pressure, skin irritations: basically an extreme version [...]