TBI Journey

I'm taking a weaving class next week. My last class, on Navajo weaving, was the first class I'd taken since my TBI many years ago.

I don't do well in classroom settings because of multiple issues, including short term memory deficits, inability to divide my attention Which means I can't take note while listening to someone speak) and distractions in the room interferring with my ability to pay attention.

I understood what my instructor was telling me in my weaving class, but forgot a lot of what was said which made trying it on my own afterwards less than productive. I decided not to continue this weaving style, with part of the reson being the inability to remember how to do techniques.

I'm taking another weaving class next week, in a type of weaving Ive been learning on my worn through reading and some videos. I hope to get a lot of good information from the instructor, but am worried about retaining it.

Have any of you found a good quality speech to text or transcription app that is free or priced reasonably for intermittent use? I don't want to pay an annual cost for something I'll likely use only a few times a year. The few I found with a free option have very limited transcription minutes so won't work for a multi-day class.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I got this from a friend's page
She credited it to Marina.
This is true for many folks but likely for all of us dealing with the long term consequences of traumatic brain injury.

More folks are talking about reducing alcohol intake for better health.

I drink minimally, not wanting to feel more cognitively impaired than I already am. I also notice sleep issues when I have a drink in the evening, something I'm not willing to deal with.

I'm lucky that because of an alcoholic father and the effect it had on me in my later teen years and especially during college I have no interest in being a regular drinker. I don't particularly like the taste of most alcohol, I have to disguise it to drink it so what's the value?

I'll keep it to a minimum to improve my overall health risk profile.

Less alcohol, or none at all, is one path to better health Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart but better research methods have thrown cold water on that idea.

There are many foods thought to improve our brain health. Unfortunately, or fortunately as far as I’m concerned, you can’t just take supplements of these nutrients to get the same benefit as has been seen over time with many things. Eating the food, likely with the interaction of multiple elements in the food, provides more benefit than taking a pill containing the element. Plus eating good food is fun.

“You might be tempted to gobble supplements to get these nutrients, but a report from the Global Council on Brain Health says that “for most people, the best way to get your nutrients for brain health is from a healthy diet.” The council says supplements have not been proven to provide the same benefits.”

7 Nutrients That May Help Support Brain Health To keep your head in the game, look for foods with the right stuff

I made an amazing discovery about the help AI can be to me personally. I attended a meeting with a friend yesterday, something I don't do a lot of because of the overstimulation and the fact I remember so little due to my short term memory issues. I also can't take notes due to inability to divide my attention, as soon as I start writing I'm no longer hearing what is being said.

I decided to record the meeting with my cell phone recorder function, though I hate listening, stopping, taking notes, restarting.....

I went serching for free online transcribing services. The first couple I found that had offers for free level of services only allowed a limited time, usually an hour and the meeting lasted almost 90 minutes.

I found Turboscribe, they offer 3 transcriptions (no time limit that I could see) free/day. I had placed my cell on the table where the speaker was, with the microphone pointing into the room. The transcription was amazingly accurate and complete, picking up questions from an audience the size of a full school classroom.

I'm taking a 1 week one-on-one weaving class the end of June and plan to use my cell phone to record any class-type activities we do, as well as any teaching interaction during the day. I can transcribe this and come home with great notes on what I've been taught.

TurboScribe: Transcribe Audio and Video to Text or Subtitles in Seconds Convert unlimited audio and video files to accurate text in seconds. 99.8% accuracy, 98+ languages, transcribes in seconds. Download as docx, pdf, txt, and subtitles. Import audio and video files. Export accurate text and subtitles. TurboScribe is fastest, most accurate AI transcriber on Earth. Don'...

I finally know what you call something I lost with my last concussion.

Aphantasia: Thinking That’s Out of Sight Aphantasia is a characteristic where you can’t form mental images to “see” things in your head. Learn more about this trait.

Aging is associated with cognitive decline for many. For those of us with cognitive challenges from BI/TBI, it's important to do everything we can to prevent or slow worsening cognitive function related to aging.

Some things aren't preventable, such as genetic predispositions to dementing disorders. But even here, lifestyle changes may slow the course of these conditions. One of the areas where we can control risk is in our diet. How much and what kinds of foods we eat affect our general health as well as brain health.

Other important areas that are involved with brain health risk include physical exercise, brain exercise (doing things that are novel and complex), managing sleep and stress as well as having active social interactions.

I wanted to share this info for anyone who is a caregiver for a veteran.

"AARP and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation announced that Respite Relief for Military and Veteran Caregivers, originally a pilot program in a handful of states, is going nationwide. The program gives some eligible family caregivers access to no-cost, short-term assistance to help those caring for wounded, ill or injured veterans or service members."

Respite Program Offers Free Help to Military Caregivers AARP and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation are teaming up to assist those caring for injured veterans and service members with free respite relief.

A real benefit for family caregivers of veterans.

Respite Program Offers Free Help to Military Caregivers AARP and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation are teaming up to assist those caring for injured veterans and service members with free respite relief.

We buy dark chocolates and have a treat of 1 a day. It is a special treat and at that level we feel its benefits are worth the extra calories. For me, knowing that treat is there every day usually keeps me from wanting other treats during the day, satisfying my urge for sweets. The brain and other benefits are a bonus.

The Benefits of Having a Healthy Relationship with Chocolate Are you and chocolate on the outs? It may be time to make amends. Find out how having a balanced relationship with chocolate may be good for your overall health.

When parts of the brain aren't regularly stimulated they don''t function as well. This is seen with all of the senses, but hearing is pretty critical. When we were caretakers for my dad, I saw his lack of interacting socially due to his poor hearing. He had always been someone who could carry on conversations with anyone, on any topic. When he couldn't hear, he just sat, unengaged, in groups of family or friends.

I know several folks with hearing loss, from mild to severe who I've been encouraging to get tested and fit with hearing aids before it is too late. The aids are usually easier to adapt to when they are introduced with less severe hearing loss.

Dementia: How hearing aids can help reduce the risk Experts say hearing aids can help people engage in conversations and activities, which in turn can lower a person's dementia risk

January is a time when many work on limiting or eliminating alcohol consumption.

Drinking alcohol isn't good for brain health. With excessive drinking you risk repeated TBIs, alcohol disrupts sleep and is associated with physical, mental and social interaction problems.

"In January 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that no level of alcohol consumption is considered safe for human health."

"There are many benefits to stopping alcohol consumption. Long-term, it leads to reduced risk of liver damage, many cancers, including throat/oral cancer, esophageal cancer, breast and colorectal cancer, among probably many others,” said Dr. Suneel Kamath, of Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute, to Medical News Today. Dr. Kamath was not involved in the current research."

"Also, all types of alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine and spirits, are linked to cancer, regardless of their quality and price. There is sufficient evidence that reduction or cessation of alcoholic beverage consumption can reduce the risk caused by consumption for those who currently consume alcohol."

Can drinking less alcohol reduce your risk of cancer? Accumulating evidence shows that people who cut out alcohol can reduce their risk of developing some forms of cancer. Decreasing alcohol intake decreases the production of acetaldehyde in the body, which in turn, reduces the risk of certain cancers including colon, breast, and oral cancer.

This was in a newsletter I get from Dr. Sandel, author of the book Shaken Brain. It is a newsletter worth getting. It isn't sent too often but has pertinent information.

About her:
Elizabeth Sandel, MD
Concussion and Brain Injury Specialist
Elizabeth Sandel, MD has been providing medical care to patients with brain injuries for more than 35 years. Specializing in brain injury medicine, she currently serves as Medical Director for Paradigm Management Services, an organization that provides medical case management throughout the U.S. to catastrophically injured workers, including those with concussions and other brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and multiple trauma.

Why I Am Not Surprised About the Latest CTE Research - Elizabeth Sandel, M.D. Millions of children play contact and collision sports in the US, with high risks for head impacts. Repetitive hits can result in concussions or subconcussions without immediate evidence of neurologic injury. CTE is a brain disorder caused by repetitive hits to the brain from sports such as football...

Maintaining brain function as we age is important to most folks. We want to stay mentally active and interactive with our family and friends.

I've highlighted some bullet points from the attached article but it is well worth the read for those of us in our 60s and beyond as well as those with family members and friends in this age group. Ignoring cognitive function impairments means loosing a chance at interventions that can delay or even prevent dementia consequences with further progression. Even something as simple as corrected vision or hearing loss can make a significant difference in our cognitive functioning over time.

"risk-based MCI detection, which focuses attention on people at greater risk, would help identify more cases because time and resources could be focused on those people. Digital tests administered before a medical visit could also aid in detection efforts.

Early treatment is vital because the brain is limited in its ability to recover. Lost brain cells don’t grow back and damage can’t be repaired, researchers noted."

“For MCI caused by Alzheimer’s disease, the earlier you treat the better your outcomes,” Mattke said. “This means even though the disease may be slowly progressing, every day counts.”

"In one studyTrusted Source, researchers looked at data from 40 million Medicare beneficiaries, 65 years and older, and compared the proportion diagnosed with MCI with the rate expected in this age group. They reported that fewer than 8% of expected cases were actually diagnosed.

That means that of the 8 million individuals predicted to have MCI based on their demographic profile – which includes age and gender – more than 7 million went undiagnosed."

"In the second study, researchers reported that 99% of 200,000 primary care clinicians under-diagnosed MCI."

"'Merrill said examples of significant modifiable risk factors for dementia include poor diet quality, low physical exercise levels, hearing loss or uncorrected vision changes, exposure to toxins or pollution, and high levels of chronic stress.

'Even without clinical tests or doctor visits, there’s so much we can start working on today to improve the brain health of ourselves and our loved ones,' he said. 'It’s never too early, or too late, to start working on your brain health – every day is the right day to start.'”

Mild cognitive impairment: Most people are unaware they have condition Researchers say most people with mild cognitive impairment aren't aware they have the condition, a situation that can lead to late diagnoses and a lack of early preventive treatment

It takes lots of input for the brain to process the world around us. Loss of any of the senses butys a strain on the brain. I've seen the results of hearing loss in my father, who lived with us the last 3.5 years of his life. A formerly outgoing person became a shell of himself, rarely initiating conversations. It didn't help that he'd also had a brain injury, resulting in deficits in initiation.

We encouraged him to get a hearing aid through the VA, and it did seem to help. But, he had spent too many years without adequate hearing and the incoming sounds, even though he had a top of the line hearing aid at the time, were too startling and bothersome to him. He eventually left it sitting in his drawer and became much less social in public settings.

I always thought decreased hearing would worsen dementia risks, but didn't realize how much as seen in this article.

Hearing aids may reduce your risk of dementia by half, study says | CNN Researchers have known for a decade that hearing loss increases a person’s risk for cognitive decline, but there wasn’t enough evidence to know if that could be mitigated by hearing aids. In the first randomized control trial, scientists have found some hope.

This is why I have a healthy concern about preventing or delaying dementia. I was told in my outpatient rehab program that my repetitive concussions had quadrupled my risk.

I have a long term care policy i paid fro while a Kaiser physician that I've maintained since having to leave medical practice in my mid-40s. It covers only a drop in the bucket of these average costs.

Memory Care Costs | Average Costs of Dementia & Alzheimer's Care As older adults move toward retirement age, more and more find themselves facing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. In 2022, the Alzheimer’s Association reported that approximately 6.5 million people were living with Alzheimer’s, the main cause of Memory care is crucial for ...

Risk factors found to be associate with increased risk of dementia in the following study are:
1. age
2. education level
3. parental history of dementia
4. material deprivation or poverty
5. history of diabetes
6. stroke
7. depression
8. hypertension (high blood pressure)
9. high cholesterol
10. living alone
11. being male.

Many of these are not modifiable but the foundations of good brain health can help those that are modifiable. They are things I've posted about many times in the past; Diet(Healthy diet for brain like the MIND Diet), Physical Exercise, Cognitive Exercise(Doing activities that are Novel & Complex) and Emotional Health (Socialization, Good Sleep Habits and Stress Management).

Dementia: 11 key risk factors may predict disease 14 years sooner Researchers in the United Kingdom have developed a new screening tool for dementia development, which relies on 11 key risk factors. The risk score is up to 80% accurate in its predictions.

Breathing seems so automatic that we hardly pay attention to it but breathing right is very important for so many functions.

Beat stress, get to sleep and find your focus: seven ways better breathing can improve your life We do it 20,000 times a day but the way we breathe in different scenarios can have a big impact. From tongue position to finding your D-spot, experts share breathwork techniques

More and more folks are being diagnosed with sleep apnea as awareness increases. Not getting enough good sleep, as well as the cardio-respiratory effects of obstructed breathing are bad for cognitive function.

Here are some tips from the article below to help reduce sleep apnea symptoms:

"How to reduce sleep apnea symptoms
Dr. Laura DeCesaris, a functional medicine doctor and health and wellness coach, not involved in the study, told MNT that lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, not smoking, and not drinking, can help decrease obstructive sleep apnea.

In addition, she offered the following tips to improve sleep:

-managing stress more effectively and paying attention to where the body holds stress — many people hold tension in their neck and shoulders, resulting in this forward head carriage and posture not conducive to proper breathing
-paying attention to sleep posture, as side sleeping can sometimes help with symptoms
-since chronic inflammation in the gut and nasal passages often makes breathing through the nose difficult modifying the diet and switching towards a more anti-inflammatory diet where possible could help
-exercising regularly
-staying hydrated and trying out a humidifier in the bedroom, especially in a dry climate."

Cognitive function impairment linked to obstructive sleep apnea Data from five recent studies suggest that preventing obstructive sleep apnea and consolidating sleep can help protect cognitive function in adults without dementia or stroke.

And for just general healthy living and longevity, here are some good habits to take on or avoid.

Longevity: 8 habits can add 24 years to lifespan, new study finds New longevity research suggests that eight simple, healthy habits, such as not smoking and being physically active, can add decades to one's life expectancy.

Time will tell if probiotics are associated with or lead to the prevention of cognitive function. In the meantime, with other positive benefits showing up I have my morning shot of kombucha daily. My partner has a gallon container of it brewing in our pantry continuously.

Taking a daily probiotic may help slow age-related cognitive decline A clinical trial shows that people with mild cognitive impairment who were given a probiotic for 30 days scored higher on cognitive tests. The findings suggest that manipulating gut bacteria could hold promise for cognitive impairment and other conditions.

I've subscribed to newsletters from Dr. Elizabeth Sandel, one of the early specialists in concussion and brain injury to get certified in Brain Injury Medicine. I had the pleasure to meet her early on in my journey with TBI when we both attended a national Kaiser Permanente conference in California.

She is the author of a book about concussions, and active in the field.

I thought this article was a good overview of Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy. It is the therapy that helped me the most getting back to a productive and satisfying life.

What Is Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy? - Elizabeth Sandel, M.D. Learn more about what cognitive rehabilitation addresses in someone who has impairments from brain injury and why it matters to their life.

As I mentioned in my last post, socialization is one of the foundations of good health and even more, good brain health.

Here is another study showing a lack of socialization is associated with loss of brain volume, which is associated with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimers Dementia.

Brain health: Social isolation linked to loss of brain volume A study found that social isolation is linked to lower brain volume associated with neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Exercise is good for the brain, but not enough sleep can cancel out the benefits. I always say that the foundations for good health, and good brain health in particular are:
Sleep
Stress Reduction
Diet-I have previously posted info about the MIND diet
physical exercise
brain exercise-Socialization is a big part of this

Lack of sleep may reduce cognitive benefits of physical activity Exercise can be beneficial to brain health and protect against cognitive decline, but a lack of sleep may cancel out such benefits reaped from physical activity, according to new research.

Those of us already dealing with cognitive challenges from brain injuries need to be mindful of the effects of our lifestyle on our brains as we age. Adding the typical cognitive losses seen in many with aging to al already impaired brain could cause more significant impairments in our daily functioning.

Besides being active physically and cognitively, socializing and having good sleep and stress management habits, what we eat is important.

Healthy diets and weight loss may help reduce brain aging Researchers have found that well-managed weight through a healthy diet, including Mediterranean-type diets, can help reduce brain aging and improve brain health.

If you want to age well cognitively when you already are dealing with challenges from brain injury, strongly consider a diet tune up.

"The MIND and Mediterranean diets — both of which are rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, olive oil, beans, and fish — are associated with fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of older adults."

MIND and Mediterranean diets linked to fewer signs of Alzheimer’s brain pathology Study links two diets rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, olive oil, beans, and fish to fewer brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s.

Surfing the internet for 1/2 to 2 hours a day may be good for your cognitive health as you age. Too much internet time may be bad though, especially if searching for gloom and doom news.

"With too much internet use, Dr. Kaiser noted that if older people are 'doom-scrolling,' or compulsively scrolling through social media feeds laden with bad news, they may be 'highly exposed to negative images of aging, and feeling lower self-worth, and feeling bad about getting older […] — that would be an example where [too much time] could potentially have a negative effect.'”

Dementia: Internet surfing may help protect against dementia A study found that people whose daily internet use was between 0.1 and 2 hours showed the greatest reduction in risk of dementia.

It's hardly ever "just" a concussion. Another study shows longer lasting symptoms than most realize.

Almost half of people with concussion still show symptoms of brain injury six months later Even mild concussion can cause long-lasting effects to the brain, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge. Using data from a Europe-wide study,

More support for basic lifestyle habits to stay mentally sharp as we age.

4 science-backed habits that will keep you mentally sharp into your 70s, from older adults who lived it Plus the science behind these tactics.

Some good information about a healthy diet.

"Instead of focusing on a few healthy foods to eat, it’s much better to have a healthy eating philosophy that guides your decisions when you’re planning meals, grocery shopping or going out to eat, .... Otherwise, it can be difficult to navigate the more than 200 food decisions you make each day, most of which are done on autopilot."

Think Twice About Following Food Trends You don’t need a pantry stocked with trendy health foods to eat a heart-healthy diet. Learn what the best diet is to prevent heart disease and live longer.