Neurological Conditions

Aishwarya M,  a migraineur-teacher who teaches reading and writing to middle school girls at Pune, India shares her experience of being prepared for the uncertainty of chronic migraine.  Is it possible to have a debilitating disability such as chronic migraine and still be a together teacher? Short answer: Yes The long answer follows. In 2014, Maia Heyck-Merlin’s The Together Teacher: Plan Ahead, Get Organized, and Save Time! not only saved my time, it saved my life. I slowly stopped…

G Srinithya, Senior Occupational Therapist at NIMHANS, highlights the various specialised rehabilitation programs for different types of stroke related disabilities ranging from visual, cognitive to swallowing impairment. Which cognitive rehabilitation intervention is best for improvement of attention and memory problems in patients with stroke? Following stroke, many people experience difficulties in arousal, attention, concentration, memory, perception, problem solving, decision making,…

Stroke rehabilitation is an important aspect of the management of stroke. It can help to maximize recovery and regain as much of the body functions that is lost after a stroke, emphasises G Srinithya, Senior Occupational Therapist at NIMHANS. What is Post Stroke Rehabilitation? Post stroke Rehabilitation is a patient-centred, goal driven process that attempts to maximise the functional independence of patients who suffer from variety of stroke related disabilities. The aim of rehabilitation is…

An insightful panel discussion with persons with Parkinson's Disease and the Head of therapy and research at PDMDS on the early stages of Parkinson;s Disease with in our ‘Living Better’ series. In partnership with PDMDS. This session focussed how patients dealt with their diagnosis, the various activities they engage in, the challenges posed due to their symptoms, changes in lifestyle, how it affects relationships, and perspectives in life. We spoke with persons with Parkinsons and Head of…

Priti Raman Vishwakarma, 27 has been battling Epilepsy with courage and fortitude. She recounts her experience of having handled the challenge head on and how she also leads her life on her own terms. I have been suffering from JME (Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy) which is a form of Epilepsy. This is possibly a mild type of Epilepsy. However, a patient suffering from JME needs to take medicines for life. The doctors may reduce the doses as per requirement. But it is impossible to discontinue with…

Can Yoga help people manage their chronc conditions? We picked out a wide range of conditions where patients have benefitted from practice of yoga.  It is fairly well known that people with certain conditions like Diabetes, Hypertension and Arthritis benefit from regular practice of yoga. You can also download our ebooks on the same from our E-Books Resources Page.  But the benefit of yoga goes beyond that to neurological conditions like Parkinson's and  Epilepsy, auto-immune…

Dr Renuka Nambiar, based in Malaysia talks about her son Sanjeev, who was diagnosed with Autism when he was 4 years old. She talks about all the love and effort the family put together to make Sanjeev a person of his own today. Please tell us a bit about your son’s condition: Sanjeev was born in 1994. He was diagnosed Autistic with comorbid Epilepsy when he was 4 years old. What were the early symptoms? He was a normally developing child who reached all his developmental milestones on time,…

Dr. Jayanti Mani, Consultant – Neurology at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, addresses the concern that women with epilepsy cannot have children and breastfeed their baby. With the correct advice on medications, pre-planned pregnancy and proper monitoring most women with epilepsy can safely have normal children, she says. Is it safe for women with epilepsy to get pregnant? With advances in epilepsy therapies and comprehensive care by neurologists and obstetricians, it is now safer than ever…

Pooja Mehta Nandi, 40, reflects on how she never ever let epilepsy seizures overpower or crush her - through school, work, marriage or motherhood. Read her motivational account. I have been getting seizures since I was a child. Not random seizures, but those that had a fixed pattern of occurrence. Every time I had fever, I would get a fit. Right through my childhood, the two would invariably come together. As I had no other health problem, and my convulsions would stop as my fever subsided, my…

Thirty five year old Deepthi Sudhir Nair, a person with Myasthenia Gravis, rings in 2017 with five heartfelt pointers that can help transform lives and bring in greater happiness, positivity and self-respect in the New Year. Before I bury my reminiscences of 2016, I want to thank it for making me a chronically ill patient (through myasthenia gravis, urticaria, bronchial asthma, migraines and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures) and taking away my freedom. At the same time, teaching me what life…