Making Headway

Two brain injured friends who were able to support each other through their recoveries and then start a podcast...WAIT, WHAT?!?!? We thought that was our thing but were so happy to learn that there are others using their friendships, conversations, and experiences with brain injury to help others! Today we talked with My Brain Injured Friends, Alexandra and Beate about their survivor stories and lessons learned.  We quickly became friends! Take a listen, we guarantee they’ll feel like your friends too.  

In this episode:

• My Brain Injured Friends (podcast)
• Alexandra’s story: hemorrhagic stroke survivor due to AVM
• Beate’s story: ischemic stroke survivor
• Neuropsych testing
• Dealing with the hard stuff
• Will you ever get better? When will you be 100%?
• Dealing with religion and relationships post brain injury
• If you just xxx, your xxxx will go away.  Praying, hoping, and wishing for a different circumstance. Why would God do this? 
• Therapy
• Being flexible
• “If God can love you wherever you are, you can love yourself wherever you are.  Praying hard for a miracle? Maybe the miracle is what you are going through.  Maybe it’s not wishing it away.  Maybe you are in this spot to learn something monumental”  (33:10)
• “You get to define why your injury happened, you are the one who gets to see how it changed your life.”  As life goes on your perspective changes and the list of lessons that come from it grows longer (33:50)
• “I am what I am right now” (35:14)
• Recovery is a lifelong process, version 2.0 of me
• Friendships may change and some relationships need to be cut loose
• Podcast life
• Starting the podcasts gave rise to community and addressed feelings of loneliness.  We realized we aren’t alone!
• Opportunities to share with others who totally get it.  When talking with other survivors you don’t have to hold back or protect non-injured people’s feelings.
• Revisiting the injury frequently can be intensely emotional
• Recognizing the trauma without getting stuck in it
• Reprocessing 
• “I own the brain injury, the brain injury doesn’t own me. The podcast is a way to pay it forward. [The injury] doesn’t tell my story, I tell my story.” (46:37)
• It’s easy to think there isn’t a brain injury community since brain injury is invisible.  The pandemic has pushed us to do more social media, video chat, and make online connections with others in the community. Yay!
• Has taught us about our communication styles
• Yoga Girl podcast, the art of listening
• What surprised you the most about your brain injury?
• Cognitive fatigue and speech therapy for thinking therapy
• How easy it is to take movement for granted.  The brain-body connection
• The amount of information you process visually
• Neuro-optometry: for anyone with visual deficits post-injury.  They will teach you how to live and compensate for your deficit.
• Having to limit how much you schedule into a day
• Learning your limits and drawing boundaries
• Learning how to say “no”

Links to any resources mentioned:

• My Brain Injured Friends (podcast)
• Bounce Back: Reclaim Your Life after a Concussion By Vanessa Woodburn
• Yoga Girl podcast
• Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association to find a neuro optometrist

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Ways to subscribe to the Making Headway Podcast:

• Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts
• Click here to subscribe via Spotify
• Click here to subscribe via RSS
• You can also subscribe via Stitcher

Visit the Making Headway Podcast website to learn more about Eryn and Mariah and our journey to podcasting.

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What can survivorship look like? This week’s guest has done it all! Join Chloe Luckett, a TBI survivor, program coordinator and community educator for Brain Injury Nova Scotia, yoga instructor for Love Your Brain, and podcast host of Between Two Brains.  She found yoga to be a tremendous help in getting her out of learned helplessness and into her new post brain injury life.  Listen for inspiration on all you can do to help yourself! You can do it!

Topics covered in this episode

• Survivor Story: bike vs car
• It takes a week for long term memories to form--this is why you may not remember up to a week before your injury
• Chloe had several brain bleeds, needed surgery, and was in a coma
• She needed rehab for her speech and function
• Her time after leaving the hospital and rehab was when the hard stuff set in
• Loss of independence
• In the hospital it is easy to fall into the role of being the patient, being cared for, and not needing to make decisions for yourself.  These times of dependence can have a lasting impact on our mental health, how we think and how we act .  It can take a toll on your confidence leaving you unable to make decisions long after you actually can. (9:37)
• The lack of confidence gets you into a place of questioning yourself and becoming very hesitant.  It made Chloe feel unlike herself
• Chloe’s discovery of yoga helped her out of this place 
• Yoga
• Yoga requires one to look into themselves and make the decision to be there; it's very mindful
• Yoga encourages you to do movements that are right for you; there is always the option of taking a break. 
• You are encouraged to listen to yourself and your body
• Love Your Brain Yoga
• Kevin Pearce (founder): US snowboarder who sustained a TBI, fell in love with yoga after his injury and its healing properties for the brain
• 6 week course, one class a week, virtual options available!!
• Restorative, slower, breaks down the movements into more manageable steps for people with brain injury symptoms (balance, vestibular, etc)
• What are survivors saying: “I didn’t think I would have ever been able to practice yoga before”
• Part of the program is a chat with your class after the yoga practice on a relatable topic: i.e. resilience, mindfulness
• Benefits of yoga for brain injury survivors, “Why would I want to do yoga?”
• Breathwork reduces anxiety
• Improvements in sleep
• Community: connection with others who have brain injuries
• How will Love Your Brain accommodate your brain injury symptoms?
• They are conscious of your head staying above your heart to help prevent vertigo or dizziness
• The poses focus on keeping your gaze in one spot  
• Brain Injury Nova Scotia
• Yoga program similar to Love Your Brain- Brain Injury NS allows more types of brain conditions to be included. They have the capacity and ability to accommodate more levels of ability due to smaller classes 
• Programming during Covid: 
• Brain injury community check ins, “How are you doing. How can we help”
• Virtual programming to reach any one who wants it
• Live yoga that follows Covid restrictions
• Between Two Brains Podcast
• Focuses on any and all brain injury stories to show how many different types and experiences there are
• Gives awareness to the injury so that it is not invisible
• Attempts to reach the public as brain injuries are very common but yet have poor awareness and can be a taboo subject
• Everybody knows somebody who has had a brain injury, you are not alone!
• Advice for those going through brain injury
• Stay active! Get fresh air and a daily walk
• Eat well
• Be mindful of who and what you surround yourself with: what are you feeding your brain? Not only food, but the TV you watch, the messages you hear from others around you, etc... 
• “What goes into your brain influences what comes out” (40:14)
• Fuel your body for success

Links to any resources mentioned: *If you are looking for ways to support our show, use these links to buy books or products mentioned. 

• Where is the Mango Princess by Cathy Crimmons
• Love Your Brain
• Brain Injury NS
• Between Two Brains Podcast

Connect with Chloe and Brain Injury NS

• Brain Injury NS on Facebook
• Brain Injury NS on Instagram
• @chloluckett on Instagram

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 If you dug this episode head on over to Apple Podcasts and kindly leave us a rating, a review and subscribe!

Ways to subscribe to the Making Headway Podcast:

• Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts
• Click here to subscribe via Spotify
• Click here to subscribe via RSS
• You can also subscribe via Stitcher

Visit the Making Headway Podcast website to learn more about Eryn and Mariah and our journey to podcasting.

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

Life. Is. Hard! (Thank you Captain Obvious).  How we tell our stories and talk to ourselves directly impacts our mental health and abilities, to not only recover from brain injury, but to live a fulfilling life. In this episode we talk about how to love yourself through ALL times.  Vanessa Woodburn, integrative health coach, PCS survivor, and author of Bounce Back: Reclaim Your Life After a Concussion joins us with practical advice on self care.  Even if you don’t have PCS this episode applies to all brain injury survivors and we venture to say, all humans.  

Topics covered in this episode:

• Integrative health coaching: looks at the whole person: emotional, spiritual, nutritional, physical, sleep
• Post concussion syndrome: there can be a lack of awareness in the medical community of what to do for someone with PCS, “you look fine,” “your test results are fine”
• Vanessa found she needed to search for help on her own
• Bounce Back: Reclaim your Life After a Concussion by Vanessa Woodburn
• Applies to any brain injury.  
• The book focuses on self compassion while doing this work.  
• Gives a stepwise approach for recovery addressing many topics such as sleep, nutrition, exercise, self talk, telling your story, etc
• Writing our stories (self talk)
• Is what I’m telling myself true? We have the ability to change our story into positivity
• Rising Strong by Renee Brown.  The reckoning, the rumble, and the revolution of our stories.
• We are neuro-biologically wired to make ourselves safe in our story.  We have to search for what is true.  Our stories never end and constantly change
• Night of the Gun by David Carr: a reporter who had addiction issues that after recovery wrote about his story.  He found that the way he represented his story was not actually true, he had created a safer story leaving out difficult parts. After interviewing others he found a more true version 
• The constant rehashing of your story can get you bogged down.  What does the revisiting to the story do to your mental health?  There have to be points along the way where you release parts of your story so you don’t get stuck. Sometimes you need space from it rather than living in it
• “If you fight for your limitations you get to keep them” (Jim Kwik).  Am I putting a lot of energy to stay in a certain place that doesn’t feel good? You can choose to put your energy into moving forward (16:12)
• It's a balancing act of listening to what you need but not getting stuck in a spot
• Self compassion: with all these things going on, what do I need today? The answer might be different then what it was yesterday. Is today the day to push yourself?  (18:45)
• Self-compassion and Self-care: what will nourish you? Your brain, your body, and your mental health? Self-care considerations:
•  moving your body, 
• how is your sleep? 
• how are you connecting with yourself on the inside, building in quiet so that you can actually listen to what you need?
• Bring it to a practical level. 
• Kristen Neff, researcher- self care has a ying and yang, a fierceness to take care of yourself and to ask yourself “what do I need.”  It is a push and a pull, the both/and
• Your standards for what you need change daily.  Just because you are resting and caring for yourself doesn’t mean you have to let your goals go. It just changes the path to get there
• Balance- there are many ups and downs that happen at a fast speed.  We have to be kind to ourselves and recognize that our needs change
• Rigidity is not practical.  Have to be flexible
• Have to be nice to yourself through the process
• “O my gosh, but I said i was going to do this” (25:55)
• Self-compassion and kindness to ourselves allows us to change our self talk--if it’s not going as I planned then say to yourself: I’m doing my best, I am human.  
• Instead of being all in or all out- build in time to take stock and see how you are today, what are the boundaries, what’s ok for me today and what is not. Bring this into how you plan.
• Plan on a shorter term basis because our needs change quickly
• “Being kind, friendly, supportive and caring to yourself in how we plan, talk to yourself and carry through on that is really a tool. It is something you can keep in your tool belt for life, not just when things are going bad but all the time” (27:18)
• Shifting self talk
• Need to rephrase how we talk to ourselves.  Shift it from my struggle to the struggle, shift I can’t do this to “I'm learning how to…”
• Shift the standards we have of ourselves and be forgiving like how you would be to someone else
• The conversations we have with ourselves tend to be more harsh then what we would ever tell anyone else. 
• We judge ourselves harshly, can you talk to yourself like someone you love?
• “If you say mean things to a friend, you lose a friend but you’re stuck with yourself so you should make nice... The person you have the most conversations with in your life is yourself...Need to speak to yourself kindly.” (29:55)
• Live Wired by Dr. David Eagleman: neuroscientist.  Most exciting definition of a brain.  He describes the brain as a living, breathing, dynamic, and electric fabric.  In a concussion the fabric has been pulled, a concussion is a shearing pulling force to the brain.  It being electric means that it is changeable.  It is the potato head theory, you can always shift and move things around Just like Mr. Potato Head
• Need awareness of self talk to be kind and supportive on the inside--you can’t get it all from the outside
• You can rewire kindness to yourself in how you build your brain and move forward. 
• Being positive requires training.  Be forgiving to yourself. You don’t create a new habit right away.  
• We are wired for the negativity bias, it is our brain’s way of keeping us safe (i.e. if you are aware of the big, bad, and ugly, you can protect yourself from ). Your brain is always going to choose a story that keeps you in the same place because it is safe and known.  Building a new habit requires celebration when you stick with it, recognition when you’ve fallen off--you can always get back on.
• Getting through the trauma
• Do you want to go through the rest of your life saying you can’t do XXX?
• Can start to slowly reintegrate back in whatever it is that scares you.  Doesn’t need to be 0-60. In this episode,  we related it to biking which is the activity that Vanessa got injured doing
• Showing weakness is a shift but serves as a good lesson especially for our kids.  It’s ok to show vulnerabilities, be open, and accepting.  Kids don’t need to grow up learning they need to be perfect.  You can role model positivity and reality.  
• Asking for help
• Learn to ask for help
• Receive help: feels good to the giver
• Reach out, ask for help, give help, and receive help
• “By allowing someone else to fill your bucket you are also filling another bucket” (43:25)
• Pressing the fear boundary.  It’s ok to let your guard down once and a while.
• Allow others in. “It's a very human thing.  We are meant to live in connection with others.” (45:17) 
• Wisdom to PCS survivors (47:15)
• The science around concussion care is evolving so rapidly
• Research online for a concussion care clinician--often found in the rehab world: physical therapists, chiropractors.  They look at concussions as treatable, rehabilitable injuries
• They know how to assess where you are and treat it
• Can still be beneficial years after injury
• Complete Concussion Management--train professionals all over North America 
• It’s great to see them right away but you can go any time and you may need to go back
• It is never too late to seek treatment and help
• “It’s never too late! There is always something you can do to change your story!” (49:15)
• Reach out to those who can help you.  Build confidence and get the tools you need to respond to things in a way that is empowering, has potential, and hopeful that you can make changes and move forward (50:55)
• There is positivity to be had in all of this.  

Links to any resources mentioned: Thinking of buying one of the books? Click the links we provide here to help support the show!

• Bounce Back, Reclaim Your Life After a Concussion by Vanessa Woodburn free copy of Bounce Back.
•  Rising Strong by Renee Brown 
• Night of the Gun by David Carr
• “If you fight for your limitations you get to keep them” (Jim Kwik): 
• find his book Limitless here 
• Dr. Kristen Neff 
• Find her book, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself here
• Live Wired: The Inside Story of the Ever Changing Brain by Dr. David Eagleman
• Mr. Potato Head, buy one here
• Complete Concussion Management 

         Follow Vanessa: 

Instagram: @vanessa_woodburn

Facebook: Vanessa Woodburn Health Coach

Vanessawoodburn.ca

Email: [email protected]

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 If you dug this episode head on over to Apple Podcasts and kindly leave us a rating, a review and subscribe!

Ways to subscribe to the Making Headway Podcast:

• Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts
• Click here to subscribe via Spotify
• Click here to subscribe via RSS
• You can also subscribe via Stitcher

Visit the Making Headway Podcast website to learn more about Eryn and Mariah and our journey to podcasting.

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

As an Amazon Associate, Making Headway may earn from qualifying purchases via links provided.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!

If you dug this episode, kindly leave us a rating, a review, and subscribe!

Visit the Making Headway Podcast website at www.makingheadwaypodcast.com to learn more about Eryn and Mariah and our journey to podcasting.

Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/makingheadwaypodcast

Follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/makingheadwaypodcast

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/makingheadwaypo

We have heard from many of you that going through a brain injury has been a lesson in listening to yourself at a fundamental level. Having an invisible injury means you have to rely on what your body and mind are telling you; no one else knows! We all have a voice, an instinct, a gut feeling that guides us in knowing what is right. This is intuition. Intuition is alive in all of us. Susan Gorman, Intuitive Counselor, joins us in this episode to unearth the myths and to teach us how to trust and strengthen the voice that is our intuition.     

Topics covered:

• Common misconceptions about intuition
• in our society we marginalize intuition...what we believe about it is that:
•  it is rare- many people don’t have it or experience it, if you strongly believe in it you are weird, 
• it is unreliable, if you can’t confirm it with your 5 senses it can’t be real, and 
• it is dangerous or immoral.  (3:56)
• If you prescribe to a system of thinking that “tells” you what to think, intuition isn’t heard
• If you believe in a higher power, it helps you to embrace intuition as it puts you more in tune spiritually
• Intuitive counseling is coaching people how to listen to and hear their own intuition 
• Hearing intuition over anxiety and fear
• Most don’t listen to intuition until it is a last resort.  Some don’t listen at all
• Intuition is not really a mental capacity, it uses language and thought but thinking about something and having intuition are two different things
• Intuition and anxiety/fear cannot exist together
• The things we spend time worrying about don’t usually come to pass.  We waste a lot of time and energy on these types of thought patterns
• To listen to our intuition we have to stop the grooves we are used to existing in (the gutter ball analogy).  We have to learn to stop fear and anxiety and how to “bowl a strike” to begin thinking clearly (11:14)
• What does Susan do as an intuitive counselor?
• Life would be easier if we didn’t have bodies or egos.  She believes in tapping in and listening to our spirit
• Empathy: she feels your thoughts and feelings as if they were her own
• Spiritual connection: we are all connected to each other.  The “force” is the energy that connects all living things together and she taps into that
• Clairvoyance: objective clairvoyance--visual images, seeing it as if it was right in front of you.  She sees things others do not and it gives her information
• She does not give advice or tell people what is actually going to happen (unless she fees it very strongly)
• She helps people identify and figure out what information they want to take in or listen to
• Healthcare and intuition
• A true therapeutic relationship with a healthcare provider is one where you feel comfortable and respected saying anything to the provider
• The provider should accept you for who you are and listen
• Trust your instincts about your healthcare provider and your own health.
• Protecting the Gift by Gavin De Becker...you have to trust yourself and what you are feeling.  
• Systems (healthcare, legal, social, religious, etc) tend to prime us (women especially) to not listen to themselves in an attempt to please others
• “The body has its own language, it just doesn’t necessarily speak English.  We have to learn how to listen” (32:38)
• Using your intuition
• Take the time to stop and listen to yourself: There's an added layer of noise in our lives that stops us from listening to ourselves
• Try not to use your intuition as a way to be like “why didn’t I know”
• Stick to the things you do hear and the things that are loud whether they make sense or not (36:20)
• Divine timing
• We learn from our experiences so experiences will still occur
• The aftermath of brain injury
• Think of all the lessons learned from the injury.  
• It doesn’t make the injury ok but listen, so much good can come out of it!
• “I'm sure there are times that feeling vulnerable in the world doesn’t feel like a gift but I’m here to tell you that every brush with our mortality turns us into better people and gives us a much better life” (42:01)
• The bad times teach us and help us become better
• When you struggle to hear intuition
• Build in slow time, 5 or 10 minutes a day--drawing, meditation
• Surrender and say “hey” to spirituality
• Use a ritual as a time build a strong spiritual connection i.e. few minutes while doing something you would do anyway to think on and build a connection 
• What is intuition? How do you know if it is?
• Intuition is not about getting things or stuff.  To Susan, that has always fallen flat.  The greatest spiritual stories are always about the highest good for the greatest amount of people.  When we follow our intuition we will not be the only beneficiary.  There’s always a ripple effect.  Sometimes it is very direct; other times we are not always around to understand how we helped someone else. Your intuition is always guiding you to the best outcome in any situation but not just for you.  It’s not about creating stuff or turning our relationships into commodities. It is really about having a life that is worth living.  Even if we are going through hard times, our intuition will be optimizing that experience if we are willing to listen to it (48:30-50:06)
• Our culture may not take us towards our intuition but our lives do (50:27)
• After brain injury you don’t have a lot more to lose, some find this time as an opportunity to reset and listen to intuition
• To tap into intuition:
• Meditate:
• Running with the Mind of Meditation by Sakyong Mipham- a book that teaches us to use exercise and our breathing as a time to meditate.  
• You can’t identify your intuition unless you know how to find the quiet.  
• Intuition 101: a course with Susan that teaches you to identify your intuition.  www.susangorman.net 
• Everybody is intuitive.  This isn’t something that only some people can do.  It is your most natural resource, you just have to learn how to find it
• You are well served by inventorying how much anxiety you have in your brain.  The more you tolerate anxiety, the less you will be able to hear your intuition
• People get stuck, Susan is here as a counselor to help you through.  

Links to any resources mentioned:

• Protecting the Gift by Gavin De Becker 
• Running with the Mind of Meditation by Sakyong Mipham 
• Intuition 101: coming soon! Sign up for her newsletter at https://www.susangorman.net/contact/ 

Want to connect with Susan?

• www.susangorman.net to book a session, find courses, read her blog, and learn more
• Find Susan on Facebook and Instagram @susangormanintuitive  
• Susan’s Podcast: Everyday Intuition https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-intuition/id1510968810

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 If you dug this episode head on over to Apple Podcasts and kindly leave us a rating, a review and subscribe!

Ways to subscribe to the Making Headway Podcast:

• Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts
• Click here to subscribe via Spotify
• Click here to subscribe via RSS
• You can also subscribe via Stitcher

Visit the Making Headway Podcast website to learn more about Eryn and Mariah and our journey to podcasting.

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

As an Amazon Associate, Making Headway may earn from qualifying purchases via links provided.

Have you ever tried to tell your story while in the middle of it? Seeing the light and lessons can be challenging in hindsight let alone while living it. Ruth Kavanagh who is currently fighting, surviving, and thriving with brain cancer shares her message of hope, courage, and strength in the midst of metastasis. She is a true warrior advocating for others even while she is in the throes of her own treatment. Our souls were touched and tissues were wet during this recording. Be prepared for tears, laughs, goosebumps, and inspiration. We caution you that this is an emotionally powerful episode, please be in a safe space while listening.  

In this episode:

• Traumatic vs. Acquired Brain Injury
• Traumatic- from an outside injury or force, i.e. car crash, hitting head, concussion
• Acquired- an internal factor, i.e. lack of oxygen, aneurysm, stroke, infection, brain tumor
• Ruth Kavanaugh’s story
• Thriver, survivor, fighter! 
• Listen to your body, it will tell you if something is wrong
• Anaplastic Ependymoma: one of the rarest forms of brain tumor, only about 2% of brain tumors are this type. It is cancerous and extremely aggressive.  Because it is so rare there is little research or treatment options.
• Ruth set her mind that she will get through this
• If you go online, make sure it is a reputable site (see below for suggestions)
• Radiation therapy
• Caused extreme fatigue
• Life after treatment: too tired to do anything and left to your own thoughts.  Can be a very dark time. 
• Taking care of your emotional and mental health
• Remove the stigma.  There is zero harm in seeing a counselor.  Only good will come from it.  You’ve got nothing to lose!
• Important to “date around” and find a counselor/psychiatrist who is the right fit
• The cancer chaos
• “Scan-xiety” is a real thing.  Cancer survivors, you are not alone when you feel anxious about upcoming scans
• Recurrence 
• More discussions in tumor boards, consultations, surgeries, and therapies
• Stereotactic radiotherapy
• Avastin- side effects bleeding and prevention of wound healing
• Infection
• Loss during hard times
• Revisional surgeries
• Metastasis, only 25 cases known in the world that spread the way Ruthie’s has
• More chemo
• Lessons for healthcare professionals: listen to your patient, don’t make pre-judgements, be very cognizant of where the patient is now rather than basing all judgement on your past experience with the patient, sitting with a patient lowers the power divide (standing over a patient is very intimidating and strengthens a patriarchal model of care), respect the person as a person (not just a condition)
• Self-advocacy is advocacy for those who don’t have a voice.  By standing up, telling your story, and advocating for better care; you can serve to stand up for those who can’t do it for themselves and help others. 
• “I'm tired, but there is hope!”
• Strength, courage, and hope through extended trauma
• “There’s always hope.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that there is going to be a magical cure.  Look for it in the little things.” Hope can be finally being able to eat real food, getting out of bed, hoping for peace and being surrounded by loved ones
• Find your tribe--find someone who has been through your experience
• To get connected with others and reputable resources: 
• National Brain Tumor Society, 
• American Brain Tumor Association, 
• First Descents- free camps for young adults with brain tumors  or MS
• Epic Experience: cancer camp for adults
• American Cancer Society:https://www.cancer.org/
• Connect with the social worker in the hospital or cancer center to get more resources

Links to any resources mentioned

• Brain Injury Association of America: https://www.biausa.org/ 
• National Brain Tumor Society: https://braintumor.org/ 
• National Institute of Health (NIH): https://www.nih.gov/ 
• American Brain Tumor Association: https://www.abta.org/ 
• First Descents: https://firstdescents.org/
• Epic Experience: https://www.epicexperience.org/
• American Cancer Society:https://www.cancer.org/
• To find Ruthie: www.braincancerbabe.com
• Twitter: @braincancerbabe
• Instagram: @braincancer_babe

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 If you dug this episode head on over to Apple Podcasts and kindly leave us a rating, a review and subscribe!

Ways to subscribe to the Making Headway Podcast:

• Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts
• Click here to subscribe via Spotify
• Click here to subscribe via RSS
• You can also subscribe via Stitcher

Visit the Making Headway Podcast website to learn more about Eryn and Mariah and our journey to podcasting.

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

Many of our speakers have alluded to the effects that nutrition has had on their recovery.  If you’re like us, you want to learn more but don't know where to turn.  This. Episode. Is. It! Susannah Juteau, the Headache Nutritionist, schools us on dietary approaches to headaches, migraines, post-concussive syndrome, and mental health.  Do you think this means that you need to follow a super, restrictive elimination diet?? Susannah teaches us a different approach and gives practical advice on how to improve our diets.  Listen and learn with us! 

Topics covered:

• Susannah’s survivor story and path to nutritional approaches for migraines
• Solving headaches requires focus on 3 pillars:
• Sleep
• Stress 
• Nutrition
• Nutrition is only part of the solution
• “A healthy diet doesn’t mean a headache-free diet”
• Anti-inflammatory diet to treat migraines and headaches
• Migraines are an inflammatory condition
• It’s not a quick fix.  Migraine and headache treatment require an interdisciplinary approach.  Work with your practitioners on what they specialize in, advocate for the right people on your team
• What to expect when seeing Susannah, the headache nutritionist
• Micro-nutrient assessment
• Timing of eating, what are you eating
• Diagnostic test: the mediator release test, tells the specific foods that cause inflammation in YOU
• Goal of treatment is to calm the immune system
• Typical approach is to have an elimination diet which is very restrictive. Susannah offers something different.  Her approach using the mediator release test allows you to target specific foods to remove rather than whole categories of foods
• Elimination diets can take a year and may not hit the nail on the head as well as using a mediator release test
• How do you know that inflammation is a problem?
• Migraines
• Chronic headaches
• IBS
• Indigestion
• Mood, irritability
• Poor sleep
• High stress
• Females’ hormones and stress response make females more susceptible
• Most common food culprits for inflammation
• Processed foods
• Dyes
• Chemicals
• MSG
• What to eat:
• Focus on brightly colored whole foods
• To make this easy: Frozen vegetables and fruits are oftentimes more fresh than what’s in the produce section meaning they are more healthy.  They are easy to grab, already cut up, and make a great addition to any meal. 
• Fish: omega-3 fatty acids are essential.  Fish is quick and easy to make, bakes in 20 minutes!
• Anchovies
• Cod
• Oysters
• Mackerel
• Sardines
• Salmon 
• Clams--canned is good too!! Great source of iron.
• Big bad wolves in nutrition: dairy, gluten, sugar.  You might not need to cut them or eliminate every food in each category!! The mediator release test will guide what needs to be removed. 
• Common elimination diets cut all gluten, sugar, and dairy as they are often reactive for people.  With Susannah’s approach you cut these for the 14 days while waiting for the mediator response test results.  This calms the immune system and inflammation.  Once results are back, you can cut the specific culprits for you and see how you feel.  This approach is more sustainable because you don’t need to cut whole groups of food.
• Nutrition is highly personal.  See a nutritionist that can do the mediator response test
• 5 nutrients for chronic headaches and migraines
• 1. Omega-3.  Fish at least 2 times a week.  Fish more than meat.  Eating fish is best as it primes the digestive system to be able to break down the fatty acids.  Supplementation may not work as well if you are not eating fish because your gut is not primed.
• 2. Vitamin D: This is one that you need to supplement.  Shitake mushrooms and fortified milk are food sources but don’t contain enough.  
• Dont assume that since you live in a sunny area that you get enough.  Most of us are covered up when we are out in the sun and get little, if any vitamin D from the sun.
• Take in the morning.  Taking vitamin D at night can negatively impact your sleep because it binds with melatonin
• 3.  Vitamin B-2: nutritional yeast, meats, supplementation
• Nutritional yeast tastes a little like cheese.  Sprinkle on vegetables or kale chips
• 4.  Magnesium, type matters; both of these types are good:
• Magnesium glycinate--better for stress or anxiety, calms the nerves
• Magnesium citrate--cheaper, easier to digest. Good overall.
• Migraine prone brains don’t absorb magnesium as well 
• Make sure to get food sources of magnesium and supplementation.  The combo approach is best:
• Pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, spinach (especially cooked)
• Epsom salt baths give an extra boost but we are not sure how much you absorb this way.  Should always include nutritional sources
• 5.  Co-enzyme Q10: especially researched in heart disease.
• Supplementation: 400 mg daily is usually enough
• Dietary sources: organ meats
• Look for supplements that are third party tested so that you are sure that you are getting what you pay for.   
• 5 Nutrients for Post Concussive Syndrome: focus is on brain healing and getting enough energy through food.  The brain requires high energy to heal especially in the first few months.
• 1.  Omega-3
• 2.  Vitamin D
• 3.  Polyphenols
• Brightly colored fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices.  Any plant sourced food that is really bright likely has some.  
• Turmeric, blueberries, dark grapes, all berries, peanuts
• Goal is to includes something at least everyday
• The more color on the plate the better.  8-10 servings a day
• Tip: look at your plate, aim for 4 different colors on each plate every day
• 4.  Creatine: very important for brain function and neuroprotection: think cognitive fatigue and brain fog.  It helps with energy stores in the brain.  Found as supplements.  
• 5.  Probiotics and prebiotics
• Yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha (look at the labels for low sugar/low cane sugar options.  If it tastes like juice it's probably too sugary)
• Kombucha is a nice fizzy drink that can substitute for alcohol in social situations
• High fiber foods have prebiotics
• Leaky gut
• “The gut is a direct cable from the brain to the gut” and visa versa via the vagus nerve
• If our gut is off our brain is off and visa versa
• If we aren’t eating a diverse diet than our gut is not healthy
• Need to get more plant foods and color on the plate (fruits and vegetables) to increase gut health
• Leaky gut: what is it? At least 70% of the population (up to 90%) are dealing with this.  The connections in our gut become loose with leaky gut.  Diet helps get those junctions tight back together. Inflammation is the culprit for loose connections.  Need healthy eating, diversity in the diet, and the nutrients above.  
• Skin rashes are also an inflammatory condition caused by leaky gut
• Smart eating tips for mental health.  
• Fruits and vegetables
• Have lots of color on the plate
• Use lots of herbs and spices in your food
• It’s ok if you have a down day with food.  It’s more about the overall picture
• Omega-3s
• When you’re having a good day, write down all your favorite fruits and vegetables.  On low motivation days and days your diet is in a rut, look at this list for ideas of what to add.  Sometimes we get out of the habit.  
• Have frozen and prepared vegetables at the ready to make it easy and quick.  You can freeze squash and kale.  Canned pumpkin can be added to oatmeal
• Key takeaways: Eat the rainbow and Eryn is going to try a sardine :). Tailor a solution to you.  Work with a qualified nutritionist to figure out what you need (you probably don’t need to take a million supplements and your body can’t absorb them all if you are)

Find Susannah Juteau on Facebook and Instagram: @headachenutritionist

Her website is https://headachenutritionist.com/

If you have been struggling with putting it all back together post brain injury, this is the episode to listen to!  Holly Kostrzewski is a veteran brain injury survivor 21-years out.  She uses her experiences to provide encouragement and advice to others experiencing the aftereffects.  This episode provides heartwarming inspiration and support for anyone in the throes of recovery.  It is a MUST listen!

Bulleted list of topics covered:

• Female Brain Injuries-- all the research until recently has been done on male brains.  Female hormone cycles affect how we respond to the injury and heal
• Holly’s survivor story
• Motor vehicle accidents are not accidents.  They are predictable events due to a cause i.e. you run the stop sign and it causes a crash; the correct term is motor vehicle crash.  Calling it an accident diminishes the event to something random.  It’s important to determine the cause
• Neuropsych testing: everyone should have it.  It gives a baseline and things to work on
• The first five years are the hardest
• Holly uses a combination of Eastern and Western medicine: craniosacral therapy for pain, kinesiology chiropractor, anti-inflammatory diet and supplementation
• Nutrition and brain injuries: you need to research what will work for you.  No two injuries are alike. Some ideas to research for yourself:
• Limit caffeine
• Clean diet
• Remove inflammatory foods
• Some with epilepsy find keto helpful
• Resources: Funk’tional Nutrition podcast and Adventures in Brain injury podcast (see resources section below for links)
• Safety net support system
• Fatigue, being overwhelmed, poor instincts, mental health, and grief all affect the brain injured person’s safety.  
• Survivors may think they are fine but they need someone watching out for them
• Grief and depression post injury
• It’s ok to be sad after your injury.  Something terrible happened!
• Medications don’t address the cause of the symptoms
• Grief is an upward spiral and you never know when it is going to hit you.  
• Grief therapy
• Bereavement overload
• The first five years after injury, you are still acute and trying figure it all out
• Brain injury symptoms and the grief get diminished.  People without brain injuries may try to commiserate with you saying that they have headaches, feel down, and are tired too not realizing how different it is for you
• To overcome you need to have an abundance of gratitude and grace for yourself.  
• Find the small victories.  Celebrate you! Look at where you were at the beginning of the injury compared to now--you have done hard things and overcome!!!
• There is a difference between disappointing and devastating events.  Brain injuries are devastating!
• Dealing with the struggle
• Give yourself grace
• Keep a positive attitude
• Make a plan with goals that you can work on daily
• Google the lobes of the brain to understand what each part does.  It will help you understand your injury and the symptoms you experience 
• Functional medicine or functional neurology could be helpful
• Remove alcohol (it lowers your seizure threshold and all brain injury survivors are at higher risk for seizures)
• Try taking out gluten and sugar and see how you feel
• TBI: Truly Brave Individual
• Devaluation of feelings
• You’ll get through the feelings; its ok to feel them
• Music
• Get a theme song.  No matter how bad it is, pull up the song and dance it out
• Holly’s motivational speaking and journey to her traffic safety career
• “Brain injury, the gift that keeps on giving” ~Cathy Crimmins
• Be mindful with how you sit in your injury.  Your brain injury is your story but doesn’t need to become you
• Hope, Humor, and Inspiration: Holly is available to book for speaking events; see the link to her website and social media below

Links to any resources mentioned

Brain Injury Medical Provider: “Women vs. Brain Injury”:   

https://issuu.com/braininjuryprofessional/docs/bip_september_2020/4

Pink Concussions: Facebook group for females with brain injuries 

Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast: https://www.erinholthealth.com/funktional-nutrition-podcast

Adventures in Brain Injury:

Think First: https://www.thinkfirst.org/ 

Where is the Mango Princess? A Journey Back from Brain Injury by Cathy Crimmins

Holly Kostrzewski: find her on Facebook and Instagram: @HopeHumorInspiration and https://www.hopehumorinspiration.com/

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In this episode, Mariah and Eryn give you a peek into who they are, where they are at in their brain injury recovery journeys, and all their favorite binges from 2020.  Get to know your hosts and some of the books, podcasts, shows, and food that got them through this year.  

In This Episode:

• Mariah and Eryn talk about where they are at in their brain injury recovery journies
• Wading through the trauma
• Mental health
• Lessons learned this year
• Resources for recovery
• My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.
• Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power by Lisa Mosconi, Ph. D.
• The Passion Planner https://passionplanner.com/ 
• Joanne Soucy: https://h4hp.org/
• Brainstorm: From Stroke to my Trusting Place by Joanne M. Susi
• Favorite Books this Year
• The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
• The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
• Such a Fun Age by Keily Reid
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• Favorite Podcasts
• Everything Happens by Kate Bowler
• Faces of TBI
• NeuroNerds
• Life With No Filter
• My Brain Injured Friend
• Slow Burn
• Michelle Obama Podcast
• Everyday Intuition
• Anxiety Coaches Podcast
• Favorite Shows
• Dead to Me
• The Queen's Gambit
• Shrill
• MTV’s The Challenge
• Queer Eye
• The Flight Attendant 
• Love Life
• Workouts
• Obe https://obefitness.com/
• Running (app): Couch to 5K program
• Boho Beautiful https://www.youtube.com/user/cexercize/videos
• Food Obsessions
• Holiday Obsessions

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Why do silos show up so much in healthcare?  Aren’t they meant for holding grain on farms?? Today we talk with Dr. Taylor Eaves who teaches us all about chiropractic neurology.  This specialty looks at the whole person; the physical, the physiologic, and the cognitive to see how each system is affecting the other and creating a problem.  They use this information to create a plan that addresses your individualized needs.  Treatments are multimodal using a wide combination of therapies to get you back from your brain injury.  This is not your traditional crack your back and send you on your way.  If you’re looking for someone willing to consider how all your systems work together (rather than looking at each individually), a chiropractic neurologist may be for you!

In this episode:

• What is chiropractic neurology?
• Ties the physiology, mental, and physical aspects of recovery together 
• They typically see chronic conditions or symptoms post concussion or brain injury
• What makes chiropractic neurology different?
• They test the eyes, cognition, and balance; do brain mapping, and combine the many findings into what your brain and body are outputting.
• Can these outputs be changed? What are the deficiencies?  
• They use this information to make an individualized treatment plan.
• Chiropractic neurologists look at all the components together rather than in a silo
• Don’t accept an answer of “this is as good as it gets; there’s nothing we can do.”  There’s likely more to be done
• Brain injuries disrupt the connections (axons) between nerves.  Your brain will compensate but these compensations do not always lead to smooth function.  The goal of chiropractic neurology is to find the area of initial trauma and the compensations the body/brain has made for that and treat it all to make the body work as efficiently as possible
• Types of treatments offered: neurofeedback, physical therapy, neurofacilitation, hyperbarics, context specific exercises (training that mimics the goal activity)
• It is not a crack to the spine and send you on your way!
• More on hyperbaric chambers: provides oxygen to promote healing
• Metabolic and autonomic function
• Brain injured patients can have trouble regulating automatic functions in the body. 
• Dr. Eaves tracks the heart rate responses (metabolic activity) while challenging a patient to see where their metabolic and autonomic thresholds are. Not pushing beyond a threshold prevents a patient from crashing--have to work within the boundaries to improve them
• Do I need a chiropractic neurologist? 
• Some things they treat (not all inclusive, they see most anything!): Dizziness, balance issues, severe fatigue, ongoing symptoms, strokes (should try to see as early as possible), headache, post concussive syndrome
• Dr. Eaves recommends a care team of functional medicine, physical therapy, and chiropractic neurology to provide a holistic approach to brain healing
• Age is not a limiting factor! Any age can be helped with chiropractic neurology

 Links to any resources mentioned

• How to find chiropractic neurologists: Visit the American Board of Chiropractic Neurology website https://www.acnb.org/ --doctor finder tab, this shows diplomate level practitioners meaning they have had 300 hours + of specialized training
• Find Dr. Eaves on Instagram: @dr.e_neurochiro

The Southwest Brain Performance Centers: https://swbrainpc.com/ 

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“As long as the world is spinning, we are going to be dizzy and we are going to make mistakes.”  Thanks, Mel Brooks, but today’s speaker tells us the mistake is not seeking treatment for the dizziness.  In this episode, vestibular therapist Dr. Emily Beus DPT, teaches us about different causes and treatments for the spins, the lightheadedness, or the rocking boat feeling that you’ve been living with (unless of course you actually live on a boat, she can’t help you with that).   Join us and learn how to get your head to stop spinning! 

Covered in today’s show:

• Check in with Mariah and Eryn: What’s one thing you wish you would have known earlier in your brain injury?
• What is the vestibular system? A sensory system that provides our brain information about motion and spatial orientation.  It maintains our balance, movement, and posture.  
• Vestibular Rehab: a physical therapy specialty 
• What to expect with vestibular rehab:
• Give a history: really important to describe your dizziness--Lightheaded? Faint? Spinning? Off balance? Rocking? Swaying? Floating? Eyes aren’t tracking right? You might have all of them!
• Your therapist will help guide the conversation to help you identify what your symptoms are; it can be hard to find the words but don’t worry they will help you
• Your symptoms guide the therapist to what the cause is and what needs to be worked on
• Peripheral nervous system issues: 
• BPPV: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
• Positions such as rolling, bending, or looking up gives the sensation of vertigo
• You don’t need to avoid your triggers for vertigo, see a therapist!! They can fix it (and it usually doesn’t take long). Sometimes you’re fixed that day!
• Mechanical problem in your inner ear: the “crystals” are out of place
• Treatment involves laying you in a position that triggers symptoms and then moving the head around to move the “crystals” into a better spot
• You can be premedicated to help with symptoms if moving into the position is scary to you--work with your doctor and therapist to arrange this
• Central nervous system issues
• Ocular motor function: looks at how your eyes are moving.  Depending on what your eyes do determines if it is a peripheral or central nervous system issue
• Nystagmus
• Balance assessment: standing still and with walking
• Damage to the cerebellum, a part of the brain that controls balance, is treatable but takes longer
• Acquired Brain Injuries (an injury that happens without a knock to the head or an trauma)
• Dizziness might be from blood pressure issues (orthostatic hypotension)
• Therapy strategies to work with the changes caused in your brain
• Treatment may be slower
• Treatment focuses on strategies on how to be safe
• Talk to your provider and get an order for physical therapy: great doctors to have on your team are neurologists, PMNR physiatrist; Ear, Nose, Throat doctor (VMG testing that assess the eye movements more in-depth)

Check out these resources!: 

• www.vestibular.org (VEDA)
• Logs that are free to print for tracking symptoms, medications, foods, etc
• www.neuropt.org
• Lots of educational resources written for patients

Questions? Want to connect? Find Emily on Instagram @DrEmilyBeusPT

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