Now, all of this is for a person without a brain injury.  If you have a TBI, Postconcussive Syndrome, Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, or  MS, you have already encountered problems with concentration, memory, word finding, feelings of anxiety or depression.  The number one symptom, which is covered in the first chapter of my book, “Coping with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury”, is fatigue.

Combine the issues of daily stressors, plus the TBI, and you have the core problem…the need for restorative sleep.   Your brain is not going to repair itself if you do not get restorative sleep.

What is restorative sleep?   It is when the brain slows down all peripheral functions, such as your body temperature, heart rate, and breathing rate, so that the brain can repair itself and the entire system.  If you are thinking, moving or anxious, this process cannot occur.

I view the process as similar to repairing a bridge;  you need to close-off or slow down traffic to allow for repair of the bridge.   If you always have traffic flowing, you cannot adequately repair the bridge fully.   You need to dream to allow the traffic to flow, yet to shut down or slow down the traffic to repair the brain.  This is true regardless of a brain injury.  Since your brain has been injured, it is imperative that you get restorative sleep.

So, how do you accomplish this?  First, do not have a large meal for dinner.  Do not exercise after 7pm.  Do NOT pay your bills before bedtime.  Set a specific time for bed and do NOT have the TV or other noise around you.   Reduce, or eliminate, caffeine from your diet.   Bach Flower Rescue Remedy Sleep aid really works.   Also, the use of a CES machine, (see my self help section.)  This is an FDA approve method for helping with sleep, anxiety and depression.   Hypnosis is also very effective.   Water treatments or sound machines also work well.  Lastly, neurofeedback has been extremely effective in help retrain the brain to have restorative sleep.

Have a restful, restorative sleep and repair your brain.

~ Dr. Diane ~

6 oz Greek style yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon, to taste

Let the blueberries sit out for 20 minutes.

Stir in with yogurt and vanilla.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Serves 1 and only 200 calories!

For every season there is a time…. a time for work…and a time to just enjoy!

~ Dr. Diane ~

~ Dr. Diane ~

http://www.brain-trainer.com/equipment/pendant_heg_details.html I used Hershel HEG and it was great.

So in June, I took the course with Jeff Carmen on his HEG and I am getting excellent results.  Now I have more tools  - from hypnosis, medications, herbs, homeopathics, neurofeedback and now HEG to help with migraines.  As a person with atypical migraines, no headaches, just lots of weird symptoms including a dilated right eye and symptoms of right side muscle weakness, these methods really helped to relieve the symptoms of migraine.

~Dr. Diane ~

Ingredients:

4 Cups small shell pasta

1 Cup frozen peas

1 can (7.5 oz) sockeye salmon, drained

1/2 Cup low-fat plain yogurt

1/3 Cup finely diced red onion

1/4 Cup light mayonnaise

6 radishes, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill (or 2 tsp dried dill weed)

1/2 tsp each: salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce

12 leaves romaine lettuce

Preparation:

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 7 minutes.  Add peas; cook until pasta is tender but firm, about 1 minute.    Drain and rinse under cold water; shake out excess water.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, flake salmon with fork, mashing in any bones; remove skin if desired.  Set aside.

In large bowl, stir together yogurt, onion, mayonnaise, radishes, dill, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce.

Tear 4 of the romaine lettuce leaves into bit-size pieces; add to large bowl along with pasta mixture and salmon.  Toss to combine.  To serve, spoon onto remaining lettuce leaves.

Makes 4 servings

Two years ago I was introduced to a new patient with Locked-In Syndrome.  He had a massive coronary that caused global brain damage that resulted in his inability to move any of his muscles voluntarily.   As part of my “5-prong approach” and  integrative approach used by our brain rehabilitation team,  a program was developed specifically for him, which included neurofeedback, speech & language therapy, water therapy, Tomatis® and nutrition education.   As time passed, everyone on the team saw progress.   Then, another patient was introduced to our practice with Locked-in Syndrome that resulted from a 25 foot fall.   Along with being Locked-In, he also has PTSD and seizures.  Once again, the brain rehabilitation team came together and formed an individualized program that included neurofeedback.  Over time, both patients have had excellent results.  Then last November, I watched an episode of the television show “House,” that was on Locked-In Syndrome.   In this episode, it made it clear that while the outside person could not move or communicate, the person inside was more cognitively aware than I ever thought possible.   Now, as a person who sustained a stroke and 4 TBI’s,  my cognitive ability was fogged and it was hard for me to perceive that someone with Locked-In Syndrome could possibly have better cognitive skills than I did during my recovery.   Yet, this is what was presented on the TV show.   Along with this was a means for the person with Locked-In Syndrome to communicate.  It was called BCI, which stands for Brain Computer Interface.

Up until that moment, the only BCI I knew about was where they had implanted a chip in the motor cortex of a person with no limbs to operate a mechanical arm or to move a cursor on the computer.   In this episode, they simply put a headgear on the patient and he was able to move a cursor up and down to answer yes, no and maybe.

With hope that what I had seen was true, I went to my first patient, who had global brain damage, and spoke to him in a way that I would speak to his parents or someone very cognitively aware.   I told him about the television show and said if it were true, he ought to be able to do things I never expected of him.   I then set up his neurofeedback, however, this time I told him I wanted him to control certain things on my command.  When he did, we both were thrilled.   I immediately called his parents into the session and asked him to duplicate what he had just done.   He did.   Once again, you could see and feel the joy in him.   He was no longer Locked-In.  He had a means of communicating.

For the next days, weeks and months, I devoted myself to discovering all the various means of Brain Computer Interface along with hardware and software.  I was able to get some BCI equipment that is wireless, has dry sensors, and allows my two patients to finally communicate with the outside world.  I’m on the verge of presenting, through my newest corporation, Brain Technology, LLC website, which is not up yet, “The Communicator”, which will allow someone with Locked-In Syndrome and other brain injuries that inhibit speech or motor movement, to be able to communicate and have control of their outside world.  The Chip manufacture is working with Oprah to have this presented this coming Fall on a Health and Wellness segment.   At present, I am working on finding business partners and investors.

Meanwhile, my two patients have been enjoying a new found freedom and a means to communicate with their families.   From this came the miracle we all had prayed about….voluntary movement and speech.   Now, along with the headgear, there are motor responses, vocalization and a few words spoken after five years.

~ Dr. Diane ~

Dr. Diane

Prepare:  Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, salt and pepper.

Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water (if not pre-washed).  Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water for about 10 minutes until almost tender. Drain in a sieve, then set the sieve in the same pot with 1 inch of simmering water. Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then with a lid. Steam for about 10 minutes. Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt & pepper to taste.

Serves 4

2 TBS + 2 TBS Vegetable or Chicken broth

¼ medium Red Bell pepper, diced

¼ medium red onion, diced

½ medium zucchini, diced

3 eggs

½ cup cooked Salmon, shredded

Sea salt and pepper to taste

1 -2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Optional: 1 TBS chopped fresh basil or dill

SERVES 2

1. Heat 2 TBS broth in a stainless steel skillet on medium-high.  When broth begins to steam, add the bell pepper and onions.  Cover and sauté 3 minutes.
2. Add zucchini and sauté 1 minute.
3. While vegetables are cooking, whisk together eggs, Salmon, salt and pepper.
4. Add remaining 2 TBS broth to vegetables and pour the egg mixture over them.  Add basil or dill if desired.  Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 2-3 minutes or until the eggs are done on top.
5. Slice frittata in half in the pan and remove each half carefully with a spatula.
6. Sprinkle each serving with olive oil and serve.

Health Benefits of Salmon

Promotes Brain Health!!

Salmon is well known as an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, notably EPA and DHA.  Cold-water fatty fish like Salmon have often been thought of as “brain food” because of their high concentration of these omega-3 fats.  The brain is more than 60% structural fat and for brain cells to function properly, this structural fat needs to be primarily omega-3 fats such as the EPA and DHA found in Salmon.