complimentry medicine

[ra1nb0w]

I have been diagnosed with Ataxia do yoiu know of any complimentry therapies or medicine that would help Also does Mindfulness help ?

[Litty]

Unfortunately I have no direct experience but apparently acupuncture and yoga are supposed to help.

Lol .. I had to look up Mindfulness but I am certain anything relaxing helps. When stressed I am MUCH worse! Both my husband and my daughter love shiatsu ( hard to spell!). My daughter’s eyes look so relaxed after a session.

Sorry not more use but good luck.

[ra1nb0w in reply to Litty]

thanks for getting back to me will check out relaxing exercises

[JP66]

Rain, Something to consider is the "wholistic" approach. By this I mean a complete lifestyle consideration. I will try to find it, but I remember reading a clinical trial of Alzheimers where the patients showed improvement from a group of changes but patients who tried only one aspect didn't see any improvement. Basically it boiled down to making a choice to live by what some would call a "healthy" lifestyle. As I recall the list included things like healthy eating choices, yoga, prayer or meditation, adequate sleep, exercise, physical therapy, mind games like crosswords and suduko, and known medications. If I am remembering correctly patients correlated "stress reduction" strongly with positive results and some of the patients had to go so far as cutting back working hours and increasing sleep time to achieve stress reduction. Anyways, food for thought

I have to go away to work for a few days, but I'll try to track down the study as soon as I can.

[JP66]

Found it. Here it is. It makes interesting reading for anyone with Ataxia even if it isn't specifically for ataxia . . .

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[viv112]

Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi all help because they help you become more mindful of your balance and exercises can improve your balance.

[Mermaidia11]

Hi 🌈 ,

Welcome to the merry band of warriors all trying to deal with brain issues in various forms !

As you probably know, this can be challenging and it never goes away!

Litty, what a lovely way to describe your daughter.

As JP says,Complimentary therapies acknowledge the connection between mind and body, that conventional medicines do not.

As T says, have you ever noticed that when you are in a bad mood or feeling anxious/stressed, that your physical symptoms are harder to deal with?

So complimentary therapy is address this connection and can give you some relief from reality, by focusing on healing and repairing your soul and giving you the tools to cope with things that are hard to accept.

Mindfulness specifically trained you to stay in the current moment. This is helpful for all people, not just those with sickness. Everyone gets overwhelmed with the past or future at some time in that lives. It's a form of cognitive behavioural therapy, in that you are retraining your thoughts processes to be a bit more helpful.

How many of us wish on stars. That things could be different, worry about how we are going to manage in the future and fret about mistakes we have made in the past?

Training yourself to be mindful really just shutting up that unhelpful voice that whispers – if only I could/if only I did/if only I can… shutting that voice up is helpful because that voice also tells you to give up.... and that's the worst thing we can do.

My friend with migraines found acupuncture made her feel miles better than lots of Life numbing drugs. I can't stand needles and don't have the money!

But I do use YouTube to listen to inspiring ted talks to take my mind off things when I feel overwhelmed, and use guided meditations at bed time to quiet my worrying brain.

I had Reiki once and felt marvellous afterwards - because I felt that I was doing something to heal myself/and it's gave my brain a break from reality.

Tai Chi sessions were also useful, before The effort (to walk/breathe) became too much. It encompasses both mindfulness and physical exercise in a group setting. This is important because loneliness, lack of physical activity and lack of connection doesn't do anyone any favours,sick or not.

My advice would be to research complimentary therapies, try a guided meditation and have a look at ways you can help yourself by eating better?

We can't change reality, but we can change how we react to our reality. The brain is a weird and wonderful thing and needs so much more than prescription drugs to rehabilitate itself

Happiness is an inside job. I don't have much to be happy about logically, but I am our more at peace with my circumstance because I have embraced alternative therapies with an open mind and an inquisitive heart. Or maybe I'm just mad.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=vsciu...(Not working as expected?)

Where are you at with your ataxia?

[Ginger1]

Hi ra1nb0w

I personally haven't tried complementary therapies but I wouldn't rule anything out. I'll try anything to relieve symptoms! Accupunture is supposed to help some people.

Exercise especially swimming & cycling i understand are brilliant for ataxia (within capabilities of course & don't tire yourself out.) Sometimes we feel better than others & are tempted to do more but it's counter productive.

As for mindfulness- I definitely feel better in myself when I concentrate on something. I do colouring. It helps me to focus on other things rather than my ataxia & is good for dexterity. Again give it a go.

Coq10 has been proven to help some. I take it. It's a supplement.

Whatever you decide, you can but try!

Good luck 🤗

[Zigalig]

Hi rainbow,

I was diagnosed over 5 years ago and yoga helps as you learn to be conscious about your breathing (which really helps to be mindful also) and it helps your core, I also have a dog that I walk twice daily. It is occasionally really hard to get myself out, but I feel so much better and being out in the fresh air in the morning especially really helps. I also went gluten free early on which made a huge difference although my blood tests for gluten were negative. I have now gone almost sugar free as my husband is diabetic. I do reiki on myself which helps, I do have to have what my friends call a 'nanny nap'. I have realised I need to do something for my cognitive functions, people have recommended those colouring books as well as that helps with motor skills - good luck- don't give up you will have good and bad days! x