Brain Repair

[Gandalf2]

Hi fellow Enkers and anyone else browsing this site,.

I was clearing up the garage the other day in the hope of reorganising and tidying it so that it could be useful again. I was a keen cyclist prior to Enc and so it's got six bikes in it plus a recumbent tricycle. It is also crowded with tyres, tools, spare wheels, lights, chargers, garden tools, an industrial vacuum, some domestic grade scaffolding and other items.

Could I make sense of all this again and put things in order? It's a mammoth task and one which has overwhelmed me in the past. I fiddled around a bit and had a go at assessing what could be done, pumping up a bicycle tyre or two in the process and vacuuming up the autumn leaves and dead spiders. Then I broke off and locked the garage, had a cup of tea, sat in the shade, had a biscuit and had a think.

For a change it seemed that I could have go and put things in order, if I did a little at a time, making sure I was achieving some success each time. I remembered what the different things were for and began pairing them up with similar things. It didn't seem too hard and after a rest my brain seemed slightly fitter and more capable. Part of it was because I was achieving success and partly because I was treading long disused neural and mental paths. My brain started to feel like a helpful friend again rather than a reluctant and uncooperative child.

A day or two later I was in hospital having an eye operation to remove a cataract under general anaesthetic. I woke up with a piratical eyepatch and a gradual feeling that my brain once again had slightly recovered due to the 'switch off time' of anaesthesia. Three cheers for the NHS.

A couple of weeks later after a lot of rest and sleep I came across this interview in the Guardian from 2015. The interview is with a well qualified brain expert who has written a couple of books on the topic of 'brain plasticity' and recovery.

I enclose a link here : theguardian.com/science/201...

With any luck this should enable you to read the article and the interview. I hope this is encouraging and informative. I haven't read the books but my experience after tidying the garage seemed to echo the ideas of the brain expert in the interview.

Best Wishes, G2

The photo is of my ICE recumbent tricycle.

[kitnkaboodle]

Great post, G2. I have The Brain’s Way of Healing and have read parts of it. It’s odd when everyone talks about neuro-plasticity after brain injury (which is very real), then my doctors tell me that the brainstem is different than other parts of the brain, so it doesn’t heal or “re-wire” the same way. I wonder what Doidge would say about that. My brain has definitely healed some after E, but it might not be able to heal completely.

Anyway, I wanted to ask you about recumbent bikes. I’m moving, and my family want to get me a recumbent bike in my brother’s new house. Do you have any suggestions for stationary recumbent bikes available in the States? Any features to avoid or pick?

Thanks, and glad to hear your cataract surgery and stuff went alright!

Kit

[Gandalf2 in reply to kitnkaboodle]

Hi Kit and thank you, If you want a recumbent that doesn't move - more or less a recumbent exercise bike, I don't know of any. As you probably know I'm in the UK so the situation in the States is not known to me.

You could get a normal one and just raise the back wheel so it spins but doesn't contact the ground. Here is a link to the British Human Powered Vehicle Club - forum.bhpc.org.uk/

They run races and there is a Ytube link to some entertaining footage of all sorts of recumbents, many home-made, racing around a track. I did enter a race years ago and came first in my class but there were only two of us.

youtu.be/F49C-Ju-O8o(Not working as expected?)

Best Wishes G2

[Wygella]

That I fully understood! And it’s fascinating. I think we’ve all experienced to a greater or lesser degree the sense of focusing on something we find difficult actually helping us improve like you with your bikes. But I want to explore this more now. My neurologist told me that some neurons I’d fried would find another way and they have

Oh and I’ve had 5 ops on my left eye and now going to have a cataract op in my right. Mine were all local! Rather envious of your brain switch off one!!!

Love that bike.

[Gandalf2 in reply to Wygella]

I have PTSD, seizures and anxiety attacks so they gave me the option or gave in to my warnings. One procedure on a local anaesthetic a while back had to be abandoned because I couldn't cope. That must have cost time and money so a general anaesthetic would work out cheaper.

In addition if I started a seizure it would be a status epilepticus seizure which is fatal. I'm envious of your ability to cope with local ans, I don't know how you manage to keep your eye still.

I've learnt a few things from my time on the wards - never believe what they say, never assume that they are listening to you, never assume they have read your case notes or that they have checked what medications you are on, always take your own pain relief, take a couple of lists of your medications (if you hand one over to them you will never get it back), most staff are good, some are angels and some are vile, some patients are professionals and know how to game the system so they can stay instead of going home.

Cheers, G2

[Wygella in reply to Gandalf2]

Keeping my eye still? With difficulty😄. I absolutely see why you had the general now too as any movement at all is not good. And I agree. Most of the staff I’ve had have been in Angel or really good category. But the bad ones are ….. bad.

It’s that wine time so cheers! Again! 🍷