Stress and Tension can mess up your body.

After my last 'big' seizure, I had to welcome these frequent headaches/migraines. In addition to those making me 'scrunch' up - I found that I was always tense because I had grown paranoid that I could drop at any given time.

I did not know my seizures were seizures for a long time, so once I knew they were - suddenly they were scary. I walk guarded, I sit guarded and I flinch when anyone comes near my back, neck or head. It's gotten to the point everything is not-quite lined up properly causing a lot of pain.

Today I went to Physical Therapy, and boy do I feel much better!

It stinks to say I have to go every other day for 4 weeks, but it's very nice. Plus, it's like getting your insurance to pay for a massage! However, you don't want to end up there.

I have about 20 muscle kinks hiding in places that I cannot reach. My range of motion has decreased, my headaches are more frequent and my right shoulder is dropped about 2 inches lower than my left.

These are the tips I got, so I wanted to share.

Check atleast once per hour to make sure you are not tense; rolll your neck - look up - look down - turn right - turn left and then try and 'shake off' the tension you may have.

I honestly had no clue that being so nervous lead to having a guarded stance which lined me up for even more issues that I don't want to have. My spine, neck and skull need to be lined up better and I have pretty much forced them into a crappy position (for lack of better words/terms).

While the massage was awesome, having my body stretched and my neck muscles stretched hurt like hell.

So, to sum it up - Shake off your stress several times a day and do "Am I Tense??" checks!

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Also, if you do suffer from neck stiffness, muscle knots, more frequent headaches, etc. Ask your Neurologist about going to Physical Therapy. So far, I'm diggin' it.

Will you start exercising to keep your stress level down?
For example yoga,swimming, walking, a gym?????

What will you do when this treatment is over?

Riva

I got a balance ball. Right now, we are still in the phase I like to call "Bonding" after we had an 'oopsie' with the Ball and Resistance Kit (ball to face accident).

My Therapist is going to show me a better way to use it since I have balance problems (severe midline shift to the right, unstable gait - I think I spelled that wrong, too!).

Amazing as it is, I live less than a mile from the ocean and never get to go. I always have to ask people to go with me, or ask for a ride (I can't walk that far without putting myself at risk).

I like to play with my dogs in the yard, chasing them is like having a gym membership!

This, however, has opened my eyes up a lot and I know I need to take better care of myself (mentally). I was so afraid to 'drop' in public that I was taking several grocery trips just to make sure I didn't over-do it. Each trip I was so tense you could bounce coins off of me.

*rolls neck*

This computer isn't much help, but I got a size up on a therapy ball and sit here on that wearing a back brace. It encourages good posture and helps with my balance, it also is so annoying I can't sit here too long!

Believe it or not, my mom is an Occupational Therapist and she'd kill me if she knew what I did to my neck!

OH, I also forgot to mention. I also fear losing weight. It took me a lot of hard work to gain weight (I know, odd coming from a female living in Orange County). I have always been underweight since birth, and have problems gaining. I over-eat to try to maintain, but I hurt my stomach in the process, it is simply too small to handle the food I eat.

I have been using Boost Plus and Ensure (I rotate them, I don't want to OD on Vitamins) and then I eat 3 big meals a day, and 3 small meals between them. I got sick in May and lost the 10 pounds I busted my butt for (or my gut, pun intended).

I'm 29 and weigh 96 pounds now. So I worry about losing any weight I have now because my immune system is kind of weak. I understand the entire concept of muscle tone and how it would help me gain, but I also need the other things (even fat!).

Eventually I'll find a good dietitian (or whatever they are called) and maybe a trainer. Sadly, most around here think because of where I live that I have a money tree in my backyard - that and they sound shocked I want to gain weight.