The status quo is not kind. It works overtime to stay the status quo, and that means that new ideas, urgent pleas and cries for justice are rarely easily voiced.

Our stroke medical world is so enamored of the status quo because they don't have to do one damn thing. It is nice safe and quiet when your head is stuck up your ass. SO SPEAK UP AND TELL YOUR DOCTOR AND STROKE HOSPITAL THEY ARE COMPLETELY FAILING SURVIVORS!
From Seth Godin.

On speaking up

The status quo is not kind. It works overtime to stay the status quo, and that means that new ideas, urgent pleas and cries for justice are rarely easily voiced.
We're pleased that Annie Kenney stood up for a woman's right to vote all those years ago, even if she got arrested for doing so. And we're proud of Elijah Harper, who brought a debate to a standstill when he stood up for the rights of indigenous people. We're glad that Lois Gibbs stood up to fight for the families near Love Canal, and that Rachel Carson was able to save countless lives by blowing the whistle on how we were poisoning ourselves.
The historical examples are pretty much beyond dispute. When we think about the past, our heroes are those that were willing to persist even when their critics tried to silence them.
Where it becomes challenging is when someone around us chooses to speak up. Today. Now.
It might be someone in HR who risks his job to report the boss to the board. Or it might be an unlikely activist, standing up for a cause that wasn't on our radar. It might be someone in accounting who has found a better way to do things, or an unknown with no power or authority who stands up and says, "follow me."
We can't judge those that challenge the status quo merely on their rule breaking. Because the rules only exist to maintain the status quo.
Instead, we have to work ever harder on seeing, listening and supporting the quiet voices who have something important to say. Perhaps, if we listen a bit harder, we'll be able to do the right thing that much sooner.

Survey on plans to close Bideford stroke unit and move everything to Barnstaple

What are their plans on getting better results? Who gives a fuck about delivering high quality care you idiots? Survivors want high quality RESULTS. YOU have to speak up or nothing useful will get done. I would ignore the survey and email Nellie Guttmann at nellieguttman@nhs.net directly
http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/news/survey_on_plans_to_close_bideford_stroke_unit_and_move_everything_to_barnstaple_1_4849028
Northern Devon Healthcare Trust appeals for views on proposals to merge North Devon’s stroke services at NDDH
A survey is underway on plans to close the stroke unit at Bideford Hospital and move everything to Barnstaple.
Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust has launched an online survey to find out what people think of the plans to merge stroke services at North Devon District Hospital (NDDH).
The survey finishes at the end of January, but the planned changes are nothing to do with the review of stroke services already taking place as part of the controversial sustainability and transformation plan (STP).
At present, patients are generally admitted to the Acute Stroke Unit at NDDH and then are either discharged home or transferred to Bideford Community Hospital for rehabilitation.
The trust says moving the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit to NDDH will mean care is more ‘joined-up’ for patients and will reduce any delays which currently take place when transferring their care to Bideford.
It says the move will also create a more effective stroke clinical team at NDDH by combining the expertise of the stroke teams and will ensure every patient receives the specialist care they need.
The trust has claimed stroke clinicians feel strongly this is the right thing to do to improve their ability to deliver high-quality care to stroke patients.
Information about what is being proposed is available on the Northern Devon Healthcare Trust website
You can complete the survey HERE.
Alternatively, if you have any particular comments, you can email Nellie Guttmann at nellieguttman@nhs.net or write to her at: North Devon District Hospital, Raleigh Park, Barnstaple, EX31 4JB.

Time-restricted feeding study shows promise in helping people shed body fat

This would seem to also have dementia prevention possibilities along with neurogenesis.

To Stave off Alzheimer’s, Stay Hungry?  May 2013

Researchers: Mini-Fast Prevents Alzheimer's  Feb. 2013

Intermittent fasting attenuates increases in neurogenesis after ischemia and reperfusion and improves recovery  Feb. 2014

Has your doctor done ONE fucking thing about creating a diet protocol for all its benefits? 4 years and done absolutely nothing?  Or is s/he waiting for SOMEONE ELSE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM? That answer will tell how incompetent your doctor and stroke hospital are. Oops, once again telling Drs. and PhDs they don't know what the hell needs to be done. Don't listen to me, I'm not medically trained, but you don't need medical training to see incompetency in action. Do you want your children and grandchildren to have better stroke recoveries? Then speak up!

Time-restricted feeding study shows promise in helping people shed body fat

UAB Medicine

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers are trying to find out whether changing a person’s eating schedule can help them lose weight and burn fat.

The first human test of early time–restricted feeding, or eTRF, found that this meal–timing strategy reduced swings in hunger and altered fat and carbohydrate burning patterns, which may help with losing weight. With eTRF, people eat their last meal by the mid–afternoon and do not eat again until breakfast the next morning. The findings were unveiled during a presentation at the Obesity Week 2016 meeting.

“Eating only during a much smaller window of time than people are typically used to may help with weight loss,” said Courtney Peterson, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at UAB. “We found that eating between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. followed by an 18–hour daily fast kept appetite levels more even throughout the day, in comparison to eating between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., which is what the average American does.”

This new research, funded by a TOS Early Career Research Grant awarded in 2014, suggests that eating a very early dinner, or even skipping dinner, may have some benefits for losing weight, although further studies need to take place to confirm that theory. Previous animal studies showed that eTRF helped rodents burn more fat.

The human body has an internal clock, and many aspects of metabolism are at their optimal functioning in the morning. Therefore, eating in alignment with the body’s circadian clock by eating earlier in the day may positively influence health. This first test of eTRF in humans follows rodent studies of this approach to weight loss, which previously found that eTRF reduced body fat and decreased the risk of chronic diseases in rodents.

During the human study, Peterson and her colleagues followed 11 men and women with excess weight over four days of eating between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., and four days of eating between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Researchers then tested the impact of eTRF on calories burned, fat burned and appetite. Participants tried both eating schedules, ate the same number of calories both times and completed all testing under supervision.

Researchers found that, although eTRF did not affect how many total calories participants burned, it reduced daily hunger swings and increased fat burning during several hours at night. It also improved metabolic flexibility, which is the body’s ability to switch between burning carbs and burning fats.

Whether eTRF helps with long–term weight loss or improves other aspects of health is still unknown. Peterson says that, because the human study involved only a small number of participants, a larger, more comprehensive study will need to take place.

 

Local MPP tours Stratford hospital stroke unit

I bet  they didn't tell this MPP of all the problems in stroke. I bet he got the 'happy talk' presentation. YOU need to speak up and tell the truth about stroke. Everything in stroke is fucked up.
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/2016/05/25/local-mp-tours-stratford-hospital-stroke-unit

“Time is brain.”
It's the registered nurses' mantra at Stratford General Hospital from the moment a stroke patient comes through the door of the emergency department right up until they're in rehab.
Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece got a tour of the journey a stroke patient will go on at Stratford General--which is one of the province's Integrated Stroke Units.
Pettapiece wasn't playing hookey from his duties. The tour was part of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario's 16th Annual Take Your MPP to Work event.
“We have the expertise and equipment to take care of patients in a timely manner and try to get the best outcomes for them and their family,” said Tasha Vandervliet, RN.
A patient having stroke symptoms will see a doctor within about seven minutes and then go for a CT scan. The registered nurse will hook the patient up to a monitor, start IVs and deal with blood pressure and heart rate. The nurse will stay with the patient as they go for the CT scan which helps determine whether the stroke is caused by a blood clot or by a bleed.
If it's a bleed that requires surgery the patient will go to London to see a neurologist if it's a clot, medication is started as soon as possible and the patient stays in Stratford.
“The goal is they get medicine within an hour from the time they walk in the door. It's incredibly fast,” Vandervliet said.
Ideally, the clot busting drug should be administered within four hours of the last time the patient was in a normal state or it has no effect, she said.
The patient then goes up to the intensive care unit where one-on-one attention is provided.
“We're constantly assessing, if we notice any major changes, it's an emergency,” said Catherine Walsh, Perth Chapter RNAO president.
Nurses are checking blood pressure and other signs every 10 to 15 minutes during the acute care period.
Nurses in ICU will look at a patient's level of consciousness, ask questions, see if the patient can follow commands, speak and see properly.
“This is the period where they have the most emotional stress. They have full functioning thoughts but can't express them,” Vandervliet said.
On the other hand, she has watched patients regain function after having the drugs administered in time.
“When it works, it's the most beautiful thing,” she said.
When a patient leaves ICU they go to the stroke floor. They start rehabilitation just down the hallway and work with the same team during that period which may include language pathologists and dieticians in addition to RNs.
Patients are typically ready for rehab within five to seven days. All rehab patients dine together at tables rather than in bed.
Patients also work with nurses from the stroke prevention team. The goal is to catch patients who are having mini strokes and get them treatment before they have a major stroke. However, they also follow patients who have had a major stroke through the process.
Nursing care extends outside the hospital too as patients continue to recover at home.
Pettapiece suggested stroke patients need to call 911 and forget about what the neighbours might think in order to get timely treatment.
Walsh stressed RNs are a critical part of care and their jobs should be protected. She said it's not about different levels of nursing but about having the right care provider available at the right time.
Pettapiece suggested maybe something has to change in the system to protect those jobs.
“There's guys my age you're going to have to look after and I hope you're there,” he said.
lcudworth@postmedia.com