Tag: Dystonia Society

Posted in Archive, September 2013

Craft Fundraiser for Dystonia.

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Today I attended a craft fair that was fundraising for a school and for the The Dystonia Society. I had been rather looking forward to it as it was a great opportunity to raise awareness and to restock my craft supplies – I love to crochet. The fundraiser was busy all day which was fantastic and over £200 was raised for The Dystonia Society.

About halfway through the day I got the opportunity to give a speech on what Dystonia was and what life with it was like. I was slightly nervous that I would be useless and just woffle, but have been reassured the speech was ok 🙂 . I drew on my experiences of living with generalised Dystonia, and whilst I tried to only speak in a positive way, I also spoke in a realistic manner, and sadly Dystonia is not a pink fluffy ball of positivity. I found out afterwards that my speech had reduced some people to tears, which I felt bad about, but it had also inspired several people to do their own fundraising for The Dystonia Society which is incredible!

My church has chosen there september mission to be Dystonia. So they shall also be raising awareness this month which is incredible! I feel very lucky that they have taken on this cause. It was a fantastic day today, and I am so thankful that I was well enough to go down and meet such a lovely group of people.

 

Posted in Archive, June 2013

A Fairly Positive Week

Posted on by dystoniaandme

I have had some really positive moments this week! On Tuesday I had a meeting with a woman who works for a service called Cross Roads. Their service provides a range of support. On a Thursday morning, starting in a few weeks time, a guy is going to come over to care for me for a few hours. This means that my mum and stepdad will get a break from caring for me, instead this guy will socialise with me and help me with my meds etc. Not only will this give my parents a much needed break but it will be great for me to socialise with someone who’s around my own age. I am really looking forward to this starting.

My Jaw and neck spasms are rather bad at the moment. I am doing my best to try to ignore them but it is a bit had to ignore the spasms when your head is completely lopsided and your jaw is pushed right across. We contacted my consultant a couple of weeks ago asking to be booked in for Botox treatment, but as has been the case for over 2 months now, he has still not replied to any of our emails. We are going to phone his secretary tomorrow to ask her to chase him, however she never sees the consultants she works for and can only email them, so I am not sure how much she can do for me.

Yesterday and today have been amazing. Yesterday I had another fantastic session with my personal trainer that left me exhausted but extremely happy! I just love my Wednesday sessions. Today I went up to the stables and had a wonderful RDA riding lesson. I rode Nelly again, she is such a beautiful horse and fantastic to ride. She is slightly more challenging to ride than Connie but I love this as it allows me to work on and develop my skills more! Being around horses and riding puts me on such a high, if I did not have to dismount at the end of the lesson I would stay on the horse for hours! Riding is pure bliss!

As many of you know I took part in several fund-raising activities to raise money for the Dystonia Society and ended up raising more than £800!! Last week I had an email from the Dystonia Society saying that I was their fund-raiser of the month. If you would like to check out my interview please click on the following link http://www.dystonia.org.uk/index.php/component/content/article/5-get-involved/370-fundraiser-of-the-month

 

Posted in Archive, May 2013

GABA and Dystonia

Posted on by dystoniaandme

I often view The Dystonia Society’s website to check out the latest information on research, treatment and more. The other day I started reading an article on their website entitled The Basal Ganglia and Dystonia. It was an extremely intriguing article and for those of you who have not read it yet I suggest you do http://www.dystonia.org.uk/index.php/about-dystonia/dystonia-and-the-basal-ganglia .

The section that interested me most was on the role of GABA in Dystonia. At the moment the medical society think (but have yet to prove) that a shortage of an inhibitory neurotransmitter such as GABA could have an impact on Dystonia, as it seems that Dystonia is a failure due to inhibition. Many patients, myself included, who suffer from Dystonia are sometimes put on medications such as Gabapentin, Baclofen or Benzodiazepines. All of these medication increase the amount of GABA in the brain.

I was extremely interested to read this as I currently take both Gabapentin and Baclofen and have found both to have incredible effects on my spasms. The Gabapentin felt like a miracle drug when I was first put on it as has had a huge positive impact on my full body spasm and on my eyes! The Baclofen at the moment is having a fantastic effect on my neck spasms as well other spasms.

So I cannot help but wonder if I have found the answer I have been looking for to why I have Dystonia! I know that I will have to wait until the medical society have managed to prove if this theory is correct, but I cannot help but feel slightly excited. I am always trying to understand why I have Dystonia, and to have an answer would give me peace of mind. I may have a long wait ahead of me but I shall be keeping my fingers crossed.

Posted in Archive, May 2013

Blissful Days!

Posted on by dystoniaandme

I am in such a fantastic mood! Today, after about 8/9 weeks of not being allowed to ride due to Non Epileptic Seizures, I finally got to get back on Connie. It was a fantastic riding lesson, and Connie was perfect as usual! I feel so confident when riding her, and really enjoyed every second of the lesson. I had been worried about the lesson, as my dystonia had spread since the last time I rode. However I need not of worried as my body behaved itself and I managed to do everything with ease.

I am completely and utterly exhausted but in bliss at the moment. The last few days have been great! My tea party was a fantastic success, the Go Blue Movement is going incredibly well and so far I have raised over £662 for the Dystonia society! It has just been the most amazing couple of days. It has all been so positive and I have been so overwhelmed by how successful it has all been.

If you would like to help me raise money for the Dystonia society please click on this link which will take you to my just giving page http://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Moller1 .

And if you would like to join in with the Go Blue for Dystonia movement then either dye you hair blue or wear something blue and take a picture of it and post it on the following Facebook event page link https://www.facebook.com/events/450399491712134/?fref=ts

 

Posted in Archive, May 2013

Tea Party Success

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Yesterday I threw a fund raising tea party to raise awareness and funds for The Dystonia Society. The day exceed my expectations by miles, which was fantastic! More people than I had anticipated turned up which was amazing and really added to the day! Our house was constantly filled with people drinking tea and eating a variety of cake!

What amazed me the most was how generous people were with their donations, it was really very touching! Lots of people read through the leaflets that the Dystonia Society had provided us with and asked me a lot of questions, this was fantastic as I felt that everyone there was really interested to learn more about Dystonia.

At one point in the afternoon I was shaking my sisters friends hand goodbye when my hand suddenly spasmed. I was slightly embarrassed as I was unable to let go of his hand and the spasm was just getting tighter, luckily he found it rather amusing and said it was fine and wiggled his fingers out of the spasms grasp. This provided great entertainment for everyone in the room and also showed them a glimpse of just what my little Dystonia alien could do.

By the end of the tea party I was completely and utterly exhausted, but over the moon by how much we had managed to raise! So far a grand total of £577.26 has been raised which is mind-blowing!!! Dystonia awareness week has only just begun though and my hair shall be staying blue for the week as part of the Go Blue Movement to raise awareness and funds for Dystonia. So if you would like to help me raise even more money for The Dystonia Society please visit my Just giving page http://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Moller1 .

Here are a couple of pictures from yesterdays fantastic tea party!

 

Posted in April 2013, Archive

The Go Blue Movement

Posted on by dystoniaandme

A little while ago a lovely woman called Rebecca Sharp who lives in America dyed a section of her blue to raise awareness for Dystonia (her father suffers from the condition). I thought this was a fantastic idea and we got talking. We have managed to make it into an international movement with many people agreeing to take part to raise awareness for Dystonia.

Dystonia Awareness week starts tomorrow (Saturday May 4th) and runs until Sunday 12th May. The idea is that during this week people either dye a section of their hair blue (you can even spray dye it) or clip a blue extension in, to show support for Dystonia and raise awareness. It is really easy to get involved with and a Facebook event page has been set up which you can easily join, and you can share photos of your blue hair in! The page also has links for those who would like to donate to either The Dystonia Society (UK) or the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (USA). Both of these charities do fantastic work for Dystonia sufferers however they are in need of funds.

It’s an easy and fun way to raise funds and awareness and I urge you all to get involved!! Every person who joins in makes a huge difference. So join in with The Go Blue Movement! https://www.facebook.com/events/450399491712134/

Posted in April 2013, Archive

Dystonia Awareness Week!

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Dystonia Awareness Week is fast approaching, it runs from Saturday 4th May to Sunday 12th May. Last year my mum, step dad and I ran a 5k fun run up in London and raised over £700 for the Dystonia Society! However this year we had to rethink how we would raise awareness and funds for The Dystonia Society as now I am in a wheelchair the 5k fun run is out of the question.  After a quick search on The Dystonia Society website we decided that we would throw a tea party. There is also a slight competitive aspect to it, as everyone sends in the their tea party photos and The Dystonia Society judge the best.

I am also taking part in the ‘Go Blue Movement’. I am dying a section of my hair blue during awareness week to raise funds and awareness for Dystonia. The Go Blue Movement is an international movement, which started off in America! If you have not heard of it yet then I am sure over the next few days you shall hear more! You can easily take part in it by dying a section of your hair blue! If you do not want to use permanent dye, you can easily use a spray in, wash out dye!

If you would like to help me raise funds for The Dystonia Society then visit my just giving link! Every bit will make a huge difference for this small but amazing charity! http://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Moller1

 

Posted in Archive, March 2013

Illness and Inspiration

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Over the last week I have not been well. My seizures have increased to the point that one night I seized from 12am till 6am, my body was spasming constantly and I was feeling really under the weather. The last three days I have had a temperature along with a sickness bug, so have spent the days in bed resting. As I have mentioned before Dystonia does not respond well when the body has an infection/bug, for me this means it acts up a lot. I have put this last week of bad spasms and seizures down to my body fighting off the bug and then succumbing to it.

Today whilst reading through some material on the Dystonia Society’s website I came across a section on Dystonic Storms/attacks and it has really got me wondering if my ‘new’ Non Epileptic Seizures are actually not Non Epileptic attacks and Dystonic Storms instead. In my ‘new’ type of seizures I am completely conscious  however I am unable to communicate verbally, sometimes I may be able to do this via twitching a finger or blinking my eyelids, other times I am unable to communicate in any form, which is terrifying! The Dystonia Society describe Dystonic Storms as :

“episodes of a rare condition called status dystonicus where people develop frequent and intense episodes of severe generalised dystonia. A single episode of this severe dystonia may be referred to as a ‘ Dystonic storm’ or ‘ Dystonic attack’. They usually occur in individuals who already have dystonia affecting a lot of the body…During an attack people do not lose consciousness  and are completely aware of their surroundings but they may not be able to communicate to others as the muscles of the face and larynx are often involved. “

Naturally when I next see my consultant – which shall hopefully be soon – I shall put this to him and get his thoughts on the matter. – if you would like to read more on Dystonic Storms or Dystonia in general then please visit the Dystonia Society’s website http://www.dystonia.org.uk/index.php .

I found this picture earlier on today and it inspired me.

I am not going to have a perfect day everyday, and some days I am going to struggle to find the silver lining. However something good happens everyday, it may a day from hell, but if I woken up that day and I am alive, well that is fantastic and I am going to be grateful for it. There is no point in dwelling on the negatives in life.

So I am going to ignore my spasms and seizures, force my spasming face into a smile and carry on.