Debbie Kendall, aged 62 from Bath, recently attended a pilot Brain Health Clinic organised by Remind UK for St John’s Foundation, where Debbie works with older residents in a pastoral support role. Here she shares her experience of the clinic and the changes she has made since;
Debbie said; “I was absolutely fascinated to hear about the opportunity to take part in this pilot brain health clinic on how to reduce my dementia risk. I thought it was a great idea and would be really useful for me. When I retire I want to be fit and well enough to live a full life for as long as possible. Working with older people I have a strong awareness of dementia and how devastating an illness it can be for the person, their friends and family.”
Debbie arranged to visit the Remind UK Centre and completed the session during an extended lunchbreak in about 1 hour 15 minutes. She met the clinic team including Dr Lorraine Courcier, a senior memory physician and a psychologist.
“The psychologist asked me to answer a series of questions and copy some diagrams so they could assess my current cognitive ability and mood, then I met with Lorraine the physician who checked my blood pressure and asked me questions about my health and lifestyle to find out what my dementia risk is now and then advised me how I can reduce it for the future.”
Debbie continues “At the end of the session Lorraine gave me a personalised prescription booklet stating my current health situation and ideas for reducing my dementia risk by making lifestyle changes and getting various health check-ups. I was pleased that I had a low risk of dementia and could improve my future risk by making small changes to my exercise, diet and lifestyle habits such as adding more hills into my walking routine, lowering my BMI or having a hearing test to see if my hearing can be improved.”
When the menopause arrived I had terrible brain fog, confusion and I found it very worrying. I even wondered if my brain health was falling so the positive results I had on my cognitive health from this clinic has been a weight off my mind.
“It is easy to brush minor health issues under the carpet and ignore them when you’re busy, but if you can tackle them when you’re younger and improve your fitness, diet and exercise it reduces your risks of dementia but also things like stroke or heart attack. Going to this clinic reminded me how all of our health outcomes are linked together and being healthier in midlife is a solid foundation for staying healthy as I age.”
“I would gladly recommend the Brain Health Clinic at Remind UK and encourage people to try it and not let your nerves or embarrassment stop you from going. I felt I would prefer to know my current brain health situation rather than be in the dark and since doing the clinic I feel empowered to take control of my brain health and make healthy changes now while I have time to make a difference.”
“The clinic felt like a valuable opportunity for a thorough brain health MOT. It helps set you on a positive course with your health as the Remind UK team is keen to support you and help you find lots of small ways you can become healthier without taking drastic steps or radically changing your diet. It’s definitely kickstarted a new attitude for me to looking after my health.”
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