Going to the gym

I started going to the Wellness Gym at Coventry Sports Centre in August 2006 and it's probably been the best move I have made in a while.  The gym is in the city centre, about five miles from home, so I get the bus there and back.  I work with an instructor who is trained to work with disabled clients and he really knows what he's doing.  I’ve found other gym-goers to be very friendly; I can honestly say that I haven’t had any strange looks or anything so far!

I go three times every week; in two sessions I work on my lower body for about 30 minutes.  My instructor helps me use ankle weights in different ways and gym balls which I push against with my legs (in different positions depending on which muscle group we want to work on).  In the third session we work on upper body for about 45-60 minutes.  I use the machines a lot and I also use the dumbells although my instructor has to 'guide' my movements as I would clonk myself on the head!  All sessions I do from my wheelchair.

CoQ10 and vitamin E

I take a suppliment called CoQ10 and a high dose of vitamin E.  I started taking these whilst partcipating in a drugs trial in 2001.  Immeadiately I noticed an improvement in m speech and swallowing.  Since the trial ended in 2004 I have continued to take the same dose of CoQ10, which I import from the US in large quantities as high doses of CoQ10 can be expensive to obtain in the UK, and the same dose of vitamin E which I manage to get on prescrption. 

I take 600mg of CoQ10 and 2,000 IU of vitamin E per day.  I find iherb.com to be the cheapest supplier of branded CoQ10 - see http://www.iherb.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Co-Q10-200-200-mg-60-Capsules/224?at=0.

Over the years there has been occasions where I've stopped taking CoQ10 because I've forgotten to buy a new batch when the old one has run out or because I couldn't afford to keep it up.   Each and every time my problems with speech and swallowing return.  The results of the trial were finally released last year.  It showed that CoQ10 was proven to be benefitial but that there was no differencce in the improvement seen in those taking the high dose vs those taking the low dose.  I had been taking the high dose so I subsequently lowered it.  Poor speech and swallowing soon followed, so I went back to taking the high dose and immeadiately saw improvements.  I get a real sense that CoQ10 and vitamin E are keeping those two very signficant symptoms at bay.

Adaptations - things that make life easier around the home

As you can imagine my house has all sorts of rails here there and everywhere - we could keep a monkey entertained for days. The most useful rails I have are superpoles, which are long, floor-to-ceiling poles.  I have these by my bed and toilet to assist transfers.  The pole by my bed also helps me to turn in bed.  I receive a lot of emails asking where I got these from, and the answer is from an Occupational Therapist via my local Independent Living Centre.  If you need rails, poles or shower chairs, this is the place to go.

And onto the bottom line...