Last Friday (15.1.21) I learned about a landmark change for the acupuncture profession within the UK. This change means that acupuncture professionals who have completed a three year degree level training are to be given the same recognition as osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists by the ONS (Office for National Statistics). It is wonderful to have Continue reading
No inquest if your weight might have been a contributory factor in your death
This last week the sad and sorry saga with the Liverpool Area Coroner and the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority reached a new low point. My brother, Felix – who worked on the soap Hollyoaks for 20 years, tragically died of a heart attack at the age of 59 in March – just as the Covid Continue reading
Adverse cardiac reactions to the antibiotic Doxycycline – are patient’s really safe?
My brother died on March 20th. He experienced a heart attack after taking his first dose of the antibiotic doxycyline on March 16th – a drug he was incorrectly prescribed – as he had no infectious illness. His respiratory symptoms were down to pulmonary oedema and a failing heart. Being treated for a chest infection Continue reading
Doing the right thing in sickness and death
Over the past few months the world has been hit by a global pandemic that may be completely undetectable in terms of symptoms (especially in children), mimics flu in it’s early stages, or causes death – fairly rapidly. Wherever and however the pandemic started it is our collective responsibility to see as little harm and Continue reading
Missed heart disease in Covid19 – what could help prevent this?
In my previous blog I wrote about how my brother had died after his heart disease was missed by the medical profession in the Covid 19 pandemic and he was treated for a respiratory infection with antibiotics. You can read the blog HERE In this blog I would like to reflect on what might have Continue reading
A case of missed heart disease as the Covid 19 pandemic takes hold in the UK
We lost a good man on 20th March 2020. He was my brother. As he became more and more ill my brother sought medical help and reached out to friends and family – trying to make sense of what was happening to him – but none of us knew about his heart disease. We were Continue reading
The origins of a desire to help others & putting one’s own needs first
I experience a desire to help and support others as if it were part of my nature – why else would I be so drawn to being a therapist? I now understand, through reading, and through learning about pre and perinatal development as a craniosacral therapist, that a need to help others is something that Continue reading
Connecting with our own paradise within
Roger Robinson’s has just won the TS Eliot poetry prize for his beautiful poetry collection, A Portable Paradise You can listen to him read the title poem on BBC’s Front Row (14/1/20) at 23 minutes. The poem begins with the line And if I speak of paradise I am speaking of my grandmother…. Roger wanted Continue reading
Prescription drug dependency – what’s the alternative?
We learned in the news this week that in the UK around one in four of us are taking prescription medications such as antidepressants, anti anxiety medications, painkillers and sleeping pills. Many people are using the drugs for far too long – they are no longer clinically appropriate. Professor Paul Cosford, medical director of Public Continue reading
The Placebo Paradox – and some thoughts about the placebo effect and healing
A fascinating Radio 4 programme about the placebo effect has given me food for thought about the nature of healing and medicine: The Placebo Paradox So often, when I was involved in health research, I was reminded of the parable of Nasruddin and the lost keys. It felt that rather like this sage/fool, the scientists Continue reading