This health-shared community provides useful expert advice and real life experiences related to heart failure, why it happens and what treatments are available to manage it.

Heart Failure Community

The health-shared diabetes community is a great starting point for everything diabetes. 
Content from specialists and People who live with Diabetes.
Look out for relevant 'journeys' Subscribe to the community and share with friends and family!

HealthShared Diabetes Community.

This community includes information about what peripheral arterial disease is, how it can impact the body, complication that can arise if untreated, types of treatments available and how to prepare for treatment.

Peripheral Arterial Disease

This is a community for individuals wanting to learn about Type 2 diabetes and anything associated with it.
The information is a collective of professional insight and important lived experiences from the community.
Please join to offer your support, share experiences and tips to best look after yourself with this condition.

Diabetes Type 2

This is a community for individuals wanting to learn about Type 1 diabetes and anything associated with it.
The information is a collective of professional insight and important lived experiences from the community.
Please join to offer your support, share experiences and tips to best look after yourself with this condition.

Type 1 Diabetes

This community is set up to create a safe space for people wanting to know about weight management and the psychological aspects and treatment.
It is made up of clinical psychologists who specialise in weight management and have a variety of topics to discuss around stigma, wellbeing, body image and more.

Weight Management Psychology Group 

Gardamed provides competitive and innovative medical devices in the fields of phlebology, lymphoedema and wound care. We are very passionate about our products which encourage and promote patient self-care.

Gardamed®

This is a community for people with chronic pain and those who are part of the care network.
The community has been set up as a safe space for individuals to discuss their personal journeys, how their daily lives have been impacted, the variety of stigmas associated with chronic pain, and various strategies that have helped, or not helped.
The symptoms vary by individual and are experienced as a mixture of both physical and psychological presentations. It mustn't be forgotten that while it impacts the individual it can also impact the relationships those individuals are maintaining and developing.
It is essential to have a multitude of voices and clinicians will provide their perspectives around the management and treatment options that they provide.
A few topics coming are:  The Pain Scale, How to make visits to our doctor productive, General Chronic Pain information, Relationships, Brain Injury (TBI), Dystonia, RSD/CRPS, Spasticity, and the stress on your body/mind can also cause pain.  Controlling pain with a Pain Pump and the experience of a NeuroStimulator.   Alternative pain relief that might help and work our way to to the Pump.
Please be respectful when joining this community. 

Chronic Pain

The National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy® (NAWCO®) is a non-profit organization, governed by a voluntary board of directors. NAWCO® through its credentialing board offers the WCC®, DWC®, OMS and LLE℠ certifications.

National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy®(NAWCO®)

Our mission at the Vein & Lymphatic University is to create, organize, and deliver ground-breaking, high-quality educational content utilizing the talents of a diverse team of global vein experts and focusing on venous disease and treatment for the phlebology medical community and its patients.
Our goal is to make a positive impact on the global phlebology community by accelerating venous education through highly accessible webinars, lectures, videos, and other premium channels with the aim of empowering, inspiring, and advancing understanding of venous disease and treatment.

Vein & Lymphatic University (VLU)

This community focuses on musculoskeletal system inclusive of bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and soft tissue.
The themes covered include conditions, injury, and treatments options with surgical and non-surgical techniques.


Musculoskeletal Community 

The British Lymphology Society is a dynamic and innovative body providing a strong professional voice and support for those involved in the care and treatment of people with lymphoedema and related lymphatic disorders, including lipoedema.

The Society seeks to achieve high standards of care and equitable access to treatment across the UK and promotes early detection and intervention and, where appropriate, screening and prevention. 
 
The Society was established in November of 1985, originally as the British Lymphology Interest Group (BLIG). 

The British Lymphology Society

This community is for individuals interested in learning about lymphoedema.
Themes include what lymphoedema is, how it can be treated, what type of professionals offer treatment, and how people have lived with it out in the community.

Lymphoedema

This community is for people interested in understanding, sharing experiences, and connecting with individuals who have or know somebody with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's Disease

This is a community for sharing experiences and expertise about regional anaesthesia. Regional Anaesthesia allows surgery to be done without general anaesthesia. This is possibly by temporarily blocking nerves supplying regions of the body using local anaesthetic injection.

Regional anaesthesia community

Here you can learn about the importance of physical exercise during and after surgery.

Surgical Journey & Physical Exercise

This journey will help you answer basic questions that may arise in your mind if you are thinking of having bariatric surgery at NHS in the UK e.g. tier-3 weight management, eligibility criteria for bariatric surgery in the UK and MDT approach before and after surergy. 

Access to weight loss surgery journey

This journey will help you guide through psychological preparation before weight loss surgeries. You can learn about its importance, and different techniques before and after weight loss surgery.

Psychological Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery

This journey will help you guide through nutritional optimization before weight loss surgery. Here you can learn about healthy diet plans, types of low calories diets, and dietary supplements needed for weight loss surgery. Moreover, you can learn about diet plans in rehab after weight loss surgery. 

Nutritional Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery  

This journey will help you guide about the different exercises that are important in prehab for weight loss journey. 

Physical Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery

This Journey will help you guide about the importance of medical optimization before you have a weight loss surgery. Here you can learn about changing lifestyle options like stopping smoking and consuming alcohol, controlling your blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and different treatment options available to do so. Moreover you can learn about why continuing such lifestyle changes is important in rehab period.  

Medical Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery

This Journey will help you guide about the importance, benefits, and time duration of liver shrinkage diet before a weight loss surgery. 

Why do weight loss before weight loss surgery?

This journey will help you guide about saftey, success, side effects of taking over the counter medicine for weight loss. 

Over the counter medicines for weight loss journey

If you are thinking of having a gastric balloon for weight loss, this journey is the best option to guide you with. Here you can learn about gastric ballons, how this procedure is done, and the complications after having a gastric balloon. Moreover, you can know about percentage weight loss, recovery, removal of gastric balloons, and other bariatric surgery options after having a gastric balloon. 

Gastric balloon for weight loss journey

Physical fitness needs to be tested before surgery in order to ensure for a successful surgery and after care. Here you can learn about the pre-operative assessments required.

Assessments of fitness for surgery  

If you are thinking of having an endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty this journey will help you through it. Here you can find answers to all the inquiries. Here you can learn about what an ESG is and how it will improve your metabolic health. Moreover, you can find information about the percentage weight loss expected with ESG, possible complications, and if you still have other bariatric surgeries after ESG.

Endoscopic gastric sleeve for weight loss journey

This journey will take you through the different phases of the Laparoscopic gastric band for weight loss. Throughout this journey, you will be able to know about gastric band surgery and its pre-operative and post-operative management. You will also get to know about the advantages, disadvantages, possible complication, percentage weight loss, and diet plans after having a gastric band. 

Laparoscopic gastric band for weight loss journey

In this journey, you can learn about the basic introduction of mini gastric bypass, preoperative management, possible complications, advantages, procedure technique, post-operative follow-up and recovery time. 

Mini gastric bypass for weight loss journery

Here is a compilation of exercise videos designed to help patients before and after their surgical procedures to greatly improve the outcomes of surgery and their general well-being. 

Exercise videos

Here you can learn about post-operative exercise importance.

Surgical Journey & Physical Exercise - Continuing Care

Here you can learn about pre-operative exercises to benefit your surgical journey.

Surgical Journey & Physical Exercise - Treatment

Here you can learn about importance of physical exercise.

Surgical Journey & Physical Exercise - Learning

Here you will be able to know about the continued MDT approach and nutritional plans following weight loss surgery. 

Access to weight loss surgery - Continuing Care

Here you will be able to know about intensive care treatment plans required for weight loss surgery.

Access to weight loss surgery - Treatment

Here you can learn about eligibility criteria for weight loss surgery in Uk, the tier-3 program for weight management, and MDT approach to bariatric surgery.

Access to weight loss surgery - Learning

Here you can learn about psychological aid in rehab after weight loss surgery.

Psychological Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery - Continuing Care

Here you can learn about psychological preparation either through a support group, relaxation techniques, or medical team before weight loss surgery. 

Psychological Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery - Treatment

Here you can learn about the importance of psychological preparation before weight loss surgery. 

Psychological Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery - Learning

Here you can learn about the nutritional needs in rehab period. 

Nutritional Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery  - Continuing Care

Here you can learn about the importance of low calories diets, healthy meals, extra nutrition to deal with surgical stress, and dietary supplement for weight loss surgery. 

Nutritional Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery  - Treatment

Here you can learn about the importance of low calories diets, types of a low-calorie diets, and how they can help you before having a weight loss surgery. 

Nutritional Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery  - Learning

Here you can learn about the importance of exercise in rehab period to speed up recovery.

Physical Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery - Continuing Care

Here you can learn about the different types of exercises useful in prehab for weight loss surgeries. 

Physical Optimisation journey for weight loss surgery - Treatment

Sometimes it happens, when different people have different sleep issues. But what can we do to stop Insomnia?

What can i do with insomnia?!

It is said that when people with diabetes are unwell for other reasons (e.g. Covid-19, fever, cold/flu, etc.), they may need to adjust their diabetes related medication/insulin during the period of illness, especially if they are not eating/drinking as normal. So, what precisely do they need to do in order to keep the blood-glucose levels normal?

What are 'Sick Day' rules for people with diabetes?

What is the EGFRM rating and how can I stop this deteriorating over time?

Diabetes 2 Kidney disease

what are the causes of cancer?






what are the natural causes of cancer?



what's cancer?

what are the natural causes of diabetes

what are the causes?

what are the challenges faced by diabetes patient?


what are the natural causes of diabetes

what are the solutions to diabetes?

in what ways can it be prevented?

what are the natural ways to cure it?

what are the solutions to diabetes

what's diabetes?

how does it affect mankind?

what are the causes of diabetes?

in what ways can it be prevented?

What's diabetes?

what someone with diabetes mustn't eat?

what should he or she need to avoid when working?

which drugs would you prescribe for such people?

what someone with diabetes mustn't eat

Why have I got it 
How can I get rid of it
I was diagnosed yesterday.  My mum has diabetes and my brother


What is type 2 diabetes?

i am coughing a lot I am losing weight my hair is falling out

i am scared i have got cancer

I need to know what treatment or medication can help with menieres disease

what can help treat menieres disease

Can a further aortic dissection be predicted in a patient? For eg: many type A patients go on to have a type B, aortic dissection. Can this be predicted when looking at CT and/or MRI imaging during on going follow-up surveillance. 
Thank You.

Predicting Aortic Dissections

Stories from Health Shared Community members related to health and wellness over the Winter season.

Those with diabetes will know and have been told that the disease places risks on many of the organs of the body.Where there is damage being done to the organs due to the diabetes, adding in other factors that can further worsen this process such as smoking, will lead to organ damage occurring faster with earlier complication. Smoking cessation is an important lifestyle modification for patients with diabetes.

Winter 2023 Content

You are 4 times more likely to be successful with expert help than going it alone. Produced by Pocket Medic.

Stop Smoking - PocketMedic

Richard talks about a very difficult year that he's had with very deep heel ulcers on both feet. He talks about the struggle he's had and the pro-active role and responsibility he feels has helped him through to recovery.

My year with diabetic heel ulcers

Jayne Robbie, Senior Lecturer in Diabetes Care, Specialist Podiatrist, explains what the word gangrene means and how you can recognise is in the foot of a person with Diabetes. She talks about the differences between dry and wet gangrene.

What is Gangrene?

Dr Mushtaqur Rahman talks about what an MDT (Multi-disciplinary Clinic) is for Diabetic foot care. He explains which healthcare professionals take part in the MDT and what their roles are. 

What is a Diabetic Foot MDT?

Dr Sunthar Kanaganayagam, Consultant Cardiologist at Imperial College London, talks about how Coronary Artery Disease develops. He explains the series of events which occur for arteries in the heart to fur up, resulting in narrowing.

What is Coronary Artery Disease and why does it happen?

Join Dilshara Suriyarachchi and Rosalind Birt  who are discussing Falls Prevention. 
Dilshara and Rosalind and both Physiotherapists who work in a rehab hospital. Dilshara has 10 years’ experience and Rosalind over 30 years. Both of them find the work rewarding with enjoy helping to get people back on their feet and improving their confidence.

Podcast Episode 62: Falls Prevention

We welcome a new speaker, Amy Taylor.  Amy is a solicitor and works for Ellisons Solicitors in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
In this podcast Amy is discussing why she joined the Pop Chorus and the benefits of singing to her mental and physical well-being.

Podcast Episode 61: Pop Chorus - The benefits of singing

We are delighted to welcome a new speaker,  Helen Wood who gives a fascinating insight into the role of the Occupational Therapist. 
Helen graduated from Cumberland College of Health Sciences in 1989.

She then moved to the United States and worked in adult rehabilitation in a large hospital in Washington D.C. She has focused her career on neurological rehabilitation and after return to Australia she obtained her Masters Of Occupational Therapy at The University of Sydney.

Helen has presented at numerous conferences both domestically and overseas and has co-authored a publication on autologous transplant. She has taught undergraduate occupational therapy students and has worked for many years completing medicolegal assessments for clients seeking compensation through the legal system.
Helen's area of specialization is in adult neurological rehabilitation and traumatic brain injury. She currently works in her own private practice and in a private hospital working with adults with neurological impairments.

Podcast Episode 60: The role of the Occupational Therapist

We welcome a new speaker, Bronwen Lafferty who is discussing “Wound Hygiene – What can it do for you” which defines chronic or hard to heal wounds with an early anti-biofilm intervention strategy.
Bronwen was a District Nurse then qualified as a Tissue Viability Nurse and currently works for ConvaTec,  one of our Leg Club Industry Partners.

Podcast Episode 59: Wound Hygiene - What it can do for you

Ms. Roberts shows us how to perform a seated hip flexor stretch.

Hip flexor stretch seated

Ms. Roberts shows us how to perform arm circle seated exercise. 

Arm circles seated exercise

Ms. Roberts shows us how to perform seated leg extensions.

Leg extensions seated exercise

Ms. Roberts shows various seated footwork exercises.

Footwork seated (toes & heel tapping)

Ms. Roberts shows how to perform sitting to standing squats

Sitting to standing squats

Ms. Roberts shows us how to perform a spine and hamstring mobility exercise.

Spine and hamstring mobility exercise

Step counts help to improve cardiovascular fitness and respiratory function.

Can step counts be used to improve my activity?

Breathing exercises are very important for abdominal thoracic surgery to reduce chances of infection post surgery.

How can breathing exercise help pre-operation?

Exercise is important in order to reduce any chance of infection post surgery and improve the outcome of the surgery.

How can exercise help the recovery of overweight patients?

It's important to set goals in order to see tangible results and continue to progress further.

How can setting exercise goals help my recovery?

Exercising for overweight patients is vital to prevent chest and lung infections post surgery.

Is exercising important for overweight patients



            What is diabetic neuropathy?
Diabetic neuropathy
is the damage to the nerves that occur because of diabetes. The nerves are
bundles of fibres in the body that are responsible for communi

Pain (aching, boring, prickling) – often worse during night 

As mentioned above, high blood glucose level leads to the build up of deposits inside the lumen of blood vessels, hence reducing the blood flow in the vessels. When the affected vessels are responsible for supplying sensory neurons (that carries sensory messages, such as temperature detected by the thermoreceptors on skin), the sensory neurons may be damaged due to lack of nutrients and oxygen supply. Therefore, the ability to sense heat and coldness from the skin can be reduced.

Loss of ability to feel temperature in legs and hands

Loss of coordination 	

Reduced reflexes at the ankles 

Loss of sensation in hands and feet 

Damage to the nerves that co-ordinate movement in the gut, leading to bloating, diarrhoea, and constipation.

Gastroparesis

Increased heart rate at rest

Loss of bladder control 

Ability to maintain an erection -also known as

Impotence

Diabetic Neuropathy

Cataracts

Glaucoma

When the retina detaches from the inside of the eye

Retinal detachment

Bleeding into the vitreous humour, a jelly like substance in the back of the eye

Vitreous haemmoraghe



            What is diabetic retinopathy?Diabetic retinopathy
is a common eye condition caused by the damaging effects of diabetes. It is
caused by persistently raised blood sugar levels. The retina

Black spots floating around that you might see from time to time

Floaters

Blurry vision

Vision loss

Dark spots in vision

Diabetic Retinopathy



            What is peripheral vascular disease?
Peripheral
vascular disease describes the narrowing and hardening of the arteries (which
are vessels that take blood from the heart to the tissues) w

This pain tends to occur over a repeatable distance and is predictable for those that suffer from it. The pain tends to ease with several minutes rest. The pain is very rarely present on the first step of walking, which distinguishes it from musculoskeletal pain such as osteoarthritis. Furthermore, the pain tend to occur sooner with increased pace or if walking up stairs. Another important point is if the pain occurs when cycling, some patients find they are able to exercise on a stationary bicycle despite pain when walking – this is suggestive of another condition known as spinal stenosis. 

Intermittent claudication (pain on walking)

This occurs when there is insufficient blood supply to adequately perfuse the tissues at rest – this known as chronic limb-threatening ischaemia. Many patients with severe peripheral vascular disease report getting pain when sleeping at night, this eases with dangling their leg off the bed or getting up. 

Ulcer

Peripheral Vascular Disease in Diabetic Patients

Cardiovasular disease

Diabetic kidney disease can lead to damage of your eyes and eventually blindness

Blindness

Problems with circulation, especially your legs that is often caused by the narrowing of arteries

Peripheral vascular disease

Having less than normal amount of red blood cells

Anaemia



            What is diabetic nephropathy?Diabetic
nephropathy is a condition in which damage occurs to the kidneys due to the long-term
effects of diabetes. It is primarily caused by persistently ra

The symptoms people experience is related to the normal function of kidneys or in the case of diabetic retinopathy, the lack of those functions. The kidneys are responsible for the filtration of blood for waste products and excess fluid in the body and excreting them through urine through filtration units known as nephrons. During the filtration process, most of the proteins remain in the blood. When the nephrons are damaged, the ability to effectively filter waste products and keep the proteins in the blood are lost, leading to losing some of the proteins being lost through the urine as well as waste products building up in the body. Proteins in blood are vital to maintain blood pressure and losing these proteins can lead to some of the fluid building up in certain parts of the body, 

Swelling of the extremities (hands, ankles and feet) 

Dyspnea

Haematuria

Increasing need to pass water

Diabetic nephropathy



            Those
diagnosed with diabetes are at greater risks of suffering from a stroke (also
known as a cerebrovascular accident). The inability to control the blood sugar
levels causes damage to

Sharing healthcare provider expert information and real life patient experiences.

Winter 2023 Content

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