Guest post: Advocating for Your Health Post Brain Injury: A Mini-Guide

Living with a brain injury can be challenging. Proactively and positively advocating for your own health can help you manage your condition, be healthier, and improve your quality of life. Personal health advocacy, if you’re unaware, is the act of taking responsibility for your own well-being, learning to navigate the healthcare system, and empowering yourself to receive the care you deserve.

Below are some advice and suggestions on how to advocate for your own health post your brain injury, along with useful links to get more details:

Find a solid healthcare professional

Your choice of therapist, doctor, or other healthcare professional matters. Your treatment and recovery will go smoothly if you have someone experienced, knowledgeable, and caring in your corner. You should prioritize experts who specialize in brain injuries. For the best results, shop around, ask friends and family for recommendations, read reviews, check the legitimacy of licenses, and carefully evaluate the care you receive during your initial visit. PyschCentral expands on this further.

Educate yourself on your condition

Knowledge is power. If you know your condition, you know what to expect and the best practices to follow to recover (or improve your quality of life). Furthermore, knowing your condition also helps you receive better quality care from your healthcare providers. For instance, you want to be able to ask your doctor the right questions and better follow along with treatments. NICE offers a brain injury guide that you might find handy.

Organize your medical records

Organizing your medical records offers many benefits.  There may be times that you need to check back on what appointments and specialists you have already seen. To reduce stress and save yourself time, file away all your records and documents. You can quickly find information when you need it, you can share information quickly, and, generally, better understand your condition and health history.

Often different specialists and types of appointments (i.e. online or in person) will use different platforms and devices and often will not be able to accept all document formats. However, the one that is pretty much universal is PDF so converting all your documents to PDF will solve this issue for you. Instead of having multiple files creating clutter, you can use a PDF merging tool to keep all your documents in one file. This will cut the time it would take to find a single document. Once you combine PDF files, you can move the PDF pages to get your records in the right order.

Prepare for your doctor visits

Preparing for your doctor (or therapist) visits beforehand is key to making the most of them. Remember – doctors are often pressed for time and are only human, so they may miss things. You should collect relevant medical records, note symptoms, and prepare a list of questions to ask your doctor before you go. Asking your doctor relevant questions is critical – it’s key to getting the best care from your doctor. TIME offers a list of questions doctors strongly recommend you ask them.

Consider private insurance

For those of you who live in countries which have a state funded healthcare system, such as the NHS which caters for residents of Britain, you’re probably used to relying on them. However, the NHS has many problems currently. Switching to private insurance (and healthcare) may give you access to better healthcare options, with reduced waiting times. Before making the switch, do your research. Understand key insurance terms, compare insurance plans, and check coverage offered. When in doubt, consult with an expert.

Live a more healthy lifestyle

Self health-advocacy is more than seeking better healthcare – it’s also about directly taking charge of your health by living a healthier lifestyle. Get plenty of physical exercise weekly to feel good in your body (it also helps your mind). If you work a lot, you can still get some exercise by taking the stairs instead of the lift and going for a walk during your lunch break. Following a mental health routine is also essential. It can keep negativity at bay and help you bust stress.

Ask for help

Self-advocating for your health doesn’t have to be a solitary journey. You can and should ask for help from the people around you. Your friends and family should be willing to lend you a helping hand when you need it. There are support groups for brain injuries you could join. Last but not least is Jumbledbrain – you can receive coaching from a brain injury survivor with first hand experience and take a 6-week that teaches you how to thrive post-injury.

Conclusion

Self-health advocacy puts you in the driver’s seat of your own recovery and general well-being: You can better navigate the healthcare system, save time and money, and learn how to work together with your doctor to improve the quality of care you receive.