New dates for Drop-In Meditation in Brighton

Bodhisattva Kadampa Centre

Just to let you know the dates for morning and lunchtime meditation  for their winter term are as follows:

Lunchtime meditation Weds and Fri 12.30-1.00pm

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only meditation- £1.50 meditation and meal- £5.00

  • November 22, 27, 29
  • December 4, 6,11, 13

Morning Meditation Weds 10.30-11.00am

£1.50 per person

  • November 27
  • December 4, 11

More information can be found at www.meditateinbrighton.com

 

There is also The Brighton Buddhist Centre in the middle of the city.

Brighton Buddhist Centre

Tuesday           1.15 – 1.45pm  £3 (£2 concession)

Wednesday     1.00 – 2.00pm  No Charge

Wednesday     7.30 – 9.30pm   £6 (£4 Concession)

Thursday          1.15 – 1.45pm  £3  (£2 Concession)

Saturday           11.00 – 1.00pm  £6  (£4 Concession)

 

 

Help with Disability Aids

It was brought to our attention by a few members of the group, that sometimes with lupus we need extra aids either in the home or to get around. Joint pain caused by the inflammation in hips, knees and ankles can make walking difficult sometimes and it isn’t always clear how and where to get help. GPs don’t always offer to refer us to other services that may be available to us.

Access Point is a service offered by Brighton and Hove council. If you ring their number (01273) 295555 or email them at accesspoint@brighton-hove.gov.uk.  they should be able to help by giving you an assessment and the providing you with the equipment you need.

Adaptations include: providing ramp access, adding handrails, widening doors, raising electrical sockets, replacing a bath with a level access shower, or installing special equipment for people with hearing or visual difficulties. These adaptations may be funded or partially funded by the council, depending on your circumstances.

For example, one of our members had a handrail put in by the steps at her front door by this service. They said that they can also provide basic adjustable walking sticks.

Another of our members also wanted to make us aware of Joint Community Rehabilitation Service (JCR) which is provided by East Sussex Council and is available to people leaving hospital or if you’ve been assessed to qualify by a GP, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or social worker. Their number is 0345  60 80 190.

Talk on Lupus and the Brain

The talk on “Lupus and the Brain” by Professor Davies for our support group, will take place on Friday 6th December at 11.00am. It will be held at the Brighton and Sussex Medical Teaching Building at the Brighton University campus at Falmer.  See the Events page for a map of how to find it and details of buses that run there.

As well as providing a seminar room for this event, they’ve also very kindly offered to provide us with light refreshments on arrival.  Parking permits can be provided on request for £2.50.

We think this will be an interesting and informative talk and we’re all looking forward to it. Please contact us if you require any more information.

 

 

Start Collecting your Aluminium Cans and Foil

cansA couple of our members have come up with a great idea for combining Lupus Awareness Day and fundraising for our group.

Lupus Awareness Day is on  Saturday 10th May 2014, next year and Mel has very kindly offered our group the use of the Green Centre for the Day. We plan to all get together and bring some food and drinks, have a raffle, sell some cakes, learn how to sort some bottle tops and generally raise a bit of money for the group. We’ll bring along our mini library too, so you can look at the books we bought for the group and see if you’d like to borrow any. Please note that this event will be for group members, friends and family, but not the general public.

One way you can start to contribute to this event now, is by starting to collect your aluminium cans and foil (not food cans). You can tell if a can is aluminium by putting a magnet to it, if it doesn’t stick then it’s aluminum. If you then bring all the aluminium you’ve collected to the event on the 10th May 2014, Mel has generously offered, as a one off to take it all to the recycling centre where it will be weighed.

Any aluminium taken to the Green Centre after 10th May, will go to raise funds for the Green Centre (which is also another very worthy cause!)

 

 

Flu Jabs

If you haven’t had one already now is the time to get a winter flu jab. Here is the advice given by St Thomas’s Hospital:

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“Professor David D’Cruz from St Thomas’s hospital recommends that lupus patients should have the regular flu jab on a yearly basis when it is offered by your GP: this covers new strains of flu that may have developed. This is especially important in lupus as you are more at risk of more serious infection should you develop the flu and because lupus affects the immune system, which is essential to help you to fight infections. You should also have the pneumococcal vaccination which is given every 10 years at your GP surgery.

Lupus patients do not generally have any side-effects from the flu vaccine. When they do, their symptoms are usually mild, such as a few days of fever and muscle aches. Overall. the inactivated influenza vaccine is considered to be safe and effective for people with lupus, and it is recommended that lupus patients have the flu vaccine annually. The flu vaccine is updated every year to combat the flu virus strains that are most likely to cause illness.
The inhaled flu prevention treatment (FLU-MIST) is not recommended as this is a live vaccine. All live vaccines must be avoided in lupus.
Research has shown that the flu vaccine causes a protective antibody response in people with lupus, although this protection tends to be lower than in the healthy control group. Many lupus patients are on a drug regime, but this does not exempt them from having the flu vaccine. If you have allergies to certain drugs, or are pregnant, you should discuss this with your GP before having the flu vaccination.”

 

It may also be worth making sure the vaccine doesn’t contain an adjuvant. (Adjuvants are ingredients added to some vaccines to boost the bodies immune system to make it produce more antibodies to the flu virus in the vaccine. This helps to make the vaccine more effective). However, “Results from a Swedish registry based cohort study indicate a 4-fold increased risk of narcolepsy in children and adolescents below the age of 20 vaccinated with Pandemrix, compared to children of the same age that were not vaccinated.” *citation ( Narcolepsy is another autoimmune condition) Pademrix vaccine contains two adjuvants designed to provoke a stronger response.

Adjuvants are not used in the standard flu vaccine,  Enzira (or generic equivalents).

November’s Coffee and Chat

pier snowIt seems to have come round very quickly, but Friday saw the last Lupus Brighton and Hove coffee and chat of 2013 and we had the biggest turnout of the year! Fifteen of us got together to chat, laugh and offer each other support. Everyone had a great time and it was a great chance to catch up with each other. We now have 2014 coffee and chat dates published here on the website and you can follow this link to our coffee and chat page to see them.

Remember the next dates for your diaries are:

  • 6th December – Professor Davies talk on Lupus and the brain
  • 13th December – Christmas lunch
  • 21st February- First coffee and chat of 2014

 

 

Community Shiatsu Clinic

Shiatsu is a traditional Japanese body massage that uses acupressure points. It is deeply relaxing and can help with stress the Community Shiatsu Clinic offer drop in £9 for 20 min massage.

On Wednesdays 5-7pm (last entry 6.30pm) at the Cornerstone Community Centre, Church Rd, Hove BN3 2FL

On Fridays 1-4pm (last entry 3.30pm) at Brighton Natural Health Centre, 27 Regent St , Brighton BN1 1UL

If you feel like treating yourself!

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