PSTEC for severe stroke

[MDJOPSTEC User]

Hi everyone.  I am posting to ask for your opinions and help with regarding my mum who had a stroke 4 weeks ago.  She is 84 years old and the stroke is classed as 'severe'.  She is paralysed on the right side with severe aphasia and dysarthria.  The is no swallow so is nil-b-mouth and she is struggling in all aspects of communication.  I believe she can understand what is being said and she can make noises such as 'aaaaah' so I believe the speech apparatus is still capable of functioning.  Mum has said the odd single word with a struggle, just 3 words in total, but otherwise when she tries to speak the words are garbled.  It's not clear whether she cannot form the words in her head or she can't speak the words.  (I believe the communication process is very complicated in this respect).  Due to her age the hospital team do not hold hope for mum making any sort of recovery as it's been 4 weeks since the stroke and she has made no progress on their indicators.  In fact I feel she has regressed somewhat on her cognitive abilities as she seems to now only give a single response to each questions – previously she was communicating both yes and no responses with hand squeezes and eye-brow raising  (She is also very very exhausted as she has been without nutrition for a week as she kept pulling her NG tube out and it took them a week to decide to insert a PEG feeding tube which has happened today).  The Dr's advised that they felt she was clear of immediate threat of dying with this stroke (she passed the 4 week mark) hence the PEG decision, however I don't want her to be left to languish in this state with the hospital just providing physical care (there has been no speech therapy or rehab as yet)  I believe neuroplasticity is the key to the brain developing new pathways for areas of the brain that have been damaged/killed in the stroke.  I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how I can help mum regain her cognitive abilities, speech and swallow?  I've used PSTEC in the past very successfully to solve a chronic insomnia problem so know how powerful it can be.  However the techniques I used involve a good degree of cognitive ability (tapping and following instruction etc) and the ability to read (she can't understand letters or words, I think they appear as squiggles as is common in left brain attack).  Can anyone suggest maybe an adaptation of PSTEC that could be used?  Or would hypnosis be the starting point?    I feel if she could retain some cognitive elements and speech/swallow this would at least provide some quality of life and the starting point for further mobility rehab.  Many Many thanks Melanie xx

[Brian TuckerPSTEC User]

Hi Melanie –

There is a mini-tutorial for physical pain. It outlines using pstec positive and cascade release where you might investigate using it as an option without the pstec positive element. You could consider moving her arm for her and tapping her hand while playing the cascade release tracks.

All that would require her to do would be to focus on feelings and events the entire time if she is able to do so.

I'm not a medical doctor and of course it is suggested in the mini-tutorial that you get a release from her doctor to do this.

Maybe this will give her some shifts and maybe it will do nothing. It is only a suggestion of an alternative you might explore.

[Author]

Posts