Adrienne LaGier is one of seven CNN viewers training to race the Nautica Malibu Triathlon with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. This weekend, the team and Dr. Gupta will head to Hawaii for a training trip. LaGier set a personal goal to focus on her diet in the month leading up to the flight. Four weeks ago, my friend Susan posted in her Facebook group, "The Truth About Exercise," that she had lost 25 pounds since the New Year. While working out had been one of her main focuses, she recently adopted a vegan diet that catapulted her weight loss. Up until then, I had not been focusing on my diet in this triathlon journey. I would justify going out to eat and eating what I'd like after finishing 2 to 3 hour workouts. After reading Susan's post, and realizing I had four short weeks until leaving for Kona, I decided to give no meat and no dairy a try. And while I was at it, no caffeine either. A co-worker recommended the book " Skinny Bitch," and after reading it, I was convinced. Since veggies and fruits have been disproportionately absent from my diet in recent years, I thought over-exaggerating them for at least four weeks wouldn't hurt. The first week, I got headaches because I had stopped drinking tea with milk & sugar in the morning. I wanted to prove that I didn't need to depend on anything to wake up – that I am in control of my body. We've built an amazing vegetable garden in our backyard that my girls enjoy working in every day. My fiance Chris built a cedar 6 foot fence to border it and we've already harvested lettuce and fresh broccoli. My yearbook students have taken notice of my new dietary regime as well. They threw a surprise vegan luncheon for me, each attempting to bring in appropriate food (the gal who brought in the Oreos must not have gotten the memo). Here's what I've been eating: Breakfast : Nature's Path Organic Oatmeal; Ezekiel English Muffin with Hazelnut Almond Butter Snack: Banana Lunch: Black bean soup with tortilla chips; Salad with slivered almonds & sliced avocado; lentils; leftovers from last night's dinner Snack: Trail mix; apples with peanut butter; carrots with hummus; guacamole with tortilla chips Dinner: Veggie burgers; Salads; Pasta; Eggplant Parm with out the Parm; Quinoa Cowboy Chili; Lettuce wraps with tofu, water chesnuts, corn, peas & Ramen noodles with a splash of orange juice and Teriyaki sauce; tofu tacos with sauteed bell peppers and guacamole. No caffeine. No added sugar. No meat. No dairy. Results? Down a total of 23 pounds from when I went to the doctor's office on December 28. And I feel great! I notice my skin has cleared up, and I feel energized to work out each day. This initially was an experiment to prove to myself that I could do it. But I don't see myself stopping now. Now, I need to expand my vegan recipe repertoire and find more kid-friendly recipes so I'm not always cooking two meals during dinner. Suggestions? You can follow the CNN Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge on Facebook and Twitter . Filed under: 2012 Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge , Adrienne LaGier Tagged: Adrienne LaGier – Tri Challenge participant

Look out Viagra – there's a new erectile dysfunction drug in town. It's called Stendra (aka Avanafil) and it's newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration, making it the first ED drug to come out in almost 10 years. Although Stendra has not been tested against what is known as the "Little Blue Pill," drug makers say that – for some men – it may work faster. "If things are heated up, theoretically you can get improved function earlier, within 15 minutes, with this drug," said Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego, and co-author of a recent study about Stendra in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. "You can argue this is the first potential on-demand drug." The "on-demand" drug could end up in high demand for men with ED who do not respond to drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. Goldstein, who has authored more than 300 studies in the field of sexual dysfunction, said that early data suggests Stendra may perform faster than other ED drugs, but that must be proven in a larger, real-world population. Goldstein and his team studied 1,267 men who took a 50, 100 or 200 milligram dose of Stendra – or placebo – about 30 minutes before engaging in sexual activity. The men filled out questionnaires indicating, for example, how long it took before they engaged in sexual intercourse or became aroused. "For some men it works in 15 minutes, for some men it took longer," said Goldstein. To be clear, no one is suggesting that men should drop Viagra – or any other of the popular ED drugs– for Stendra. "There is no drug that is the best," said Dr. Laurence Levine, a professor in the department of Urology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who was not a part of the Stendra study. "Each patient's own chemistry may make one drug better than another. There are certain advantages and disadvantages to all of these drugs." Stendra is another option in a field of effective and safe drugs, said Levine. A small minority of patients experienced side effects after taking Stendra, according to the study, including headaches, flushing, nasal congestion and back pain. And overall, patients taking any ED drug – all of which work similarly – should be aware of rare side effects like sudden loss of vision or hearing, according to the FDA. Filed under: Men’s Health , Senior Health , Sex Tagged: Stephanie Smith -CNN Medical Producer

Just a few days after new migraine treatment guidelines were released at the American Academy of Neurology's annual convention, new research published in this week's edition of JAMA , finds Botox may not work as well on migraines as originally thought. The AAN's recommendations found that numerous drugs, such as the seizure drugs divalproex sodium, sodium valproate and topiramate, along with the beta-blockers metoprolol, propranolol and timolol, are effective for migraine prevention. The guidelines also noted herbal drugs such as petasites relieved migraine pain and nonsterodial anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium should be offered to people with migraines to reduce the frequency and severity of attacks. Botulinum toxin A, otherwise known as Botox, was not mentioned. Since Botox has become a popular way to eliminate wrinkles in the forehead, doctors have been using it for all types of treatments, from excessive sweating to headaches. But even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved botulinum toxin A injections for the prevention of chronic migraines, a new analysis finds Botox provides only a small to modest benefit for patients with migraine or daily headaches. The review states that migraines and tension headaches are extremely common, about 42% of adults in the U.S. experience a tension-type headache sometime in their lives. But many of these headache sufferers don't seek medical help. Migraines are less common – about 8 to 18% of the population suffers from these types of headaches, which are far more debilitating. Botulinum toxin A injections were first proposed as headache treatments when doctors noticed patients with chronic headaches receiving cosmetic Botox injections also found relief for their headaches. Studies on botulinum effectiveness for headaches have been mixed. Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, reviewed previous studies on botulinum toxin A when used for the treatment of migraine, tension or chronic daily headaches in adults. The headaches were categorized as episodic (less than 15 headaches per month) or chronic (15 or more headaches per month), migraine and episodic, or chronic daily or tension headaches . The researchers also did 27 randomized placebo-controlled trials that included a little more than 5,000 study participants and four randomized Botox comparisons with other medications for migraines and chronic headaches. They found Botox was associated with approximately three fewer headaches per month among patients with chronic daily headaches and among patients with chronic migraine headaches, about two less per month. There was no significant association between the use of Botox and reduction in the number of episodic migraine or chronic tension-type headaches. And compared with those on a placebo, Botox caused users to have side effects such as drooping of the upper eyelids, skin tightness, a tingling sensation in the injection area, neck stiffness, muscle weakness and neck pain. When compared to other drugs, Botox did not prevent chronic migraine headaches any better than drugs like topiramate or amitriptyline. According to the study authors, "Our analyses suggest that botulinum toxin A may be associated with improvement in the frequency of chronic migraine and chronic daily headaches, but not with improvement in the frequency of episodic migraine, chronic tension-type headaches, or episodic tension-type headaches. However, the association of botulinum toxin A with clinical benefit was small." Filed under: Brain , Migraines , Pain Tagged: Val Wadas-Willingham – CNN Medical Producer

It’s possibly the cruelest joke a brain can play: One minute you’re devouring a delicious ice cream sundae in delight, the next you’re holding a palm to your forehead in excruciating pain. For the next 10 seconds, what you refer to as “brain freeze” (when other people get it) is no laughing matter. Researchers induced such pain in 27 healthy volunteers in a new study presented at the Experimental Biology 2012 conference in San Diego this week. Lead author Jorge Serrador and his team were trying to identify exactly what causes brain freeze. They hoped that by pinpointing the cause they would influence future research on migraines or post-traumatic headaches. Approximately 10% of the population suffers from migraines, according to Cathy Glaser, president of the Migraine Research Foundation , which was not associated with the study. “We do not know what causes migraines… there are a lot of theories around, but that’s why basic research is so essential.” It’s certainly not a new field. Since the late 1970s, researchers like Dr. Neil Raskin and Joseph Hulihan have been studying brain freeze – also called an “ice cream headache” or “sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia” – as a way to identify the cause of headaches. This phenomenon is easy to investigate because it can be brought on without drugs, and resolves quickly on its own. Serrador’s team had each volunteer drink ice water from a straw pressed against the roof of his or her mouth – optimal placement to induce brain freeze. The volunteers then raised a hand when they felt pain, stopped drinking and then raised a hand again when the pain disappeared. Using a transcranial Doppler, the researchers measured the velocity of blood flow through the brain’s blood vessels. Blood flow increased significantly in the anterior cerebral artery when the volunteers felt pain. This artery feeds the brain’s frontal lobe (remember the palm to your forehead?). The artery then constricted as the volunteers’ pain subsided. “We’re not sure what might be causing the pain itself,” Serrador said. One possible reason is the increase in pressure that’s associated with the influx of blood flow to the frontal lobe, he said. The ice water could also be hitting the trigeminal nerve in your upper palate, which would deliver pain messages to the brain. Or the brain could just be susceptible to temperature. More sophisticated research is needed, said Dr. Seymour Diamond, executive chairman and co-founder of the National Headache Foundation . Although a few studies have shown a link between people who get migraines and those who suffer from brain freeze, more have shown no link at all. “I’m wary of the results,” he said. “I don’t think this is going to be a breakthrough for migraine or post-concussion headaches.” Serrador plans to continue researching the topic. His next step is to block the trigeminal nerve during testing to see if that would eliminate the brain freeze phenomenon or if the increased blood flow would still cause pain. Filed under: Brain Tagged: Jacque Wilson — CNN.com writer/producer

Here’s what’s making health news this morning: Frustrated ALS Patients Concoct Their Own Drug (WSJ): Patients with the fatal disease are trying to make their own treatment and test it on themselves.  All the World Isn’t a Stage, but Some Med Classes Are (WSJ): Increasingly-sophisticated simulations, complete with actors, are being used to train medical students and new doctors. Gene Links to Memory, Brain Size Found in Global Effort (Bloomberg Businessweek): An international effort to understand the genetic building blocks of the human brain and its functions found patterns of DNA that may be linked to memory and intelligence. Senate GOP and Conservative Groups Clash on Healthcare Reform Repeal Votes (The Hill): Senate Republicans are battling with conservative groups over whether to hold votes this year to repeal all of President Obama’s health overhaul law. Critics Say Proposed Rule Would Make Millions Ineligible for Health Insurance Subsidies (Kaiser Health News): Consumer advocates, physician groups and some Democratic lawmakers are fighting a little-noticed battle over the health-overhaul law’s tax credits for lower-income people buying health insurance. Why Women Suffer More Migraines Than Men (NPR): One major trigger for the headaches is hormonal fluctuation, and that affects women far more than men. iStockphoto

Running the Boston Marathon is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many, but due to unusually hot weather, Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) officials are encouraging less-experienced runners to drop out of the race or go at a much slower pace during tomorrow’s marathon; temperatures are expected to reach the high 80s. “The weather situation continues to be a significant concern for Boston Marathoners. We have determined that the race will occur in a ‘red zone’ which is considered an increased risk but acceptable for high-level elite runners. However, it is not considered safe for unfit and novice runners.” In a first, the B.A.A. is allowing registered runners the option to defer their entries to next year’s race. The organization has also extended the finish systems by an hour to remain open until approximately 6 p.m. as a way to encourage participants to run at a slower pace, “For the overwhelming majority of those who have entered to participate in the 2012 Boston Marathon, you should adopt the attitude that this is not a race; It is an experience.” Running for a long period of time in high temps certainly puts increased duress on the body, so be sure to keep the following points in mind: Run at a slower pace and maintain hydration. Frequently take breaks by walking instead of running. Heat stroke is related to intensity of running as well as the heat and humidity. Symptoms may include headaches, dizziness, confusion, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. If you experience any of these, stop running immediately and if symptoms persist seek medical attention. Good hydration is important but over-hydration can be dangerous. Replenishing with both electrolyte-replacements and water at each hydrating station should provide your body with the amount of fluid it needs during the marathon. Thirst is an indication that you are under-hydrated. You should maintain hydration levels slightly greater than your hydration program in your training, but not in excess.

iStockphoto Many medical tests and procedures are performed when they aren’t needed, a new campaign by several doctors’ groups says. The initiative, coordinated by the foundation affiliated with the American Board of Internal Medicine , will initially focus on 45 medical services — five each produced by nine different doctor-specialty societies. It will later add future lists from other specialties. The lists will be publicized by Consumers Union’s Consumer Reports, AARP and other consumer groups, says Dr. Christine Cassel , the foundation’s CEO. “We’re not saying they should never be done, we’re saying these are often unnecessary, and therefore the patients should ask the doctor, ‘Gee, do I need this?’” Cassel tells the Health Blog. The campaign, dubbed “Choosing Wisely,” comes amid intense pressure to rein in growing health-care costs. Doctors are trying to take the initiative from insurers. “We’re better positioned to do this than insurance companies,” Cassel says. Many of the examples on the initial lists, such as imaging scans, focus on services and situations that have long drawn concern about overuse. The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology noted several circumstances in which cardiac imaging wasn’t typically necessary. For instance, it said, patients with chest pain who are at low risk of cardiac death or a heart attack don’t typically need stress echocardiography. The American College of Radiology said doctors often shouldn’t do imaging for uncomplicated headaches. The American College of Physicians said imaging studies aren’t usually needed for non-specific lower-back pain. Some of the suggestions may spark debate. The American Academy of Family Physicians says antibiotics shouldn’t routinely be initially prescribed for acute mild or moderate sinus infections. Yet doctors say they often come under pressure from patients with sinus symptoms who want to be prescribed antibiotics. Likely to be touchier is the recommendation from the American Society of Clinical Oncology that doctors should typically steer away from chemotherapy or radiation therapy for patients with solid tumors who aren’t doing well, don’t qualify for a research trial, haven’t responded to multiple past treatments and show no strong evidence that they will benefit from new ones. Instead, such patients may do better with palliative care aimed at easing their pain and other symptoms, says Dr. Lowell Schnipper , the chairman of the society’s task force on the cost of cancer care and a professor at Harvard Medical School. The decision has to be up to individual patients and doctors, Schnipper says, but it’s important to “help the patient understand that more cancer-directed treatment is not likely to be helpful” under those circumstances. Indeed, research has shown that it may lead to shorter survival times than the palliative therapy, he said.

Most of us know from experience that stress weakens our immune system. Colds always seem to strike when we're overworked or emotionally exhausted, as do eczema flare-ups, headaches and a myriad of other health problems. Doctors long ago confirmed that the connection between stress and health is real, but they haven't been able to fully explain it. Now, in a new study, researchers say they've identified a specific biological process linking life stressors – such as money trouble or divorce – to an illness. In this case it's the common cold. Most research in this area has focused on cortisol, the so-called stress hormone released by the adrenal glands when we feel threatened or anxious. One of cortisol's jobs is to temporarily dampen the immune system, specifically the inflammatory response, in order to free up energy to deal with threats. The fact that cortisol suppresses inflammation presents a puzzle: People who are chronically stressed tend to have higher levels of cortisol, yet the sneezing, sniffling and coughing of the average cold are actually caused by the inflammatory response to a virus, not the virus itself. Shouldn't stress therefore prevent cold symptoms? Health.com: How to stop a cold in its tracks The authors of the new study have an answer: The key factor that influences a person's vulnerability to illness appears to be the immune system's sensitivity to cortisol, not his or her cortisol levels per se. And chronic stress, the study suggests, may weaken the body's responsiveness to the hormone, allowing the inflammation that causes cold symptoms to run wild. "Stressed people's immune cells become less sensitive to cortisol," says lead author Sheldon Cohen, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh. "They're unable to regulate the inflammatory response, and therefore, when they're exposed to a virus, they're more likely to develop a cold." Cohen and his colleagues tested their theory in a pair of experiments, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In the first, they interviewed 276 healthy men and women about the sources of psychological stress in their lives over the previous year, including unhappy work situations, long-term conflicts with family or friends, or legal or financial woes. And then they tried to get them sick. Health.com: Job killing you? 8 types of work-related stress The researchers gave each study participant nasal drops containing a rhinovirus (a common cold-causing virus) and quarantined them for five days, during which 39% of the volunteers came down with a cold. Those who were stressed-out had double the risk of falling ill, even after age, body mass index and a host of other factors were taken into account. When the researchers went back and looked at blood tests taken a week or two earlier, they found no link between blood cortisol levels and the likelihood of getting sick. However, they did find that the typical relationship between cortisol and inflammation – as one rises, the other tends to fall – seemed to be disrupted in people who were stressed-out and in those who developed colds. In these groups, cortisol levels had no bearing on inflammation (as measured by the levels of certain white blood cells), suggesting that "stressed people were… resistant" to cortisol and "non-stressed people were not," Cohen says. A second, smaller experiment that used a different measure of inflammation confirmed the link between cortisol resistance and higher levels of inflammation. Health.com: 7 steps to instant calm Although a cure for the common cold is still a long ways off, the findings do raise the possibility that there may be "ways of intervening when a person is chronically stressed, possibly pharmacologically, to influence this kind of process," Cohen says. An intervention of that sort wouldn't only be useful during cold-and-flu season, since a wide range of health problems have been linked to stress and inflammation, including heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. The study "implies that other diseases where the control of inflammation is important would be influenced in the same way—that we could find the same sort of mechanisms operating in those cases," Cohen says. Filed under: Cold and flu , Health.com , Stress Tagged: Amanda Gardner – Health.com

Glenn Keller is one of seven CNN viewers participating in the 2012 Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge . At the beginning of the challenge, Keller weighed more than 300 pounds and suffered from sleep apnea due to his obesity. It's been ten years or so now that I was diagnosed with sleep apnea . I was told that it was a result of my being overweight. The process started with a sleep study when I spent the night in a sleep lab so that the degree of sleep apnea could be diagnosed. That way they would be able to determine settings for my new companion, a C.P.A.P. (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. I use the term "companion" because the machine goes everywhere with me. I've been unable to go anywhere without it for years and I mean anywhere . It has gone more places with me than my wife. When I went on a cruise … it was there. When I go to Louisiana to visit my mother – it's right there. Spend a night somewhere in a motel … and it's right there. And yes, it's in the truck also, every time it moves. It's really an experience going to sleep looking like a scuba diver. My wife could probably speak more to this issue but there is nothing intimate about it. However, my wife never lets me fall asleep without it. The snoring associated with sleep apnea is unbearable. Yes our sleep apnea affects others. Occasionally while watching television I will doze off and it seems without hesitation she will wake me up and tell me "put that mask on." Trust me, going to sleep without it was an accident. There have been a few times that I had an occasion to sleep without it. When I would awaken I would always have a splitting headache. So here we are 10 years later – not joined at the hip – but instead joined at the face. What has been totally ridiculous about this is that I could have done something about it. I wasn't going through this as a result of some incurable disease. I was allowing myself to go through this because I would not stop overeating. I endured over 10 years, over 120 months, more than 480 weeks and more than 3360 nights of having no sleep with this thing on my face because I wouldn't stop stuffing my face. I can't imagine the cost to my insurance provider for the sleep studies and CPAP machines over the years with all I really needed was diet and exercise. Unfortunately sleep apnea isn't the only problem that being overweight can cause. Being an over-the-road truck driver I'm required by law to take and pass a physical every two years. They test for things like hypertension and diabetes – and both can be disqualifying. There were times leading up to a physical I would be taking garlic pills and drinking vinegar in an attempt to get my blood pressure down. How sleep apnea can wreck your sex life A couple of weeks ago I was at a truck stop standing in line behind someone who was buying a pickle that was in a little plastic bag with pickle juice in it. He turned to me and asked, "doesn't this vinegar help bring your blood pressure down?" It was with a great deal of pride that I responded, "not like diet and exercise." The last time I saw my doctor, my blood pressure was great. That's not all diet and exercise has done for me. Since becoming part of The CNN Fit Nation Tri Challenge I've lost almost 30 pounds. At the beginning of this blog I spoke about the splitting headaches I would have whenever I tried to sleep without the CPAP machine. While in Atlanta for Kick Off Weekend I didn't have access to it for three nights – which I had never done. I slept without it and not one morning did I wake up with a headache. Then a couple of weeks ago, while at home, I left it in the truck and didn't realize it until bed time and didn't feel like driving back to the truck. I just knew my wife was going to have to sleep in another room because she was not going to be able to put up with the snoring. Much to my surprise, when I woke up she was right there. When I asked her about my snoring she said it was so mild she hardly noticed and it didn't even bother her. What has been so wonderful is that I still need to lose a bunch of weight – but how much of a difference simply heading in the right direction has made! What is it going to be like when I arrive? I'm thanking God already. Dieting and exercise has been a challenge, but it's been a rewarding challenge. Filed under: 2012 Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge , Glenn Keller , Sleep Tagged: Glenn Keller – Fit Nation Participant

Editor's note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle – injury, illness or other hardship – they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn't know they possessed. This week, we introduce you to a journalist and artist, who shares her story of how creating art helped  her overcome the trauma following a traumatic brain injury ( TBI ). “WHACK’ed … then everything was different” was me – eight years before it became the title of my exhibit. I was whacked while bicycling back from work by a red speeding car. Life has been different ever since and art became an integral part of my recovery and my identity. I started painting portraits of traumatic brain injury survivors to raise awareness about TBI. I selected people from various walks of life: Trisha Meili, “the Central Park Jogger”; Troy Aikman and Pat Lafontaine; Keith Richards and George Clooney; TV news reporter Bob Woodruff, to illustrate the diversity of people affected by TBI.  More importantly, I wanted to show examples of brain injury survivors who moved on to have full, productive lives. I hope the portraits offer inspiration to those recently injured: kinship and identity with such icons is a powerful emotion, encompassing pride, pleasure and self-compassion, all of which are in short supply during the rehabilitation process. For the first couple of years after my accident I was so overwhelmed, fragile and frightened that I could not comprehend what had happened to me, much less what TBI was all about. I gradually relearned to walk, graduating from a walker, to crutches, to a cane and to my own two legs. Yet it was only after I understood what I faced that I became an active partner in my recovery and truly began to heal. I believe information and knowledge was empowering. Questions about ongoing symptoms are routinely answered by: “It’s to be expected, you have a TBI.” While it might be necessary and comforting early on, at some point I needed to truly understand what had happened to me. My husband and I researched everything we could on TBI and asked questions of everyone. The truth was often painful to reckon with. But the more I asked, the more I knew, and the more I knew, the more amazed I was about how the brain functions or, in my case, did not function! With knowledge, I became more active in my cognitive rehabilitation. It was a long and excruciating process: I suffered debilitating headaches, having to wrap my head with ice packs for hours. I crashed hard from cognitive fatigue and swore every day that I couldn’t do it any more. But I did. With the kindness, care and guidance of my neuropsychologist, it gradually became an incredible adventure! Together we retrained my brain to process numbers, to retrieve verbal information, to recall items from short-term and long-term memory, to track and commit sequences to memory, to hold and articulate thoughts When I was halfway through the portrait series, I developed a sense of urgency as news that U.S. military service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan revealed high incidences of TBI among them, now estimated at 40%. I felt strongly that their rehabilitation and re-integration was going to be a challenge for which, as a nation, we needed to be prepared. I became focused on the need for education about TBI symptoms and treatments, for individuals with TBI as well as their families and communities. From that point, the portraits had the mission to travel the country to initiate discussions, forums and debates about TBI and to clearly tell people, that healing and recovery does happen. As for my own healing, I had to work through the existential terror, anguish and despair of not knowing who I was anymore, of having to contend with a person I did not know, could not count on and did not like – the new me in all her pale splendor! There were many compensatory techniques to learn and practice. I still use them every day and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Like hidden scaffolding they became part of who I am, imperceptible to the world, yet I could not function without them. And, yes, I still crash when I ask my brain for a sustained and prolonged effort and will undoubtedly crash when finished writing this blog. Art played a tremendous role in my recovery. To my great surprise art ended up redefining who I was. When I painted I did not feel pain and did not have a traumatic brain injury: thoughts, decisions and actions flowed seamlessly from one to another, just like my brain had functioned pre-injury. It quickly became addictive. Now, it is my life. TBI is an invisible and life long illness that disrupts the metabolic, social and psychological equilibrium of an individual. The key to regaining control is education about the illness, and long-term rehabilitation of the injured brain. It is not easy as my personal account show. But with patience and determination and the right person to guide you, it is achievable – as the people portrayed in this series demonstrate. As a footnote, I want to point out the power of using positive words: I did not suffer a TBI, I sustained a TBI. I am not a victim, I am a survivor. I am not afflicted by TBI, I am affected by TBI. I do not accept my disability. I acknowledge it and consider every aspects of it to learn from it, conquer and move on The following resources provide more information about TBI: www.biaa.org http://msktc.washington.edu/tbi www.brainline.org www.braininterrupted.org Filed under: Brain , Human Factor Tagged: Eliette Markhbein – Special to CNN