Edinburg News
The Edinburgh Support Group has been continuing with both in person and Zoom meetings.
By the time you receive this newsletter we will have had our third in person meeting for 2024. At the beginning of September, we will have met for coffee and chat, no agenda, just catching up with any news, and discussing members’ concerns, along with supporting each other, and welcoming any new members. Our last meeting for 2024 is on 16th November- topic tbc.
All our in-person meetings are held at Drylaw Parish Church, EH4 2RP, 10:15am-11:45am. We ask for a £2 donation per member to cover hall rent and other expenses.
We are due to have a Zoom catch up on 5th October, this will be the last online meet up for 2024. There’s no agenda here either, it is dependent on what our members wish to discuss. Future Zoom dates tbc.
We also have a Facebook support group, and a Whatsapp support group.
If you are interested in finding out anything more about our group ,or want more information about any of our meetings, Facebook group or Whatsapp group, please get in touch with Marion on 07901740192, or at mc92campbell@gmail.com. We would love to see you at any of our meetings, and family, friends and partners are welcome along too.
Exeter and area Sjogren’s support group update
We continue to meet regularly in term time with a once-a-month face to face meeting and a monthly Zoom meeting.
We are always happy to have new members, either in person (we meet in Exeter) or online on Zoom. Members mostly live in Devon, with a few from Somerset and the far west of Dorset.
We have continued to use online resources for information on our condition and how best to manage it. We also share with each other the things we are going through and what helps us with our symptoms.
At one session we used some information from the Medical News Today website about brain fog (2023), which is something that affects a lot of us.
Brain fog can affect:
- memory, including the ability to store and recall information
- the use and understanding of language
- the ability to process and understand information
- visual and spatial skills for drawing, recognizing shapes, and navigating spaces
- the ability to calculate and work things out
- executive functioning abilities for organizing, solving problems, and planning
Several strategies may help when it becomes difficult to think clearly:
- Use a calendar: Write down your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks in a calendar or organizer.
- Avoid distractions: When possible, find a quiet space to concentrate on tasks and take regular breaks to help focus.
- Do one task at a time: Focus on one task and complete it before beginning another one. Multitasking can worsen confusion and brain fog, and it can also increase stress.
- Get support: Explain how you feel to family and friends and ask them to speak more slowly. This will allow extra time to process information.
- Learn organization techniques: It may help to keep a diary or make lists. Smartphone reminders may help remind you to complete tasks, such as taking your medication or going to doctor’s appointments.
- Store items in the same place each time: Find somewhere memorable in the home to keep items that are easy to lose, such as keys.
If you live in Devon or nearby and would like to join us, please phone Kathy on:
07780 544765 or email me on: kathy.stubbings@gmail.com
Reading
The Reading support group are gradually increasing in number. We recently held a shared lunch in a member’s home. A photograph is attached. It was lovely to be able to meet informally.
On September 6th we are holding a face-to-face meeting in the Earley Resource Centre Reading.
This will be followed by a Zoom meeting on Friday October 4th.
Dorset
Following our group news in the summer 2024 newsletter, we were delighted to hear from a member living in France who hopes to meet up when she visits family members living in Dorset. That was a very Bon Jour!
We have always admired members efforts to get to meetings during train strikes, reduced services, landslides and other challenges have made many difficulties over recent years.
That this member has got in touch has reminded us that the sharing of info and experiences between members and through the newsletter continues to be important.
Our thanks go to John Goddard who will be replacing me as coordinator from our October meeting.
Our future meetings are on Thursdays:
10th Oct 2024
13th Feb.2025
10th April 2025
12th June 2025
10th Oct. 2025
