Member Monday...focus on men's health

'Kevin's Story'

Kevin has been a member of the trust since November 2012. Here's his story and reasons why he decided to become a member...

"I have always been interested in maintaining my health, and that of my family. Over the years I have tried to lead a healthy lifestyle (at some periods with more success than at others!) and am currently being treated for a couple of long-term (but not life-threatening) 'disorders'.

I believe that it is important to take responsibility for your own health rather than abdicating responsibility to others, but to be able to do that you need information and guidance. My scientific background has convinced me that any actions I, or others, take on maintaining my health should be based on sound science and should not be influenced by commercial or political considerations. Now I am semi-retired, I have the time available to become more active in pursuing these interests, and that is why I joined the LCH Trust.

I am also particularly attracted by the LCH emphasis on prevention - it is far better (and cheaper) to prevent an illness occurring than to treat it once it has appeared, and I don't think that the NHS in general puts enough resource into prevention. My self-appointed task within the trust will be to ensure that all the campaigns and advice that are promulgated by the Trust are based on sound science (as I am sure the vast majority will be). I will also been keen to encourage the Trust to make sure that the latest treatment or prevention therapies discovered are quickly incorporated into current advice.

With regard to men's health particularly, I think that prostate health is a major, and complex, issue - new information is becoming available all the time. It is important that we (and medical people) keep up-to-date with these discoveries.

Another issue, which is not just related to men's health (although men are worse at this than women), is that of regular health monitoring. Catching "disorders" in the early stages can have a dramatic effect on the eventual outcome, so it important to monitor your health on a regular basis - when you get a reminder from your medical practice that a check up is due, act on it, don't bin it. You service your car......

I am looking forward to working with the LCH to improve the long-term health of Leeds over the coming years."

My Shiny Teeth and Me!

Earlier this week we visited a Leeds primary school to learn more about the free Tooth Brushing Scheme currently taking place across the city.

Our Oral Health Improvement Team are working in 8 schools to teach children how to brush their teeth properly and make sure they are doing it on a daily basis. The children meet in small groups in the morning and after lunch and brush their teeth togather with guidance from the school dental nurse.

Every 3 months, they are given their own toothbrush and each child receives 2 tubes of toothpaste every year. They learn how much toothpaste to use, the correct way to brush their teeth and how long for with the help of this funky song...

The children really enjoyed telling us all about what they had learnt and seemed to understand the importance of dental hygiene whilst still having fun!

The scheme is currently in place in 8 schools and 8 children's centres across Leeds with a further 6 to follow once training is complete. It is a free scheme funded by public health.

Membership...focus on men's health

Colin's Story

Read about Colin's experience of medical care and why he is involved in our 'What's Up Man' campaign...

"I do like the idea of the 'Whats's Up Man' campaign as my personal experience of getting medical care has had dramatic differences from kind thoughtful NHS staff and medical professionals who naturally treat people with equality and respect, to some medical professionals who treat you as though you do not matter or exist, sadly the latter was the majority of my experience, part of the negative experience; is not being informed about test results, arriving on time for appointments and being kept waiting long periods of time with no-one to explain why you have not been seen at your agreed time?

In my employment, working within the community I have spoken to many men who have had similar experiences but do not want to cause upset by complaining.

Like all men I simply 'put up and say nowt'. As I do not want to cause offence by complaining or asking questions. I/We don’t want to cause a fuss.

I think we need to learn how to ask why we are kept waiting or when do I get to know the results of tests let the professionals know we are human beings and we need to be coaxed and encouraged not ignored.

Hopefully this campaign may help to improve the health and wellbeing of men."

Read more about What's Up Man and how to become a member here.

I'm half the man I used to be!

The hardest thing about losing weight was deciding to do it, not deciding that I should (which was obvious), but deciding that it was going to actually happen. I was cautious to start with, I saw the nurse at my local GP practice regularly and took advice from the Leeds Weight Management service around nutrition and confirmation that the approach I was taking was sensible and safe for me. "Eat less, exercise more" seems obvious but there's a lot of rubbish written in online forums around maintaining as large a calorie deficit as I was so having a service in the city where I was able to talk to experts and have my mind put at rest was great.

The first thing I learned about food was that I had no idea what a portion size was. Even if I was eating healthy food I was eating enough for several people, I weighed and logged everything for months and when I realised how high in calories some foods are I started researching substitutes. I worked out how to do a cooked breakfast for under 400 calories, I used mashed carrot and swede instead of mashed potato, anything that would keep me below the calorie target. The second thing was how much flavour counts, if you're eating a calorie restricted diet then bland food is a killer so I made sure every mouthful was a pleasant experience.

Exercise was the hardest part to start though, getting out of breath walking round the supermarket meant I was starting from an absolutely abysmal level of fitness. I started with walking slowly on the flat on a treadmill three times a week but made sure every workout was harder than the last. It might only have been very slightly but those little tiny increments added up and in the second half of the year I'd started jogging, something that I couldn't have done in January if my life depended on it.

All of it came down to the initial decision though, actually making the decision that losing weight was not a goal but rather something that was simply going to happen gave me the right mindset to pull it off. It wasn't a matter of focusing on "if", just "how".

Blog post written by Gareth Davies, Weight Management Service user.

For help and advice about losing weight safely, contact our weight management team on 0113 843 2396.