{"id":1741,"date":"2024-01-09T13:31:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T02:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/?p=1741"},"modified":"2024-01-10T11:19:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T00:19:31","slug":"looking-after-your-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/2024\/01\/09\/looking-after-your-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking after your health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Looking after your health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Rohan Fullwood speaks with Nathan about health check-ups and how he takes care of his body and mind.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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To read the full digital issue of Voice, download a copy here.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Download Voice \u2013 Ageing Well<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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An important part of looking after yourself as you age is having a regular health check with your doctor \u2013 even if you aren\u2019t feeling sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

45-year-old Rohan Fullwood recently went to his GP for a routine check-up. The GP had results from various assessments, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 a blood screening,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 an ear, nose and throat exam,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 an ophthalmologist report, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 a neurologist report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In particular, Rohan and his GP talked about his recent neuro-psychology assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did some memory tests and repeated words,\u201d Rohan says. \u201cMy health is pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are times when I have my dizzy spells. Apart from that, I am doing okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Rohan had a dizzy spell in the middle of the night at his apartment in Sydney. He knew what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was about 4:30 in the morning and I had to go to the bathroom. I was feeling a bit light-headed and fell and scratched my arm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen I called the ambulance \u2013 the first time I\u2019ve ever done that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI put water on my face and lied down with my feet up until they came.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rohan lives with a flatmate and has learned to take care of his health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would say for people with a disability to make sure they have their pills with them and to keep a daily record and keep note of anything they are concerned about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also important to do exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI go down to Bicentennial Park, and walk around the park. There\u2019s also a pool and a gym in my apartment complex, so I go for a swim sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rohan has had gout in the past and makes sure he drinks lots of water. He fills up four Soda Stream bottles every morning \u2013 two with sparkling water and two with still water \u2013 and makes sure he drinks all of them by the end of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI also do my daily stretches morning and afternoon,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rohan sees his physiotherapist every six weeks and gets new stretches depending on how his body is feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy physio gives me a massage in places where I\u2019m sore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other regular health appointments in Rohan\u2019s diary include the podiatrist, to take care of his feet, and the dentist. Sometimes, when he is on medication, he has blood tests to make sure there are no side effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past six months, Rohan has also been going to his local Men\u2019s Shed, where he learns new skills and meeting locals with similar interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery second Thursday I go to Men\u2019s Shed, and at the moment I\u2019m building a shelf for my medals,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting involved in groups and activities, and staying connected with family and friends is good for mental health. Rohan likes to Facetime his sister Laura, brother-in-law Tom and niece and nephew, Matilda and Jasper, who live in San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is also getting ready to go on a trip with his mum to Toowoomba for six days, where they\u2019ll be meeting up with old friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be staying with friends of ours that I\u2019ve known since I was little,\u201d Rohan says. \u201cI\u2019ll be staying with my friend Dan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Key messages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Have an annual health check-up with your doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You and your GP can use the Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP) tool to carry out your check-up. It is a questionnaire that gives the doctor lots of information about your health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Book a regular check-up with your dentist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Take extra care of your body by seeing allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, podiatrists and occupational therapists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Look after your mental health by getting involved in groups and activities, and staying connected with family and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Keep a record of healthcare appointments, hospital visits, test results and any medication you\u2019re taking. You might also like to include how you are feeling. You can do this in the Down Syndrome Health Record app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 To make sure you know about your own health and healthy choices download the Down Syndrome Australia Good Health App to help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.downsyndrome.org.au\/resources\/apps\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"The<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Download the full digital edition of Voice here.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Download Voice – Ageing Well<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Rohan talks about health check-ups and taking care of yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"711,991,763,597,972,923","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1741"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1752,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions\/1752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downsyndrome.org.au\/voice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}