Exercise equipt. or gym???

[NHsciGuy]

Any chance the VA would get me some equiptment to work out with at my home or pay for a gym membership? I have been gaining lots of weight and need to start working out again. Maybe I could get them to prescribe a magic drug???

[SCI-Nurse]

Do you go to the VA for your care?
Do you get your annual evaluation done (as required) at your designated VA SCI Center?

We provide many types of exercise equipment to veterans with medical justification. This includes sports chairs or handcycles and equipment (such as pool lifts), work out equipment such as weights, VitaGlides, and Uppertoners, standing gliders, and table top ergometers. You are most likely to get these if they are prescribed through your SCI Center, with sufficient medical justification from your SCI physician and therapist.

There are no safe secret meds for weight loss. See your VA dietitian for help in determining what you should be eating and stick to it. In general, if you cut out 500 calories daily, you should expect to loose about 2 lb. weekly even if you don't increase your exercise.

(KLD)

[NHsciGuy]

Yeah, I go to the VA for my care. Are the 1 year exams required? I've been going now for about 4 years to those things. I didnt realize they were required. What would happen if I didnt go? Sometimes I feel like it is a waste of a day and they would be more beneficial as I get older.

[SCI-Nurse]

The VA is required to offer these exams to you. It is to your benefit to take advantage of these exams. Problems which often have no symptoms until they are quite advanced can be caught early while they are still treatable/manageable. We see this all the time at the center where I work, and also see many Veterans who skip theirs for a few years, and then come in with something that cannot be treated or easily managed, which we often could have take care of if caught earlier. Many of your SCI non-veteran colleagues here would give anything to have the quality of annual check-up that you are afforded at a VA SCI Center. Which SCI Center to you go to for your annuals?

(KLD)

[NHsciGuy]

I go to White River Junction in Vermont. I havent missed any of those appointments yet. I just feel that I'm a pretty healthy guy. I think it would be nice to go every 2 years maybe.

[SCI-Nurse]

That is not a VA SCI Center. Only VA SCI Centers, of which there are 23, are supposed to be doing annual evaluations. Your local VA SCI outpatient cinic should not be attempting do to them. They do not have the skill or experience in interpreting the results or even doing the evaluation. They should be arrangiing to send you to the designated SCI Center for your evaluation.

(KLD)

[NHsciGuy]

My local SCI center is in Manchester NH. I was told I could either go to White River Junction in VT or to West Roxbury in Massachussets. Maybe this is why I feel like it is a waste of time?

[SCI-Nurse]

Manchester is not a VA SCI Center, and neither is White River Junction. They may have a SCI support clinic (spoke) but your hub center in NE is West Roxbury in Boston.

(KLD)

[NHsciGuy]

I knew Manchester wasnt one, but I thought since they sent me to WRJ that it must have been one. Guess I will look into changing that

[NHsciGuy]

I have been thinking about buying a bowflex. However, I wonder if this is something the VA could provide for me.