Lifestyle Programmes

Weight management programme

The Well Weight Management Programme has been designed for those visitors to The Well who are looking for a new and personalised approach to achieving and maintaining an ideal body weight. It has been specially designed to guide you through the different stages of losing weight in a safe and structured way, examining your eating behaviour, weight history, goals, time management and motivation. The programme is provided over 6 months and combines the expertise of a lifestyle consultant and a doctor. It includes 2 consultations with a doctor, repeat blood tests at month 3 and 6, 3 lifestyle consultations, regular blood pressure and BMI measurements, 2 body composition scans to look at body fat and lean tissue percentages with ongoing communication between sessions. Weight loss medication may also be considered depending upon your personal status and preference and will be discussed with your consulting doctor.  

'Sleep Well' programme

Adequate sleep is essential to our physical and emotional health and to maximise our wellness. Lack of sleep can have adverse effects on the quality of our family, social and work life with unfulfilled potential in our career and a reduction in short term memory.

The objective of the 'Sleep Well' programme at The Well is to uncover what the causes are for patients who complain of a disturbance in their sleep pattern, excessive sleepiness or loud snoring. There are many possible causes which can be addressed including poor sleep habits or inadequate sleep often caused by a common condition called sleep apnoea.

Sleep apnoea is a sleep related breathing disorder that causes your body to stop breathing during sleeping. Almost all people with sleep apnoea snore loudly and about half of those who snore loudly have sleep apnoea. When it occurs, your body wakes up so quickly that you aren't always aware of it, but your sleep is disrupted a few times or even up to several hundred times per night. It is a potentially life threatening condition which can also be linked to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary hypertension, memory problems, weight gain, impotency and headaches.

Traditionally, sleep apnoea has been diagnosed in a hospital based sleep laboratory but the 'Sleep Well' approach is a home based assessment of sleep. As part of your executive medical, an initial screening for sleep apnoea is carried out using a questionnaire to measure day time sleepiness. Combined with the results of your executive medical, your doctor will evaluate your risk of suffering from the condition and discuss the different options available to you.

For those wishing to take part in the 'Sleep Well' programme, the following steps are included to complete the final diagnosis:

A further assessment and testing with a specialist doctor at The Well:

1. A recording of sleep patterns is completed using a non-invasive device which is worn overnight - the device will be fitted by one of our nurses
2. The device is returned to The Well
3. The recorded pattern is fully analysed by one of the team of consultants in sleep medicine
4. Consultation with the respiratory physician to discuss the results and diagnosis.
5. There are two potential outcomes:
   a) For those identified with sleep hygiene issues, significant advice will be offered regarding lifestyle modification
   b) For those with a positive test for sleep apnoea, they will be advised around treatment options. This may include being fitted for a device that is worn at night and which administers continuous positive airway pressure. The patients who are started on therapy are then reviewed by the Respiratory Consultant to monitor progress.
   Both the diagnosis and treatment of both of the above have proven to significantly improve and change the quality of the sufferer's life and help them to rediscover their wellness.

For further information, please contact us on 01-2945444 or info@thewell.ie. Alternatively , you can contact us through our contact page.