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Controlling seizures without medication

Wed, 04/22/2009 - 13:27

I hope that this does not turn out to be a controversial subject. 

Let me just start by saying that I don't know what kind of seizure disorder I have.  I have had only 3 EEGs between the time I was 19 and now 35.

After the first EEG, my doctor told me I had epilepsy and put me on Tegretol.  I took the medication only for a year, and then moved over to Klonopin, which I have taken ever since.  When I was 22, I had another EEG, and the doctor told me I was fine. I was living overseas at the time of my 2nd EEG and I really can't vouch for the expertise of the doctor.

Despite what the doctor told me of my EEG, my seizures continued and had never stopped.

The seizures I was having were incredibly breif lasting only a second or two.  My eyes would roll back into my head, I would NOT fall to the ground.  I'd lose muscle control from the neck and above, and kind of twitch my head back and forth with very small jerks that were almost unnoticeable.

In any event, I was sick with the flu recently, and during my doctor's visit, I had one of these seizures, and he insisted I see a nuerologist again.

I had an EEG and MRI, and I've been told again that I have a seizure disorder.  I just started taking Lamictal.

I'm very keen to how my body responds to foods, stress, and specific situations.  

If I were able to simply avoid all the situations that trigger my seizures which in most cases are stress-induced,  I believe that I could live seizure-free without medication.

But that is not possible.  What IS possible - is for me to overcome the situations that trigger my seizures with a different mental outlook. Although I have not been able to successfully change my mental approach to the situations that cause my seizures all the time,  I have had success in many instances. 

To sum it up, I strongly believe that it would be possible to take control of my seizure disorder through a non-medicated approach. Perhaps my seizures are just different.  I don't even know at this point what kind of seizures I have.  All I know is that both of my EEGs in the US showed with certainty that I have a seizure disorder. I have left a message with my doctor today, to get more information on his diagnosis, and will post it here when I receive that information (see below).

I will continue taking my Lamictal.  What I want to know is if anybody agrees that it could be possible to correct a form of seizures with a non-medicated mental approach; any doctors or patients?

I am not a scientologist.  In fact, I'm not even sure what their approach to a seizure disorder is.  I am just stating what I think I have the power to do, and want to find out if anybody shares those ideas.

 

Update

I spoke with my doctor today.  The seizures that I have been having are simple and complex focal seizures.  

Comments

Re: Controlling seizures without medication

Submitted by teener on Thu, 2009-04-23 - 06:01

Wow, all these comments are great. I think I will talk to my neuro about this, even thought I'm pretty sure the answer will be no, but who knows, maybe he knows something out there

All the best, Christine

Wow, all these comments are great. I think I will talk to my neuro about this, even thought I'm pretty sure the answer will be no, but who knows, maybe he knows something out there

All the best, Christine

Re: Controlling seizures without medication

Submitted by mostkro on Sat, 2009-06-13 - 21:48

We are trying this right now with my 18 yo son, who has had epilepsy since he was 15 months old (grand mal and partial seizures).  Josh has had a couple of periods of time in his life when he was totally seizure free (without medications) for 2-2 1/2 years.  We got concerned when they started again when he was 10 yo, and we started medications.  He always seemed to be anxious on the medicines (and really dopey on some), and none of them controlled his seizures for any length of time except clonazepam.  But, he developed a tolerance to clonazepam, and it was a very long wean from that med.  He ended up on zonegran to try to get him off clonazepam, but that didn't control the seizures either.  So, he just completed the zonegran wean about 4 weeks ago, and we're trying to get the seizures under control without medication.  He really isn't any worse off than he was, but is having a couple of grand mals and a few anxiety attacks per week.

Our chiropractor has put him on a number of supplements to help with anxiety (and hopefully seizures).  I don't know if they do anything or not, but I'll keep him on them until we get past all this.  He's on inositol, cataplex G, and min-tran put out by Standard Process.  All of these are sold through health care professionals only.  The chiropractor used to be a pharmacist, so we've learned alot working with him and our neurologist (who is very good, but openly admits he doesn't have all the answers for cases like this).  One thing to keep in mind is that seizures can happen BECAUSE of medication adjustments, especially coming off a seizure medicine.  So don't assume that if you're weaning off something and still having seizures, that it's your condition.  It could be the process itself.  Another thing to keep in mind is that many seizure medicines are stored in the fat tissues, so it can be 4-6 plus weeks after coming off before your body is clear of the meds.

I'll keep you posted as to how this all works for him.  I think nutrition and stress levels are key things to watch, but it's been difficult for him to find a middle-ground (teenaged boy, doesn't want to eat totally healthily).  I have decided as others on this forum have said, that we need to keep trying things until we find something that works.  Josh was a "guinea pig" on meds, he's a "guinea pig" off meds.  But at least he doesn't have the side effects he was experiencing before!

We are trying this right now with my 18 yo son, who has had epilepsy since he was 15 months old (grand mal and partial seizures).  Josh has had a couple of periods of time in his life when he was totally seizure free (without medications) for 2-2 1/2 years.  We got concerned when they started again when he was 10 yo, and we started medications.  He always seemed to be anxious on the medicines (and really dopey on some), and none of them controlled his seizures for any length of time except clonazepam.  But, he developed a tolerance to clonazepam, and it was a very long wean from that med.  He ended up on zonegran to try to get him off clonazepam, but that didn't control the seizures either.  So, he just completed the zonegran wean about 4 weeks ago, and we're trying to get the seizures under control without medication.  He really isn't any worse off than he was, but is having a couple of grand mals and a few anxiety attacks per week.

Our chiropractor has put him on a number of supplements to help with anxiety (and hopefully seizures).  I don't know if they do anything or not, but I'll keep him on them until we get past all this.  He's on inositol, cataplex G, and min-tran put out by Standard Process.  All of these are sold through health care professionals only.  The chiropractor used to be a pharmacist, so we've learned alot working with him and our neurologist (who is very good, but openly admits he doesn't have all the answers for cases like this).  One thing to keep in mind is that seizures can happen BECAUSE of medication adjustments, especially coming off a seizure medicine.  So don't assume that if you're weaning off something and still having seizures, that it's your condition.  It could be the process itself.  Another thing to keep in mind is that many seizure medicines are stored in the fat tissues, so it can be 4-6 plus weeks after coming off before your body is clear of the meds.

I'll keep you posted as to how this all works for him.  I think nutrition and stress levels are key things to watch, but it's been difficult for him to find a middle-ground (teenaged boy, doesn't want to eat totally healthily).  I have decided as others on this forum have said, that we need to keep trying things until we find something that works.  Josh was a "guinea pig" on meds, he's a "guinea pig" off meds.  But at least he doesn't have the side effects he was experiencing before!

Re: Controlling seizures without medication

Submitted by purple jenni on Sun, 2010-02-07 - 10:37
Hi, My name is Jenni and I live in the uk. I was diagnosed epileptic 5 years after having a middle cerebellum anurysm clipped. My fitting or fizzing as I prefer to call it went on in the background. For three years I successfully lived without medication despite having pressure put on me to start taking Keppra just by drinking a lot of water, doing meditation to lower stress levels and getting a lot of sleep.I have never, touch wood, had a grand mal and my type of seizures were diagnosed as complex focal, I would usually just feel really stressed and lose control of thought for seconds to a minute or so and then just have the feeling of my brain being squeezed for a few hours. Since recently having a posy-ictal automatism, where I went for a walkabout but managed to get home safely, I have agreed to start keppra. Though not comfortable with the idea I am willing to try as I accept that my tiredness may have been due to the 'fizzing' and if I can control that my quality of life may improve. Ideally I would like to keep the dosage as low as possible but the way they decide dosage here seems to be that they take you up to high - 2000mg a day- and then and only then start monitoring your blood to reach a lower acceptable level.

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