Community Forum Archive

The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.

VNS or Ketgenic diet for Absence Seizures

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 11:49

My daughter's neurologist has referred us to an epileptologist to discuss a VNS or the ketogenic diet as treatment for her absence seizures.  She's 6 years old and was diagnosed 14 months ago.  We've tried several medications but her seizures are actually becoming more frequent.  Has anyone used either of these treatments for absence seizures?  I'd love to hear some experiences so I'm better prepared.  Thank you!

Comments

The ketogenic diet can be

Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2015-02-11 - 14:33
The ketogenic diet can be used for many things and it is not just for children. You can find information on this site about the diet. The have been testing a modified adkins diet too and they both help some people.  If yo uwere refered to a epileptologist then you are seeing a specialist who will know more about medications and other procedures then a regular neurologist. My neurologist (epileptologist) has brought up both the VNs and both diets and we both talked about them. None of them will help me but newer medications have helped alot.. Oh and Mereloaded refered back to something I had read.  I hope your daughter gets the help she needs  As for trying seizure medications and her seizures being more frequent. Have her dosages been increased or decreased?? There are no one size fits all medications to control seizures. Each persons seizures is different even if you see the things in the seizures posted, My seizures are different from someone elses even if the type of epilepsy and type of seizure is the same.  I do hope this helps  Joe

Our son(adopted) was a shaken

Submitted by tanispacherlh@gmail.com on Mon, 2015-02-16 - 11:13
Our son(adopted) was a shaken baby back in 1995. He suffered from uncontrolled seizures despite many medications. I did a lot of research and landed on a site maintained by Johns Hopkins University. This is where I first heard about the Ketogenic Diet. We live in the greater Omaha Metropolitan area, so we had many pediatric neurologist to choose from. Not one of them was even willing to entertain talking about or putting him on the diet. We knew of a doctor from when our son was brought to the hospital(medical chart), that had moved to Kansas City, Mercy Children's Hospital Dr. Torkelson. We contacted him, talked to him via phone and he remembered our son, so we made an appointment to see him in Kansas City. Our son was about 5 years old, like I said before, he had uncontrolled seizures that were many throughout the day, needless to say he had a horrible EEG. We truly had nothing to lose going on this diet and everything to gain. We had a great appointment with Dr. Torkelson, there were many test he wanted to run before we went forward with anything. After several visit to Dr. Torkelson we were able to talk more about presiding on with the Ketogenic Diet. After talking at great length we decided to start him on the diet(put him into ketosis) at home, under the watchful eye of Dr. Tokelson. We were very successful! He was on the diet for two years, medication and seizure free. He was able to learn how to walk and talk, he functions at about a three year old level which is better than the prognosis he was originally given. He also regained some of his vision and has a normal EEG now. It has been about 12 years since he went off of the diet and still no medications or seizures! Dr. Torkelson is an amazing doctor!!!     

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.