30-year Journey to Recovery

Through personal experience I’ve learned that overcoming one's temporal lobe epilepsy is indeed possible. What's the secret? Creating the proper mindset to accomplish your fitness/lifestyle goals and maintain them long-term. ​HEALTH HURDLES I was blessed growing up, playing multiple sports all the way through high school. As a young athlete I learned that executing well-designed fitness plans directly improved my performance and overall confidence. However, my character was dealt a blow halfway through my senior year when I was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). In January 1990, just weeks after being diagnosed with epilepsy, I acquired bacterial meningitis. I have no memory for much of that year. I'm told it was a frightening experience for my family and friends. I was blessed to survive. Unfortunately, however, the bacterial meningitis increased my seizure frequency from one every couple months to one every couple days. So within just a couple months, at age 17, my identity was shattered. My world was completely altered and full of uncertainty. I could have easily played the victim-card at this time and put my life on hold. But that wasn't being true to myself. I decided to press on. I therefore returned to finish my senior year of high school. I then worked over the summer and entered college at UNC-Chapel Hill that fall. I was moving forward with my original plans of attending college, but I also had to explore new ways to cope with my epilepsy challenges. Over the next few years at Carolina, I noticed how my seizure disorder compromised my cognitive abilities. I no longer had the same intellect and recall. What was once easy for me to understand in high school was noticeably more difficult in college. Feeling slower mentally took a toll on my self-confidence. I became even more shy. I felt embarrassed and ashamed. The question I kept asking myself was, "What is happening to cause all these changes in your life?" Lot's of theories ran through my mind. Maybe it was the bacterial meningitis a few months prior. Maybe it was the slow destruction of brain cells occurring with each seizure. Maybe it was the anxieties caused by chemical imbalances in my brain. Maybe it was my difficulty adjusting to the college lifestyle away from home. Maybe it was side-effects caused by all the prescription medicine I was taking to control my seizures. I felt lost and out of control. Except at the gym. I looked forward daily towards my light workouts at UNC's Woollen Gym. Doctors advised me not to lift heavy weights due to my disability, so I only performed balance and stability exercises. While other guys there were pushing much heavier weight, I focused less on intensity and more on proper form, alignment, and tempo. It taught me the importance of balance and connection. It taught me the deeper meaning of fitness beyond appearance and performance. It taught me awareness of my surroundings and feeling the neural-muscular dynamics of functional fitness training. Workouts served as my escape from the anxieties of an uncertain future. I was more present in the moment. It helped me cope emotionally with my seizure disorder. I even began to understand at a young age how behavior change, not quick fixes, will alter your mindset, appearance and performance in all facets of life. Looking back at those theories I ran through my mind, my problem was exploring too deeply at the details. I was looking for the single cause of my seizures so I could find a quick cure. But I was going about it all wrong. Life is not that simple. There is no direct single cause. It is a combination of all the influences we allow into our lives. It is a big-picture, holistic mindset. Everything is interconnected and our perceptions directly influence not only our brain's neural dynamics, but our emotional and physical health as well. Throughout college there was no change in my seizure condition. I was still averaging 15 seizures per month. The only thing the medicines were successful at doing was making me tired and feeling useless. So in 1994 (my senior year) I underwent another brain surgery to cure my epilepsy. It was helpful, but not completely successful. When doctors began tapering back my medication, the seizures returned. The good news - the operation decreased my seizure frequency and my condition was now finally controlled by medication. The bad news - the side effects of the medication (constant fatigue, brain fog, inability to concentrate) continued. Rather than feeling hopeless, I just accepted my new reality. I shifted my attention to the corporate world, knowing deep down that I would most likely continue the medicine for the rest of my life. As we all know, work-life balance is challenging. I allowed long office hours to interfere with my personal time and regular workout routine. My lifestyle was consumed by meetings, business travel, little rest and a lousy diet - all key ingredients for poor health. In just two years I gained over 30 pounds, increased four pants sizes, and had dangerously high blood pressure. It took me another six years to wake up and realize enough was enough. It was time to take alternative actions to better myself. NEW BEGINNING In 2008, at the age of 36, I started my health and fitness transformation. Since then I’ve been on an amazing life path. I gradually added variation to my stabilization routines. I increased core strength and power by manipulating my workout volume, intensity, momentum, alignment, and tempo. Improving my diet (low-carb, high-fat) was a big factor as well. I now have excellent blood pressure, weigh 40 pounds less, and am down to a 29-inch waist. But that's only the beginning! My lifestyle transformation resulted in a much healthier body, empowering me to take another chance. In 2016 I again tapered down my anti-seizure medications (lamictal and tegretol xr), and this time it worked! I am now seizure-free and completely off the medicine. Please understand, I'm not suggesting that those suffering with TLE should follow the same path as myself. I'm merely sharing my story as an example of how our body has the natural ability to heal over time if one consistently fuels it with the proper stimuli (activities, nutrition, lifestyle) on a daily basis. My path to clean health wasn't easy. It took relentless experimentation, sacrifice and self-discipline. But overall, achieving my goals under challenging circumstances has been well worth it. I'm a stronger person in both body and character. I've been very fortunate. After finally solving my health issues using natural methods, I seek to help others nurture their own foundation for optimum fitness. I hope my story inspires fellow TLE'rs to change their perceptions. Taking medications will not cure your condition, it merely attempts to mask the symptoms (seizures). The medication does not address the underlying cause of your neurons misfiring. For a lasting TLE cure not involving surgery or medication, I suggest exploring alternative methods. Honestly assess how your brain reacts to the stimuli in your environment. If you dislike the thoughts/feelings being generated in your brain, then try to take control of your environment. Start by implementing small changes in your daily lifestyle and see what happens. You'll be quite surprised how your body and brain reshapes over time! More details/photos of my journey at... www.g3corepower.com