Environmental Contributors to Epilepsy

[MichaelJO7]

I would like to recommend two books which have helped me understand my seizures better, and more importantly, how to manage them on my own.

These two books are: "The Body Electric: Electromagnetism And The Foundation of Life," by Dr. Robert Becker, and "Zapped," by Anne Louise Gittleman. Both authors explored the environmental effects of electricity and electromagnetism upon the human body.

Many people with E have photogenic seizures and/or audiogenic seizures. I would consider these environmentally induced seizures because they are induced by things in our environment.

I would like to introduce a new term which I think is quite appropriate for many of my seizures, which is electrogenic; they originate because of electricity in my environment. This has not been articulated in anything I have read, but the science cannot be dismissed. I have Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy Type 2. My muscles are firing electrically continually. My whole body is subsequently an antenna to everything electric. Please be advised: the medical community, in the research I have done, has get to understand the correlation between muscular dystrophies and seizures the last time I checked even though a number of muscular dystrophy sufferers have seizures.

Dr. Becker was an orthopaedist who explored regeneration as well as alternative, previously unknown methods of assisting patients who had broken bones that did not mend properly using conventional methods. He introduced ion rich compounds, like silver, at the point of the break, to promote healing. He also pioneered a treatment using electricity in promoting healing. He would insert small conductive leads between the two ends of the break and would then introduce very small voltages to facilitate conduction and ionic distribution at the break. Other doctors who would refer difficult cases to him.

Dr. Becker noticed that at the point of the break, the polarity of the injured tissue initally was negative. Shortly thereafter, the polarity of the break would change to positive as the body began to heal the injury. His finding is consistent with the way electricity works; power flows from the positive to the negative.

Dr. Becker's research led him to believe that electricity, and electromagnetism resulting from exposure to non-ionizing radiation, can be harmful, and is biologically activating. Ionizing radiation from xrays, the UV rays from the sun, and gamma radiation, has long been recognized as cancer causing, because it changes cellular structure, and destroys ionic bonds, and dedifferentiates cells. Radioactive elements work by this method.

Dr. Becker's research has largely been buried because power companies, cell phone companies, and government (defense and communication purposes) do not want to admit that these things are unsafe.

"Zapped," by Anne Louise Gittleman, further explores electronic pollution, as well as its harmful effects upon the human body. Her research further confirms Dr. Becker's research.

The body, not just the brain, is indeed electric.

 

[MichaelJO7]

Struck by lightning? There is a man, still alive today, who is in the Guiness Book of World Records, who has been struck by lightning, at last count, seven times. As I was thinking about that, I concluded that his body chemistry was likely the culprit, as his body was attracting lightning. His body was the path of least resistance.

I have had two seizures precipitated by nearby lightning strikes. Now, I know I have to get inside as quickly as possible, when the atmosphere is electrically charged, attempting to establish electrical equilibrium, as the hot air rises, and the cold air falls, as the ions clash in the sky.

In the olden days, homes use to have lightning rods that were higher than the highest part of houses, to ground lightning strikes. Certain metal buildngs in close proximty to high voltage lines have an extensive grounding system so as to prevent people who go near or touch the building from getting shocked.

I sometimes get a seizure at the grocery store, as either my rubber soled shoes, or the rubber wheels of my wheelchair build up static electricity. If I forget to ground myself first on the wheelchair, I will get zapped, and have a seizure.

I have seen a picture, on Wikipedia, where a capacitor was placed below a high voltage power line. (A capacitor temporarily stores and regulates electriciy). A light bulb was powered by the capacitor which was was collecting some of the ambient energy of the high voltage line.

 

[MichaelJO7]

A number of people who have E are sensitive to fluorescent lights. I thought I might elaborate further upon why fluorescent lights can trigger seizures. The photogenic effect is a given. The second and third reasons are not as readily understood.

Fluorescent lights have transformers which step down voltage, from 120 volts (for US) to 12 volts, for many applications. The transformers themselves emit both heat, and an electromagnetic field. I went through a period of time when I reacted to these fields, which occur around load centers (fuse boxes), battery chargers, and other electronic devices. Please keep in mind that I was/am extremely reactive physiologically. These fields did evoke seizures in me for a period of time.

The third problem we may have from fluorescents is that there are chemical reactions taking place within the tube when the power is on. Most fluorescent bulbs or tubes use argon, mercury, and phosphors. The interior of the bulb is coated with phosphors because phosphors are reactive to light, and intensify the light produced by the reaction between argon and mercury when voltage is applied. The argon and mercury emit ions during this reaction, and the emitted ions themselves have the potential to trigger seizures in hyper-reactive individuals.

Many of the LEDs have transformers also. The transformer is located at the base of both LED bulbs and fluorescent bulbs. For tubes, the transformers are located in the housing for the wiring. Some of one transformer in the center; others have two transformers, one on each end of the fixture. Transformers are also used for some appliances using halogen bulbs.

Admittedly, the fields produced through these interactions are quite small. For most people, these cannot be felt. For sensitive individuals, they can.

There is no research concerning the above. I have had to figure out why I was reacting to them. I partially solved the problem, except the photon one, by providing additional conductive grounding (metals) to help dissipate these fields in the immediate vicinity of the fixtures.

 

[lnsiu]

Not sure this is related, but I have a hunch it might.

Both Bentonite and kaolin clay have electric and dielectric properties while wet, and this is how it is used to treat different skin conditions: applied wet with a plastic wrapping to treat for example psoriasis.

Just a thought.

 

[MichaelJO7]

Insiu,

You are correct.

Clay and ceramic products contain minerals, electrics and dielectrics, as you say. The old hook and knob electrical systems used ceramic to run wires through. They are nonconductive precisely because they contain an appropriate mix of electrics and dielectrics. Many light fixtures, and now some hair dryers are ceramic. They help to partially block/filter fields generated by electricity, and subsequently some hair dryers are considered low EMF. Low EMF dryers are considered safer.

The Dead Sea (also called the Salt Sea) minerals are applied to the skin for rejuventating and healthful purposes precisely because they are ion rich and react electrically with the skin.

 

[MichaelJO7]

The science of photogenic seizures was something I wanted to learn about, so I thought I would write some of what I learned here since many people have seizures which are triggered by light. Virtually all of this, sometimes verbatim, is taken from "The Stuff of Life: Profiles of the Molecules that Make Us Tick, written by Eric P. Widmaier, PH.D.

Light travels in waves of energy called photons. When a photon of light strikes the retina at the back of the eye, it triggers an electrical event in special light-sensitive cells called rods and cones (named for their characteristic shapes). The link between the capture of a photon on a rod or cone is purely a biochemical one.

The energy from the photons (since photons are not molecular) excites a molecule called 11-cis-retinal, which sits in close proximity to the opsin, a retinal protein that is sensitive to light.

A quick chain of biochemical events follows that ultimately causes electrical signals (movement of ions) to travel through the optic nerves and into the back of the brain, to a region known as the occipital lobe. It is in the occipital lobe that the brain interprets what is seen.

It is the hypersensitivity to these electrical signals in the neural pathway that lead to photogenic or photosensitive seizures. (Mine).

 

[MichaelJO7]

Since temporarily moving to a more rural area, I have met two individuals who know someone who has muscular dystrophy.

I typically request assistance because I will have spasms/seizures around checkout registers if I get too close. The manager of the store was called today (not my intention), who saw me in my wheelchair and immediately guessed I had muscular dystrophy. (There was a question concerning the legality of a store clerk swiping my card.)

The manager, to my surprise, was familiar with others who have spasms around checkout registers, and was ready to help me. She understood what happens and why it happens.

The manager had two family members who have muscular dystrophy. I met another clerk at the same store who had a nephew who has muscular dystrophy.

I have far fewer seizures where I live presently than where I use to live. Most of what use to be seizures are now spasms. I still have to be careful when I have spasms so as to not permit them to develop into seizures by actively managing my environment. I no longer live within 1/2 mile radius of three cell phone towers which would make muscles tense the instant I would step outside. My heart seems to be doing better as well. I have less heart palpitations and arrythmias.

I honestly did not think that this kind of progress was possible.

This positively suggests that many of us who have seizures can get better by recognizing our environmental contributors to seizures and managing them as best we can.

I am hoping that the area I am in does not become like the area where I use to be.

 

[seagull]

My daughter use go school it had sub power station opposite she spent 24 going one fit after the other must been hundreds a day..She was removed went to boarding school kids with Nuero problems and it eased al most immediately..So I agree lots in this but as you say get them to admit it

 

[resaebiunne]

Epedemiology studies the affects of electromagnetics on the human body but should be taken with a very big grain of salt. There is plenty of research using electromagnetics to affect the human body. It is possible to cause phosphenes by using electrodes on the human eye, for instance. It is possible to induce seizures using small electrodes inserted into the brain. It has been done before. It is not rocket science.

However to state that the human body is succeptible to these things, is well, a bit hard to believe. Most EMF from cell towers and radio stations is converted into heat just a few mm below the surface of the skin. And while the 60 Hz radiation from electrical wiring and high voltage lines can radiate much further (because it is a longer wavelength), most of the time the fields will just go right through you because the human body is not composed of strongly magnetic materials. The human body is pretty much impervious to magnetic fields. The brain operates on chemicals and chemically controlled electrical signals, not magnetic ones, so generally is not affected by magnetic or electromagnetic fields.

It has been shown in academic papers that it is not possible to induce phosphenes in the human eye simply by standing underneath high voltage wiring. While you could probably power a small lightbulb from the stray emissions, this is because of the use of magnetic loops and ferrite cores which "focus" or intensify the magnetic flux due to their magnetic properties. Capacitors don't pick up electromagnetic fields on their own. They also don't regulate electrical energy. They store charge in the form of voltage.

How do I know all of this? I have a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, and took a specialty course called "Bioelectromagnetics" in graduate school.

 

[MichaelJO7]

Clearly, you do not understand the unique cellular qualities of individuals with muscular dystrophy, nor the cellular responses of individuals with nervous system disorders.

My doctors who did an EMG introduced a voltage into my leg at one of the lowest possible settings, and provoked a generalized seizure. None of them knew what was happening, or remarked what was happening. It did not make it into the medical record. I looked. Only I knew what was happening. So much for academics. The needle test of the EMG shows diffuse electrical activity (electrical discharges) in all muscles at rest in people with muscular dystrophy. The influx and efflux of extracellular and intracellular ions becomes greatly disturbed, and subsequently the polarity of the cell is not able to repolarize or depolarize, depending upon the kind of muscular dystrophy.

To suggest that cellular polarity can not be changed either by magnets, EMF's, is nearly the same as suggesting that the human body does not need food, since everything within the human body is dependent on constant electrical regulation and modulation for its survival through perpetual chemical reactions fueled by food or fat reserves.

Here I have made significant life saving changes which have helped me tremendously, and you are discounting my experiences because you don't understand the science of what you think you understand.

It is appropriate to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Where is your humanity, among other things.

What do magnets attract or repel? Ions. What is the human body comprised of? Ions. As a Bunsen burner is to a solution in a test tube, so is a magnetic field to ions in the atmosphere, or the human body, or anything with ions. A Bunsen burner is a catalyst. Electricity is also a catalyst, whether it is focused or not. Science does look for direct, or focused reactions. The indirect reactions are much harder to decipher.

Reread my post on how photons trigger seizures in the human eye. A photon is not molecular, but it is energy. They trigger seizures because they are energy. The same principle can be at work in the entire human body, and it is magnified considerably in individuals with nervous system disorders. Magnets simply interact with ions.

What happens when I pick up a magnet? (I have tried.) My hand contracts so strongly that it will not let go of the magnet without considerable effort (using my other hand, or other people's hands to pry my hand off it, gently, less I pull muscles, which doctors have actually done). This holds true with all larger objects, but is particularly true with metals, (rich in cations). The excess action potentials created through movement (with people with muscular dystrophy) can be transferred to ion rich grounding sources until the grounding source becomes saturated, or until the rate of action potential transfer is slower than action potential generation.

Yes, a capacitor is used to store a voltage. It will blow if the voltage applied to it is greater than its rating. In that sense it is a regulator, much like a fuse. A blown capacitor literally enlarges its protective casing (that is visible upon inspection), and permits leakage, if it still works, that is. A capacitor is the most likely part of a circuit board to fail, according to electronics geeks.

Capacitors can be "fed" through diodes. This is how solar panels are made. Circuit boards are inundated with capacitors where voltage is introduced into the system, and most stages are marked by a capacitor at its beginning.

If the radiation is converted to heat below the surface of the skin (I have had sun induced seizures), then it is biologically activating--promoting chemical reactions and the resulting polarity changes which accompany them.

Once an electrical pathway has been laid, any subsequent charges will follow that same pathway, all other variables being equal. This is how new neural connections are formed. The resistance of the pathway may decrease over time, and subsequently the excitability of the pathway can increase with it. Its susceptibility to external electricity may also increase.

By the way, many people with muscular dystrophy have seizures. Doctors are still trying to figure that out, even though it should be obvious to neurologists given the cellular biology of people with or without muscular dystrophy. How can a cell with a voltage of -60 millivolts not react with 120 volts, if they are in proximity to one another?

Why do people with low sodium have seizures? Why do diabetics have seizures?

When a person is shot with a taser gun, what happens? The person will likely have seizures, or muscle spasms. Unfortunate people with heart conditions have died as a result of this "alien" electricity in their body, even if only for a short period of time. (People with many different kinds of muscular dystrophy have heart conduction problems.)

Considering all of the above, it is not only science, but common sense.

 

[Zoe]

Hi Michael,
You may find this article very useful. It also applies to seizures.
http://www.cfstreatmentguide.com/blog/kindling-chemical-sensitivities-and-mecfs

 

[MichaelJO7]

Hi Zoe,

Prior to having been diagnosed with MMD2, I was diagnosed with CFS, and Fibromyalgia. MMD2 gave a more comprehensive explanation for my symptoms, but I still have symptoms of both CFS and FM. I have read books by Lynette Bassman Phd and Dr. Kevin White regarding the two ailments. I have also done reading on immune system disorders. I think in my case, a lot more than MMD2 is going on.

One of your posts a while back regarding your road to recovery confounded me. I could not fathom how you achieved it given what I know about the brain and the nervous system. I can in many ways identify with your struggles, though.

II will never forget your testimony. I am still on the other side of the mountain, though, wondering, despite the progress I have made with seizures, if a manageable life is possible.

I am reviewing your reference. Thank you. I do certainly believe in kindling/sensitization. It fits my experience. Now I can better articulate it.

I have looked into Gabapentin to help with this. The last time I reviewed the side effects, I was not at peace with taking it. That may change as I learn more.

 

[resaebiunne]

Clearly, you do not understand the unique cellular qualities of individuals with muscular dystrophy, nor the cellular responses of individuals with nervous system disorders.

Certainly not, I don't claim to be an expert on this topic, nor will I.

My doctors who did an EMG introduced a voltage into my leg at one of the lowest possible settings, and provoked a generalized seizure. None of them knew what was happening, or remarked what was happening. It did not make it into the medical record. I looked. Only I knew what was happening. So much for academics.

Why should this have made it into your medical records?

The needle test of the EMG shows diffuse electrical activity (electrical discharges) in all muscles at rest in people with muscular dystrophy.

I don't know much about musculuar dystrophy, but I suspect this is true of anyone who isn't brain damaged.

Here I have made significant life saving changes which have helped me tremendously, and you are discounting my experiences because you don't understand the science of what you think you understand.

I know I'm not an expert, but I know enough to know that you haven't proven the effects of the environment around you aren't affecting you in other ways that cause you the symptoms that you have.

It is appropriate to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Where is your humanity, among other things.

If "humanity" is defined as compassion, then you are right. I have my own life to deal with. Humanity is more than simply being compassionate and kind. Humanity seeks truth, and that leads to arguments and debate. Humanity is very cold indeed.

What do magnets attract or repel? Ions.

MOVING ions. The equation you are looking for is called the Lorentz force. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorentz_force There is no force on an ion unless it is already moving within the magnetic flux and orthogal to the direction of the flux. I suspect that there is simply not enough directionality to the motion of the ions that magnetic fields are simply not going to have any particular effect.

Reread my post on how photons trigger seizures in the human eye. A photon is not molecular, but it is energy. They trigger seizures because they are energy.

This doesn't prove anything.

Yes, a capacitor is used to store a voltage. It will blow if the voltage applied to it is greater than its rating. In that sense it is a regulator,

In a sense, perhaps you are right, but a capacitor is not by definition a regulator of energy. Practically speaking the dielectric can breakdown in the voltage is exceeded, yes. I know what a capacitor is.

A capacitor is the most likely part of a circuit board to fail, according to electronics geeks.

I've been a professional test engineer for over 3.5 years now and can tell you heartily that capacitors are the least of your troubles when fabricating a complex CCA or PCB.

Capacitors can be "fed" through diodes. This is how solar panels are made. Circuit boards are inundated with capacitors where voltage is introduced into the system, and most stages are marked by a capacitor at its beginning.

Now you're just making this up.

If the radiation is converted to heat below the surface of the skin (I have had sun induced seizures), then it is biologically activating--promoting chemical reactions and the resulting polarity changes which accompany them.

It is possible that this is the case, yes. But the human skull is dense enough and thick enough that the skin depth to which the most significant sources of RF energy simply don't penetrate into the brain.

Once an electrical pathway has been laid, any subsequent charges will follow that same pathway, all other variables being equal. This is how new neural connections are formed. The resistance of the pathway may decrease over time, and subsequently the excitability of the pathway can increase with it. Its susceptibility to external electricity may also increase.

Possibly, but do you know of any literature which suggests this is the case?

By the way, many people with muscular dystrophy have seizures. Doctors are still trying to figure that out, even though it should be obvious to neurologists given the cellular biology of people with or without muscular dystrophy. How can a cell with a voltage of -60 millivolts not react with 120 volts, if they are in proximity to one another?

It depends on the direction of the current flow (see the Lorentz force comment above), the frequency of the electrical energy, and the orientation of your body relative to the flux.

Considering all of the above, it is not only science, but common sense.

Science is often unintuitive and is definitely not common sense. It takes a lot of education to be well versed in a scientific field. Like I said, I have a Master's degree. My degree is considered a science degree, not an engineering degree. I understand the cost of and the rigorous nature of such an education. The average lay person is simply not going to understand enough about the human body and the way it operates to know why the things they experience are happening. If it were common sense, I wouldn't have spent nearly 10 years getting my degrees.

 

[Nakamova]

CWE is not a gladiatoral forum. No fights to the death. No prizes for winning. It's okay to agree to disagree. Even better, it's okay to withdraw from a discussion rather than prolong a debate that is going nowhere. Remember that this forum is meant to be a source of support, not personal antagonism. Please be cognizant of the struggle that brings us together and take pains to avoid making things worse. Be kind.

Stepping off soapbox, and locking this thread.