whats best for epilepsy

[drose10]

hey well im new to this and i wanted to know if anyone knows what is the best way to stop getting seizures. I got my first one when i was 13 not knowing why if i never drank or took any drugs at that age. I heard that some illegal drug can help with epilespy. I to am at that stage where i want to try new things. I also wonder how much alcohol a person can drink before they get one, ive tried a long island tea but just drank a little of it. Or what alcohol can i officially drink that wont trigger in getting a seizure

[Loopy Lou]

I'd strongly advise against illegal drugs. Not only is the clue in the name there, but they're not regulated or proven to help and there could be all sorts mixed in with them.

The amount of alcohol a person can drink depends. I know it's not recommended with some medications. I'd say that most probably avoid alcohol altogether. I don't drink it very often, and if i'm not feeling right then i won't have any. Only you can know your limits when it comes to that.

Sometimes there is no known cause for epilepsy. It's called Idiopathic (basically, they don't know where it came from and can't find a cause)

The best you can do is take care of yourself, take your meds and keep a record of when your seizures happen, so you know the triggers. Unfortunately there's no "official" rules with this sort of stuff because everyone's epilepsy is different.

I'm sure more people will chime in here, but welcome to the site!

[epileric]

I have to agree with Loopy Lou. I think she's laid it out pretty accurately.

There are some other ways to try & control your seizures though, despite not being accepted by the mainstream medical community as they have not been proven yet may still help. I know at least one person on this site has used the Neurofeedback in conjunction with diet with success. You can read about it here in the history book. Of course you can also read up on everyone elses experience in the history book with the types of treatments listed.

[Nakamova]

Hi Drose10,

There is no magic bullet to prevent or cure epilepsy -- everyone has a different "formula" to cope with their seizures and hopefully control them. What works for one person, doesn't always work for another. As Lou said above, it never hurts to take care of your general health, and can definitely help: Proactive Prescription for Epilepsy

It may be tempting to "try new things", but consider the risks: If your seizures are controlled, you could potentially lose that seizure control, along with the independence that comes with it. If your seizures aren't currently controlled, you could potentially make them worse, or allow them to progress in kind, frequency, or duration. There are many factors that can lower the seizure threshold; the two most common are fatigue and alcohol -- so proceed with caution where they are concerned.

Best,
Nakamova

[neil129]

Hi Drose10,
I can certainley understand your wanting to try new things,I was seventeen when i was diagnosed and had the same dilemas,i chose not to listen to my doctor and my nuero,drank heavily and used illegall drugs and paid the price by having a great deal more seizures than i ever would of had.Probaly could be driving,lost jobs and am on medication i feel i dont need to be on because it was always been put up due to my lifestyle.
You dont have to run with the crowd,i would certainly listen to the above threads,it would be far better to be seizure free if possible.Good luck.

[valeriedl]

Out of no where a little over 8 years ago I had a grand mal, I had to be put into a coma to stop the seizures. I was tested for everything the drs could think of but they still have no idea what caused my epilepsy. There's really no way to just "stop" epilepsy, you can only try to control the seizures you have.

I would deffently advise against trying any sort of drug to stop it, just stick with what your dr's give you. I have been through all sorts of different meds and dosages of them. I'm still having seizures but they aren't nearly as bad as they were when I was first diagnosed and I'm not having as many.

I would have around 3 a week, sometimes more than one in a day. They would last 10 minutes or longer and it would take me forever to come out of them. Now I usualy have 1 or 2 a month. They only last a few minutes and I've started to not blank out of them when I'm having it. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where I'm not having seizures or not, but I've noticed improvement through out all the years.

I don't know how old you are but are you at the point were everyone around you is drinking? I know it's hard to be out with everyone saying "I'll buy you a drink, come on". I think it just depends on how your body, and the meds you are on, will react to the alchol. I have maybe 10 drinks a year, and when I do drink it will only be 1 drink at a time, I'm careful to make sure I don't get drunk. This could be something you may want to bring up with your dr and ask him about.

Ask lots of questions on here and people will give you lots of good answers, Welcome!

[msuder0583]

as far as voting goes, im a conservative but when comes to aspects of my lifestyle i can be liberal and here is my honest opinion to you. i have read numerous articles, talked to a number of people and watched a number of documentaries: medicinal marijuana is very effective in controlling epilepsy. why is not first choice of recommendation by doctors? just like the ketogenic diet, pharmaceutical companies can't make any money off it. don't buy into the whole, "well there is no proven method of its effectiveness". they have done plenty of testing on it. and as far as alcohol goes, i have gotten trashed before and not had any seizures, but it varies per person. despite having epilepsy, my seizure threshold is relatively high

[Endless]

Drose,

Pot only helps a few people. It is not effective for seizure relief for most, and it makes depression and other cognitive problems worse. But so do our seizure meds.

This is such an old topic in here, with all the posts saying the same thing as the other threads before them. Please use the "search" function at the top of the page and you'll find long threads that examine the pros and cons.

Bottom line is the people who want to smoke pot will, and will justify it saying it's for seizures whether it helps or not. People who don't want to smoke it won't. Just like any treatment, it works for some, doesn't for others, and comes with some serious side effects attached. The difference is that you won't have a doctor helping you to navigate through the side effects, and the interactions between pot and medications aren't known. The bright side is if you get arrested and go to jail at least your seizure meds would be provided for free (while you are there). So roll the dice any way you want to. None of our choices are exactly consequence-free. Especially this one.

[Eibhlin]

you will save a fortune by not drinking alcohol and you won't have the hangovers etc