Proactive Prescription for Epilepsy

[alivenwell]

From my research the hormonal pill is NOT giving the same results as a bio-identical progesterone.
Estrogen excites the brain... Progesterone calms it.

When Rebecca had her first seizure she had purple spider veins on the inside of her thighs. This was on a 14 yr old. They had begun to increase that year. Not one doctor connected that with estrogen dominance. I found that on Wikipedia when I Googled - Spider Veins. Now since using a bio-identical progesterone cream, on the inside of her thighs.... those veins are not even noticable. A connection... hmmmmm perhaps.

I wonder if some foods naturally have the bio-identical progesterone in them similar to the way soy products have estrogen. Purely out of curiosity....

[stilldancing_98]

The pill caused more seizures for me. I have to get a very slow releasing IUD.

[Bernard]

FYI, I added a note to the original post with a couple more references.

[RobinN]

I wonder if some foods naturally have the bio-identical progesterone in them similar to the way soy products have estrogen. Purely out of curiosity....

Yes this is true. I learned this on Dogtorj's site as well. There are more foods than just soy that are rich in estrogen. Look at the sidebar on his site, there is a link to Estrogen in Food.

At the time of my search, Rebecca had spider veins on the inside of her thighs. I was told that this was a common thing to women, and basically got the impression to leave it alone as there was nothing I could do. All the doctors did was shrug their shoulders.

It embarrassed Rebecca and she did not even want to put on a swim suit at the age of 14. I did some research and found out what they were called, and that they were a sign of high estrogen. This was a good clue, and made sense with what I was learning about estrogen-progesterone and seizures.

When she started using the cream, it is rubbed onto the inside of her thighs, slowly the marks disappeared. I also kept the foods in mind and tried to be more conscience of them, balancing them rather than overloading her system.

Edit:
I also want to add that there are a lot of environmental estrogens. Do a search and you will find quite a lot of information.
It is my belief that this is why we need to keep the liver pathways open and free of toxins so that the body can handle the overload.

Liver Health

[Kansas Educator]

I am finding this discussion really interesting. I had a hysterectomy at 39 due to severe endometriosis. At that time, I was put on a hormone patch as my ovaries had been removed. Within 3 years, I was diagnosed with an early stage estrogen receptive form of breast cancer. I had to discontinue the hormone patch immediately and, while I didn't have to have chemotherapy, I did have to take Tamoxifen for 5 years. Tamoxifen blocks estrogen from entering the cells and fueling more cancer growth. It has now been 11 1/2 years since my diagnosis and I am fine. However, as I think back, my seizure symptoms certainly became more apparent to me in the past 10-15 years which may coincide with the hysterectomy and breast cancer. My hormones certainly went on a roller coaster ride through all of that. Now I am curious about the bio-identical hormones and wonder if they are safe for someone with a history of breast cancer to take. Interesting conversation here!

[RobinN]

I trust my doctor 100% in this regard. He has committed himself to womens health and been successful in many areas. He has written two books on the subject:

Natural Hormone Balance
The Natural Super Woman

Breast Cancer

Dr Uzzi Reiss

[Kansas Educator]

Wow! Interesting information. If I want to have any of the tests done that he recommends, do I just take this information to my family doctor? I have been wondering about bio-identical hormones for awhile now. Thanks, Robin.

[RobinN]

You can ask your family doctor, but unless you make your case clear, s/he might not be willing to request it. If you say that you will pay for it, and clear it with insurance later, they might be more likely to refer you to a lab.
Rebecca's neurologist is a specialist in the area of woman and hormonal seizures. It was not a problem to get a prescription.
We played with the dose to find what would work.
This past month I have held back on it, and we will see if the body is ready to create the hormone on its own.

There are other labs that you can approach yourself. Many families are going this route as they feel that the neighborhood labs are not competent to deal with the new bio-med treatments. In fact there are some alternative doctors that have done test surveys on the labs that insurance companies use most often, and the results were questionable.

Genova Diagnostics
Direct Labs

Instructions come with the individual tests that you order. Some require a doctors signature.

[stilldancing_98]

this is some good stuff Robin.