TLE/DID Articles and face to face Phd Feedback

[Cinnabar]

I'm new to this forum and am braving my questions, here. I have a personal interest invested in exploring the following excerpts gleened from two articles about correlation between Epilepsy (specifically temporal lobe epilepsy) and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

1) Some authors have concluded that abnormal temporal lobe activity is responsible for many mystical experiences. After surgical probing of the temporal lobe it was found that the memories elicited correlated to abnormal structure of the temporal lobe. There is a disproportionately high number of case reports of DID being concurrent with Epilepsy

Apparently, the case reports are being blown out of proportion. Why? Some kind of statistics lacking in the neurological field? Needing to popularize the relationship between two complex disorders in the field? (I know of doctors who when at cocktail parties find that it's a feather in their cap when "chatting" themselves up, saying they treat DID patients. (Often these doctors are not qualified to take on such patients).


2) A number of reports have suggested that some cases of DID might be due to Temporal Lobe Epileptic discharges. After a structured interview was administered to 20 dissociative patients and to 20 patients with complex partial seizures, the data indicated that there is little reason to assume a common etiology.

Here, "Reports suggest cases of relationship to DID/temporal lobe epilepsy"..then, at the end, "Interviews prove little reason to assume common etiology".

It goes round and round..."reports suggest", they are "found inconclusive" ..causing more questions to arise and then new "reports suggest...". The speculation is, at most, frustrating - never getting anywhere.

Five years ago I was diagnosed as having DID (on the mid to lower continum)
I am neither a Sybil nor anything reminiscent of The Three Faces of Eve disaster...it was inexactly represented and unfortunalely over popularized. DID is one of the most stigmatized disorders (I call it a condition, a life saving creative coping mechanism which has kept me alive). It's a condition I never discuss in the "outside world" save doctors and those extreemely, safely close to me. I think the stigma of Epilepsy comes in second. Supporting Epilepsy awareness is a task I'm willing to take on. DID, I keep to myself save this forum, today, where, I assume, the mention of DID and its possible relationship to temporal lobe epilepsy will be embraced more clinically than in other forums.

Now that I've been recently diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy, I'm naturally curious about the DID/temporal lobe epilepsy connection. My psychologist, who specializes in treating DID patients and has a minor in nuerology, validates my two conditions as being intertwined and does his best to inform me about all this "electricity" of mine. Then there are the article findings I bring up to him.

I'm in a dauntless pursuit to understand their connectivity, if there is any at all. For me, it's about Drs vs data I've amassed. If anyone has come across any didatic resources, links or even personal experiences relating to the interlinking of the DID/temporal lobe epilepsy phenomenon, I'm all ears. Thank You...
Always Laurie

[speber]

Any links to the connection between DID (Dissociate disorder disease) and temporal lobe epilepsy (temporal lobe epilepsy) should be gathered here to this thread to make it easier for everyone wanting to learn about it!

Here's one from me:

Dissociative Identity Disorder and Temporal Lobe Involvement: Replication and a Cautionary Note - case report of a 37 year old female I found on Priory.com

By the way, (for anyone interested in posting links to articles) whenever you post links to others articles, it is good form to mention where it came from. Please do NOT take credit for someone else's work! Thank you.

[Cinnabar]

Any links to the connection between DID (Dissociate disorder disease) and temporal lobe epilepsy (temporal lobe epilepsy) should be gathered here to this thread to make it easier for everyone wanting to learn about it!

Here's one from me:

Dissociative Identity Disorder and Temporal Lobe Involvement: Replication and a Cautionary Note - case report of a 37 year old female I found on Priory.com

By the way, (for anyone interested in posting links to articles) whenever you post links to others articles, it is good form to mention where it came from. Please do NOT take credit for someone else's work! Thank you.

Thanks so much Speber! So many members. Perhaps, I'm not alone?
I do know this. Relating to "Emma's State". My left hippocampal volume is 50% less than that of the right. My neurologist said I could have been born in that state or that the volume could have been stunted by early onset childhood trauma. The latter I can attest to. Apart, from my "out of body" traveling - what I call "others" -emerged after a tramatic event in my forties. Some "blending" has occured after hard work over the past five years. Apparently, I've been self-hypnotizing for many years. I'll be bookmarking your article to share it with a friend who has the same condition and who also has had epileptic episodes. (Believe it or not I don't know how to send links! It's time I look into it).
Yours, the complicated technophobe

[RobinN]

I found this information about mental illness to be interesting:

Biochemical Treatment of Behavior Disorders

In the late 1970’s, Dr. Walsh and co-workers developed a biochemical classification system for behavior disorders based on trace-metal concentrations. Based on chemical analysis data from hundreds of violent criminals and behavior-disordered children, behavior disorders were divided into four distinct types.

Type A individuals are characterized by an elevated copper/zinc ratio, along with elevated lead and cadmium and low sodium and potassium levels. They exhibit episodic rages which may be quite violent, and usually exhibit remorse after they have calmed down. Patrick Sherrill who killed 17 co-workers in an Oklahoma post office was found to have a severe Type A imbalance. Many school children who are Type A individuals may have mild, moderate, or severe versions of this chemical imbalance.

Type B individuals are characterized by low copper/zinc ratios, along with elevated sodium, potassium, lead and cadmium. Most exhibit behavior disorders by age 2, and are often described as oppositional, defiant, pathological liars, remorseless, and cruel. The incidence of the Type B imbalance appears to be less than 0.5% in the general population, but between 20-75% in maximum-security prisons in Illinois, California, and Ohio. In studies of ex-convicts and violent children, Dr. Pfeiffer found these individuals to exhibit elevated blood histamine, low blood spermine, elevated kryptopyrroles in urine, and zinc deficiency. Notable examples of persons with a severe Type B imbalance include James Huberty (McDonalds massacre), serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, and Charles Manson.

Type C individuals are low in most nutrients and Dr. Pfeiffer identified their primary imbalance to be malabsorption. The majority are slender, non-violent, impulsive persons who underachieve in school and in the workplace.

Type D persons were found by Dr. Pfeiffer to exhibit glucose-control problems. These individuals are often non-violent underachievers who complain of irritability, fatigue, and sugar cravings.

The Health Research Institute (parent organization of the Pfeiffer Treatment Center) has accumulated a data base of chemistry levels for more than 6,500 behavior-disordered children, 800 violent criminals, and 26 serial killers and mass murderers. We have found that about 90% of these persons fit into one of the A/B/C/D categories.

In the early 1980’s, Dr. Pfeiffer developed individualized biochemical treatments for each of these behavior syndromes. Under this system, patients are screened and treated for trace-metal imbalances, histamine disorders, pyroluria, malabsorption, glucose disorders, and other biochemical imbalances. Nearly 7,000 behavior-disordered persons have been treated at the Pfeiffer Treatment Center using this system. In four separate outcome studies involving a total of 1,400 patients, a majority of the families reported major improvements in behavior control after biochemical treatment. These studies indicated good treatment effectiveness for most patients below the age of 14.

In a blinded, controlled study in 1992, 24 patients of the Pfeiffer Treatment Center were tested before and after 4 months of individualized biochemical treatment by an independent testing expert. The test group showed clear improvements in behavior control after treatment, whereas controls did not.

Our nation’s problems of crime and violence will not be solved by getting tough with criminals, building more prisons, or wider application of the death penalty. The only hope is early identification of behavior-disordered children and effective treatment. Biochemical therapy represents a promising approach to this societal problem.

http://www.hriptc.org/BioTreatment.html

I remember DID being thrown around when Rebecca suffered two months of amnesia. There was no abuse, no childhood trauma except for the onset of the seizure disorder as she was so excited to begin H.S. Then another neurologist mentioned that it could have been brought on by a seizure. So who really knows. It could have been a mental shutdown, and yet it also corrected itself just as fast, never to happen again.

I am looking more at a Biochemical disorder. That makes more sense to me.

[Cinnabar]

I found this information about mental illness to be interesting:


http://www.hriptc.org/BioTreatment.html

I remember DID being thrown around when Rebecca suffered two months of amnesia. There was no abuse, no childhood trauma except for the onset of the seizure disorder as she was so excited to begin H.S. Then another neurologist mentioned that it could have been brought on by a seizure. So who really knows. It could have been a mental shutdown, and yet it also corrected itself just as fast, never to happen again.

I am looking more at a Biochemical disorder. That makes more sense to me.

It sounds like you've submerged yourself in medical research to help Rebecca. I believe you...if Biochemical Treatment is the way to go - go there. About your daughter suffering amnesia...I don't know much about generalized amnesia but do know that it is very different from what DID's call "loosing time". It could be for minutes, hours or days. Very rarely, a two month time loss. Interesting idea...looking into trace-metal imbalences, glucose disorders and such. There is no medication for dissociative disorders. I wish there were! It would take some looking into to see if there is any point in exploring trace-metal imbalances and such. All I know is that with the DID condition, you are born with a very high threshold for self-hypnosis, hence, the ability to create self-parts to manage "issues". Kind of like imaginary friends who flesh themselves out for one's survival. Not really a Behavioral Disorder...but there's a lot of different behaviors going on! While fragmented due to all things that happend my way, I say..."It's a good thing for the world that I turned out to be a nice person!" Always Laurie