Alternative Treatments/Therapies for Epilepsy?

[Bernard]

Mozart/music therapy discussion

[speber]

Very familiar with the Mozart connection(in fact I'm shootin' my mouth off over there too...but I'm new to the neurofeedback thread....GOOD STUFF!

Thanks Bernard!

[RobinN]

Talking diet again...
I understand the GARD diet and I understand the GFCF diet. To me they are basically one and the same. The GFCF as it is known and is being praised in other neurology sites. Many with Autism are being helped by leaps and bounds (from my research on Yahoo>GFCFKids) from this diet.

Can't we just call them one and the same? I have exchanged emails with Doctor J, and admire his work in this area. Oprah has had recent news on GFCF diet, Larry King will have Jenny McCarthy sharing her story too, I think tomorrow night. Our need to compartmentalize the facts is curious to me. So my suggestion would be to add the info of GFCF to the alternative list.

More labels to confuse the masses.

[Bernard]

Sure. I'm not familiar with anyone talking about the GFCF diet. I only ran across the GARD because of DogtorJ. I'll have to do some digging on the subject and see what changes may be necessary for the chart.

[Eternal_Howl]

Hi Lindy,

Funny you mention 5HTP - I took something last night with that in it and after just one night/day - I noticed NO auras - and I've been getting auras every day and seizures once a week for the past 3 weeks. It is promising and reading your post is inspiring. The vitamin blend that has the 5-hydroxytryptophan in it is actually to help you get to sleep at night. I bought it last year when I had a bout of insomnia. Didn't work for that, but between this, the skullcap, and the passionflower - who knows - it might be part of my personal epilepsy cure regime thingie

From what I have been reading 5HTP doesn't appear to have any real studies of effectiveness associated with it, so I'm conducting my own

[Bernard]

Hi Eternal Howl, welcome to the forum.

I agree, it was hard to find good information on studies of 5-HTP and seizure disorders. Hopefully it will get more attention.

[Zara]

"The psychoactive action of 5-HTP is thought to derive from its effect on serotonin synthesis in central nervous system tissue. It is believed that an artificially high supply of 5-HTP causes the brain's serotonin-producing neurons to increase production. Increased serotonin production then leads to increased serotonin release."

This statement here from wikipedia would tell me that it helps your brain to produce seratonin the reasoning behind manic depressive and bi-polar disorders among many various other disorders. It is an amino acid of the brain of which they currently know very little about the electrical interactions they wish to share with those who "NEED TO KNOW" and so therefore it would lead me to believe since the diseases are related by not only design, but by chromosome afflictions as well that it would make sense that this amino acid that it states will not overdose to your brain would be a good balancing method for one of the amino acids.

I am positive that this would be helpful to any epileptic who is having any troubles producing this certain amino acid to it's effective dose. I have been told that I just directly don't produce enough seratonin so it could maybe help me though only if I don't already have enough of that one as it takes a perfect balance to make the seratonin which is what makes us feel normal which to most of us is probably euphoric.

[Bernard]

Zara, did you see the 5-HTP thread?

[Eternal_Howl]

Thanks for the welcome Bernard.

[RobinN]

After reading Andrews post and how he was seizure free after he found he had a rare type of seizure disorder called Pyridoxine Dependant Epilepsy. I continued my search for knowledge as to how vitamins play a role.

Nutrients that may reduce seizure frequency include vitamin B6, magnesium, vitamin E, manganese, taurine, dimethylglycine, and omega-3 fatty acids. Administration of thiamine may improve cognitive function in patients with epilepsy. Supplementation with folic acid, vitamin B6, biotin, vitamin D, and L-carnitine may be needed to prevent or treat deficiencies resulting from the use of anticonvulsant drugs. Vitamin K1 has been recommended near the end of pregnancy for women taking anticonvulsants. Melatonin may reduce seizure frequency in some cases, and progesterone may be useful for women with cyclic exacerbations of seizures. In most cases, nutritional therapy is not a substitute for anticonvulsant medications. However, in selected cases, depending on the effectiveness of the interventions, dosage reductions or discontinuation of medications may be possible.

---

A number of different dietary modifications, nutritional supplements, and hormones may help prevent seizures or improve other aspects of health in patients with epilepsy. Table 2 summarizes the strength of the evidence for potential nutrient and hormone interventions. Supplementation with specific nutrients should also be considered for the prevention and treatment of nutritional deficiencies resulting from anticonvulsant drugs. In most cases, nutritional therapy is not a substitute for anticonvulsant medications. However, in selected cases, depending on the effectiveness of the interventions, dosage reductions or discontinuation of medications may be possible.

Because much of the research on epilepsy management with diet, nutrients, and hormones is preliminary, there are few clear guidelines on when and how to use the various interventions described in this article. However, consideration of basic aspects of nutrition and metabolism should aid the clinician in evaluating this research and making rational clinical decisions.

For example, hypoglycemia should be considered a potential triggering factor in patients who develop seizures in the late morning or late afternoon or when a meal is missed. Food allergy might be a contributing factor in epileptic patients who have other manifestations of possible allergy, such as migraines, asthma, or a history of recurrent ear infections in childhood. A trial of manganese supplementation would seem appropriate for patients with low whole-blood manganese concentrations. An empirical trial with vitamin E would seem reasonable for many patients with epilepsy, particularly children. Supplementation with magnesium (200-600 mg per day) and modest doses of vitamin B6 (such as 10 mg per day) for general nutritional support would also be reasonable for many patients, in light of evidence that a large proportion of the population has suboptimal intakes of these nutrients. (164,165) Larger doses of vitamin B6 could be considered for patients whose epilepsy is not adequately controlled by other treatments.

Natural approaches to epilepsy

[speber]

I'm gonna have to call my nutritionist...I haven't been in quite awhile and you've got me curious about some of these! Right now the ones I'm for sure about (for my case anyway!) are Magnesium and Taurine.

[RobinN]

I am so glad it helped. It helped me too.
I am finding it difficult finding information about what should be tweaked up a notch, or perhaps taken at different times of the day, or broken up to twice a day rather than once, or subligual rather than capsule, or....?

My daughter is an athlete so perhaps there are times of the day, expecially after working out, that her body is in need of an extra mg of something. Being off balance chemically in one area can affect another.

For now, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the excitotoxins that we have eliminated and I am watching carefully to make sure they don't come within 10 feet of her, will do the trick. Blame it on instinct, but that is where my head is at lately.

I have Rebecca taking (besides Trileptal):
Magnesium - Ionic
B complex
Taurine
DMG
Vit C
Vit D
5-Http

[Bernard]

...I have Rebecca taking (besides Trileptal):
...
5-Http

She's going to be an internet expert!

[RobinN]

[RobinN]

I just ran across this interesting blog today.

http://drluc.blogspot.com/2008/01/seizures.html

Dr. Luc De Schepper, MD, PhD, DI Hom., CHom., Lic.Ac
15247 Sunset Blvd., Suite #202, Pacific Pallisades, California 90272 Office Phone: 310-573-2020, United States
Dr. Luc is considered one of the foremost contemporary Homeopaths and renowned international lecturers in Classical Homeopathy in the world. In recent years, Dr. Luc has evolved with homeopathy, and treats people exclusively with Hahnemann's Advanced Methods according to the 5th and 6th edition of the Organon with great success. He is known to his students throughout the world as a brilliant and inspiring lecturer, and to thousands of his patients as a gentle and compassionate healer. Dr. Luc was one of the first “integrated” Physicians as a Western medical doctor, acupuncturist and homeopath, integrating Western medicine and complementary medicine, and Acupuncture into Homeopathic practice. Dr. Luc was born May 1, 1946, in Ghent, Belgium and is fluent in four languages. He is the founder of the Renaissance Institute of Classical Homeopathy (RICH) and author of fifteen books on homeopathy, acupuncture, and holistic health care, and has seen over 200,000 patients in 30 years of private practice.

Question:
If a child has suffered 3 febrile seizures and recently 1 absence seizure in a 1 1/2 years,
and is now on Depakote, any advise homeopathically?
Please write back....mom to beautiful 8 year old.

Answer:
Of course high noon to go to a competent homeopath. What your child has is not uncommon
and very treatable before it is put on lifelong anti-seizure meds with side effects. But homeopathy is not like allopathy: here is the name of the remedy...it requires a total inquiry with family history and personal history included.

Wish you much luck

Dr luc

[RobinN]

http://www.raysahelian.com/seizure.html

Ray Sahelian, M.D. is the bestselling author of Mind Boosters, The Stevia Cookbook and several other books (more than 1,000,000 copies sold). See Bio. He is also a superb herbal product formulator with such popular products as Diet Rx, Passion Rx, Mind Power Rx, and others.
RaySahelian.com is the most visited website in the world on natural supplements maintained by a medical doctor. More than twenty thousand visitors a day read balanced and practical information on natural ways to improve health and wellbeing with diet and supplements. See below for an index of herbs, supplements, and natural healing.

www.RaySahelian.com
Scroll down to the index of Herbs, Supplements, and Natural Therapies
Please look past the product endorsements, for the researched information that he is offering. It just might confirm other information that you are reading.

[Meetz1064]

going to check into the 5-HTP for myself......I'm already taking the melatonin, and several other vitamins, but still am having issues....

[RobinN]

Hundreds of concerned Edmontonians gathered in Gazebo Park last month to protest against the federal Tories' Bill C-51, which they say would outlaw nearly all natural health products, criminalize the use of herbs, and impose U.S.-style laws on Canadians.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjourna...c-c23e13a9216d

[RobinN]

Taurine was a supplement that was suggested for my daughter. I just was sent this note and thought I would share it.

Even though many of us do not have autistic spectrum disorders, seizures do many times run hand in hand with ASD. I think many neurological issues need to be compared as some might share the same cause with different symptoms.

It is commonly reported by parents of children on the autism-spectrum that their child's fecal matter has sand or a sandy appearance to it. This is not an imaged event. Sandy stools is commonly associated with a bile acid imbalance caused by a taurine deficiency. Taurine is a amino acid in our body that is involved in the production of taurcholic acid. Taurcholic acid helps produce bile in the liver. Bile acids are involved in fat absorption, and when there is a lack of taurine a sand-like substance can develop in the digestive system and show up in the stool.
Long-standing intestinal inflammation and sulfur depletion can contribute to this problem. Taurine as a supplement of 100 to 500mg per day can be helpful for some children. Taurine helps to produce bile acids in the liver.

Please feel free to pass this message on to others you feel could benefit. I look forward to continuing to seek new ways of improving your and your families health.

Sincerely,
Kurt N. Woeller, D.O.

[Andrew]

20 February 2010 was my 39th anniversary of using vitamin B6 to control my seizures.

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/...t=36549&page=4

**DO NOT ALTER ANY MEDICATION WITHOUT YOUR DOCTOR'S CONSENT**

Regards

Andrew