Ginseng

[Lil 1]

I have been taking ginseng for over a year because I found that combined with a B complex did wonders on combating the tiredness from my tegratol.

I am in the process of switching to Lamictal (to get a head start on family planning, tegratol completely stopped my seizures) and as such have stopped ALL herbal treatments including multi vitamins until I find answers.

Questions:

1) Ginseng and Epilepsy - anyone doing it? Any results? Good or bad?

2) How do you fight the side effects of your medications?

3) Any horrible complications anyone has had from herbal medications. I know St. John's Wart is a nono, but what else have people learned?

[TeeTees]

Hi Lil 1 (cool name, I like that)

I found I had more seizure's when on Ginseng. I also took it as I was just constantly feeling tired, and thought a good 'pick me up' would do the trick....nope.....seizure's came from every angle.

I'm currently on Tegretol + Clobozam (Frisium)....Clobozam taken about two hours before bed, as it's an energy zapper.

So, my 'extras' consist on a Multivitamin, Vitamin B-Complex, Magnesium, and Cod Liver Oil.

Would be interesting to see what the others are on as well, and like you say - what does work, and what doesn't (by people results, rather than what they say in magazines)

[Lil 1]

Hi Lil 1 (cool name, I like that)

Thanks. It is also my initials... 2 for 1 kind of deal I guess.

I found I had more seizure's when on Ginseng. I also took it as I was just constantly feeling tired, and thought a good 'pick me up' would do the trick....nope.....seizure's came from every angle.

Good to know. Do you know if it was the North American Ginseng or Asian? Apparently they are competely different as the Asian version is an upper and the NA is a downer.

So, my 'extras' consist on a Multivitamin, Vitamin B-Complex, Magnesium, and Cod Liver Oil.

Yay! Another B'er. The fish oils seem to be popular - might need to look into that one.

[TeeTees]

I can remember trying both the Korean and American Ginseng, even just having it as a Tea drink.....no go area for me unfortunately.

I've even had the same effect from Camomile Tea (spellcheck).....it's supposed to be a great 'relaxer', but it kinda relaxes me toooo much, and bang - there's another. Coffee is the best 'pick-me-up' for me, providing I don't have more than 3 cups a day - for some reason, after the 3rd I tend to have a real busy mind activated <horrible>.

Fish oils work good for me - great brain food, plus good for the joints (needed when you go to the gym), and the B-Complex is great for muscle recovery (from the gym) as well as the B6 being great for aiding Epilepsy. So, I'm kinda getting two for the price of one on some off my things.

Magnesium is good for seizure's (see other threads for this), plus it seems to work for my Eczema too - YEP, another two for the price off one..<kerching>

[Lil 1]

(needed when you go to the gym), and the B-Complex is great for muscle recovery (from the gym) as well as the B6 being great for aiding Epilepsy. So, I'm kinda getting two for the price of one on some off my things.

Have you been reading my other posts or are you just a mind reader? I started with a personal trainer last week because I have hit a plateau in my weight loss (I was never big, but now I am the same weight I was at in highschool, but I have less muscle mass now then back then) and thought a trainer would help... I have been limping from sore muscles for 4 days and tomorrow is my next session.

[TeeTees]

Have you been reading my other posts or are you just a mind reader? I started with a personal trainer last week because I have hit a plateau in my weight loss (I was never big, but now I am the same weight I was at in highschool, but I have less muscle mass now then back then) and thought a trainer would help... I have been limping from sore muscles for 4 days and tomorrow is my next session.

LOL....well, you should find that just doing some exercise will work as a 'pick-me-up' - it certainly works for me anyway

[brain]

1) Ginseng and Epilepsy - anyone doing it? Any results? Good or bad?

2) How do you fight the side effects of your medications?

3) Any horrible complications anyone has had from herbal medications. I know St. John's Wart is a nono, but what else have people learned?

Lil

To answer your questions, you should consult
with your Doctor, those are very good questions
that should be discussed and gone over with
between you and the Doctor.

Ginseng and St. John's Wart - are No No's,
and having said this - you need to discuss with
your Doctor in reference to all Herbal Supplements!
Some Herbal Supplements actually interferes with
Anti-Epileptic Drugs, and this includes drinking
some Citrus Juice, especially Grapefruit juice, so
this needs to be discussed. (This would answer
you questions of 1 and 3).

As for Question 2 - any side effects of your
medications needs to be gone over and dealt with
with your Doctor, some medications are tolerable;
while others - they have to be removed and some-
thing else tried.

In addition - there are ways you can "work around"
in reducing side effects but first, go over with this
with your Doctor - for others have found that instead
of taking them all at once, moving towards medications
at different timing does help reduce the side effects.

Moreover, there are alternative ways as well, such
as Neurofeedback, which can help reduce the need
for all those medications, if your Doctor is opened
to it and you are a candidate for such; will help
reduce the side effects of medications as well.

======================

As for Lamictal - I am now on it and onward on the
honeymoon phase on this; but I am also on Zonegran,
Clonazepam (Klonopin), and Folic Acid (Folate). However,
I am done with being pregnant years ago! I'm just an
"old used Mare" here... LOL!



As with all A E D S ... such takes time to become
adjusted to your body, but if the side effects are
that bothersome, then phone your Neurologist or
Epileptologist's Office.

[Lil 1]

Ya... my gp ok'd ginseng when on tegratol. My previous doctor said I was fine to take tegratol and bp patches... not a lot of trust there any more. My neurologist is great, but it is a 3 month waiting list to get in and by then I usually have figured out whatever I needed to discuss with him.

I have gone over all the major stuff with my doctor, but I like to learn from what others have discovered... and of course all of it is taken with a grain of salt because I understand that no situation is ever the same. But of course with that said not every doctor gives the same advice either and they often just regurgitate what the drug sheets say.

[Lil 1]

I should also note that I have almost no side effects from the tegratol - besides sleeping good and not liking to get my butt out of bed in the morning which is why I turned to the ginseng and Bcomplex. As I change to lamictal I have not yet found a difference in side effects, but it is still nice to know how other cope or if they are dealing with something completely different.

[borgolibero]

Ginseng is quite similar to coffe for epilepsy, I think. I take a lot of espresso coffe, I do know they are dangerous for my epilepsy, and I started reducing my drugs in order to need less coffe. But I think is your experience that do the difference. I worked as a clerk using computer many ours, till 11, and never have seizure. Stress is the most dangerous thing for me

[hawke86]

Why is Ginseng a NoNo?

[Lil 1]

Why is Ginseng a NoNo?

I am not exactly sure. For me it is a stimulate and gets me going (like I am guessing coffee works for borgolibero). I would guess that anything that stimulates your brain could have potentially negative side effects.

[borgolibero]

Yes, italian coffe do work for me as ginseng for you, and both are, like ginko, very close too ginseng, dangerous for seizures.

''Potential cognitive enhancing herbal medicines such as ginkgo and ginseng may work through a variety of neurochemical mechanisms and also may exacerbate seizures under some conditions. Ginseng is known to elevate plasma levels of corticosteroid hormones, which can aggravate seizures''

i take it from professionals.epilepsy.com/page/e_b_herbal_medicines.html

[brain]

Here's a partial quote to the very good link to which
I have made it live to the post before me:

The widespread availability and use of herbal medicines raise the potential for adverse effects in the epilepsy population. Herbal sedatives (kava, valerian, chamomile, passionflower) may potentiate the effects of antiepileptic medications, increasing their sedative and cognitive effects. Despite some antiseizure effects in animal models, they should not be used in place of standard seizure medications because efficacy has not been established. Anecdotal, uncontrolled observations suggest that herbal stimulants containing ephedrine (ephedra or ma huang) and caffeine (cocoa, coffee, tea, mate´ , guarana, cola or kola) can exacerbate seizures in people with epilepsy, especially when taken in combination. Ginkgo and ginseng may also exacerbate seizures although the evidence for this is similarly anecdotal and uncertain. St. John’s wort has the potential to alter medication pharmacokinetics and the seizure threshold. The essential oils of many plants contain epileptogenic compounds. There is mixed evidence for evening primrose and borage lowering the seizure threshold. Education of both health care providers and patients is the best way to avoid unintentional and unnecessary adverse reactions to herbal medicines. © 2001 Elsevier Science

That page is a very detailed and profound page, and
is WORTH your time in reading it, so I strongly
recommend that you click on the link and read it or
bookmark it and read it later or even printing it out.

[walsh]

I am not exactly sure. For me it is a stimulate and gets me going (like I am guessing coffee works for borgolibero). I would guess that anything that stimulates your brain could have potentially negative side effects.

Then again, it could have positive side effects which you would be missing out on. People will criticize just about anything and the thing about epilepsy is that it varies enormously. One drug might work for one individual but not work for another. Unless you are extremely sensitive and your seizures put you in a lot of danger, I would suggest to try everything and see how it affects you. Of course this doesn't include doing stupid things like very heavy doses of illegal drugs, but it's the only way to find out if it's going to help you or not. If there's one thing my experience with epilepsy has taught me it's that doctors generally have no idea about a lot of things and this is one of them, they aren't going to be able to tell you what supplementary doses or activities will help with your epilepsy so it's all up to you. Good luck!

[borgolibero]

I quote walsh. My doctor in Italy always said me caffeine was dangerous in high levels, and maybe one seizure in past was thriggered by coffe, that I use enormously not to sleep at work (I worked in the night, not good for an epileptic).

But drugs like valproate do have side effetcs, I take it and I take coffe too, no alchool and no smoke.

[epileric]

I've also found Ginseng to help fight the fatigue from tegretol.

I also read somewhere that Siberian Ginseng would be least likely to increase seizures so that's what I use.

I was extremely run down one day & had an extra ginseng or 2 but also had a larger-than-normal seizure that afternoon. I can't say for sure it's the ginseng (it could have been the fatigue) but I still acknowledge it as a possibility.

[Bernard]

The fish oils seem to be popular - might need to look into that one.

It's explained here: http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...-acid-dha-559/

... Some Herbal Supplements actually interferes with Anti-Epileptic Drugs, and this includes drinking some Citrus Juice, especially Grapefruit juice ...

What is the chemical in Grapefruit keeps AED's from working?

[Lil 1]

Brain - thank-you for the quote from the site. I have been looking for stuff like that, but sometimes just do not know what to google or where to go.

Walsh - I agree with you. That is why I love to ask what others do. I do avoid St.Johns and grapefruit, but within reason I like to try things and learn.

Epileric - I love your picture of that cat. It is nice to know some on else has tried it and thinks it works. Unless lamictal kicks me in the butt I probably will not go back to the ginseng as I should be done tegratol in a couple weeks.

Bernard - thank-you for the Omega link. I will look at it right away. I actually went and talked to my pharmacist about it and picked up some Omega 3 pills... AND THEN BURPED FISH ALL DAY - if I can't find any proof that freezing it damages it I might try that.