[Recommended] Epilepsy a New Approach

[maryl]

Easy to understand. Covers many aspects of epilepsy and focuses on daily exercises to control epilepsy and reduce medication.

[Bernard]

Thanks Maryl. I highly recommend this book as well even though I haven't read through it all myself (I've skimmed though it - my wife has read it cover to cover).

You can find inexpensive copies of it at amazon.com: Epilepsy - A New Approach: What medicine can do, what you can do for yourself

[RobinN]

It was a security blanket for me when I was not getting anywhere in with conventional doctors. It made me realize that this disorder was more complicated, and yet offered more HOPE with alternatives. Basically I realized it wasn't a DEAD END diagnosis.

I recommend it as well.

[BillK]

I just skimmed around in it the first month and then made a commitment to go straight through it, reading a little each day and answering the questions. Fell off that in a few days, but I plan to get back on and saying it here helps!

Anyway, I'm finding it quite useful so far, if only for the underlying feeling of I can actually do something about this rather than passively taking whatever medicines they prescribe. It also made me much more knowledgeable in my recent neurologist visit. But I think it will be much more helpful than that.

Joel Reiter, M.D. writes the more scientific chapters in a clear format. The main author, Adrienne Richard, is a good writer and not only explores helpful psychological viewpoints for viewing one's epilepsy, but provides a variety of tools to generally prevent seizures, intervene during the aura, and cut short ongoing seizures. Interspersed are insights about cultural perceptions of epilepsy throughout time and treatment of writers, artists and religious figures who probably had epilepsy.

Since the revised paperback edition came out in 1995, the chapter on medication is a little out of date and there have been other new developments such as VNA. Some of the nutritional information probably has more research and there have undoubtedly been other developments. But it is still well written and offers good ideas.

They apparently offer the most current information at their Andrews/Reiter Epilepsy Research Program center in Santa Rosa. (They won't let me post links on this site, but a web search on that will bring it up) It is a non-profit organization which always makes me feel better!

[Nakamova]

Here's their website: http://www.andrewsreiter.com/