Optimize excessive exercise possible? TLE aid.

[lnsiu]

I have TLE,

I guess it is a mild form, although diabolic.

Mostly short strong flashbacks, or Déjà vus, where any memory from my life is coupled with strong anxiety, even happy memories are tinted sometimes. It only last for a few seconds each time, but it always gets me when I'm down. It's hard to ignore when you really feel down even though I should know by now, it is only my brain fooling me. It's hard to cope with when you have them every day.

Anyhow, excessive exercising seems to help.

Why does exercising help, and is it possible to optimize the exercise with regard to the time it takes for good effect? I.E a targeted exercise?

I would probably need 1-2 hours of hard exercise every single day to keep the TLE away, and that will probably brake my body. I usually just go out for a run.

(Oh, Do I also have to skip coffee? I'm always so tired. I can't function without coofee)

 

[Fedup]

lnsiu

The only one who can answer the question about skipping coffey is you, it could be that you are having to much coffey but only you can decide. There are different triggers for everybody. Exercise can be good as to how much also depends on you.

 

[lnsiu]

Well, the question is why exercise helps and if there is a more optimized training for TLE?

Clearly something happens in the body with exercise. You loose weight, you get more muscles, more red blood cells, better oxygene transportation etc... perhaps better appetite and better glucose values?

Some of these changes will affect siezure threshold.

So, for example, fitness or strength? I would say fitness.

 

[Nakamova]

Overall fitness and a feeling of wellbeing have been shown to help reduce seizure frequency, but at this point there's no clear scientific explanation of the link. It probably helps in a variety of ways -- relieving stress, helping regulate sleep and appetite, boosting endorphins (which the body's own kind of opiate).

Are you sure that more intense exercise is the answer? Maybe alternating your runs with brisk walking or biking, or breaking the exercise up into shorter sessions over the course of a day would do the trick. If you do decide to ramp up your exercise routine, do so slowly, paying attention to how you feel. Don't overdo, and avoid dehydration or low blood sugar.

As for coffee -- it's triggering for some people but not others. But if you suspect there's a link between your coffee consumption and your seizures, it would make sense to try drinking a bit less. Caffeine can interfere with the absorption and metabolism of vitamin D, some of the B vitamins, and elements like magnesium and potassium -- nutrients that are very important in brain health. Coffee in particular can contribute to a feeling of fatigue because its rapid boost is followed by an equally rapid crash. You might consider drinking half-caf/half decaf, or swapping in tea (which tends to have a a gentler caffeine curve as it enters and exits).

 

[Nakamova]

You might be interested in this article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/stor...26B7ABD0CF9F3A.f04t01?v=1&t=ialvhtsl&8cf4a25e

 

[AlohaBird]

Some people say that coffee is an individual thing but I am a firm believer that it is an addictive neurotoxin. Full stop. Some people are indeed better able to tolerate it than others but that doesn't make it benign for anybody especially people with epilepsy.

Also coffee is a vicious cycle in that you drink it to get energy but then get hooked on it so you then need it to even get your eyes open.

On the exercise question I totally agree that it is beneficial. I know it helps me. There are lots of factors to this including improved metabolic functioning plus getting out in the fresh air and sunshine for some vitamin D absorption.

I agree with Nak that massively intense exercise is not necessarily better just because exercise is good. Any time you take an exercise routine from being fun to being stressful, the bump in your cortisol levels undoes any benefits you might be getting.

 

[masterjen]

I find that regular exercise contributes to better seizure control for me, but I did have to learn to cut back on the intensity compared to before seizures occurred. My exercise sessions would be considered very intense according to a lot of people's standards before my seizures started, but for me and my work-out buddies it was pretty normal for us. Since I've started having seizures there has been a real learning curve to figuring out how hard I can push myself to get the benefit exercise offers but without creating a seizure trigger.
As has been mentioned, everyone is different. You will have to experiment with the different types of exercises to see what works for you to bring you the most benefit for health and seizure control. Is it cardio or weight training? Should you do 2 or 3 shorter sessions of exercises or one long one? Does your body respond better to low reps and high weight during weight training or high reps and low weight, or both? Overall interval training (eg. HIIT) is the latest "best" for the cardio system, but it may not be the best for you. Your body may respond better to moderate and steady cardio rather than interspersing high intensity intervals. Maybe your body does better with cardio interspersed with weight training (eg. 2-3 min of treadmill running after a set of bench presses, for example). There are a lot of variables to learn about and research about, but most is via experimentation along with what you enjoy doing.

 

[lnsiu]

Nakamova;

The linked article is locked, but I found an unlocked version by searching on google with this: j.1528-1167.2010.02615.x.pdf

The connection with caffeine and D, B, Magnesium and potassium is very interesting, I'm pretty certain Coffee has no immediate triggering-effect for me personally, but those vitamins are almost the exact vitamins I'm taking right now, so that is a very convincing argument for me to quit caffeine altogether.

If I workout intensively, I will most certainly also be needing that magnesium.

masterjen:

For three days in a row I've done 1.5 hours of low intense running. That has reduced the TLE from approx. 30 to 3.

What does happen in the body when you take these long runs?

-
There seems to be more thorough studies in benefint of excersise in schizofrenia, If I find something substantial with relevans to TLE, I'll post that.


Thank you so much all! I appreciate all your answers!

 

[masterjen]

Long runs allow the body to reach steady state for exercise; ie. it is something your body can do for a long time without excess fatigue and unless you change it up (overall speed, distance, adding hills/incline, or intervals). Unless you modify an exercise frequently the body does not get stronger because it becomes used to the same old routine. That is not to say you are not fitter than the average person, just that you are not making the same progress within your own workouts. Steady state running (ie. long distance) does not challenge the mind and body as rigorously as interval training. Imagine a minute of very hard running for 30 - 60 seconds every 3rd minute of moderate running over and over for 45 min, compared to just your moderate running straight for 45 minutes, as an example. Which do you think will most challenge your cardiovascular system, your leg strength, your endurance/stamina and your mental strength to keep going?

Ninety minutes of running is a bit excessive because of the stress on the joints, tendons and ligaments. IMHO, shorten the run time considerably and try throwing in intense interval runs. As for your thought that the high intensity controls your seizures, you may still find this with the shorter runs since you have added in the fast intervals.

 

[lnsiu]

Yes, I am pretty certain my body won't last for long with these 90 minutes runs. But a tremendous relief with only three tle's today. I feel like a normal person.

I will try intervals, hopefully that will work.

I've been reading some and perhaps this is linked to something autoimmune? I have gluten intolerance and psoriasis. Hopefully it is not inflammatory muscles that gives the brain a brake from the immune-system?

 

[AlohaBird]

Mark Sisson of the Mark's Daily Apple site coined the term "Chronic Cardio". He is a former world champion ultra marathon runner who is now one of the most vehement opponents of long distance running.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/#axzz3cPmIEwlD

And I think you're making a wise choice in giving up the coffee.

 

[valeriedl]

If I over exert myself, exercising or anything else, it can bring on a seizure. When I exercise it's usually walking. There's no way I could go two hours of hard exercise any way.

Caffeine is a major seizure trigger for me. I am ok with maybe one cup of coffee but everything I drink, even soda, is usually decaffeinated.

There are some meds that can make you tired which could be the reason for that.

 

[lnsiu]

I understand that exercise may not be of interest for those who loose conscious during a seizure - since one might get hurt during a physical activity. That is also a main point why this is not researched in epilepsy in Nakamovas link.

I never loose consciousness, there is a totally different kind of problems with my TLE seizures that does not include physical damage.

I found two articles that may be of interest for those with epilepsy that involves memory, time flashback, dreamy states seizures.

Hippocampal plasticity in response to exercise in schizophrenia.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20124113

change in hippocampal volume was associated with a 35% increase in the N-acetylaspartate to creatine ratio in the hippocampus.

Chapter 11: Can the Shrinkage Be Reversed?
psycheducation.org/depression-is-not-a-moral-weakness/chapter-11-can-the-shrinkage-be-reversed/

Reduced hippocampal N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) as a biomarker for overweight
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158213001733


SO... I guess exercise alters something with NAA levels in the hippocampus and reduces the TLE?

Edit: found another link relevant to epilepsy and NAA levels.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16543528/