Proactive Prescription for Epilepsy

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From my research the hormonal pill is NOT giving the same results as a bio-identical progesterone.
Estrogen excites the brain... Progesterone calms it.

When Rebecca had her first seizure she had purple spider veins on the inside of her thighs. This was on a 14 yr old. They had begun to increase that year. Not one doctor connected that with estrogen dominance. I found that on Wikipedia when I Googled - Spider Veins. Now since using a bio-identical progesterone cream, on the inside of her thighs.... those veins are not even noticable. A connection... hmmmmm perhaps.
I wonder if some foods naturally have the bio-identical progesterone in them similar to the way soy products have estrogen. Purely out of curiosity....
 
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FYI, I added a note to the original post with a couple more references.
 
I wonder if some foods naturally have the bio-identical progesterone in them similar to the way soy products have estrogen. Purely out of curiosity....

Yes this is true. I learned this on Dogtorj's site as well. There are more foods than just soy that are rich in estrogen. Look at the sidebar on his site, there is a link to Estrogen in Food.

At the time of my search, Rebecca had spider veins on the inside of her thighs. I was told that this was a common thing to women, and basically got the impression to leave it alone as there was nothing I could do. All the doctors did was shrug their shoulders.

It embarrassed Rebecca and she did not even want to put on a swim suit at the age of 14. I did some research and found out what they were called, and that they were a sign of high estrogen. This was a good clue, and made sense with what I was learning about estrogen-progesterone and seizures.

When she started using the cream, it is rubbed onto the inside of her thighs, slowly the marks disappeared. I also kept the foods in mind and tried to be more conscience of them, balancing them rather than overloading her system.

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I also want to add that there are a lot of environmental estrogens. Do a search and you will find quite a lot of information.
It is my belief that this is why we need to keep the liver pathways open and free of toxins so that the body can handle the overload.

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f22/liver-health-4225/
 
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I am finding this discussion really interesting. I had a hysterectomy at 39 due to severe endometriosis. At that time, I was put on a hormone patch as my ovaries had been removed. Within 3 years, I was diagnosed with an early stage estrogen receptive form of breast cancer. I had to discontinue the hormone patch immediately and, while I didn't have to have chemotherapy, I did have to take Tamoxifen for 5 years. Tamoxifen blocks estrogen from entering the cells and fueling more cancer growth. It has now been 11 1/2 years since my diagnosis and I am fine. However, as I think back, my seizure symptoms certainly became more apparent to me in the past 10-15 years which may coincide with the hysterectomy and breast cancer. My hormones certainly went on a roller coaster ride through all of that. Now I am curious about the bio-identical hormones and wonder if they are safe for someone with a history of breast cancer to take. Interesting conversation here!
 
Wow! Interesting information. If I want to have any of the tests done that he recommends, do I just take this information to my family doctor? I have been wondering about bio-identical hormones for awhile now. Thanks, Robin.
 
You can ask your family doctor, but unless you make your case clear, s/he might not be willing to request it. If you say that you will pay for it, and clear it with insurance later, they might be more likely to refer you to a lab.
Rebecca's neurologist is a specialist in the area of woman and hormonal seizures. It was not a problem to get a prescription.
We played with the dose to find what would work.
This past month I have held back on it, and we will see if the body is ready to create the hormone on its own.

There are other labs that you can approach yourself. Many families are going this route as they feel that the neighborhood labs are not competent to deal with the new bio-med treatments. In fact there are some alternative doctors that have done test surveys on the labs that insurance companies use most often, and the results were questionable.

Genova Diagnostics
Direct Labs

Instructions come with the individual tests that you order. Some require a doctors signature.
 
I saw this string way after the fact, and wanted to add that natural food (like soy) isn't the problem. Chemically altered food is the problem. Meat, milk, and eggs are full of growth hormones and antibiotics. The problem is also all the hormone-imitating substances that are added to our beauty products, like shampoo and conditioner, hand lotion, anti-acne cream, and everything else. They are pumped full of estrogen-imitators, hidden inside harmless little content names. For example, anything that contains the word "paraben" in it. My friend who has breast cancer avoids standard beauty products like the plague (estrogen is bad for breast cancer). http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/is-your-hand-lotion-doing-you-in-810760.html

Even natural substances like lavendar and tea tree oil have been found to disrupt hormones and cause early development. http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/fiona-neill/puberty-blues

Few to none of these substances were used pre-1950. Girls in the 1950's reached puberty at an average age of 16. Today girls reach puberty at an average age of 8-10 (depending on race).

Kids are getting taller for their age, too. http://www.nber.org/papers/w13324.pdf

Some research is linking it to all the growth hormones and other hormones in the meat, milk, etc.

So, I guess the health message is: eat organic meat or no meat at all, be very careful of the beauty products your family uses (read the label!), and don't eat dairy products.
http://health101.org/art_Milk_and_Girls.htm
 
I wanted to add that for some people, like me, the phytoestrogen's in soy are a seizure trigger and since my seizures are managed hormonally, I have had to eliminate almost all soy from my diet to help keep my estrogen's low.
 
A while ago, I located an interesting and informative site about what's in our products.

Google safecosmetics. It's really amazing. It inspired me to use only organic products whenever possible.
The website lists all kinds of products for men and women that contain neurotoxins, carcinogenic chemicals, and products that contain lead. Amazing!
 
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Um... I was physically and verbally abused often as a child, could this have caused my epilepsy? I would have never guessed.
 
mommymela - there definitely are seizures that have been connected to emotional trauma. Have you worked through these past issues with a therapist?

How about testing? EEGs and MRIs < any positive results ?
 
has any studies been done on melatonin,i bought some in america i told it helps you sleep i am taking it in hopes it will help but what affect do this have on e
 
Hi: I'm new to this site and it's loaded with alternative treatments and what to avoid. Thank you for the info. I intend to look it up. I saw you were from PA. I too am originally from north of Pittsburgh. I live in Florida now, but miss PA during spring and fall. Take care. Mary
 
hi robin..
from sydney i follow your posts... as a mother im sick of being epileptic, ive decided to wean off my meds. i cant tolerate the side effects anymore. on zonegran. going to try life without meeds and see. i have seizures about once a month. i would love to know you opinion.
thanks.
bornova
 
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