Epilepsy and Health
Medications
Medications can have many possible side effects.
And do these side effects leave you living in a Deep Fog?
Epilepsy Affects Men, Women, Children and often whole Families
* Understanding Epilepsy.
* Some of the classic symptoms of Epilepsy.
* The many side effects of Anti Epileptic Drugs (AEDs).
* Keeping a Diary and avoiding your seizure Triggers
* Living a healthier lifestyle may minimize seizure activity
* Nutrition is a very important part of your health care program
* Supplementing your diet to build and maintain a healthy Immune System
* Keeping a positive attitude
We are not here to diagnose but just to be of some help and support, and maybe to suggest additional ways of coping with this condition. We are committed to improving the quality of your life and health through education, nutrition, and access to researched information.
What is Epilepsy?
First, what it is not: It is not a disease. If you have Epilepsy, you probably already know that it is also not a mental disorder. It can be caused by anything that affects the brain, including tumours and strokes. It is a condition, a symptom of disturbed electrical activity in the brain. Our nervous system is essentially an electrical one, with impulses constantly shuttling between the billions of neurons (nerve cells) and the parts of the body involved in our various activities both voluntary (such as walking) and involuntary (such as breathing).
Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells, or neurons in the brain sometimes signal abnormally and is a neurological condition that makes people susceptible to seizures.
If a human brain, with its 12 billion nerve cells, is damaged, some of these nerve cells may malfunction, causing the normally smooth-running pattern of electrical activity to be disrupted. The damaged cells "overload," they become over-excited and give off too much electricity. The result of this temporary overload is a seizure that causes some of the body´s activities to go haywire: there is a sudden loss,or disturbance of consciousness, often in association with motor activity; there is no pain associated with the seizure and usually no long-term after effects. In fact, many people who have seizures, particularly one of the mild types, are often unaware that they have had one.
The number of seizures vary greatly from person to person - from a few a year to several a day. Those whose epilepsy is controlled by medical treatment may experience no seizures at all. Epilepsy is a disorder with many possible causes.
Sometimes Epilepsy is inherited. Often no cause can be found.
Epilepsy is generally not the kind of condition that gets worse with time and most adults who have it can expect to live a normal life span. Between seizures life goes on - normal, active and healthy.
A Seizure is a change in sensation, awareness, or a behaviour brought about by a brief electrical disturbance in the brain. Seizures vary from a momentary disruption of the senses, to short periods of unconsciousness or staring spells, to convulsions. Some people have just one type of seizure. Others have more than one type. Most seizures do not cause brain damage.
For many people with Epilepsy, the risk of seizures restricts their independence (some Countries and States refuse drivers licenses to people with Epilepsy) and may involve the need to curtail some recreational activities.
Although they look different, all seizures are caused by the same thing: a sudden change in how the cells of the brain send electrical signals to each other.
Having a seizure does not necessarily mean that a person has Epilepsy. Only when a person has had two or more seizures is he or she considered to have Epilepsy. EEGs and brain scans are common diagnostic tests for Epilepsy.
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Doctors treat Epilepsy primarily with seizure-preventing medicines (AEDs). Although seizure medications are not a cure, they control seizures in the majority of people with Epilepsy. Studies have shown that in some case, children may experience fewer seizures if they maintain a strict diet - called the ketogenic diet - rich in fats and low in carbohydrates. Patients on the ketogenic diet should be on nutritional supplements formulated with the help of their physician.
Selenium depletion is often present in the brain of Epilepsy patients and may be an important triggering factor for the origin of intractable seizures.
Magnesium helps slow the spread of electrical discharge from one area of the brain to the rest of the brain.
Minerals are essential nutrients. Low levels of the minerals sodium, calcium, and magnesium can alter the electrical activity of brain cells and cause seizures.
Some doctors recommend that people with Epilepsy and other allergic symptoms, such as asthma or hay fever, should be checked for allergic reactions to some foods which may be causing seizures.
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We have collated a "List of Observations which may Trigger Seizures" from a range of sources. This List is on our page of Seizure Triggers . Scroll down to the end of this page for links to more information on other Triggers. Maybe your Trigger is a more unusual type and if it is not on our list and you would like it to be added we would appreciate your email so that we can share it with others.For questions about this List, or maybe you want to know if we can give you any suggestions on how you can diffuse your Triggers, just send us an email and we will reply as soon as possible. Often there are little changes in your daily life that can be made which may make a big difference in learning how to cope with, or lessen seizures, or the debilitating after effects. Our focus is on restoring health, and we are happy to share with you the sources of our information from reliable Authors and Health care professionals.
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Please feel free to Contact us via our email address and we will reply as soon as possible and if need be will be more than happy to speak with you on a one to one basis.
Either by telephone, emails, fax or whatever suits your needs.We don't claim to be experts, but can certainly give you our experience with how Julie was,
why what she was doing just wasn't working, and how we got the needed help for her. And how and why Grant got the same good results.
We are here to support you and assist you to do your own research, to take charge of your own health and well-being.
Contact information:
Julie Hope
Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, Canada
epilepsyhealth@sasktel.net
1 306-648-2642 (CST)
Or
Maraika
maraika@bigpond.net.au
Disclaimer: This article is not meant to replace consultation with trained health care professionals. The publisher and author are not responsible for any adverse consequences of effects resulting from the use of any of the information or suggestions contained in this article. All research has been done in good faith, using recognized sources
