Community Forum Archive
The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.
DIET AND EXERCISE
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 15:55Topic: Teen Zone
DIET AND EXERCISE
Back when I was 10 I was diagnosed with
brain cancer. After discussing the surgical
procedure and prognosis with the physician
my mom and I went home and she asked me;
"...so when do you want to schedule the surgery?"
I replied;
"Mom...I'm a 4.0 kid. There are no snowballs
in Hades that would convince me to allow a
doctor to put a knife in my brain."
Naturally the argument flaired as she felt
her position as an adult meant that she was
both smarter than me and my CHOICE was based
on ignorance, foolish, rash, fearful; all that.
And she was the authority figure which came
to a point in this heated discussion where
she said "You know I'm your parent and I
could force you."
To which I replied; "Mother, darling...
I love you dearly, but you have to sleep
at night and if you ever say that to me
again you might not wake up. Capish?"
To which she replied "Fine. Your life is
your own. Live. Die. Up to you."
Perfect.
After a massive amount of study, plus
allowing the GP to barely remove that
portion of the tumor that was outside
my skull, plus a bit of bone, but no
scalpel penetration below the bone;
which he showed me in the vial after
the procedure, for which I was wide
awake because I don't trust them to
put me to sleep and stick to their
promise...anyway...2 years later
after diet and exercise I had beaten
brain cancer without chemo or surgery.
Since then - I am much older now - I
have beat cancer five times without
chemo or surgery using the tips I
learned as a kid. Some folks I know
followed the steps and it has worked
100% of the time WHEN they follow
the steps...basically good diet,
good water, minimal environmental
pollutants and plenty of exercise;
much of it aerobic and some of
it quite intense weights.
It all has a purpose and does a
specific thing to tumors; which I
call "a sack lunch for my body
to digest" and it does that nicely.
The same techniques can work for
an epileptic or anyone with a
chemical imbalance or head trauma;
that is, the best shot you are going
to have to permanently curing your
condition is probably going to
come from the wonderful healing
machine you were born with: YOU.
And if you eat crappy foods and
don't exercise for whatever reasons;
no matter what pills or treatment
or surgery you endure, you are
probably not going to heal.
Any physician who tells you otherwise
is an idiot; go see a physical therapist,
weight trainer, a dietician and a
yoga instructor. You'll have much
better results.
Should you stop taking meds? Well,
only if you want to endure the
likelihood of increased frequency
of seizures, possibility of
increased brain damage and of course
the epileptics nightmare; a sudden
seizure and fall with a head injury.
...a terrifying prospect indeed.
That said, since the chemicals you are
taking MIGHT be reduced if you fix
your diet and exercise more, the
question of "what is right for you"
rests solely in YOUR hands. You have
to live with, or cure, or deteriorate
(all up to you) you have to live
with YOU for the rest of your life.
SOME epileptics say "Oh, God/Birth/Nature
screwed me. I wanna just die. Too much
pain and stress."
For them I can only say "PAIN AND STRESS
AND SUFFERING OFTEN RESULTS IN NEW
DISCOVERIES THAT CAN HELP MANY MANY
OTHERS LIKE YOU." and at the same
time, those discoveries provide YOU
with relief and JOY knowing you
helped others along the way to
your own recovery.
SO...instead of getting depressed about
what cards nature dealt you, how about
you consider it a wonderful opportunity
to find out what helps you and how you
can help others.
I.E. for some, dark chocolate is a must.
I.E. for some, coffee is a cherished drink,
yet for others its a seizure in a cup.
I.E. for some, straight MD meds are the
only way to go and for others, a fifth
or bourbon and a burrito keeps their
seizures to a minimum. Obviously this
is a rare bird, since heavy alcohol
use kills brain cells so healing isn't
likely in that condition...but each
person must choose their own cure
or poison. It is the nature of being
human.
The trick is to choose wisely and make
small, gradual chances so you don't have
a SHOCK to the system.
Such is the case with a gal I know who
refuses to take meds for her seizures;
is enduring an increase in frequency;
has gone from completely blacking out
(when on meds) to now being semi-coherent
during her seizures (an improvement);
and recently added a few healthy diet
choices which have had a remarkable
effect.
One is kelp power, or dried, ground kelp.
I explained this is a powerful veggie;
it has a HUGE spectrum of vitamins and
minerals - pretty much the largest in
the veggie department - which means
all the chemical processes in your body
that might be sluggish due to a lack
of trace minerals are going to KICK
START AND RUN - which can be a big
shock to people - and that can
cause seizures - so its a BE CAREFUL
veggie.
Its probably NOT something to take at
night as it tends to wake you up like
a triple espresso.
Its probably NOT something to take
if you are already feeling anxiety.
HOWEVER, she now takes it when she
is recovering AFTER a seizure, is
feeling run down/hung over/a slug
and says it quickly puts her brain
back in functioning mode. She's a
pretty smart/educated gal so I can
tell when her brain and tongue are
working well and when she's foggy.
She doesn't take much...licks her
finger and puts a tiny bit on her
tongue...salty...and a pretty fast
reaction. Remember anything on your
tongue is likely to go straight to
your brain...so the total leafy
matter she dabs is probably less
than 1/10th of a gram - about a
pencil eraser circle mark or
match head in volume...but
boy oh boy does it light her
tree.
I asked her if it meant she was going
to drink a little less coffee, since
that was her "drug of choice" when
trying to wake up. She's a little
cash strapped so I also asked her
if drinking less coffee and having
more money for healthier foods
might be a step in the right direction.
We'll see how that plays out, but what
she did do is go buy a tiny bag of
fresh, dried kelp and its her espresso
in a bag tool. I don't suggest anyone
try a full kelp pill; that big a dose
in your stomach isn't something you
can easily get rid of and may not
want.
Another item she found to help her
both REDUCE the FREQUENCY of seizures
and the INTENSITY/AMPLITUDE and
DURATION, as well as the time it
takes to become lucid/functional
again...is...a gel cap which are
over-the-counter vitamin/mineral item.
She puts a drop or two - about 1/20th
of the RDA adult daily dosage on her
tongue and says it helps her brain
focus instead of feeling scattered;
and that helps her when she is awake
and when she is trying to sleep; it
calms her and lowers her blood pressure.
She said it causes her "scattered,
fuzzy thoughts" to become focused
and single minded. I noticed when
she has had kelp in the morning
and this mineral she turns up her
music loud - house techno dance -
with a big bassy driving beat - and
uses that pulsing energy to regulate
her thoughts and get each task done.
I also read too much can also be dangerous,
as it can create HYPO(low) BLOOD PRESSURE;
but she is taking less than 10% of the adult
dosage - but remember even 1/10th of
an adult dosage of vitamin C or A or
E or jalopeno peppers - whatever - can
be a shock to someone if their chemicals
are imbalanced or they have organs that
aren't working quite right...so...
...so the big lesson here is any changes,
whether its a healthier diet or more
exercise or more seafood...whatever...
should probably be done SLOWLY - in
tiny baby steps - and with a LOG
(she keeps a pretty detailed log)
so you can see "Started eating avocados,
seizures were 90% lower the following
two days" or whatever you find works
for you.
And the other is learning to use changes
in your diet - like adding kelp or other
veggies or seafood or fruits etc. - and
tracking their effect is a key to getting
healthy naturally. If you can regulate
your body with food (you can) and
improve its function with exercise
(you can) then you can heal any part
of your body over time...naturally.
And if you are healing, there's no reason
to be sad or depressed; it means you are
winning the battle; you are smarter than
the problem; and you have the courage and
intelligence to not only succeed, but to
help others do so as well.