Welcome Ginny

[Guest guest]

Ginny,

Welcome to the group. My name is Lamar. I have been diagnosed with

epilepsy for 35 years. I am 51 years old now. Last year I was able to

get off drugs thanks to the help of a clinic listed in our Bookmarks

section - s-Reiter . I am now currently drug-free after 34

years on such drugs as Dilantin, Phenobarbital, Tegretol and Lamictal.

No, I wasn't all those drugs at the same time. But, just being on them

period proved to have adverse side effects. Because those adverse side

effects had nothing to do with my actual seizure disorder - I went years

without realizing the damage I was doing to myself by taking the

medications. My memory recall was affected. My reaction time slowed

down. My facial countenace was even altered.

I am not advocating that all people taking drugs for seizure control

stop. Instead, I am encouraging all those who have epilepsy seek to

understand their condition as best they can. Every situation is unique

and should be treated as such. If you do not understand why you are

epileptic and what it is that triggers your seizure disorder, you need

to find out. Successfully addressing the reason for being epileptic and

what it is that triggers your seizures might possibly transform your

life for the better. That's what happened to me, anyway. Therefore, I

am a big advocate of seeking second opinions. You can do that quite

effectively by utilizing our Bookmark section and asking questions of

the professionals online via email.

Good luck.

Lamar

>

> princessginny79 <Poohfrk79@...> wrote: Hello everyone! I wanted

> to take a minute to introduce myself and

> share my story. My name is Ginny and I'm 23 years old. Last August

> I moved out of my parents' house for the first time, from Phoenix all

> the way to Las Vegas, to become a first grade teacher at an inner

> city school. After I moved I started to notice I was having some

> wierd episodes, things looking and sounding wierd for brief periods

> of time etc. I had noticed it some before I moved but I didn't

> really think too much of it. They occured more and more often, until

> finally my boyfriend convinced me that I had to tell a doctor. I was

> finally referred to a neurologist and diagnosed with having complex

> partial seizures. It's been an incredibly scary thing, especially

> since I'm so far from my family and most of my friends. Add the

> stress of a new, very demanding career and it's become almost

> overwhelming. I had an EEG that came back normal and was put on

> tegretol. So far, the tegretol has been working and I have not had a

> seizure since. However, I'm exhausted almost constantly which maks

> it very difficult to keep up with my class of first graders. Last

> week I had an MRI and I'm still waiting for the results. All of it

> is confusing, frightening and overwhelming, but I finally am feeling

> like it's under control. Anyway, I just wanted to share because not

> many people that I've talked to have really understood what I'm going

> through. I can tell by reading past posts that you all are very

> knowledgeable and it's nice to know that there are people here who

> can help with my questions!

>

> Ginny

>

[Guest guest]

How were you able to stop your seizures

Debbie

[ ] Welcome Ginny

Ginny,

Welcome to the group. My name is Lamar. I have been diagnosed with

epilepsy for 35 years. I am 51 years old now. Last year I was able to

get off drugs thanks to the help of a clinic listed in our Bookmarks

section - s-Reiter . I am now currently drug-free after 34

years on such drugs as Dilantin, Phenobarbital, Tegretol and Lamictal.

No, I wasn't all those drugs at the same time. But, just being on them

period proved to have adverse side effects. Because those adverse side

effects had nothing to do with my actual seizure disorder - I went years

without realizing the damage I was doing to myself by taking the

medications. My memory recall was affected. My reaction time slowed

down. My facial countenace was even altered.

I am not advocating that all people taking drugs for seizure control

stop. Instead, I am encouraging all those who have epilepsy seek to

understand their condition as best they can. Every situation is unique

and should be treated as such. If you do not understand why you are

epileptic and what it is that triggers your seizure disorder, you need

to find out. Successfully addressing the reason for being epileptic and

what it is that triggers your seizures might possibly transform your

life for the better. That's what happened to me, anyway. Therefore, I

am a big advocate of seeking second opinions. You can do that quite

effectively by utilizing our Bookmark section and asking questions of

the professionals online via email.

Good luck.

Lamar

>

> princessginny79 <Poohfrk79@...> wrote: Hello everyone! I wanted

> to take a minute to introduce myself and

> share my story. My name is Ginny and I'm 23 years old. Last August

> I moved out of my parents' house for the first time, from Phoenix all

> the way to Las Vegas, to become a first grade teacher at an inner

> city school. After I moved I started to notice I was having some

> wierd episodes, things looking and sounding wierd for brief periods

> of time etc. I had noticed it some before I moved but I didn't

> really think too much of it. They occured more and more often, until

> finally my boyfriend convinced me that I had to tell a doctor. I was

> finally referred to a neurologist and diagnosed with having complex

> partial seizures. It's been an incredibly scary thing, especially

> since I'm so far from my family and most of my friends. Add the

> stress of a new, very demanding career and it's become almost

> overwhelming. I had an EEG that came back normal and was put on

> tegretol. So far, the tegretol has been working and I have not had a

> seizure since. However, I'm exhausted almost constantly which maks

> it very difficult to keep up with my class of first graders. Last

> week I had an MRI and I'm still waiting for the results. All of it

> is confusing, frightening and overwhelming, but I finally am feeling

> like it's under control. Anyway, I just wanted to share because not

> many people that I've talked to have really understood what I'm going

> through. I can tell by reading past posts that you all are very

> knowledgeable and it's nice to know that there are people here who

> can help with my questions!

>

> Ginny

>

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

In my particular case, I was not having a lot of seizures. Even when I

was under medication, I rarely had a seizure. However, going off a

medication can itself cause a seizure to occur. This actually happened

to me when I went a few days without renewing my prescription (at the

time it was for Tegretol). I had a seizure at my place of employment.

I simply went unconscious while at a computer screen. When I awoke I

was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

During the last five years of my life, I began to question the effects

of medication for the control of my seizure disorder like never before.

My neurologist even had me have my memory tested four different times

during that time period. Although we tested my memory numerous times -

and found there to be problems - we never did anything to fix them.

Why? Because I could not afford to pursue the two solutions I was

given.

The first solution was to try " smart drugs. " The problem here was that

there could be an adverse reaction between my anti-convulsant

medication(Lamictal) for the control of gran mal seizures and the smart

drug. I could actually end up having seizures from taking smart drugs.

I didn't want to take that chance. I didn't want to be a guinea pig for

my doctor's diagnosis. I just said " no to smart drugs. "

The second solution was to enter into pyschotherapy. I was more than

willing to pursue this option. There was just one problem - my

employer's group insurance policy would not cover it. Without the

benefit of the insurance coverage, I could not afford to pursue the

treatment.

Where could I go and get help? Well, I ended up going to the Internet

and various groups like this one. I ended up being told by someone

in Germany via email to check out a website called s-Reiter . I

sent them my medical records and MRI's. Bottom line, I got a very

personal education into my own seizure disorder. Like so many things in

life, the inability to solve problems lies in an inability to understand

what is really wrong. Everyone who has a gran mal seizure does not have

it for the same reason. In fact, no two people may have a seizure for

the exact same reason. So, why should the solution be exactly the same

for everyone?

In my particular case, I went for most of my life without even trying to

" connect the dots " between having a poor memory, bad acne condition,

blurry vision at times and the taking of anti-convulsant medication.

But, there was a connection. s-Reiter brought the connection to

my attention. They did this by taking a look at the " big picture " of my

life - not just the fact that I was a person with a history of gran mal

seizures beginning with a football scrimmage in high school.

s-Reiter taught me a breathing technique to cause sparkling

visuals auras to disappear and not leave me with a splitting headache.

I developed some healthy habits also which have lessened the possibility

of my having seizures. I am currently drug-free after 34 years on

medication. Since becoming drug-free more than a year ago, I have only

had two seizures. Both of those seizure I contribute to getting

inadequate sleep at night rather than being off medication.

What s-Reiter can do for you - or anyone else for that matter -

depends upon what's wrong. Their treatment is personalized. It's based

on the needs of the individual. If you do not know why you are

epileptic and what it is that triggers your seizures, is it not time you

learned? Learning the source of the problem is an important first step

to solving the problem. Does that not make sense?

In my opinion, s-Reiter exists to help people solve their epilepsy

problems - not simply cover them up. Their clinic specializes in

treating nothing but epilepsy. They also do ongoing research on the

disorder. Their book, Epilepsy: A New Approach, is a best-seller. You

can read reviews of the book by going to Amazon.com. But, unlike some

book which make it onto the Amazon.com best-seller list, this book

should also be available in your local public library. If you go to

their website, you will read that something like 80% or more of their

patients learn to control their seizure disorders with little or no

medication. Nevertheless, the goal here is not simply to bring seizures

under contol. It's bigger than that. The goal is to improve an

epileptic's overall quality of life. Although s-Reiter's success

rate is an amazing statistic, five years ago I would not have believed

it. Back then no one could convince me a drug-free lifestyle would have

been possible for somone like me (34 years on prescription medication).

But today, I am a living testimony of this clinic's success. I have

also had the privilege of meeting other epileptics who are living

drug-free lives thanks to the work of s-Rieter.

If this sounds like the kind of help you need, there is a easy way to

find out. Simply visit the s-Reiter website and leave some

email questions.

Good luck.

Lamar

Rob and Deb Michalski wrote:

> How were you able to stop your seizures

>

>

> Debbie

>

> [ ] Welcome Ginny

>

> Ginny,

>

> Welcome to the group. My name is Lamar. I have been diagnosed with

> epilepsy for 35 years. I am 51 years old now. Last year I was able

> to

> get off drugs thanks to the help of a clinic listed in our Bookmarks

> section - s-Reiter . I am now currently drug-free after 34

> years on such drugs as Dilantin, Phenobarbital, Tegretol and Lamictal.

>

> No, I wasn't all those drugs at the same time. But, just being on

> them

> period proved to have adverse side effects. Because those adverse

> side

> effects had nothing to do with my actual seizure disorder - I went

> years

> without realizing the damage I was doing to myself by taking the

> medications. My memory recall was affected. My reaction time slowed

> down. My facial countenace was even altered.

>

> I am not advocating that all people taking drugs for seizure control

> stop. Instead, I am encouraging all those who have epilepsy seek to

> understand their condition as best they can. Every situation is

> unique

> and should be treated as such. If you do not understand why you are

> epileptic and what it is that triggers your seizure disorder, you need

>

> to find out. Successfully addressing the reason for being epileptic

> and

> what it is that triggers your seizures might possibly transform your

> life for the better. That's what happened to me, anyway. Therefore,

> I

> am a big advocate of seeking second opinions. You can do that quite

> effectively by utilizing our Bookmark section and asking questions of

> the professionals online via email.

>

> Good luck.

>

> Lamar