- Epilepsy & Holistic Healing
Posted by Cynthia on October 28, 2000
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| My son, 6 has been
having facial seizures for about a year now. We've gone to a
neurologist and have taken two different types of medication.
Not sure if these will "cure" the seizures. Looking
for alternative answers. |
Responses
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Seizures whether
partial seizures (involving one side of the body) or generalized
seizures (involving the whole body) are a complex problem and
are a challenge to many practitioners. Facial tics are likewise
equally challenging. The neurologist is trained to focus upon
the symptoms rather than the underlying cause. The medications
for seizures and tics (often the same medicines) focus on the
symptoms. In many cases the drugs do lessen or take away the
symptoms for a time. Unfortunately, in the case of the anticonvulsant
medications the affects are almost never long lasting. Further,
the side effects are great including impairment in consciousness,
problems with cognition, blood disorders. Oftentimes, the medications
will suppress the seizures initially but later the underlying
seizure disorder will manifest as another seizure type . Many
children will start out with one seizure type i.e absence seizures
---be placed on a medication and begin having tonic-clonic seizure
(grand mal) and proceed to experience all major seizure types
---depending on what medication the child is on.. We often see
children in my practice who come with 10 or 15 different types
of medications and still having seizures many times a day. After
two medications have been aded the rationale for prescribing
further medications is non-existent and the neurologist is caught
in an ever increasing battle of prescribing more and more medicines.
It becomes difficult to even know which medications if any are
positively affecting the seizures.
From a holistic point of view it is really necessary to address
the causes. In the cases of seizures and tics it depends upon
the specific child. As a traditional osteopath and pediatrician
I follow the admonition of Andrew Taylor Still, MD the founder
of Osteopathy and look at three areas: the mind, matter, andmotion.
In the area of the mind ---environmental factors , stress and
separation anxiety are sometimes seen in children with seizures.
We also look at the development of the child and whether the
child was able to learn and accomplish neurodevelopmental landmarks.
Some children miss certain developmental stages as an infant
and this produces an incoordination of the nervous system. As
an example, some children never crawl before they walk. This
lack of cross hemispheric stimulation can cause problems (causing
the child to be hypersensitive to stimulation) in the central
nervous system later. Matter"refers to the actual physiology
including what is being put into the body . Nutrition often times
plays a major part in children with these disorders. It is something
that must be carefully examined. Sometimes food allergies or
sensitivities can play a role. Particularly in seizure disorder,
the bowel and intestine must be examined carefully. We find "leaky
gut and osteopathic changes very commonly in this disorder. .
Other times, things need to be added to the diet like healing
foods and herbs. Last, but not least we must look at the motion
of the body. Motion is the very characteristic of life. Where
there is no motion ----life or health cannot exist. Many children
with seizure disorders and as well tics have had subtle birth
trauma. Molding of the skull, colic, difficult or multiple birth,
c-section, spitting up or sucking problems are early signs that
trauma has occurred to the soft tissue of the body---and in a
baby almost tissue is soft tissue. As the child grows these changes
can effect the central nervous system of the child and manifest
in many different ways. Gentle osteopathic manipulation to the
body of the child can help the nervous system as well as the
whole body to function in a better way. Thereby, addressing the
cause and not the symptoms the body will be able to function
at its optimal level.
Shawn K. Centers D.O., F.A.C.O.P..
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and
Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine
Staff Pediatrician
The Osteopathic Center For Children of Western University
The Osteopathic Center
For Children |
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Dear Cynthia,
I don't know what is meant by facial seizures. It sounds like
what is often referred to as "facial tics". What are
the medications? Alternative approaches? I am sure there are
many but just as the neurologist had to evaluate your son and
then prescribe what he felt was best, any knowledgeable alternative
practitioner would have to do the same. If you would like another
approach while still keeping your son under the care of your
neurologist, with the hope of possibly getting him off medication,
I would be happy to see what I can do. I don't think I or anyone,
for that matter, should suggest this will be easy. But, if it
were my son, I would want to try since many medications have
there own set of problems associated with them. It would help
if you gave me more history. If you are interested in my approach
to illness, please see my web site at www.AdvancedEnergyHealing.com
and call or write with more information.
Sincerely,
Randy Hrabko, MD |
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