My 5 yr old daughter was diagnosed with absence seizures in February this year. At that point, it was all very new to me and accepted what the doctors had to say. I had no idea what it was and how the medication can affect a child. I am an expat mum (travelling every 2-3 yrs with my husband’s job). We are currently living in Taiwan. The doctors here have been a challenge as well, and the health system is partly to blame.
Anya was started on Sodium valproate (Depakine), which didn’t work for her. She became so aggressive, lethargic, moody and lost a lot of weight. I didn’t enjoy my child anymore – she turned from a lovely 5 yr child to someone I couldn’t understand. I felt the seizures were easier to handle rather than the side effects of the medication.
Meanwhile, I read up on different types of medication and also various complimentary treatments. I read that Zarontin (ethoxisuccimide) may be a better choice of drug. Unfortunately that is not available here in Taiwan and the doctors were not willing to prescribe this drug. I had to take her to Hong Kong (also where Zarontin is not available) but the doctor was willing to prescribe it if I could get it from somewhere. I finally managed to source it, thanks to family and friends. She has been seizure free for a week now with a combination of zarontin and depakine. I don’t like the combination of these drugs and want to try and keep her on Zarontin only as the side effects seem better to handle.
Ideally I would like not to administer any drugs, and try some complimentary therapy but that seems like a big no-no especially with the doctors. I have now read up on allergies and that will be my next step. Also the doctor tells me that if a child were to have seizures, absence seizures are the best! They tell me I should consider myself lucky that the seizures are not anything worse. I cannot understand this logic.
I would like to hear from anyone who has tried complimentary therapy for absence seizures. Thanks in advance.
Some suggestions for you!
Hi Anjali,
I am so glad you emailed me! I have some great suggestions for you.
With my son Adam, we had the same problem with the side effects - extremely hard to manage to the point of violence. He looked sick and was terribly lethargic on the medication. I had a long conversation about this with my pediatrician and he admitted that if the seizures were not too severe, it was sometimes better to not take any medication at all, as the side effects were sometimes worse than the seizures themselves.
I also learned over the years after interviewing Dr. Mittan, that one drug therapy is the best and you should not be combining two medications as the chances for side effects more than double.
One other thing that happened to us that I did not expect. As they tried more and more medications, Adam started to develop new types of seizures. He started out with Tonic Clonic and absence seizures, but ended up with 4 seizure types after trying 6 medications. It simply is not the way to go when there are alternatives out there.
Thank God we found what worked for Adam - which was the Ketogenic diet. Here is what I recommend for you:
1. Yes, definately test for food allergies
2. Try to cleanse the body with the following: I know this is a lot to ask - but have her do it for 2 weeks with each item and see what happens. You might find she has a milk or wheat allergy and the seizures are triggered when she eats these.
- Check for yeast overgrowth and treat it (antifuncal treatment)
- Completely remove sugar from the diet
- Completely remove milk from the diet
- Completely remove wheat from the diet
- Make sure she is not constipated
3. Try the Modified Atkins Diet. This is an easier version of the Ketogenic diet. Because the ketogenic diet is so closely monitored and you move every couple of years, it may be difficult for you to get the support you need. I know that the Ketogenic diet is very effective in treating absence seizures, but the modified atkins diet also will put her in ketosis without having to measure and weigh all the food. You can find more information online.
This is where I would start. I would also get back to one medication. If these things mentioned above are helping, stick with it. If they do not help, I would seriously find out where she can get on the full ketogenic diet.
Please keep in touch and let us know how you are progressing.
Warmly,
Arlene Martell (Mom of Adam above)
Publisher, EpilepsyMoms.com
Seizure is a common word in
Seizure is a common word in today. Everybody must have an idea of it. They may get information from here.
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