Seizures

[sherryrose]

Does anyone suffer from seizers? I haven’t been seizure free in over six years. My mind is mush, I don’t work, can’t drive, I don’t go over six months without a seizure and when I have them they come in six to seven in a row, just a good time. There are parts of my memory that is just black I just can’t remember anything, anyone here can relate to that. I graduated from college can’t even spell simple words. I was diagnosed twenty years ago and went into remission and boom here we are and now I am just becoming an idiot and it is killing me. Let me take that back I thought I was in remission but I started to have seizures about 10 years ago they were simple partial ones and my old doctor didn’t even pay attention . It wasn’t until I lost consciousness that I realized I had a big problem. Anybody out there suffering from losing their memory or seizures

[NHE]

Hi Sherry,
Regarding seizures, you might be interested in watching this film from Dr. Sanjay Gupta if you haven't already.

[jimmylegs]

hi sherry welcome to the forum there is a large body of under-reported and under-utilized research on nutrients and their impact on patients.. selenium levels are just one factor known to be an issue for ms patients. this article makes the connection between selenium status and experience of seizure. the tip of the iceberg, there's more research out there on different nutrients and their role in seizure prevention, if you are interested. NB tests will always come back 'normal'. with selenium, patients are generally low- to mid-normal range, only healthy controls are high-normal.

Selenium deficiency increases susceptibility to glutamate-induced excitotoxicity
http://www.fasebj.org/content/17/1/112.full.pdf
...We provide direct evidence that the essential trace element selenium has a pivotal role in neuronal susceptibility to excitotoxic lesions and seizure activity.

[lyndacarol]

Hi Sherry, this seven-minute video by Dr. Mark Hyman on the topic of magnesium may be of interest to you since he mentions "seizures" (@about 2:20-25):

[grandsons4]

sherryrose, hi: In researching beneficial diets for my adult son, recently diagnosed with MS, I came across literature on the ketogenic diet and possible benefits for those with MS. With this information my son has adopted a hybrid Wahls/ketogenic diet, the fundamental characteristic of which is low (non-fiber; starch, sugar, etc.) carbohydrate intake. The reason I bring this up is that the ketogenic diet apparently is of quite significant therapeutic value in treating certain types of otherwise untreatable epileptic seizures. Whether it would be of benefit to you as concerns your seizures I do not know, but I suggest you research it further. It may be beneficial in treating both the MS and the seizures.

[jimmylegs]

things to watch for if undertaking ketogenic approach

Early- and late-onset complications of the ketogenic diet for intractable epilepsy
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15329077
The most common early-onset complication was dehydration, especially in patients who started the KD with initial fasting. Gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, such as nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation, also were frequently noted, sometimes associated with gastritis and fat intolerance. Other early-onset complications, in order of frequency, were hypertriglyceridemia, transient hyperuricemia, hypercholesterolemia, various infectious diseases, symptomatic hypoglycemia, hypoproteinemia, hypomagnesemia, repetitive hyponatremia, low concentrations of high-density lipoprotein, lipoid pneumonia due to aspiration, hepatitis, acute pancreatitis, and persistent metabolic acidosis. Late-onset complications also included osteopenia, renal stones, cardiomyopathy, secondary hypocarnitinemia, and iron-deficiency anemia. Most early- and late-onset complications were transient and successfully managed by careful follow-up and conservative strategies. However, 22 (17.1%) patients ceased the KD because of various kinds of serious complications, and four (3.1%) patients died during the KD, two of sepsis, one of cardiomyopathy, and one of lipoid pneumonia.

I have tons of nutritional info (also related to nutritional factors in ms) that can help to manage these various risk factors.

[grandsons4]

jimmylegs, hi: I say this with all respect, but I believe you have unintentionally done those intending to consider the ketogenic diet somewhat of a disservice. I researched the diet for my son and read the article in question before recommending he utilize it. The article in question seems, to me, to be a hit piece intending to scare away potential adherents to the diet. It was originally posted on the American Epilepsy Society’s website. (Now, I don’t know much about the AES but at first blush I am tempted to lump them with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, with whom I quickly became disenchanted.) Even the authors of the article (found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1198735/) were obligated to report that, “the diet has been used successfully to treat patients with epilepsy since the early years of the last century (1,2). The benefits of establishing a ketotic internal milieu are by now indisputable, with numerous studies establishing its efficacy in a high proportion of patients with intractable epilepsy (3–5). Remarkably, the induction of ketosis eliminates or reduces both generalized and partial intractable seizures to a degree unmatched by even the newer antiepileptic drugs. The diet also holds promise for adolescents and adults.” And in addressing the “consequences,” state, “It should be remembered, however, that patients referred for the ketogenic diet often have severe underlying encephalopathy, which places them at substantial risk for complications (13). Furthermore, neurometabolic disorders are a recognized cause of pharmacoresistant epilepsy that may be undiagnosed, even at sophisticated centers. Instituting ketosis will unmask symptoms that would otherwise remain silent.” Further, they give largely irrelevant arguments against the diet, such as “Children often refuse the diet as a personal choice, and diet-induced social modifications are family stressors. The negative social consequences of severe dietary restrictions may render it difficult to implement ketosis or impossible to maintain. In many countries, local food sources are not appropriate for properly implementing the ketogenic diet.” Again, with all due respect (and I mean that), the posted article was a little too “scary.”

[jimmylegs]

for me the main takeaway points were 1) here is a list of things to pay attention to 2) all issues are manageable.

[CaliReader]

I have memory issues that are new in the last two years, much worse since recent flare. This happens with MS. : (

I don't have seizures, but they can happen with MS. If you are up to reading this article, it talks about them. If you want to try to read it, copy and paste the web address into google or internet explorer. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748351/

Or this from the Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/multip ... is/AN01811

Question

Multiple sclerosis: Can it cause seizures?
Is there any connection between multiple sclerosis and epilepsy?

Answer
from Istvan Pirko, M.D.

Epileptic seizures appear to be three to six times more prevalent in those who have multiple sclerosis (MS) than in the general population (those who don't have MS).

The cause of seizures in people with multiple sclerosis isn't completely understood. In these individuals, seizures most likely result from lesions present in the cerebral cortex and adjacent white matter. However, other factors may play a role — especially since such lesions are very common and seizures are unusual in multiple sclerosis.

Most seizures can be controlled with anti-seizure medication.

Have you asked a neurologist about help with these seizures? If you can't get to a neurologist about them, I would bother the emergency department the next time this happens. Seizures are nothing to mess around with. Just my two cents. Good luck.

[jimmylegs]

Can magnesium supplementation reduce seizures in people with epilepsy? A hypothesis.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22406257
Magnesium is required for over 300 enzyme systems and is critical for many cellular functions including oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis, DNA transcription and protein synthesis. Studies suggest that the modern Western diet and lifestyle may lead to magnesium deficiency, and this appears to be associated with a wide range of medical conditions. Magnesium deficiency decreases seizure thresholds in animal models of epilepsy and indeed low magnesium concentration in the perfusate is a common method of generating spontaneous epileptiform discharges from rat hippocampal slices. Magnesium is a potential modulator of seizure activity because of its ability to antagonize excitation through the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor. Some studies have shown that people with epilepsy have lower magnesium levels than people without epilepsy. There are case reports of seizures being controlled with magnesium supplementation in people with specific conditions, and recently in an open randomized trial, children with infantile spasms responded better to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) plus magnesium than to ACTH alone. We hypothesise that magnesium supplementation can reduce seizures in people with epilepsy. This hypothesis can be tested in a controlled randomised supplementation trial. If proven, magnesium supplementation needs to be considered in the overall management of people with refractory epilepsy.

although I am infuriated by this **2012** study, suffice it to say it may be in any patient's best interests to test magnesium levels and work to achieve high high normal serum magnesium values. regardless of how many hundreds of different patient scenarios we can come up with in which to study it over the next few decades. I will have to check if the authors ignore the growing stack of proposed mid- to high-normal to 'excess' serum targets all the way through this article, or just in the abstract. luckily, full text access is around the corner