Sylvia,
Welcome to our group.
It sounds like Hyperbaric is a teatmaent -- not a med. How often
do you need a treatment?
What does it constite of?
Millie
> I worked at San Antonio Hyperbarics for several years. Hyperbaric
> treatment did help almost everyone that had seizures, my own daughter
> included. It is a bit expensive, about $125-$150 a treatment, depending
> on how many you want to do. Most places reccommend doing a round of 40
> treatments. Then you take a break and go back in a few months, depending
> on how you do. My daughter did over 300 treatments in a 5 year time
> frame. I can tell you from experience it helps a variety of ailments.
> Just keep in mind it is not a cure, but in some cases, it has been. Your
> neurologist may not like the idea because hyperbaric medicine is still
> considered a treatment for wound care only by most of the medical
> community. Do your own research. The staff at San Antonio Hyperbarics
> are excellent! Give them a call, they will be happy to answer any
> questions you may have. Email me privately if you'd like also.
>
> --- In epilepsy@yahoogroup
>>
>> This is amazing!!!
>> Keep us posted on how she does. I'm going to ask my daughter's
>> neurologist about this when we go see him in a couple of weeks.
>> Kim
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 8/23/2009 4:01:35 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
>> wendy.sue@..
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Interesting that they didn't discuss HBOT!!! Julia (21 months old)
>> has uncontrolable multi focal myoclonic seizures. Julia typically has
>> 6 seizures a day each lasting 5 - 10 minutes in duration and we
>> typically have to stop a seizure with diastat once in a 3 week period.
>> Julia is taking 125 mg of zonagram 2x/day and 100mg of Lictamal
>> 2x/day and 325mg/day of vigabatrin (not FDA approved). We also tried
>> the keto diet and it did nothing but give Julia the worse case of acid
>> reflux. Now 8 days ago we started HBOT and Julia only had 3 yes 3
>> extremely short seizures today and is doing so many new things. This
>> is SHOCKING!!! They are discovering that seizures arise from parts of
>> the brain that are low in oxygen and Hyperberics help promote the
>> groth of blood vessles to areas of the body (brain in Julia's case)
>> that are low in oxygen. I hope that Julia will be seizure free within
>> the next few weeks!! I will keep you all posted. One new thing that
>> Julia started doing after one yes ONE treatment was chew her food.
>>
>> FYI hyperberics are used in the treatment of seizures in China.
>>
>> Wendy
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 2:33 PM, amanatullah
>> Pathan<_dramanatkha
>> >
>> >
>> > wikipedia.org
>> > Treatment of EPILEPSY
>> >
>> > Epilepsy is usually treated with medication prescribed by a
>> physician;
>> > primary caregivers, neurologists, and neurosurgeons all frequently
>> care
>> for
>> > people with epilepsy. In some cases the implantation of a stimulator
>> of
>> the
>> > vagus nerve, or a special diet can be helpful. Neurosurgical
>> operations
>> for
>> > epilepsy can be palliative, reducing the frequency or severity of
>> seizures;
>> > or, in some patients, an operation can be curative.
>> >
>> > [edit] Responding to a seizure
>> >
>> > In most cases, the proper emergency response to a generalized
>> tonic-clonic
>> > epileptic seizure is simply to prevent the patient from self-injury
>> by
>> > moving him or her away from sharp edges, placing something soft
>> beneath
>> the
>> > head, and carefully rolling the person into the recovery position to
>> avoid
>> > asphyxiation. In some cases the person may seem to start snoring
>> loudly
>> > following a seizure, before coming to. This merely indicates that the
>> person
>> > is beginning to breathe properly and does not mean he or she is
>> suffocating.
>> > Should the person regurgitate, the material should be allowed to drip
>> out
>> > the side of the person's mouth by itself. If a seizure lasts longer
>> than
>> 5
>> > minutes, or if the seizures begin coming in 'waves' one after the
>> other
>> -
>> > then Emergency Medical Services should be contacted immediately.
>> Prolonged
>> > seizures may develop into status epilepticus, a dangerous condition
>> > requiring hospitalization and emergency treatment.
>> >
>> > Objects should never be placed in a person's mouth by anybody -
>> including
>> > paramedics - during a seizure as this could result in serious injury
>> to
>> > either party. Despite common folklore, it is not possible for a
>> person to
>> > swallow their own tongue during a seizure. However, it is possible
>> that
>> the
>> > person will bite their own tongue, especially if an object is placed
>> in
>> the
>> > mouth.
>> >
>> > With other types of seizures such as simple partial seizures and
>> complex
>> > partial seizures where the person is not convulsing but may be
>> > hallucinating, disoriented, distressed, or unconscious, the person
>> should be
>> > reassured, gently guided away from danger, and sometimes it may be
>> necessary
>> > to protect the person from self-injury, but physical force should be
>> used
>> > only as a last resort as this could distress the person even more. In
>> > complex partial seizures where the person is unconscious, attempts to
>> rouse
>> > the person should not be made as the seizure must take its full
>> course.
>> > After a seizure, the person may pass into a deep sleep or otherwise
>> they
>> > will be disoriented and often unaware that they have just had a
>> seizure,
>> as
>> > amnesia is common with complex partial seizures. The person should
>> remain
>> > observed until they have completely recovered, as with a tonic-clonic
>> > seizure.
>> >
>> > After a seizure, it is typical for a person to be exhausted and
>> confused.
>> > (this is known as post-ictal state). Often the person is not
>> immediately
>> > aware that they have just had a seizure. During this time one should
>> stay
>> > with the person - reassuring and comforting them - until they appear
>> to
>> act
>> > as they normally would. Seldom during seizures do people lose bladder
>> or
>> > bowel control. In some instances the person may vomit after coming
>> to.
>> > People should not be allowed to wander about unsupervised until they
>> have
>> > returned to their normal level of awareness. Many patients will sleep
>> deeply
>> > for a few hours after a seizure - this is common for those having
>> just
>> > experienced a more violent type of seizure such as a tonic-clonic. In
>> about
>> > 50% of people with epilepsy, headaches may occur after a seizure.
>> These
>> > headaches share many features with migraines, and respond to the same
>> > medications.
>> >
>> > It is helpful if those present at the time of a seizure make note of
>> how
>> > long and how severe the seizure was. It is also helpful to note any
>> > mannerisms displayed during the seizure. For example, the individual
>> may
>> > twist the body to the right or left, may blink, might mumble nonsense
>> words,
>> > or might pull at clothing. Any observed behaviors, when relayed to a
>> > neurologist, may be of help in diagnosing the type of seizure which
>> > occurred.
>> >
>> > [edit] Pharmacologic treatment
>> > Main article: Anticonvulsant
>> >
>> > The mainstay of treatment of epilepsy is anticonvulsant medications.
>> Often,
>> > anticonvulsant medication treatment will be lifelong and can have
>> major
>> > effects on quality of life. The choice among anticonvulsants and
>> their
>> > effectiveness differs by epilepsy syndrome. Mechanisms, effectiveness
>> for
>> > particular epilepsy syndromes, and side effects, of course, differ
>> among
>> the
>> > individual anticonvulsant medications. Some general findings about
>> the
>> use
>> > of anticonvulsants are outlined below.
>> >
>> > History and Availability- The first anticonvulsant was bromide,
>> suggested in
>> > 1857 by Charles Locock who used it to treat women with "hysterical
>> epilepsy"
>> > (probably catamenial epilepsy). Potassium bromide was also noted to
>> cause
>> > impotence in men. Authorities concluded that potassium bromide would
>> dampen
>> > sexual excitement thought to cause the seizures. In fact, bromides
>> were
>> > effective against epilepsy, and also caused impotence; it is now
>> known
>> that
>> > impotence is a side effect of bromide treatment, which is not related
>> to
>> its
>> > anti-epileptic effects. It also suffered from the way it affected
>> behaviour,
>> > introducing the idea of the 'epileptic personality' which was
>> actually a
>> > result of the medication. Phenobarbital was first used in 1912 for
>> both
>> its
>> > sedative and antiepileptic properties. By the 1930s, the development
>> of
>> > animal models in epilepsy research lead to the development of
>> phenytoin
>> by
>> > Tracy Putnam and H. Houston Merritt, which had the distinct
>> > advantage of treating epileptic seizures with less sedation[29]
>> advanta
>> > 1970s, an National Institutes of Health initiative, the
>> Anticonvulsant
>> > Screening Program, headed by J. Kiffin Penry, served as a mechanism
>> for
>> > drawing the interest and abilities of pharmaceutical companies in the
>> > development of new anticonvulsant medications.
>> >
>> > Currently there are 20 medications approved by the Food and Drug
>> > Administration for the use of treatment of epileptic seizures in the
>> US:
>> > carbamazepine (common US brand name Tegretol), clorazepate
>> (Tranxene),
>> > clonazepam (Klonopin), ethosuximide (Zarontin), felbamate (Felbatol),
>> > fosphenytoin (Cerebyx), gabapentin (Neurontin), lacosamide (Vimpat),
>> > lamotrigine (Lamictal), levetiracetam (Keppra), oxcarbazepine
>> (Trileptal),
>> > phenobarbital (Luminal), phenytoin (Dilantin), pregabalin (Lyrica),
>> > primidone (Mysoline), tiagabine (Gabitril), topiramate (Topamax),
>> valproate
>> > semisodium (Depakote), valproic acid (Depakene), and zonisamide
>> (Zonegran).
>> > Most of these appeared after 1990.
>> >
>> > Medications commonly available outside the US but still labelled as
>> > "investigational" within the US are clobazam (Frisium) and vigabatrin
>> > (Sabril). Medications currently under clinical trial under the
>> supervision
>> > of the FDA include retigabine, brivaracetam, and seletracetam.
>> >
>> > Other drugs are commonly used to abort an active seizure or interrupt
>> a
>> > seizure flurry; these include diazepam (Valium, Diastat) and
>> lorazepam
>> > (Ativan). Drugs used only in the treatment of refractory status
>> epilepticus
>> > include paraldehyde (Paral), midazolam (Versed), and pentobarbital
>> > (Nembutal).
>> >
>> > Some anticonvulsant medications do not have primary FDA-approved uses
>> in
>> > epilepsy but are used in limited trials, remain in rare use in
>> difficult
>> > cases, have limited "grandfather" status, are bound to particular
>> severe
>> > epilepsies, or are under current investigation. These include
>> acetazolamide
>> > (Diamox), progesterone, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH, Acthar),
>> various
>> > corticotropic steroid hormones (prednisone) corticotropi
>> >
>> > Effectiveness - The definition of "effective" varies. FDA-approval
>> usually
>> > requires that 50% of the patient treatment group had at least a 50%
>> > improvement in the rate of epileptic seizures. About 20% of patients
>> with
>> > epilepsy continue to have breakthrough epileptic seizures despite
>> best
>> > anticonvulsant treatment. [30][31].
>> >
>> > Safety and Side Effects - 88% of patients with epilepsy, in a
>> European
>> > survey, reported at least one anticonvulsant related side effect.
>> [32]
>> Most
>> > side effects are mild and "dose-related" and can often be avoided or
>> > minimized by the use of the smallest effective amount. Some examples
>> include
>> > mood changes, sleepiness, or unsteadiness in gait. Some
>> anticonvulsant
>> > medications have "idiosyncratic" side-effects that can not be
>> predicted
>> by
>> > dose. Some examples include drug rashes, liver toxicity (hepatitis),
>> or
>> > aplastic anemia. Safety includes the consideration of teratogenicity
>> (the
>> > effects of medications on fetal development) when women with epilepsy
>> become
>> > pregnant.
>> >
>> > Principles of Anticonvulsant Use and Management - The goal for
>> individual
>> > patients is, of course, no seizures and no side effects, and the job
>> of
>> the
>> > physician is to aid the patient to find the best balance between the
>> two
>> > during the prescribing of anticonvulsants. Most patients can achieve
>> this
>> > balance best with monotherapy, the use of a single anticonvulsant
>> > medication. Some patients, however, require polypharmacy; the use of
>> two
>> or
>> > more anticonvulsants.
>> >
>> > Serum levels of AEDs can be checked to determine medication
>> compliance,
>> to
>> > assess the effects of new drug-drug interactions upon previous stable
>> > medication levels, or to help establish if particular symptoms such
>> as
>> > instability or sleepiness can be considered a drug side-effect or are
>> due to
>> > different causes. Children or impaired adults who may not be able to
>> > communicate side effects may benefit from routine screening of drug
>> levels.
>> > Beyond baseline screening, however, trials of recurrent, routine
>> blood or
>> > urine monitoring show no proven benefits and may lead to unnecessary
>> > medication adjustments in most older children and adults using
>> routine
>> > anticonvulsants. anticon
>> >
>> > If a person's epilepsy cannot be brought under control after adequate
>> trials
>> > of two or three (experts vary here) different drugs, that person's
>> epilepsy
>> > is generally said to be medically refractory. A study of patients
>> with
>> > previously untreated epilepsy demonstrated that 47% achieved control
>> of
>> > seizures with the use of their first single drug. 14% became seizure
>> free
>> > during treatment with a second or third drug. An additional 3% became
>> > seizure-free with the use of two drugs simultaneously. seizure-free
>> with
>> the
>> > in addition to or instead of, anticonvulsant medications may be
>> considered
>> > by those people with continuing
>> >
>> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
>
>
>
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