Epilepsy and Hormones

A very high proportion of women find that their seizures take place at period time. Many of the others find that they take place at ovulation time (about two weeks before the period starts). They often find that the seizures stop if they go on the contraceptive pill or if they get pregnant or are breast feeding.

Therefore your doctor may suggest that you go on the pill or perhaps have some hormone treatment. While this is possibly worth considering, complementary medicine believes that it is not getting to the root of the problem. There must be a reason for the hormones not to be correctly balanced in the first place. You may suffer from low blood sugar (see links below) and may find that simple changes to your diet or lifestyle may have a noticeable effect.

These days there are many herbs and nutritional supplements available to help pre menstrual syndrome (PMS) and it is not uncommon for seizures to be simply another symptom of PMS.

A good all round multinutrient is essential to help control the symptoms, I recommend ones from Solgar or Higher Nature, but there are many other good supplements out there. Go to your local health shop and ask their advice. Try this for a month or two and follow the general health recommendations such as cutting back on sugar and caffeine, getting enough exercise and eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Unfortunately food processing means that we don't get enough nutrients in our food any more and therefore we need to take supplements to keep our levels up. Also, many of the drugs for epilepsy can deplete nutrient levels. Deficiency in nutrients can lead to all sorts of health problems.

The next thing to add is fatty acids, these are very good for the brain, take these with the multinutrient and see how you feel. Thereagain ask in your local health shop what they recommend. Having done this you will probably be feeling better in yourself even if the seizures have not reduced. Herbs can also be taken, such as, wild yam dong quai or agnus castus, but please check with your doctor before taking these.

Always check with your doctor before changing your diet or lifestyle.