It’s about time I updated everyone on my now 11 year old daughter, Tasya. As many of my readers know, she has a rare and as of yet, uncatergorized form of epilepsy that was so severe at one time, we thought that either she would die of it or become retarded by the age of 11 or 12. I am very happy to report that despite the doom and gloom that seemed to follow her 3 years ago, she is now doing better now than she has at anytime since her seizures began 8 years ago.
So what have we been doing to help her so much? Well, aside for the diet and avoiding crappy foods, aspartame, MSG and the foods on her LEAP test that cause inflammatory responses, we added two key nutrients from our previous regimen. The first was Glycerophosphocholine also known as GPC. GPC is a great phospholipid that has been shown in numerous clinical trials to be beneficial to people who have suffered strokes as well as restoring memory and concentration in both young and older individuals. Concentration issues were a major problem for Tasya so we asked Dr. Kidd what the dosage should be and his suggestion was 300 mg per day, always in the morning. I can honestly report that her concentration has markedly since starting on a regular regimen of GPC.
The second nutrient PS Omega Synergy which is a combination of Phosphatidylserine and two Omega 3 fatty acids, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), has made a truly profound change in her mood, social skills and helped to lower the number of seizures she has to almost nothing. This is the best seizure control that she has had ever since they started in October of 1999. Her classmates have noticed a difference, her teachers have and we have. She is less likely to lose her temper, she has exhibited a wider range of emotions than ever before and has started to get excited about things that normally wouldn’t have moved her off the couch. PS Omega Synergy was the right nutrient at the right time for Tasya.
Is this the answer for others? I can’t say that honestly. Did it make that much of a difference with Tasya? That and more. We have a happy and predominantly seizure free child for the first time in years. Even her neurologist had a smile on his face yesterday when Tasya and my wife Hillary visited him. He decided that instead of the every four month visit, we could extend it to every six months.
My big thanks today is for two people, Robert Crayhon and Dr. Parris Kidd. Robert, thanks for being who you are and focusing on brain nutrition. The second is to Dr. Parris Kidd for bringing these two marvelous products to the market and doing the research to get them done right. Both of you should be proud that you helped save a little girls life as well as give her a future. I am also proud to call you both, friend.
I am a practitioner in NYC working with an 18 year old girl who is having seizures. She is a Down’s syndrome girl who is now being medicated for seizures and has been on the ketogenic diet for 6 months. The seizures are increasing despite the meds and diet. She has had minimal puberty and is being given estrogen in patch form; recently doubled. I was a student of Robert Crayhon many years ago and heard you speak in New York about your daughter. I would very much like to refer this girl to you. The mother is able and willing to travel with her if you are willing to see her. I am not sure whether you currently see patients or where you are. Please let me know whether this would be possible. Thanks so much. Sincerely, Elaine Stern, L.Ac., MS (Nutrition).
Hi- I came to your blog through another practitioner. We are under the care of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NY. I have an 8 year old son who was diagnosed this year with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. We have never witnessed him having a seizure. We noticed a dramatic drop in his academic performance in the beginning of the year and through a lot of testing he was also diagnosed with an Auditory Processing Disorder. His older sister was diagnosed with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy when she was 7 years of age. She has had both staring seizures and then progressed to grand mal seizures. She has been seizure free this past year and she just turned 11. She had similar behavior- both hers and his was brought on from a Strep virus. Their father also had Epilepsy as a child and grew out of it at age of 18. My son’s EEG has so many strikes and events and was put on Keppra to try to eliminate or cut down the amount of electrical discharges he was having. He was on this medicine for roughly 3 months and we just went for more testing and there is no change in his EEG. He is being taken off this medicine and at this point they do not know what is wrong with him or how to help him. I was told to just wait and see- I of course cannot do that. I am now looking into herbal supplements or diet to try to help him. Through research I see there is a link between certain forms of Epilepsy and Auditory Processing and thought by reaching out to you that you may be able to help or direct me to someone who could. I read your update on Tasya and was fascinated by what you found to help her.
Thank you,
Lynda Wolf