J.B. Symes, DVM. v. Epilepsy, et. al. (part 3)

Part 3.

So I finish school ok, and then get a job about midway between Charlotte and Ashville. Several months after starting work there, I began having some small-generalized seizures that merely stopped my concentration for split seconds. A MRI and EEG showed nothing that would indicate that the growth I had removed had returned. So my Dr. changed my medication from Tegretol to Lamictal. This cleared things up.

Application of Symes' theory: Continued food intolerance + new allergens = compromised immune system & seizures. An analogy used in one of his papers is that the body can handle a tremendous amount of stress from viruses, toxins, allergens, etc. But it is limited. So if your immune system is a glass of water, the food intolerances count for about 3/4 of a glass. If you start slowly adding ice cubes (representing other allergens such as pollen or dander), the water will spill over.

The Lamictal was taking care of the seizures ok - I eventually took a new job in Winston-Salem. I moved there and did not have any additional seizures... until I moved again. This time we got a dog and then a few months later moved into a house further out in the county and we got a cat to keep our dog company. I was still OK but then began having the generalized seizures that stopped my concentration for mere fractions of a second. I could still function pretty well, but my short-term memory was declining. I tried another medication - Trileptal, but this did not help. I added Keppra to my Lamictal, and this stopped the generalized seizures.

Application of Symes' theory: Food intolerances + new allergens (dog, cat, new house, different vegitation) = reduced imune system & seizures.

So I'm doing well on the Lamictal and Keppra combo for a while, and then both Christa and I start having allergy problems. Soon after that, I have a full blown tonic-clonic seizure. I then changed the dosage levels of the medication and things improved briefly. From then on, I began having seizures about every 2 - 6 months. In addition, due to the allergies, we bought a new vacuum - if I use it at least once a week, I don't suffer from classic allergy symptoms anymore.

Application of Symes' theory: Although the tonic-clonic seizures are mildly controlled, the food intolerance and allergens are still going to build up and seizures will break through.

Unable to truly control the seizures, I decide to get a VNS. Although I was able to go more than 8 months without a seizure, late this spring they came back. So I am back to trying different meds in hopes that they can stop the seizures.

Application of Symes' theory: Allergens built up during the spring, and finlly overwhelmed the system again. Changing meds may help, but won't stop the seizures from breaking through again without a change to the environment or diet.

Part 4 Tomorrow...