| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| sarita |
Posted - 04/23/2009 : 14:00:45
I am part of this forum because I have benefited IMMENSELY from sarno's knowledge, the info in this forum etc. I have the combo pack anxiety, pain in arms and back, hypochondria. All of it is 90% better, not thanks to my psychologist, not thanks to the drugs I used to take, but through emerging myself and understanding more and more about sarno and all of you, day by day, thinking of how it applies to me. It has been a life saver.
The concern I have is unusual; my best friend has epilepsy. She had her first seizure at age 13, she is now 30. Several Brain MRI's and CT scans have shown absolutely nothing, she has seen all the most reputable specialists in America (New York, San Francisco etc). She has tried all the medicines on the planet, countless combinations, to no avail. She has undergone special diets, therapy for psychologically induced seizures, again to no avail.
Her life is very difficult. The seizures are constant, sometimes daily, sometimes a week can go by without having them, only to then come back even stronger.
Many neurologists believe that her seizures are psychological, but have no clue how to help her. Everybody, including herself, has come to the conclusion that that will be her life forever.
I am NOT saying that epilepsy is TMS, and yet...I can't help wondering if similar, very powerful emotional conflicts are going on inside of her that could be causing this. Since obviously seizures CAN be psychological, induced by stress, as is TMS, could the cure be similar in some cases? This may sound crazy maybe...
I guess my question is: do any of you know of a "sarno for epilepsy", of a simmilar approach? Has anyone had any experiences with this, any friends who were helped a certain way (does not have to be sarno).
Would I be crazy to have her read The Divided Mind?
I am very grateful for ANY comments, thoughts, ideas etc.
Thank you all very much. |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Littlebird |
Posted - 05/02/2009 : 13:16:10
An article about treating psychogenic seizures with CBT just came out on the Psych Central site. http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/05/01/cbt-can-relieve-seizures/5651.html |
| sarita |
Posted - 04/24/2009 : 14:15:46
Thanks very much Dr. Ziggles. I guess the difficulty involved in diagnosing it is the reason she does not have an official diagnosis yet...after such a long time. |
| drziggles |
Posted - 04/24/2009 : 12:10:50
quick point to clarify--stress can be a trigger for true epileptic seizures, so relationship to stress alone does not make a diagnosis of PNES. other unusual features (lack of response to meds, certain features of the seizures themselves, and ultimately video-EEG monitoring for some patients) allow for the diagnosis. making this diagnosis can be complicated in many instances. |
| sarita |
Posted - 04/24/2009 : 02:32:17
All of this posts help SO much.
THANK YOU! I have a much clearer idea of how I can hopefully help her.  |
| emama |
Posted - 04/23/2009 : 23:42:12
thank you for this discussion.
i don't have advice for you or your friend but i did want to share my story which might help. i am recovering from 5 years of sciatic back pain and in the middle of that period, 3 months after getting married, i woke up and had a full blown seizure. then another, then a third. the full battery of tests over days, weeks, months showed nothing out of the ordinary. i took anti-seizural meds for 8 months and had no more seizures. i did have many other tms equivalent (in hindsight) issues (heart palpitations, anxiety, yeast infections, constant sciatica, etc) which i realize now were due to emotional issues not the least of which was fear of having a seizure and injuring myself or worse.
the night before the first seizure i had a very icky nightmare and woke up screaming. during the first seizure i thought i was dying - i lost control of my mouth/speech and could only grunt as my husband held me before i blacked out. i think now it was an emotional release. the 2nd and 3rd seizures i think now were reactions to the gravity of the situation - the 2nd was as i was being put into the ambulance, the 3rd waking up in the er. i had never been in need of medical care.
my neurologist and the technicians who administered the tests were all quite useless when it came to bedside manner and guidance. in fact, i think they added to my anxiety a great deal. the most useful was a visit from a friend familiar w/ native american traditions who explained the process of sweat-houses as a practice to rid your body of toxic energy through a slight loss of consciousness. he suggested that (at least my first) seizure was a way to release the emotions that were trying to break through.
i remember watching a pbs drama about one of the british royalty who had seizures as a child. i recall he would have one if he was in a more emotionally stressful situation. having experienced my 2nd and 3rd seizures (which in the western medical system, according to my neurologist, assigns you with the tag 'epileptic') under extremely fear inducing situations (for me) i wonder if your friend can begin to notice a pattern between a change in frequency of seizures and the emotional intensity at a given moment. even learning how to set her emotional barometer at an acceptable level that reduces the amount of seizures might be life-changing, even if she is not able to rid herself of them altogether.
good luck.
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| LuvtoSew |
Posted - 04/23/2009 : 17:58:30
Boy I think I'd take dr ziggles advice, esp. since he thinks there are some real deep issues to resolve. I know with myself that never had sexual abuse or anything, just druging up stuff from the past was very upsetting to me. I've been reading quite a bit on how old traumas can really come back to haunt us to, even ones we may of forgotten about and thats why we drink and or have to use antidepressants.
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| drziggles |
Posted - 04/23/2009 : 15:49:27
Did someone call for a neurologist? :)
These do sound like psychogenic nonepileptic spells (a.k.a. pseudoseizures). Really difficult to treat in some cases, and very likely to be a TMS type of issue; often occur in people with history of physical/sexual abuse, and can coexist with other psychosomatic problems. I think a TMS approach would be worthwhile, but only with a psychiatrist/psychologist, cause there are usually some difficult issues going on...Good luck to your friend.
Naturally, consult with your doctor before making any medical decisions. |
| mk6283 |
Posted - 04/23/2009 : 15:19:07
Has she been diagnosed with psychogenic seizures? Assuming she's not on anti-epileptic drugs and her EEGs have always been clear, then she may benefit from trying a TMS approach. Seems like she's tried everything else already, so why not? Psychogenic seizures are clearly a psychosomatic condition and even mainstream neurologists recognize it to at least be a type of conversion disorder. There probably aren't any/many that have approached this particular condition from a "TMS" vantage point, but I certainly would at this point. Pehaps consider contacting/visiting Dr. Ziggles. He's a neurologist and TMS specialist and may be the best guy for her to see. Good luck!
Best,
MK |
| HilaryN |
Posted - 04/23/2009 : 15:07:25
Hi sarita,
(Welcome to the forum, by the way, it's nice to have you here, and good to hear of your improvement.)
It's my personal opinion that repressed emotions / repressed emotions can surface in an infinite variety of forms.
Dr Sarno is a back specialist, so of course, most of his patients are people with back pain. He's expanded the illnesses which he believes can have psychological origin, but presumably only deals with illnesses / conditions which he has most experience of.
Dr Clarke is a gastroenterologist, so most of the case studies in his book are people with problems in that area.
Why shouldn't repressed emotions surface as epilepsy?
Given that she is facing a lifetime of seizures, and that meds haven't helped, what does she have to lose by reading the book?
btw I don't know whereabouts in the country she is, but there's a neurologist in CT who is a TMS doctor. He also contributes a lot to this forum.
Maybe she could see him if she's keen on the idea of TMS?
Hilary N |
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