"o.k., fine - you can be off your meds"

So, after my new neurologist met her worst nightmare (I batted my eyes) she said I could go see an epilepsy specialist. The night before my appointment I thought, "Wait... why am I paying $600 or whatever to go see a drug dealer?" Sorry to be rude, but if the whole point is that I don't want to be on any medication... what good can a she do?


All that happened is that I explained my situation & she said that she was comfortable with my choice being off of medication, assuming I don't start having terrible seizures, etc. That is A LOT of money going into the system for her to tell me that. Had she said I needed to be on meds, I would have told her to shove it (in a nice way) so really, I had no purpose of going. She said something about reporting me to the DMV if I was worse, but I know that you actually have to have loss of consciousness in the last 6 months or the DMV doesn't give a rip.

I decided that I would mention my book because she seems like a really cool person. A wall went up when I said "naturopathic" and she recited something that she had canned from other people asking her about natural therapies - there's no evidence, the FDA doesn't approve it and her license/malpractice doesn't cover it. I pointed out though that she does tell people to get sleep, decrease their stress, exercise and drink water for scientific reasons and she agreed. She must have thought I meant herbs, which many MDs are deathly afraid of. Natural therapies include lifestyle in a big way & we all agree on the basics. She was a nice person and had to be smart to get where she is. I'm also pleased that she used reasoning skills (based on my seizure frequency and past warning signs) instead of dogma. Shows promise.

My ND, of course, worked with me. She checked into other medications in case a seizure was coming on because we have that in our scope of practice, but I'm not into it and most are contraindicated in pregnancy - like benzodiazapines. Other ways proven by parents and caretakers of people not in scientific double blind studies? Things can try if I get the shakes or feel funny:
1. Cayenne pepper on the tongue - whipped one fellow's wife right out of the every time.
2. Ice to armpits and around inguinal areas in a circle (my ND's child has seizures & this has worked for her as well as others)
3. Scents - carrying a strong smell, like lavender or the famous jasmine essential oil can snap you out of it. The brain has a direct extension exiting into the nose which is why scents bring up such strong memories (great for those with memory problems and Alzheimers).

I'm also taking 1000mg Taurine (an amino acid found in foods) for it's neuroprotection and GABA receptor effects twice a day, at least 300mg of Magnesium (which is also helpful for my gastrointestinal tract in pregnancy) and my diet is filled with protein and healthy fats. I'm drinking a lot of water & no caffeine. I sleep when I need to and don't drive in the mornings. I'm grounding myself outside without my shoes on in the mornings and I plan on getting massages to decrease stress. AND I just saw The Perfect Pregnancy workout video that I think I'll give a try.

Things are good. Maybe now the people who MAY be present at my birth will be a little less edgy with my condition that's so scary for them.


References? Yes, I actually have your God of science here, but you can look yourself:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19025770
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=magnesium%20epilepsy