Here I go again….

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Take….I lost count 😂
Well, fighting epilepsy, celiacs, and long COVID with minor complications since Nov 2020…..I’m a hot weight long failure!

So, I came back to MFP after a long sabbatical and saw this intermittent fasting thing. I remember my doctor suggesting I look into a long time ago. Well, now I’m intrigued. I’m thinking maybe I’ll start by my normal calorie counting with the 12:12 to ease into then after I get adjusted kick it up to the moderate setting. This is also my first time on premium and I like the new set up. I’m not going to lie, I just sign up today to play around. I will dabble now and hit it hard after Christmas.

Nice to meet you all.
Lisa

Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
    edited December 2022
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    I wish you the best Lisa.

    I'm sure your aware but if your not, the ketogenic diet has been instrumental dealing with epilepsy for a very long time and it happens to be pretty much void of wheat and other grains that contain gluten, so basically it can work for celiac disease as well. Talk to your Doctor or other practitioner for guidance is your best bet. Being monitored initially by your doctor is important because there is a possibility of hypoglycemia and dehydration from the removal of carbohydrates until your in ketosis which can take a few days and up to a few weeks. Time restricted eating or feeding (TRE/TRF) with a 12:12 protocol is a good starting point and can be beneficial regardless if you never veer from this strategy imo. Cheers.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6361831/

    Conclusion
    The CKD and its variants should be considered as an alternative for non-surgical pharmacoresistant patients with epilepsy, of any age. Each patient must have an individually designed diet; however, adult patients have more difficulty in maintaining the CKD. It is essential to inform the patient and the family about the efficacy and AE related to the KD, and the use of websites and videos may help in this education. Although several theories exist regarding the mechanisms of action, further study is needed nevertheless the positive results are probably due to several mechanisms.
  • my_username_was_taken
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    I wish you the best Lisa.

    I'm sure your aware but if your not, the ketogenic diet has been instrumental dealing with epilepsy for a very long time and it happens to be pretty much void of wheat and other grains that contain gluten, so basically it can work for celiac disease as well. Talk to your Doctor or other practitioner for guidance is your best bet. Being monitored initially by your doctor is important because there is a possibility of hypoglycemia and dehydration from the removal of carbohydrates until your in ketosis which can take a few days and up to a few weeks. Time restricted eating or feeding (TRE/TRF) with a 12:12 protocol is a good starting point and can be beneficial regardless if you never veer from this strategy imo. Cheers.

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6361831/

    Conclusion
    The CKD and its variants should be considered as an alternative for non-surgical pharmacoresistant patients with epilepsy, of any age. Each patient must have an individually designed diet; however, adult patients have more difficulty in maintaining the CKD. It is essential to inform the patient and the family about the efficacy and AE related to the KD, and the use of websites and videos may help in this education. Although several theories exist regarding the mechanisms of action, further study is needed nevertheless the positive results are probably due to several mechanisms.

    Thank you, bower my doctor strongly advised me against the KD. I am doing well on the medications I am on and the Celiacs played a part in my seizures. So by following a very strict Celiac diet I have been able to reduce from 3 to 2 anticonvulsants. Unfortunately celiacs tend to gain weight naturally often. I also have SIBO as a result COVID. So losing is difficult for me. I am lucky that I do remarkably well maintaining at least. I am hoping I can start getting more energy to start walking more soon.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
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    Do you know why your Dr. "strongly advised" you against the KD considering there's a 100 years of science and success? Maybe he's against low carbs in general, i don't know, which is perfectly fine to have that opinion , but this is your health, not his. Just curious. And again good luck in whatever you decide to do. cheers.
  • my_username_was_taken
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    Many true epileptologist do not recommend for older epilepsy patients due to potential kidney damage. It was a research based diet for pediatrics meant to be given to epileptic children in a controlled hospital setting. That’s how the diet began. When their overweight parents and others noticed the “side effects “ of weight loss that’s how the fad came about. It’s actually very harmful life long on the vital organs and epileptic patients need life long seizure control hence the need for medication.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
    edited December 2022
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    Fair enough and didn't really connect the dots with overweight parents and weight loss as a side effect or how that is harmful. I would suggest that understanding ones own health and taking a role to further educate ones self is vital. I would suggest you go to google scholar and research KD and kidney's. You'll be a little more knowledgeable and possibly surprised at what you find, nothing wrong with more information. Cheers
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
    edited December 2022
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    This goes into quite a bit of detail from "Clinical Neurophysiology Practice" that you or someone else might find informative.

    The role for ketogenic diets in epilepsy and status epilepticus in adults
    https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2467981X1730015X

    Ketogenic diet (KD) therapies are high fat, low carbohydrate diets designed to mimic a fasting state. Although studies demonstrate KD’s success in reducing seizures stretching back nearly a century, the last 25 years have seen a resurgence in diet therapy for the management of drug-resistant epilepsy in children as well as adults. With ≥50% seizure reduction efficacy rates in adults of 22–55% for the classic KD and 12–67% for the modified Atkins diet, diet therapy may be in many instances comparable to a trial of an additional anti-epileptic medication and potentially with fewer side effects and other health benefits. Moreover, ketogenic diets offer promising new adjunctive strategies for the treatment of acute status epilepticus in the intensive care setting. Here, we review the efficacy and utility of ketogenic diets for the management of chronic epilepsy and refractory status epilepticus in adults and offer practical guidelines for diet implementation and maintenance.

  • aliawim
    aliawim Posts: 7 Member
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    Glad to see you here.
    Doing similar to you, starting slowly and trying to find a balanced diet for my weight loss.
    All the best in your journey
  • my_username_was_taken
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    Thanks but I’ll take the expert medical option of the UC Nuero Science Center for epilepsy and all of their specialists. I have seen many of them as I’ve been evaluated several times for surgery and all kinds of alternative treatments. I have multiple types of epilepsy and seizures. I appreciate your attempts to educate me but I’m the expert here on my health. I’m not risking my life with SUDEP and that’s what KD would do in lieu of meds plus I have many other medical issues. I promise you I know more about the medical KD than you can imagine not the fad diet for weight loss. After it’s my life that’s more valuable than my pants size. I research literally EVERYTHING! I even have a daughter that went into dietetics. Thanks again.
  • my_username_was_taken
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    aliawim wrote: »
    Glad to see you here.
    Doing similar to you, starting slowly and trying to find a balanced diet for my weight loss.
    All the best in your journey
    aliawim wrote: »
    Glad to see you here.
    Doing similar to you, starting slowly and trying to find a balanced diet for my weight loss.
    All the best in your journey
    aliawim wrote: »
    Glad to see you here.
    Doing similar to you, starting slowly and trying to find a balanced diet for my weight loss.
    All the best in your journey

    I appreciate your support! We got this!
  • Dejavous6
    Dejavous6 Posts: 11 Member
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    Good luck I’m also back on a weight loss journey.. so many physical and neurological medical problems popping up stifling any progress I’ve made. I’ll get back there though.
  • my_username_was_taken
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    Dejavous6 wrote: »
    Good luck I’m also back on a weight loss journey.. so many physical and neurological medical problems popping up stifling any progress I’ve made. I’ll get back there though.

    We can do this