Seventy percent of children who have a single seizure will never have another. Seventy percent of those who have a second seizure will have their seizures successfully controlled by medication. But if a first medication fails, the chance that a second or third will also be ineffective rises. For about one-fifth of children with epilepsy, currently available medication is either ineffective in controlling seizures or has unacceptable side effects. Even in cases in which seizures are fairly well under control, medication may affect children's alertness and mental clarity, impairing their ability to learn and reach their full potential.
The point at which seizures are deemed out of control, or side effects considered unacceptable, varies from person to person and from family to family. One hundred seizures a day is clearly too many, but are three seizures a month too many? Some children and families consider limiting the seizures to one a week a victory, while others consider one seizure every two months an intolerable state of affairs. Varying degrees of sedation, hyperactivity and learning disabilities may be acceptable in exchange for seizure control. But what if you could control seizures without side effects? The net result is that many children and their parents look beyond currently available medications for a satisfying solution to seizure treatment.
The ketogenic diet is a rigid, mathematically calculated, doctor supervised diet. It is high in fat and low in carbohydrate and protein, containing three to five times as much fat as carbohydrate and protein combined. Calories and liquid intake are strictly limited. This diet should not be attempted except under close supervision by a physician. The ketogenic diet improves control of seizures in nearly three-quarters of the children who try it. Twenty to thirty percent may have their seizures completely controlled, and many become free of medication. |
to the top of this page.