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Grays 2013

Grays 2013

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

New journey

So it has been a while since I blogged and a lot has happened in the past 5 months.  Erick received his transplant on January 14, 2015 and things are going great. He is all healed and will be returning to school in a couple of weeks. God is good!

But that is not what I to blog about....
Many of you have asked or questioned why I use essential oils on my children. Some of you may have seen the post about essential oils and seizures that went through Facebook a couple of months ago. Several of you shared that post with me. 

As many of you know Zachary our 7 year old has epilepsy. He was diagnosed in September 2014. I opted to put him on anti seizure medications because we were going into transplant with Erick and I needed to make sure his seizures were under control. It was a hard decision. Why? because I know what anti-seizure medication can do to a child. As I sit here today writing this I am in tears. My once sweet, rule following, compassionate, funny and loving child can not control his temper. He does not sleep well at night, he is irritable, irrational and fearful. My son who has never said a hurtful word to me and has always been respectful came at me today to hit me. 
What have I done? 

The only thing that has changed is I put him on medications. 
He currently is on Keppra, this is his second medication he has tried with the same results. 

The questions you should be asking me is why is he on Keppra?  Here is a list of side effects of Keppra
More common:
  • Aggressive or angry
  • anxiety
  • change in personality
  • chills
  • cough or hoarseness
  • crying
  • depersonalization
  • diarrhea
  • dry mouth
  • euphoria
  • fever
  • general feeling of discomfort or illness
  • headache
  • hyperventilation
  • irregular heartbeats
  • irritability
  • joint pain
  • loss of appetite
  • lower back or side pain
  • mental depression
  • muscle aches and pains
  • nausea
  • painful or difficult urination
  • paranoia
  • quick to react or overreact emotionally
  • rapidly changing moods
  • restlessness
  • shaking
  • shivering
  • shortness of breath
  • sleepiness or unusual drowsiness
  • sore throat
  • stuffy or runny nose
  • sweating
  • trouble sleeping
  • unusual tiredness or weakness
  • vomiting
Less common
  • Bloody nose
  • burning, crawling, itching, numbness, prickling, "pins and needles", or tingling feelings
  • clumsiness or unsteadiness
  • discouragement
  • dizziness or lightheadedness
  • double vision
  • earache
  • feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings
  • feeling sad or empty
  • increase in body movements
  • loss of bladder control
  • loss of memory
  • mood or mental changes
  • outburst of anger
  • pain or tenderness around the eyes and cheekbones
  • problems with memory
  • redness or swelling in the ear
  • seizures
  • sensation of spinning
  • shakiness and unsteady walk
  • shakiness in the legs, arms, hands, or feet
  • tightness of the chest
  • tiredness
  • trembling or shaking of the hands or feet
  • trouble concentrating
  • unsteadiness, trembling, or other problems with muscle control or coordination
I have italicized the ones that Zachary is currently experiencing. 

Side effects of essential oils? Some of the oils may trigger seizures in patients that are already prone to seizures. So what do we do about that? We avoid them, that simple!



I can tell you what I am doing now....looking for alternatives. And yes essential oils are a part of his daily routine and well as mine.  
In addition we are looking at diet and other more natural ways to control his seizures so that he can have his childhood back.  

So when you ask me why I use oils this is my response is this, in our family we have seen amazing results with using essential oils. We sleep better, our immune systems are stronger, my hormones are more balanced. Are oil the end all cure all? No we have also changed our diet and taken chemicals in our home. 

And lots of prayer because the same statement I made above about Erick is true in Zachary's situation too. God is GOOD!