To receive a copy of any of the previous Newsletters  Click here to request a copy of your selection and place the name of your selected Newsletter in the subject line. Or click on the title of each selection.   Part 1 - Anatomy And Physiology (A&P) - The Make Up Of Your Body And How It Functions You want to learn the truth about your body. What it's all about (Anatomy). How it is meant to function (Physiology). Once you put this information together, it will then be much easier to recognize "ill" or negative results. Your corrective action will present itself. Why is this important? How can you fix something if you don't know how it works or what it is supposed to do? Part 2 - Anatomy And Physiology (A&P) - The Make Up Of Your Body And How It Functions. Your body's very basic unit is the cell and every cell has a purpose or a function. The definition of a cell is "the fundamental unit of all living tissue". Nothing that is in you is NOT a cell of some type. And these cells all perform different activities. Part 3 - Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) - The Make Up Of Your Body and How It Functions Now let's move to the functions of this living cell. Don't ever let anyone tell you that if you have a problem in one area of your body that it doesn't really affect another part.  It does. The body is an incredible machine and is connected to everything in it. And its response is very fast. All parts are inter-related and inter-connected. What are FREE RADICALS?A Very Simple Explanation This is going to be a completely simplistic explanation of the terms “Free Radicals” how they come to be, and how they relate to you. It is important for you to have some understanding of these mechanisms so you can make conscious, informed decisions, as to your health, your nutrition, and your lifestyle. ANTI-OXIDANTS - the "good guys" Little by little we have found remedies for the accessible causes of aging. From warding off heart disease, to slowing degeneration of the brain and eyes, talk of the health benefits of antioxidants are quite common today. A Woman’s Walk Through Life With Epilepsy Women and young girls who have Epileptic seizures may find their seizure activity increases and is quite often seen around their time of ovulation, and again around menstruation. Both of these times bodies’ hormone levels increase thus causing the seizures to happen. The Secret to Getting Your Doctor's Attention So now you have made your appointment, and the day comes that you get yourself ready to go to your Doctor or Specialist's office, where you will finally attend your ten-minute appointment. And after waiting for that appointment sometimes up to 6 months, you will really value this occasion and will want to make the most of it. Normally your appointment with your Doctor or Specialist would be interrupted by phone calls and/or knocks on the door. Usually you are tired and depressed and anxious. But not this time! TODAY YOU ARE PREPARED! Seizure Treatments There are many different treatments available these days for Seizure control. Medication was started at the beginning of the 19th century. These days there is a greater choice of suitable medication available. But all, or in fact any of these treatments may not work for everyone. One of the key things for your Doctor to have is a very detailed precise description of every detail when it comes to your lifestyle.  What you think of as minute, and maybe not of any importance, to your Doctor it could mean a great difference to the way he is able to offer treatment.   He depends on your help to make sure his treatment options for you are a good decision. Given the wrong medication can have no effect, or even make the seizures worse. Do you WISH your Doctor had more time to LISTEN? (How To Use your Internet Knowledge And Still Keep Your Doctor!) People are bypassing Doctors' offices and going directly to the Internet. The Internet is a mine of information! When you type in a couple of key phrases of signs and symptoms, your search will bring up a huge number of resources! Information from many different sources… some are trustworthy and some are not as trustworthy. . So how can you use your Internet searches to "help" your Doctor? After all it is your health and you have chosen to participate actively in your own wellbeing.  Spend an afternoon at the football game with me! Today we are all going to the football game, seizure or no seizure. Parents please note the actions of the crowd in the stadium when the cheerleaders turn and start their ‘wave’. The game is about to start. Everyone in the stands is mumbling quietly to themselves. Probably hoping that it is that their team that is going to win. Sort of like a brain that is working normally. Wondering about symptoms you can't explain Most patients with medically unexplained symptoms accept that stress and emotions affect their physical condition. The degree of pain or distress a person is experiencing cannot be accurately gauged from facial expression or behaviour. Clinicians and patients hold to the hope that every troubling symptom can be adequately explained and treated.   The Right anti-oxidants for the Brain Good Nutrition is part of the key to good health, to a long and healthy lifestyle and the well being it creates. Food is essential for human existence just as the air we breathe or the water we drink. Research undertaken during the last century by chemists, pathologists, microbiologists and nutritionists have determined the relationship of food and health. The benefits of good nutrition have been shown to help prevent degenerative disease. Diseases that currently cripple our society and clog up our hospital and health care systems. As knowledge about Nutrition and the need to be better informed about preventative health-care  becomes part of our daily lives we are now not only able to be proactive in our approach to our own health but also save billions of dollars in health care costs. Oxidative Stress and the Brain Have you ever thought about your ability to think?  Thinking about thinking - now there's a concept!  When you reach back into your memory banks and recall a vivid childhood experience or that special moment with your family, do you ever marvel at how you can remember even some of the smallest details?  Stop reading for a moment and take a look out your window.  Have you ever considered with amazement your coloured, wide-angled, binocular vision?  This is all possible only with God's marvellous creation, the brain. The Brain and how it responds to Stress, and Memory As science gains greater insight into the consequences of stress on the brain, the picture that emerges is not a pretty one. A chronic overreaction to stress overloads the brain with powerful hormones that are intended only for short-term duty in emergency situations. Their cumulative effect damages and kills brain cells. Memory Facts It happens to all of us sometime in our life. We usually just laugh it off, and blame it on old age, or on too many other things happening in our lives. Too many other things to think about. It is called Memory Lapse. For some it is just forgetting a name or a face or a date. An example of normal forgetfulness is walking into the kitchen and forgetting what you went in there for, or misplacing the car keys. For others it can be more a long term or short term memory loss. That no matter how much they try to bring it back from their memory it is totally gone. This loss, or lack of memory recall, can also be signs of some degenerative diseases or possibly caused by some medications or other substances. If you are concerned at all it is very worthwhile to see your Doctor who will arrange specific tests for you. The earlier you seek advice the better. 7 dangerous drug mistakes In this Epilepsy and Health Newsletter we forward on a very important article from another well respected source, of the many mistakes that can be made in taking Medications, over the counter products and not interpreting the instructions correctly. We felt that the warnings could not be repeated often enough. We all have to do our due diligence and do our research, ask questions, and take care of ourselves and each other. Drugs are a toxic cocktail and need to be handled with proper care and given due respect. Stress and Memory We are aware that noise and stress are connected, but how are stress and memory connected. In today’s stress filled world there is now a strong focus on maintaining physical health but also an ever growing realization that brain health is also subject to aging, stress and the depletion of neuro-chemicals so necessary for optimum functioning of the brain and endocrine system especially under conditions of stress and fatigue. You already know that stress can affect your mood, but did you know it can increase the risk of stroke, hamper learning, suppress your growing network of brain neurons and weaken the protective blood-brain barrier? Did you know that we often respond to stress before we know it? A True Story – What was a usual week in my life living with Epilepsy. By Julie Hope Everything in this world has its up’s and downs and so did my Epilepsy Grand Mal Seizures.  With the help of witnesses I will do my best to describe it here for you.  I am not going to attempt to quote any dates, as those are all a blur, they just happened and that period of my life is now gone. Wondering about Symptoms you can’t explain We are all aware that there are many  'triggers' that can bring on seizures. And that for some people these could include some over the counter medications. It was while I was having a friendly conversation about Epilepsy and Seizures with my Pharmacist during my purchase of a particular product that he remarked that some of the triggers for seizures might be right there in my hand!!! That reminded me to take another look at my Seizures Diary and realize that my attacks had certainly come the day following my use of the same, or similar product. Upon discovery of this link I stopped using the product and I started to keep a more detailed record. Why would anyone think there could possibly be a connection?.  . Here is what is important for you to know…some very commonly prescribed drugs can lead to a sometimes fatal reaction. Signs and Symptoms A SIGN is something that has to do with the senses. It would have to do with touch, sight, smell, hearing, and taste. Most commonly it has to do with sight: hence the term "sign". These are things we could all find if we knew where to look. These are objective, meaning they are straight facts. A broken bone is a sign. Bright red blood is a sign. A certain odour in a diabetic's breath is a sign. These are things an outsider would recognize. A SYMPTOM is an opinion, an interpretation. It is seen to be "subjective". It's your description of something you hear, feel, or see that no one else can. A trained medical professional can immediately start a critical thinking process. Can you save money on Seizure Medications Whenever you have to go to the doctor, it seems like you almost always get a prescription for some thing or another! Most of us take the prescription we're given, go to the local pharmacy, pay whatever the fee is and take the pills. But the high cost of many prescription medicines is a real problem for many people who need to buy them regularly, and medications that are needed daily can become a big financial burden. Bedtime partners, Nocturnal Seizures and Sleep We all want a “good nights’ sleep”. It is fundamental to our wellbeing and for function during the day. Not everyone is able to have the necessary amount of sleep required, nor also the quality of restful, restorative sleep we all need. We all have times when our mind seem to be hyperactive and more so when we are overtired and just longing for blissful slumber. Going to sleep for some can be a stressful time, not knowing if they are going to be experiencing Nocturnal Seizures. Having these thoughts in your mind while trying to relax can lead to more stress which can lead to more seizures which leads to less sleep which leads to more Stress. We are all aware I am sure that Stress is one of the biggest Triggers for seizure activity.