Epilepsy Seizures Cured after Ingesting Cannabis Oil With High Counts of CBD

Epilepsy Seizures Cured after Ingesting Cannabis Oil With High Counts of CBD

Dravet syndrome is a severe myoclonic epilepsy whose onset occurs in infancy. Those with Dravet may have upwards of 100 seizures per day. The most intense episodes can last for 15 minutes to up to an hour. There is no known cure

. The best available treatment is to minimize seizures, which are precipitated by environmental stress.

The longer a person has an epileptic attack, the higher the likelihood that prolonged damage could occur. Dravet seizures are so intense and long that brain development is delayed. In severe cases, a seizure may cause cardiac arrest. Each day can vary drastically for those with Dravet. There are a variety of pharmaceutical anticonvulsants available, but none of them eliminate seizures and all have side effects.

Recently, a group of families affected by Dravet have turned to CBD-rich cannabis as a treatment for their children. These families have formed a Facebook group with close to 200 members that allows members to provide support, compare notes, and to share experiences. Some had initial reservations about using cannabis on their children, but were eager to try alternatives to conventional pharmaceuticals.  The prospect of less- psychoactive cannabis piqued their interest, especially in light of the anticonvulsant and anti-inflammatory properties of CBD.

Suzie Engelhardt, mother of Regan (age 7), said that pharmaceutical medications left her daughter “like a zombie” and did not properly control seizures. Jason David, whose son Jayden is 5 and was featured on “Weed Wars”, reported that his son was having 100-300 myoclonic seizures per day despite taking 12 different pharmaceutical drugs. Rebecca Hamilton Brown’s son Cooper is 14 and has been using cannabis since last year. Brown describes her son as “highly functional” as a result, and explains, “parents of children with Dravet often get to a point of feeling scared and desperate… they tend to be open to alternatives.”

All of the families have reported improvement in their children’s health after using CBD cannabis. Cooper Brown is virtually seizure free since he has been using 3:1 CBD/THC oil capsules. His mother reports that his overall mood is much improved and his appetite has increased. Rebecca says that even though Cooper is not completely seizure free, the CBD cannabis regimen has “improved the frequency and severity of [his] seizures”.

After experimenting with different strains and CBD ratios, Regan Engelhardt’s daily seizure frequency fell from 50 seizures per night down to five. Before cannabis, her seizures dramatically altered her ability to walk, sleep, eat, or drink (she had been hospitalized for dehydration as a result). According to her mother, the pharmaceutical medications delayed her ability to walk until the age of 2 and left her “catatonic.” Currently, Regan’s cannabis medicine has allowed her to be weaned off one pharmaceutical medication, has increased focus, and is able to sleep through the night. “You see so much more light back in her eyes” her mother Suzie says. “Just a couple of weeks ago I wondered if she would ever come back.”

Jayden David has made vast improvements as well. His father reports that his walking is better (Jayden was previously non-ambulatory). He can now swim, an activity he adores, without having a seizure. Jason says that Jayden’s eye contact is “100 times better” and his “comprehension has greatly increased”.

All of the families interviewed have been using CBD strains with varying ratios and forms. Each has had to use trial and error to find what is most beneficial for their child. Jason David says that he “has to play doctor” for his son by experimenting with countless CBD/THC ratios for Jayden, finally settling on a CBD glycerin tincture. It has been a constant struggle to pin down the right strain and keep a steady supply for his son, despite living in California.

Maintaining a reliable supply is invaluable to families. “You see results” says Suzie Engelhardt, “and you want to keep it that way.” All the families have faced similar challenges and have to cope with the ebb and flow of plant material for their child’s treatment.

All of the families interviewed live in medical cannabis states (California, Michigan, and Washington) with functioning analytical labs. The parents interviewed report that dispensaries’ supply of CBD medicine is problematic, if they carry CBD medicine at all. Suzie Engelhardt called over 100 dispensaries seeking plant material with above a 3:1 CBD/THC ratio, even having to resort to looking for CBD medicine on Craigslist!

None of the families have noted any criticism of their decision to use cannabis for their children. Rather, the public has been supportive and understand Dravet families simply want to do anything that will help affected children. As Brown puts it, “my kid is [virtually] seizure free, how can you argue with that?” Luckily these families have mutual support and the encouragement of the medical cannabis community. The next step is to ensure reliable access to CBD medicine.

Source:
http://www.thehealthcure.org/2013/05/epilepsy-seizures-cured-after-ingesting-cannabis-oil-with-high-counts-of-cbd/

"We feed our daughter cannabis to stop her thousands of seizures each week"

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Parents say toddler can now walk and talk for the first time thanks to treatment.


Charlotte Figi has Dravet syndrome - a rare and severe form of epilepsy
She suffered from thousands of seizures every week and couldn't walk
In desperation, her parents tried treating her with medical marijuana
After just a few months she started walking and talking for the first time
Her seizures have also almost completely stopped

Doctors told Paige and Matt Figi that their daughter, Charlotte, would not survive much longer after she was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy.

But after years of researching possible cures, her desperate parents have resorted to feeding her marijuana - after stumbling across the controversial treatment online.

‘But we were desperate and Matt practically begged me to try it. We had tried everything else and nothing was able to help our daughter.

‘But after just one treatment, we were astounded - I couldn't believe the effect it had on Charlotte.

‘She's like a totally different girl. We never thought that marijuana would help us give our daughter a chance at life.’

Six-year-old Charlotte had her first seizures when she was just three-months-old, she had a normal birth and has a twin sister.

Within a week, she had started to suffer from violent seizures several times a day. 

She was eventually diagnosed with Dravet syndrome - a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy that begins in infancy.

Children with the condition tend to develop normally as babies but progress starts to plateau in the second year of life.

There is currently no cure and treatment options are limited - they mainly involve using anti-epilepsy drugs to treat the seizures.

Little is known about the long term prognosis of people with Dravet syndrome.

Mrs Figi, from Denver, Colorado, said: ‘We tried every medication possible to help stop the seizures and Charlotte was having thousands of small seizures a day.

‘Matt was serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, so I was struggling to look after our children alone.

‘By the age of five, Charlotte was having a 300 seizures a week and had lost the ability to walk, talk and eat.

‘Matt was back and forth from Afghanistan throughout Charlotte's life, he had to eventually leave the military because he couldn't keep flying back during missions and training.

‘The doctors told us to prepare for her death - they told us that she wouldn't pull through.’

At this point, Mr Figi stumbled across an article online that claimed a child with the same condition as Charlotte had been treated effectively with cannabis.

Mrs Figi said: ‘We were so desperate, Matt had heard of another child with the same condition who had used cannabis to help dramatically reduce the child's seizures.

‘When we first gave her the cannabis oil she went from having hundreds of seizures a day to none. 

‘She went for seven days without a twitch. It was unbelievable.

‘She now only has a few seizures a week.

The oil is extracted from the cannabis leaf using alcohol. This is then diluted to a precise dosage.

‘Charlotte receives cannabis oil under her tongue, twice a day. The exact dosage is carefully measured and strictly controlled.’

Mrs Figi has been in contact with the Stanley brothers who run a non-profit organisation, called the Realm of Caring Foundation, which provides cannabis to adults and children suffering from epilepsy, cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's, who cannot afford it.

The six brothers have been working for years cross-breeding a strain of marijuana that has medicinal properties but does not trigger psychoactivity or induce a 'high'.

According to CNN, the strain is low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the compound in marijuana that is s psychoactive. 

It is also high in cannabidiol, or CBD, which has medicinal properties but no psychoactivity. Scientists think the CBD quiets the excessive electrical and chemical activity in the brain that causes seizures.

Mrs Figi recalls: ‘Joe and his family were really nervous and apprehensive to treat Charlotte as she was the youngest patient they had ever had.

‘I had to assure them that it would be okay and that I had already had to sign a do not resuscitate order.

‘After a month of success they changed the name of the strain to Charlotte's Web, which I think is a great name for it.

‘The Stanley brothers do it for very little money and sell the cannabis for pennies.’

Parents all over the U.S. have been inundating Mrs Figi with phone calls and emails expressing their hope for a possible remedy to the syndrome.

She said: ‘Over 200 paediatric patients will be trying Charlotte's Web in the next few weeks, we expect there will be thousands soon.

‘I don't have a political agenda, I just want parents to be able to treat and help their children.

‘Parents need access to this medicine as soon as possible.’

Medical marijuana is currently legal in 20 U.S. states

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2391207/We-feed-daughter-CANNABIS-stop-having-thousands-seizures-week-Parents-say-toddler-say-walk-talk-time-thanks-treatment.html#ixzz2eGqeGjLO