When I first was diagnosed with OT, my father asked a very good question.  What else can I being doing to help myself slow the progression of the disease?  My Neurologist paused and said, “the only thing that we know right now that helps is physical activity”.  The meds my help a bit, but only in 20-30% of people.  Turns out so far I’m in the 70-80% that hasn’t helped.  My father also asked about diet.  Doctor said no, diet doesn’t have any effect.  My father and I are alike in that we don’t usually stop with the first information we hear.

So, as we did our research online about OT, we both found a link to a man claiming to have “cured” OT using the Paleo diet.  I’m not going to define all of these magic diets as most have you have read, seen or heard about them.  There are 4 diets that come up most with a search for Neurological conditions and diet.  They are the Paleo, Gluten free, Ketogenic, and the whole fresh and pure organic diets.

Now after some time, research and a brief conversation with Dr. David Agus, he is the world-renowned oncologist who was treating and kept Steve Jobs alive a lot longer.  He is also a guest often on CBS news broadcast as well as being a best-selling author.  He confirmed that only 1 diet helped in any neurological condition, and that was Ketogenic diet and its help with epilepsy and seizures.   In fact there is research that this diet has gone back hundreds of years as a treatment, until Dilantin was founded and people wanted an easier route to help.

Now, I maybe a pharmacist, but I would never claimed to be an expert on any of these diets, other than a medical journal article that totally debunked the Paleo diet claims to cure or even help OT.  So I decided that will try the most productive of these diets myself and see what happens.  Starting this Monday I will begin the Ketogenic diet and try to continue it as long as I can.

This diet consists of a high fat 75%, high protein 20%, and low carbohydrate 5-10% eating pattern, either in a continuous or on an off fashion.  My goal is to try continuous dieting along with my Physical therapy and medication regime to see if I have any positive results.  I will continue to write about other aspects of OT and my experiences, with updates on the dieting as well.  Please do your own research into these treatments and tell me what you find out.  I may be a guinea pig in all of this, but this could be a learning opportunity for everyone.

Thanks again for reading, commenting, and sharing these blogs.  Have a fantastic weekend and as always, God Bless.

Matt