"It's
just bogus to say that if you reduce your psychological stress that
you'll have fewer seizures," he says. "There's not a specific way
to have a person turn off a seizure. With stress and seizures, you
just can't make a one-to-one correlation."
Lowenstein
says he is not familiar with the three Andrews/Reiter studies published
in Seizure. Donald Olson, a neurologist at Stanford University,
also missed the studies but says he is familiar with the concept
behind them.
"You
have to be skeptical about that kind of stuff," says Olson. "Psychological
treatments, they have no side effects. But whether they're effective
in stopping seizures, that's still extremely unclear. Are they some
great treatment for epilepsy? I don't think so."
The
resistance of doctors like Lowenstein and Olson show just how far
Andrews and Reiter have to go before their psychological techniques
gain wide acceptance. Today, 22 years after their first study, one
epilepsy facility in America treats seizures with psychology: Andrews
and Reiter's.
Their
efforts, however, have not been completely in vain. In 1992 Andrews
and Reiter were invited to speak before the Epilepsy League in Glasgow,
Scotland. In 1999 they presented their findings at the International
Epilepsy Conference in Prague , an event attended by 4000 neurologists.
Reiter's book, "Epilepsy: A New Approach," has also found an audience.
It is now in its third printing.
Still,
Andrews and Reiter say they're fighting a lonely battle and question
whether it is ultimately a losing one.
"It's
been a long road," says Andrews, a touch of defeat in her voice.
"I'm getting old and my patience is wearing thin. I don't know how
long I can keep it up." Reiter is considering retirement within
the next three years, and Andrews says she's not sure how she'd
continue without him. "For our method to catch on, it's going to
take teaching in the medical schools and support from the government."
But
neither the American government nor American universities have shown
any interest in backing Andrews and Reiter's psychological approach.
Dr. Bazil says that even if his epilepsy center wanted to offer
patients a psychological treatment, few would be able to afford
it. Most of his patients, he says, are dependent on medical insurance,
and most insurance companies do not cover experimental therapies
like Andrews and Reiter's.
Treatment
at the Andrews/Reiter epilepsy center costs thousands of dollars.
While some insurance carriers do cover medical consultations with
Dr. Reiter, patients must pay for the psychological treatment out
of pocket, as my family did.
This
financial hurdle is one reason why Andrews and Reiter's approach
has drawn less interest in the U.S. than in foreign nations with
universal health care. Elizabeth Koeningsberg Hospital in Berlin
is now conducting a study based on the Andrews/Reiter technique.
The Epilepsy Association of Calgary has also been looking into their
treatment, as has the Victoria Epilepsy Society in Melbourne, Australia.
It's
unclear whether these isolated efforts will usher the Andrews/Reiter
approach into the mainstream. Andrews doubts they will. Still, she
says, even if the majority continues to scoff at her research, she
takes comfort in knowing she was able to help many of her patients.
After an exhaustive review of 23 years of patient records, Andrews
estimates she has treated 2300 epileptics at her Santa Rosa facility.
Of those, records indicate, 83 percent are now seizure-free. One-third
of her patients are now off medication. Ninety percent have been
reduced to the lowest therapeutic dosage.
I
am one of those patients. After being granted my license four years
ago, I continued to work on the Andrews and Reiter relaxation techniques.
I listened to their relaxation tape every night. I saw a psychologist
to work out some of my anger issues. In the process, my seizures
became more and more infrequent. Until they disappeared.
I
had my last seizure Jan. 4, 2003. Under my neurologist's supervision,
I am now decreasing my epilepsy medication. I should be off it altogether
by the end of the year.
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