Disclaimer: firstly I want to say essential oils are not a replacement for modern medicine. We don’t use oils to treat but to support our existing approaches to my daughter’s health.
We take a complementary and a holistic approach to our daughter’s health and will consider every medication and intervention how it works in the body, the impact on other body systems and also if it is worth ‘trying’ in consultation with her team of specialists and therapists that are open to discussing that particular intervention.
I have found in my journey not all specialists are open to discussing things outside of their speciality so if this is the case you may have to consider if it is safe and if it’s worthwhile and then take a measured approach to testing it if it is working and trial for a period of time.
We have observed this is the approach the doctors take to any new medication so as with anything you should also take a cautious approach.
For us, we started using essential oils initially to support with her digestive issues and tone. Yes we still use the proton pump inhibitors but found Terrazyme supplement (US version, not AU version seems to be different) supports the break down of food and I also use this personally to support my lactose intolerance so that I can have the occasional cheat day. However we wouldn’t risk this as my daughter has severe allergies to certain foods so despite breaking down the food and helping to digest it there would still be allergens in her body to react.
When I first started using doterra essential oils I was aware that many oils could potentially trigger seizures so I decided to make my own blends with the stronger oils such as Eucalyptus, Rosemary etc. After a few years I realised that she was ok with some of the blends and now turns out she’s ok with all the oils.
If in doubt first diffuse, then use topically and aim for a 1% dilution.
All this searching led me to hear how amazing frankincense is amazing for focus, supporting the body’s brain function and natural defense systems.
So I decided to try it out and made a roller with frankincense and the searched all the other oils and found a number that help support brain function such as Ylang Ylang, Black Pepper etc.
From our observations we found frankincense essential oil was amazing at helping short cut our daughter’s seizures and you can see the difference when she smells it. The olfactory (sense of smell) is the closest to the brain so is the fastest acting. I have a video of my daughter having a seizure and my husband calmly takes the oil from my her wheelchair, slowly opens the lid and then slowly goes to roll it near her chin, but as soon as it is near her nose her white face floods with colour and her eyes refocus. It’s not for the faint hearted so contact me if you would like to see it.
I make a blend with other oils that can help support brain function just to keep the price of Frankincense down. We roll this on her when she has a seizure and immediately you can see she focuses.
I have to say this doesn’t work on everyone and just like medication it is a bit of a trial and error. Some use a proactive approach and use frankincense or another essential oil blend such as Balance which contains frankincense daily on head, earlobes, thumbs and down the spine or even on the feet.
We discussed this over a few years with our neurologist and now have successfully included ‘aromatherapy’ on her seizure management plan. She no longer needs other medications that stop seizures which in the past simply caused her to be very sleepy for a few 4-6 hours. What’s more when it’s administered the school would need to call an ambulance (who have midazolam on board) and we would then have to observe her in emergency for all that time. Admittedly her seizures are mostly well controlled with her other medications, and we have had to increase it over the years as she has grown and developed. However she has not needed emergency medicine to stop seizures in a few years.
Now that we have this officially documented using this as part of her management plan we can have the teachers using this to quickly snap out of the seizure and get on with the day. Even if they’re not sure it can also help with her focus during the day. In her seizure management plan this is her first step and if the seizure continue then the school will need to call an ambulance and administer the normal medication.
We haven’t had to do this and again disclaimer that this is what we have found works with us and the level of risk we are happy to accept based on her past history.
I have made 10ml or 15ml roller bottles of her main oils and attached them to her wheelchair using these silicone bottle holders.
This has now been signed off at school and they require a pharmacy label with her name on it. Our local pharmacist is happy to print off pharmacy labels that list all the ingredients in the bottle. This is attached to her bottle and is always available on her wheelchair.
I also choose to use doTerra essential oils because they go to great lengths to ensure their oils are pure essential oils that they can be taken internally. They also batch test every bottle and you can access publicly their test results.
If you want to know more about the oils or protocols, contact me for more information.
Recipe – makes a stock bottle 15ml:
2 Black Pepper
2 Ylang Ylang
40 Frankincense
5 Myrrh
5 vetiver
4 Bergamot
5 Geranium
10 lavender
3 Clove
5 Cedarwood
Mix in a 15ml stock bottle (I like to use an empty doTerra bottle from one of the oils used in the recipe but you can also buy them from my store)
Add 10-20 drops of the stock blend in 15ml roller bottle (or the desired dilution rate)
Fill to the top with Fractionated coconut oil.
Use when a seizure starts by rolling on jawline or finger, holding near their nose and wait for their first breath. Also roll on to the ear lobe and thumbs.
Template for Seizure Management Plan with essential oils
This is in word format so you can download and use this as a starter and update the wording as you choose. This was modelled on the normal 2-3 page plan that the hospital would normally provide. When we provide this to the school nurse they will often summarise and provide their own version for the class as an easy reference. We also use this on the fridge for our carers at home.
Contact me if you would like a sample – I’m happy to send this if you would like to try it and I’ll send you details on how to pay shipping. Alternatively, if you purchase a make and take voucher you can book some time either in person or online and I can make this for you and any other samples you are interested in trying.
If you haven’t yet heard of doTerra and would like to join to get 25% off the oils, there’s also instructions on how to join doTerra online. This is the best price for you to order oils and also helps me get commission for purchases.
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Super Needs Mum 