Resources

MUST READ:

Seizures and Epilepsy in Childhood: A Guide...by John M. Freeman

If it were up to me, this book would be given out whenever a neurologist diagnosed a kiddo with epilepsy!  YES...it is THAT good and THAT important!  I stumbled upon this book about 2 1/2 years after Evan was diagnosed.  Don't get me wrong, I still got a lot out of this book, but wished I had this information when he was first diagnosed.  This is written by both doctors and parents as a guide FOR PARENTS.  It really breaks things down and explains some of the medical jargon that is thrown around that you may or may not fully understand.
If your child was just diagnosed....GET THIS BOOK!  If you have a child with epilepsy (even 5+ years ago) and have never read this book....GET THIS BOOK!!

Ketogenic Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders...by Eric H. Kossoff, John M. Freeman, Zahava Turner, and James E. Rubenstein.
This is kind of like the "What to Expect when you are Expecting" of Ketogenic diets.  It is another MUST READ if you are even CONSIDERING a Ketogenic diet for epilepsy.  If you are on the fence, it may help you make an informed decision.  If you have decided, it will help explain the Ketogenic diets, what to expect, potential side effects, etc.  This is an invaluable resource!!





Fighting Back with FAT...by Erin Whitmer and Jeanne Riether
After reading the above book (Ketogenic Diets/Eric Kossoff), this is the next book you should devour! These ladies are both mothers of kids who were diagnosed with epilepsy.  Both found themselves on the path to treating their kid's epilepsy with diet.  One chose the Ketogenic Diet, and one chose the Modified Atkins Diet.  Again...if you are in the "considering" phase, this book can help you make an informed decision.  If you aren't sure which diet plan/path you want to travel down...this book can help you decide.  Even if you have been on the path for year...this book is a GREAT tool!  It will reinforce what you are doing from a parent's perspective.  When I found this book, Evan had been on the diet for several months.  It brought up some questions I wanted answers to (from neruologist and/or dietician), gave me some other food for thought, and helped me see a bit more clearly the direction I was heading and wanted to go.  If you don't have this book...ADD THIS TO YOUR LIBRARY!!!






WEBSITES:
The internet is absolutely HUGE, so this is by no means an all-inclusive list.  These are just the websites I have used the most and have found to be the most useful to me at this point in time.  I am always open to exploring other resources, so if you know of some...please feel free to let me know and share the love :)

www.charliefoundation.org
The Charlie Foundation was founded in 1994 and was a pioneer in the current "come-back" of the ketogenic diets as a viable treatment for epilepsy.  This is a HUGE resource absolutely packed with information!

www.epilepsy.com
Another HUGE resource that is jam packed with information.
www.epilepsy.com/ketonews is the section Dr. Eric Kossoff runs in regards to the Ketogenic diets.  A great way to stay in touch with the latest!

www.fatsecret.com
This is my GO TO for nutritional breakdown information of foods.  My nutritionist turned me on to this site.  You do NOT have to sign up for this service (even though it may prompt you to do so).  Just simply click on the "foods" tab at the very top and you have all the nutritional information at your fingertips.  Even works well from a smart phone.  I love how versatile the amounts are with this website/tool.  You can dial in the carb count for a single grape, or for 1 ounce of apples.

www.ketocook.com
A wealth of recipes...but have your scale ready or be ready to do a lot of conversions as these recipes are extremely carefully measured out for kids on the full Ketogenic diet.  I have made some of these with mixed reviews from Evan....but we keep trying.  This is still a great resource!