In 2012, a judge I never met reviewed a stack of medical records and determined that I was no longer able to sustain meaningful employment. I was declared permanently disabled.
I was in my mid-thirties. I had spent years trying to hold onto work while managing a neurological condition that was becoming harder, not easier, to control. Epilepsy had been part of my life for a long time by then, but the gap between managing it and it managing me had been closing for years. The disability determination felt like a door closing. At the time, I didn’t know it might also be a doorway.
In This Article
The Medication Years
By the time I left the workforce, I had been through more than 26 different medications trying to find a combination that would give me some stability. Some helped briefly. Some made things worse. Some caused side effects that were nearly as disabling as the seizures themselves. I also had a Vagus Nerve Stimulator implanted — a small device that sends electrical pulses to the vagus nerve to try to interrupt seizure activity. It offered modest benefit, not transformation. I was not a surgical candidate. My epilepsy didn’t originate from a resectable focus that a surgeon could cleanly remove.
The options most people hear about — medication, more medication, surgery — had been worked through, and I was still seizing.
When the System Runs Out of Road
There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from spending years in the medical system when the medical system has reached the end of what it can offer you. It isn’t resentment — I’ve been cared for by skilled, committed neurologists who worked hard for me. It’s more like a clarity that settles in. The conventional path has taken you as far as it can. Now what?
For me, the “now what” became a question I started answering through research. Not desperate internet searching, but careful, systematic reading — peer-reviewed literature, books, conversations with others who had navigated similar territory. I started paying attention to the relationship between what I ate, how I slept, how I managed stress, and how my nervous system behaved. I started building a personal framework that went beyond seizure frequency as the only measure of progress.
In December 2017, a tonic-clonic seizure resulted in a mild traumatic brain injury. I was dealing with the aftermath of that — post-concussion syndrome, PTSD, cognitive fatigue, sensory overload — while already navigating everything else. It was one of the most difficult periods of my life. It was also the period during which Natural Vitality Advocate started to become real, because I needed a place to organize and share what I was learning, and I suspected others needed it too.
What Healing Has Actually Looked Like
I want to be honest about what healing means in my situation, because I think dishonesty in this space does real harm. I still have epilepsy. I still have seizures. I still see neurologists. The goal of my healing journey has never been to cure epilepsy through natural means or to walk away from conventional medicine. It has been to build the strongest possible foundation around an unavoidable reality — so that my body, mind, and spirit have the resources to cope, adapt, and function at the highest level I can sustain.
That has meant learning to eat in ways that reduce neurological inflammation and support liver and nervous system function. It has meant getting serious about sleep, stress management, and environmental factors. It has meant addressing the mental health toll honestly — not just pushing through. And it has meant leaning into my faith, which has been the most stabilizing force in my life through all of this. God’s faithfulness through the hardest seasons is something I can point to specifically, not abstractly.
Why I Started NVA
Natural Vitality Advocate exists because I couldn’t find the resource I needed when I needed it most. The conventional medical world had reached its limit with me. The alternative health world was full of noise, misinformation, and unqualified people selling things they couldn’t deliver. What I wanted was something in between — evidence-aware, honest, deeply personal, and built on the belief that people living with chronic illness are intelligent adults capable of making informed decisions when given real information and a trustworthy guide.
That’s what I’m building here. Not a cure. Not a miracle protocol. A framework for thinking clearly about health, evaluating information honestly, and making choices grounded in both personal experience and the best evidence available.
Where I Am Now
I’m still living with the daily realities of permanent disability, intractable epilepsy, and everything that comes with it. I’m also more stable than I’ve been in years — not because I found a cure, but because I’ve built better foundations. That’s what this blog is really about.
If you’re navigating a difficult health journey, I’m not going to promise you what worked for me will work for you. What I will say is this: understanding your condition more deeply, building foundational habits deliberately, and holding onto hope without letting it tip into unrealistic expectation — that combination has carried me further than I would have thought possible back in 2012.
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Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health regimen, including medications, diet, exercise, or supplementation. David Julian, Natural Vitality Advocate, is not a licensed medical professional. Views expressed are personal and based on lived experience — they do not guarantee specific outcomes. David Julian is not affiliated with Natural Vitality or NaturalVitality.com.