Essential Oils for Stroke Recovery?
Hello,
I'm seeking advice regarding my father, who is 76 years old and suffered a stroke two months ago. It affected both his speech and ability to maintain balance, and unfortunately, we haven't seen much progress in either area since then.
He also has diabetes, glaucoma, and an enlarged prostate. While some of my siblings prefer conventional medications, my brother and I are exploring natural options, including doTERRA essential oils.
My question is:
Have you come across any essential oils or natural treatments that have shown success in supporting recovery after a stroke, especially in cases complicated by diabetes and glaucoma? He is under the care of a relative who don't believe in natural remedies she is full tradicional medicine and I am strong believer on natural medicine so I want to bring him to Florida he is right now on another state.
Any guidance or shared experiences would be deeply appreciated. Thank you for your time and support.
California
08/12/2025
Hi Merylj,
There are many supplements that can be beneficial after a stroke and also for diabetes, but the problem is many of these supplements can have modest blood thinning or anticoagulant effects and most likely, after a stroke, they have put your dad on at least one blood thinner and most doctors don't or won't allow any supplements that can have any type of blood thinning effect on top of the prescribed blood thinner(s) the doctor may have put him on.
Here is a perfect example in Berberine. Berberine is very beneficial for diabetics and for stroke recovery, but berberine also has anticoagulant activity as discussed here :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5343495/
Here are two relevant quotes from the link :
' This study proved that BBR is a direct thrombin inhibitor that has activity in inhibiting thrombin-induced platelet aggregation. BBR may be a potential candidate for the development of safe and effective thrombin-inhibiting drugs. '
' Thrombin acts as a key enzyme in the blood coagulation cascade and represents a potential drug target for the treatment of several cardiovascular diseases. '
Even something as simple as vitamin D, which is good for stroke recovery and diabetes has modest anticoagulant effects as discussed here :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4069050/
Here is a relevant quote from the link :
' Vitamin D has been shown to have an anticoagulant effect. '
Again, Melatonin has shown benefit for both stroke recovery and diabetes, but it also has an anticoagulant effect. Look at this link to get an idea of the value of melatonin for stroke:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9268813/
Here is a relevant quote from the link :
' Therefore, novel therapies like melatonin are crucial to attenuating stroke's devastating effects. Melatonin acts as an antioxidant and free radical scavenger, ameliorating neuroinflammation and accelerating brain tissue restoration. Preclinical studies utilizing animal stroke models and clinical trials with stroke patients have been conducted to investigate melatonin's therapeutic potency in the context of stroke. Experimental stroke models in vitro and in vivo have demonstrated melatonin's neuroprotective capabilities, as melatonin reduces infarct size and enhances glial cell viability. Melatonin delivered exogenously displays substantial therapeutic effects but results fluctuate with changing melatonin levels. However, pineal gland grafts have the ability to provide long-term melatonin and therefore, may be useful for chronic treatment. Nonetheless, further examination of pineal gland transplantation efficacy is necessary. The mechanism behind melatonin-induced neuroprotection seems largely due to receptors MT1 and MT2, which can also be found in stem cells. Moreover, stem cell-based therapy for stroke and neurodegenerative disease may be bolstered by targeting the MT1 and MT2 receptors. Regarding stroke-related dementia, melatonin-based therapy may be a viable treatment option due to their neuroprotective properties, repressing inflammatory factors, oxidative stress and apoptotic pathways in stroke and AD models. In addition, melatonin enhances BDNF and CREB, alleviating cognitive impairment. Notably, recent clinical trials exploring the curative potential of melatonin in stroke and neurodegenerative diseases display encouraging results in alleviating brain injury. '
So unless his doctor is willing to work with your dad in terms of reducing or eliminating blood thinner dosage or frequency to accommodate beneficial supplements, it will be difficult to incorporate many useful supplements into his stroke recovery plan and diabetes treatment.
Art
