Epilepsy Treatment for Seizures. What to do for epileptic seizure

Seizure Treatment

Different Kinds of Seizure Treatments

The treatment of seizures has expanded to include medication, devices, diet, and surgery. The goal of all epilepsy treatment is to prevent future seizures, avoid side effects, and make it possible for people to lead active lives. When first diagnosed with epilepsy or seizure disorder, the medical provider will try the first line of defense: medication.


Some medicines work better for certain kinds of seizures than for others. If one medicine fails, another may work better. Alternatively, your doctor may recommend a combination of medications. However, the medications don’t fix the problem that causes seizures. Instead, they work to stop seizures from occurring.

Here is a list of medications used to treat epilepsy

Patient Assistant Programs

Pharmacy Savings Program

Save up to 87% on your prescription medication by using RxCut®. Anybody can use this card whether or not they have insurance. It can be used on pet prescriptions as well. Call the EFTX office for cards, or give the pharmacy the information on the card pictured here. To check savings on your medication and pharmacy close to you, go to www.rxcut.com/EFT.

If two or more anti-epileptic drugs have failed, it may be time to reach out to an epileptologist.


Epilepsy centers provide patient-centered care for people with seizures and epilepsy. Testing is available to diagnose whether a person has seizures and the type of epilepsy they have. Epilepsy experts help people explore all treatment options.

Find an accredited epilepsy center closest to you through the National Association of Epilepsy Centers.

   

Surgery

In some cases, imaging tests show the area of the brain where the seizure starts. If this area is very small and well defined, doctors may perform surgery to remove the portions of the brain that are responsible for the seizures. If your seizures originate in a part of the brain that cannot be removed, your doctor may still perform a procedure to help prevent the seizures from spreading to other areas of the brain.

A story about our friend, James Burke, who had surgery in 2017

   

Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)

A surgeon does an operation to put a battery in the upper left chest. The battery sends regular bursts of electric energy to the brain through a large nerve in the neck (the vagus nerve).
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Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS)

For an RNS, a surgeon does an operation to put a battery-powered neurostimulator device in the skull. The device is attached to one or two wires implanted in the brain at the place where seizure activity starts.
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Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

DBS may be used to treat people 18 years and older with uncontrolled focal seizures. Surgery is done to place the device, then it is programmed by an epilepsy specialist.  DBS therapy is designed to change how brain cells or networks work by giving electrical stimulation to brain areas involved in seizures.
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Thermal Ablation

A laser fiber is guided toward the source of a patient’s seizures through a small hole in the skull. The laser heats and destroys the small, well-defined area of abnormal brain tissue, leaving the surrounding tissue unharmed. The entire procedure is viewed in real time on MR images that show thermal maps displaying the distribution of heat to ensure safety and successful target treatment. Click here for another video about MRI-guided laser ablation.
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Cannabidiol (CBD) Oil

The Texas Compassionate Use Act allows the use of low-THC cannabis for intractable epilepsy. A patient may be recommended low-THC cannabis if:

  1. A patient is a permanent resident of Texas
  2. A patient is diagnosed with intractable epilepsy
  3. The qualified physician determines the risk of the medical use of low-THC cannabis by a patient is reasonable in light of the potential benefit for the patient, and
  4. A second qualified physician concurs with the determination.

Texas Compassionate Access
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Ketogenic Diet

The classic ketogenic diet, a special high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, is prescribed and monitored by a physician and nutritionist to help control seizures in some people. It can help both children and adults with refractory seizures.
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Modified Atkins

The modified Atkins diet has some similarities to the traditional ketogenic diet, although it is less restrictive. It encourages eating fewer carbohydrates and more fats. Foods are not weighed and measured, but carbohydrates are monitored.
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Low Glycemic Index Treatment

The LGIT for epilepsy was developed in 2002 as an alternative to the ketogenic diet (KD) for treatment of intractable epilepsy. The LGIT monitors not only the total amount of carbohydrates consumed daily, but focuses on carbohydrates that are less likely to raise your blood sugar quickly, like whole grains and berries.
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