I've been diagnosed with epilepsy since I was 18. You're going to learn a little bit from the doctors, not because they don't know, but because they don't have time for everyone to explain. Theirs is to prescribe that way. That's why I started digging and reading myself. I'il try to explain to you what the disease is.
Epilepsy is not exactly a disease, but a symptom. "Epilepsy" means recurrent spontaneous epileptic crises. Spontaneous, that is, they are not caused by drugs, electroshock, poisoning or anything like that.
The concept of "epilepsy" in medicine, unites various diseases of the central nervous system, which have one common symptom: epileptic crises. Besides epileptic crises, there may be concomitant symptoms or not. In total, there are about 50 epileptic syndromes, which are classified according to the type of crisis (with or without loss of consciousness), the affected part of the brain, the presence of other symptoms, age when the diagnosis is made, prognosis of duration, etc.
Some epileptic syndromes are associated with hereditary predisposition, for example, Juvenile Myoclonic epilepsy.
Others are characteristic of school years, some of them due to immaturity of the brain and subside after puberty.
There are syndromes that are due to genetic mutations or structural damage to the fetus during pregnancy. They are usually accompanied by mental retardation, severe crises and very poor prognosis.
But 60% of those with epilepsy have focal epilepsy. Many of the focal syndromes are acquired epilepsy as a result of strokes, infections or tumors.
A simpler classification of syndromes is generalized epilepsy and focal epilepsy. There's a significant difference. Crises in generalized epilepsy erupt throughout the brain suddenly, and usually there is a loss of consciousness. This type of crisis is treated with monotherapy (1 drug) and are usually controlled quite easily, and the patient does not have seizures if he takes his medication and follows the doctor's instructions.
With focal epilepsy, the crisis always begins in one part of the brain (where there is some damage that interferes with the normal communication of neurons). The crisis can only remain in this part of the brain, but it can also cover the entire brain and cause loss of consciousness and convulsions. Focal crises are significantly more difficult to control and usually require 2 or more drugs (polytherapy). Depending on the affected part of the brain, the focal crisis will manifest itself in one way or another. If the affected part is a speech-in charge, during a crisis the patient will not be able to speak or speak vaguely. If it's a vision-in charge, it's going to suddenly start on seeing lights or lose the ability to distinguish colors temporarily. If a part responsible for motor activity is affected, there will be a shaking of the leg, arm or one part of the body. Usually such crises last from a few seconds to 2-3 minutes. Then they abruptly stop. On the
I have epilepsy. They don't have to happen to you every few days. It can happen to you once a month or every year. It happens to me every two or three years with pills, but here it is, my diagnosis is like this. They made me eEG awake during sleep. In a waking state, everything is OK, but during sleep comes a weak epileptic activity in the left temporal lobe. I take two kinds of pills, too.
They usually write polytherapy if you have focal epilepsy. In many cases, focal epilepsy is the result of stroke, infections of the central nervous system, tumor... Other times, it's hard to find the exact cause. But focal means that your crises start in a certain part of the brain, then it can spread to the whole brain or not. With generalized epilepsy, they explode all of a sudden.
In focal epilepsy, treatment is long, even for life, because epilepsy is the result of some damage that interferes with the normal communication of neurons. The disability will always stay there (unless you have surgery). And because there is no way to predict exactly when it will cause a crisis, medicines should be taken every day.
If you don't take a doctor, you may not get a crisis for five years, but you may get at a bad time: in a pool, in the bath, at work... The most important thing is not to have crises. If you don't have crises, you'il be living a normal life like everyone else. If you do, you'il live in constant stress. You better not waste time. Drink your pills, the sooner you start drinking the right ones at the right dose, the better. I take my meds, I live my normal life: I go out with friends, I go to a disco, alcohol in moderation is allowed, I travel alone, I work... I had crises every 2 years, I was diagnosed at 18, then my first crisis.
Like in the morning you take vitamins (for example), so do your medications. Levebon is a nice drug, almost the ideal antiepileptic agent: well tolerated, few side effects... It's from the new generation, 2000. Neotop is an older drug, more side effects, but it is also effective.
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