Epilepsy Talk
What’s on your medical chart?
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When asked if they’d like to see their doctor’s notes, patients in two new studies overwhelmingly said yes. But doctors aren’t nearly as enthusiastic.
The idea of opening up doctor’s notes has been around for decades. Advocates figure that patient oversight will reduce medical errors and help patients be more engaged. Patients have a legal right to see their records. But actually getting those notes — especially those that doctors take during a visit can be painfully slow (and expensive!)
Tags: avoid mistakes, concerns, full disclosure, legal rights, medical chart
Epilepsy Nightmares – WHY?
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Fear. Screaming. Visions. Bright lights flashing. Hallucinations. Tongue biting. Pain. Paralysis. Pins and needles. Bed wetting.
Do any of these sound familiar?
One person described it as: “During the nightmares, I often get up and run out of the room screaming while still asleep, as if something is chasing me.”
It’s agony. And there’s little to explain it or stop it in its tracks…
Tags: anti-seizure medication, Epilepsy, fear, nightmares, REM, seizure monitor, sleep deprivation, TLE
The “SmartPen” –- PERFECT for Struggling Students!
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For all those struggling students, now there’s this new, incredible device called the “Smartpen”.
Yup. A pen can be smart.
Here is a pen that could transform the life of a learning disabled child. Or a physically challenged person.
How about a pen that might bring up the grades of a college student who finds it difficult to take notes fast enough to record the main points covered by lecturers?
A Smartpen is a computer in a pen that can capture handwriting at the same time as recording speech. Users can tap on their notes to replay what was recorded. Think of it as a digital “touch” pen…
Tags: Epilepsy, help, smartpen, struggling students, learning disabled, improve grades, digital, defines, answers
Epilepsy Scholarships
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When I first started this article, I thought I was whistling in the wind. But I was happily surprised. Epilepsy scholarships do exist!
Some foundations and businesses award thousands of dollars towards your college education, others provide a few hundred. But the more you apply, the better chances you’ll have of getting at least some kind of assistance with your college tuition.
For five good epilepsy scholarship sponsors click on: http://www.collegescholarships.org/health/epileptic-students.htm and you’re off to a really good start!
If You DON’T Have Epilepsy, Then WHAT Is It???
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You might call them “imitators” of epilepsy, but that’s kind of extreme. You might say “similar” or you might say “confused”, which I think they are.
In a previous article titled “Conditions Commonly Misdiagnosed as Epilepsy” http://epilepsytalk.com/2010/02/17/conditions-commonly-misdiagnosed-as-epilepsy/ I thought I had it all covered.
But, believe it or not, that was just the tip of the iceberg. I dug deeper and researched further and here is what I learned about signs and signals which might cause epilepsy, might show the same symptoms of epilepsy, or might be masquerading in their own way as epilepsy…
Tags: Encephalitis, Epilepsy, Hypoglycemia, imitators, infection, Malnutrition, Meningitis, Migraine, Narcolepsy, Panic Attacks, similar, Stroke, Syncope (fainting), Tumor
Laughter as effective as cocaine?
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Yup. A comic cartoon fires up the same brain centre as a shot of cocaine, researchers report.
A team at Stanford University in California asked lab mates, spouses and friends to select the wittiest newspaper cartoons from a portfolio. They showed the winning array to 16 volunteers while peering inside their heads with an MRI.
The cartoons activated the same reward circuits in the brain that are tickled by cocaine, money or a pretty face, the neuroscientists found. (Wow!)
Medical mistakes out of control!
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Believe it or not, the total number of medical errors and deaths in the U.S. equals SIX jumbo jets crashing every day! If a Jumbo Jet crashed and killed 280 people everyday…365 days a year…year after year…would you be concerned about flying? Would you question the Federal Aviation Administration? Would you demand answers?? Think about it…close to 100,000 people dying every year from plane crashes. Sounds Ridiculous??!!
Tags: #1 killer, deaths, diagnostic, inpatient, medical errors, outpatient, surgical, treatment
MS or Epilepsy?
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Recently a woman wrote to me telling about the awful diagnostic disaster that she had been through.
In her words: “It took 3 years, 3 primary doctors, and 7 neurologists to diagnose me.
I told everyone that ‘it feels like my brain is shaking in my head.’
If they had listened to me the first time and had done a simple EEG, it would’ve saved us and the insurance company a lot of money!
I was misdiagnosed with MS after 4 MRIs. We had 3 trips to the ER. A lot of blood work. And on and on…”
Tags: autoimmune, epilepsy MS, misdiagnosis, neuroimaging, research sparse
Diagnostic tests that save millions…
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A diagnosis for cervical cancer with vinegar?
A test for liver damage which requires a single drop of blood and 15 minutes?
A team approach for AIDS treatment…?
Tags: cost, diagnostic tests, pennies a day, saving millions
For Refractory Epilepsy — Two AEDs and You’re Home Free!
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A recent University of Washington report, published in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found a combination of two common drugs, lamotrigine and valproate, is more effective in treating refractory epilepsy than other anti-epileptic regimens.
In a large-scale retrospective study of patients with very difficult-to-control epilepsy, researchers discovered that out of the 32 drug combinations studied, only the lamotrigine/valproate treatment regimen significantly decreased seizure frequency in this group. This specific combination reduced seizure frequency by about half, on average, compared to other regimens.
Tags: lamotrigine and valproate, more effective, reduce seizures by 50%, refractory epilepsy
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