Yes they’re related. And they even overlap. Although one doesn’t necessarily cause the other.
A psychiatrist might tell you that you are bipolar. A neurologist might diagnose you with psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (PNES).
So which is it?
One in four Americans can’t afford their prescription drugs.
No big surprise.
Price are higher than any other wealthy nation.
Here are some stunning examples: Johnson & Johnson’s arthritis drug Ustekinumab (Stelara) costs $79,000 in the U.S.
But it costs $20,000 in Canada and $12,000 in France.
Here’s a look at how epilepsy can affect your pocketbook. And why it’s called an “orphan disease”.
A study by Johns Hopkins researchers shows that a fifth of U.S. neurologists appear unaware of serious drug safety risks associated with various anti-epilepsy drugs, potentially jeopardizing the health of patients who could be just as effectively treated with safer alternative medications.
It’s heartbreaking, but all too common…
A patient calls their doctor after repeated seizures.
He had missed his medication for about a week. He had recently been laid off and lost insurance coverage.
He couldn’t afford to refill his eslicarbazepine acetate (Aptiom) prescription.
A seizure can be quite serious and can be a scary experience for not just the person experiencing it but for the people around them.
While seizures are caused due to many reasons, one of the prime reasons for a seizure to occur is when people have epilepsy.
Among those types of seizures are diabetic seizures, which can sometimes turn into an emergency quite quickly.
At the very best, finding the right anti-epilepsy drug is a crap shoot. There’s always the hope that this one will do it.
Or maybe adjunct therapy will work. Or, sigh, the side-effects derail you and you’re on to the next.
Is asking for seizure control too much to ask?
Medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer.
A recent Johns Hopkins study claims more than 250,000 people in the U.S. die every year from medical errors.
Other reports claim the numbers to be as high as 440,000.